26: Break through the vision and dominate the world!

Sky City, Central Arena.

With the appearance of the Long family's universally acknowledged and undisputed strongest contemporary — the "number one heir" Long Qingtian — the atmosphere of the entire venue was instantly pushed to an extreme of solemnity and oppression.

He was not of direct lineage, yet relying on his one-in-a-million S-Grade Heavenly Tribulation Body and almost self-abusive, insane effort, he fought his way out from countless collateral descendants, step by step, eventually ascending to the "Number One" throne, symbolizing the strongest glory of the younger generation.

His experience was a living legend in itself, the sole and true spiritual idol in the hearts of countless ordinary Long family descendants.

His terrifying aura, as if substantial, made Long Ao, Dragon Snow Phoenix, and other proud heirs feel immense pressure from the depths of their Souls.

The same thought arose in everyone's mind.

Even that mysterious "Number Zero," who broke the gaia record, when facing such a true battle-hardened King who had emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, did he really... still have a chance to win?

Amidst this oppressive atmosphere, the opening ceremony finally reached its last segment.

The impassioned voice of the Federal Chief Emcee once again echoed through the sky.

"Now, I announce! The Prodigy competitors participating in this Global Youth Martial Arts Tournament are officially entering!"

As soon as his voice fell, dozens of exclusive passages around the arena, representing the world's top forces, opened simultaneously!

Kyle Austin from North America "Holy Mountain," Arthur from Europe's "Knights of the Round Table," Ivan from North Russia's "Winter Palace"... One after another, young Prodigies, whose names were already renowned throughout the world and who were enveloped in countless halos, walked out of the passages with high spirits, surrounded by their respective followers, stepping onto the central arena that symbolized glory.

In the Long family's seating area, Long Qingtian, Long Ao, Dragon Snow Phoenix, and other heirs also rose, preparing to enter.

However, everyone subconsciously cast their gaze towards the "Number Zero" seat, representing supreme glory, which had been empty from beginning to end.

He had not yet arrived.

Just then, a message full of anxiety and helplessness came through the emcee's earpiece from backstage.

The professional smile on his face instantly froze, and then, he could only brace himself and, with an extremely awkward tone, announce to the tens of billions of viewers worldwide:

"Uh... distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, we have just received a temporary notice."

"The esteemed... Long family number zero heir, Your Excellency Lin Tian, due to a sudden enlightenment at the final stage of his seclusion, will therefore... likely miss this opening ceremony."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue, and indeed the entire world, instantly erupted in an uproar!

"What?! Seclusion? At such a crucial event, he's still in seclusion?!"

"Missed it? This is a globally televised opening ceremony! Is he stage fright, or does he simply not care about this tournament at all?"

Those who were looking forward to it were deeply disappointed; neutral parties discussed animatedly; and those forces who were already hostile towards Lin Tian unreservedly let out sneers of schadenfreude.

In the North America "Holy Mountain" seating area, Kyle Austin even burst out laughing. He said to his strategist beside him, with a tone full of contempt: "See? I told you, he's just an overprotected paper tiger who's afraid to show his face! At the critical moment, he only knows how to hide!"

Amidst the widespread discussion and mockery, just when everyone thought that Lin Tian's global debut was about to end with a ridiculous "absence"—

Rumble—!!!

A terrifying roar, as if from the primordial Chaos, capable of making heaven and earth tremble, shot up from the core area of Sky City, the Long family's exclusive Holy Land of seclusion, which was designated as a top-secret forbidden zone, without any warning!

In an instant, the wind and clouds changed color, and heaven and earth fell silent!

Above the arena's dome, the vast Universe of stars simulated by the LCD screen was instantly interfered with by an invisible, incomparably domineering force. The screen flickered wildly, finally turning into static!

What replaced it was the real sky!

A terrifying energy pillar, over ten thousand meters in diameter, woven from extremely brilliant golden Divine Power and profound, boundless Chaos Qi, like a spear of creation piercing through heaven and earth, tore through the thin atmosphere at thirty thousand meters high, directly stabbing into the deep space of the Universe!

