172: Chapter 172 Great Sun Realm

When the midnight bells faintly echoed from the distance, Li Wen stood up.

"Dad, Mom, I have to go back. The fortress pass can't be left unattended for too long."

Li Hong and Wang Juan hurriedly stood up to see him off, accompanying him all the way to the courtyard gate.

"Be careful! Stay safe!" Wang Juan squeezed Li Wen's hand tightly once more.

"I know, don't worry." Li Wen nodded, giving his parents a reassuring look.

Stepping out of the courtyard gate, he didn't immediately transform into a rainbow. Instead, he trod upon the accumulated snow of New Year's Eve, walking slowly out of the residential area.

Not until he reached a secluded spot did the purple rainbow light soar into the sky again, instantly piercing the night sky and arriving at the familiar courtyard deep underground almost simultaneously with the New Year's Eve fireworks that had just blossomed at the distant fortress pass.

Without a moment's pause, Li Wen did not directly enter the quiet room to attempt the Breakthrough.

With a thought, an ancient-style silver longblade appeared in his hand—the very partner that had accompanied him through all his battles.

He paced toward the open Martial Arts Field in a corner of the courtyard.

At this time, the peculiar spatial structure actually caused fine, "snow"-like energy crystal dust to drift leisurely even deep underground, the crystal dust shimmering under the reflection of simulated skylight.

Li Wen stood quietly in the center, eyes closed, his state of mind calming down along with the falling crystal dust.

Suddenly opening his eyes, a blade light flashed!

This practice session had no earth-shaking momentum, only a profound and restrained Concept.

The blade edge sliced through the air silently, yet it seemed capable of cleaving the falling energy crystal dust.

His movements were sometimes slow, like pushing mountains or filling seas, with every subtle change affecting the airflow around him;

Sometimes they were as swift as a flash of lightning or a burst of thunder, yet he could precisely grasp every shred of force change even at extreme speeds.

As his figure shifted and maneuvered, the airflow he generated interacted marvelously with the falling crystal dust, as if the entire Martial Arts Field was coordinating with him to perform a silent rhythm of the blade.

Blade light, crystal dust, and light and shadow intertwined, forming a unique tableau full of power and beauty, movement and stillness.

An hour passed quietly in this state of total immersion.

As the blade light retracted, the crystal dust filling the air slowly drifted down with his aura.

Li Wen held the blade with one hand and slowly sheathed it.

Not a trace of sweat could be seen on his forehead; he was only high-spirited, his gaze as sharp as the rising morning sun.

"My state is perfect!" Feeling the surging power within his body mobilized to its Peak, Li Wen felt certain.

Taking a step, his figure had already returned to the center of the quiet room.

Sitting cross-legged without the slightest hesitation, he flipped his hand to take out a warm jade bottle and gently pulled out the stopper.

A Medicinal Pill the size of a longan, shrouded in golden and red spiritual mist, rolled into his palm.

Tiny Dragon shadows and runes seemed to wander within the mist on the surface of the pill, emitting a heart-palpitating, majestic energy—this was the "Radiant Sun Sun-Breaking Pill," a top-tier secret medicine for breaking through to the Great Sun Realm.

Li Wen tilted his head back and swallowed it.

The pill melted upon entering his mouth, transforming into an indescribable scorching torrent that instantly rushed into his limbs, bones, and Dantian Qi Sea.

Boom—!

It was as if a thunderclap exploded within his Sea of Consciousness.

The Bright Moon, which was originally at the core of his Dantian and resembled a condensed ice disk, began to rotate rapidly.

A massive amount of Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, far exceeding what was drawn during his previous Breakthrough to the Bright Moon Realm, was frantically pulled in by an invisible vortex, penetrating layers of Rock walls to gather from the free energy outside.

It formed a tangible golden energy storm, frantically pouring into Li Wen's body.

Had this not been a critical fortress area equipped with powerful Formation barriers, this disturbance would have been enough to shake everything within a radius of several miles.

Li Wen fully activated the secret technique of the "Nine Heavens Divine Body · Ninth Level Perfection Chapter."

Nine Heavens thunder roared within his meridians, guiding and refining this energy—which was enough to burst an ordinary Bright Moon Realm Peak cultivator—with the most overbearing and pure posture.

Under the frantic infusion of energy, the Dantian Qi Sea expanded rapidly, its toughness pushed to the limit.

The color of the rapidly rotating Bright Moon core began to shift from silver-white to a dazzling golden yellow.