Under the impact of this terrifying and unparalleled energy aftershock, the entire Sky City, supported by countless anti-gravity engines and as stable as a divine kingdom, actually began to tremble slightly and unnervingly!

"Not good!"

Li Qingcang, the rotating chairman of the Global Martial Arts Alliance and an SSS-Grade Martial God, who had been sitting on the main presidium of the tournament, resting with his eyes closed, suddenly changed his expression drastically!

He abruptly opened his eyes, and without time to think, a vast Mental Energy, as boundless as the Universe of stars, instantly swept out, forming a nearly substantial Mental Energy barrier above Sky City, covering the entire sky!

Boom!

The energy aftershock and the Mental Energy barrier collided violently, erupting into a destructive storm capable of annihilating everything!

After a long while, the storm subsided.

Li Qingcang looked at the slowly dissipating energy pillar, and a thin layer of cold sweat actually seeped from his forehead. He muttered to himself in a tone full of shock and disbelief:

"Just the aftershock generated during his Breakthrough requires my full effort to suppress... This... what kind of terrifying Foundation is this?! What Realm is he... breaking through to? Martial Emperor? Or... Martial God?!"

His voice was heard before he was seen!

An earth-shattering Breakthrough phenomenon, a shocking self-muttering from humanity's highest authority, was Lin Tian's... most domineering opening statement for his global debut!

The entire venue was dead silent.

All the previous mockery and all the doubts were crushed to dust under this Divine Might, capable of destroying heaven and earth!

Kyle's smile had long since frozen, replaced by a livid and horrified expression!

Under the gaze of countless eyes filled with awe and anticipation from around the world, in the center of that energy storm, the heavy gate of the Long family's seclusion Holy Land, which had been sealed for a year, slowly opened with a soft "buzz."

A tall and slender figure, bathed in the lingering, mythical golden energy afterglow that had not yet completely dispersed, slowly walked out.

He was a fifteen-year-old youth.

He wore a simple, unadorned white Martial Dao uniform, with a head of ink-black long hair casually draped over his shoulders.

His figure was tall and straight, like a peerless Divine Sword about to be unsheathed, with its sharpness contained, yet seemingly capable of piercing the sky at any moment.

His appearance could no longer be described by any mundane language. As handsome as a god, as ethereal as an exiled immortal, that face seemed to be a unique and perfect masterpiece, completed only after the Creator poured all his painstaking effort and favoritism into it. Especially the crimson cinnabar mole on his smooth forehead, like a drop of blood, added a hint of enchanting yet sacred unique charm to his extraordinary temperament.

His temperament was indifferent yet noble, and his eyes were as deep as the vast Universe containing the birth and death of billions of stars. Just a calm glance from him was enough to make anyone lose their composure, feel ashamed, and be unable to harbor any thought of blasphemy or resistance.

At this moment, whether it was the tens of millions of top elites in the venue or the tens of billions of ordinary people watching the global broadcast, upon seeing this face, they collectively... lost their minds and were breathless.

It was as if the entire world, all sounds, all colors, were completely stripped away at this moment.

Between heaven and earth, only that white, peerless figure, detached from the mortal world, remained.

Lin Tian ignored everyone's gazes, his expression calm, as if he had just completed an ordinary morning exercise.

In his heart, he made a simple summary of the results of his year-long seclusion.

"One year of seclusion, breaking through from a One-Star Martial Artist to the Peak of the Martial King Rank. Not bad."

Then, he raised his eyes, his gaze seemingly penetrating endless space, falling upon the central arena, which was the focus of all attention.

He took a step.

His figure, on the spot, silently... vanished.

The next second.

In everyone's suddenly constricted pupils, he had already traversed tens of thousands of meters, appearing as if teleported, in the very center of the arena, standing with his hands behind his back.

The entire venue was still dead silent.

He, the King, reigned over the world!