The surface was no longer a pure and translucent disk; instead, intense energy ripples appeared, with solar flare-like flames gestating and erupting from within the core.

"Condense!" Li Wen let out a low growl in his heart. All his mental will, all his insights into the Blade Dao, and all his accumulated potential transformed into an invisible seed of intent, which he hammered into the incessantly rotating and transforming Bright Moon core.

Buzz——!

A massive hum resonated from the depths of his Soul.

The Bright Moon core, having endured extreme power and nearing the critical point of qualitative change, finally completed its final transformation.

Dazzling golden radiance instantly replaced all the silver light. A newborn Great Sun, though slightly unstable, was radiant and emitted scorching, majestic energy.

It hung in the center of Li Wen's Dantian Qi Sea, which had expanded several times over.

Its brilliant Divine Might illuminated his entire internal world!

Simultaneously, his mental Sea of Consciousness surged violently!

The original boundaries were torn open by an invisible force, extending into the vaster Chaos Void and instantly expanding to several times its previous size.

The previously abundant Primordial Spirit Power appeared much thinner in the new Sea of Consciousness space.

However, the Primordial Spirit figure floating in the center absorbed the majestic spiritual Origin from the Breakthrough; its form became more solid and clear, emitting a pure and dazzling Soul halo.

The cells of his Physical Body rejoiced under the washing of the scorching energy, undergoing an even deeper level of evolutionary restructuring.

Muscles, bones, meridians, and internal organs were all "humming" imperceptibly, as their strength, toughness, and recovery ability leapt to a brand new height.

With every movement, a life pressure as heavy as a mountain and as overbearing as the rising sun naturally dissipated, only to be restrained within the quiet room by Li Wen's powerful Primordial Spirit control.

The Breakthrough process lasted for nearly two hours.

When the New Year's bells outside faintly echoed under the virtual System settings, the newborn energy Great Sun within Li Wen's body finally stabilized, rotating slowly, solid and powerful.

The expansion of the Sea of Consciousness was complete, and it began to autonomously absorb Void energy to slowly generate new Primordial Spirit Power.

Huu————

A breath of turbid Qi was exhaled by Li Wen like a white Qi arrow, traveling over ten feet before striking the specially made wall of the quiet room with a muffled thud.

He slowly opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, two miniature golden Great Sun phantoms seemed to flash and vanish.

"Great Sun Realm——it's finally done!" His voice was calm, yet it contained an indisputable sense of power.

After several years of Kindling life, crossing the Ranks of Super Martial, Flying Star, and Bright Moon, he had finally ascended to the critical node of the Divine Demon path today—the Great Sun Realm.

He didn't continue consolidating in the quiet room; with one step, he reached the Martial Arts Field.

With a slight thought, his body instantly blurred.

Fast! Indescribably fast!

Only a fleeting vacuum trail formed by the rapidly torn air was left in his place.

"Compared to before the Breakthrough, my speed has increased by at least fifty percent," Li Wen thought to himself. "My speed already surpassed ordinary Marquis Level levels; now—it's likely very close to King-rank standards!"

And this was just his initial entry into the Great Sun Realm!

By the time he reached the Peak, surpassing an ordinary King-rank in speed would certainly be no empty boast.

He sank his mind into his Dantian.

The Great Sun rotated, and his surging True Essence was like scorching lava, filled with explosive power.

"In terms of quantity, it has exceeded the Bright Moon Peak by several times—and in terms of quality, it is far more pure and condensed."

Relying on the Heaven-Defying Foundation of the Nine Heavens Divine Body's Ninth Level Perfection, he could even clearly feel that, "Just based on the majesty and purity of this True Essence, without using Primordial Spirit Power or secret techniques, it's already enough to go head-to-head with an ordinary Great Sun Realm Peak Divine Demon!"

Next, he tried to mobilize the majestic Primordial Spirit Power in his Sea of Consciousness.

A wisp of pure mental energy fused into the Dantian True Essence, and in an instant, the already powerful True Essence aura surged abruptly, like oil poured onto a blazing fire.

"The amplification multiplier has indeed decreased—" Li Wen carefully sensed the change. "The roughly three-fold increase from before had become just over a one-fold increase now."

An increase in Realm inevitably leads to a weakening of the qualitative change efficiency caused by quantitative change.

But even so, the overall strength increase was still terrifying!

The True Essence fused with Primordial Spirit Power had already reached a shocking level of power.

Subsequently, he changed the way he used his Primordial Spirit Power, fusing it evenly and meticulously into every part of his body—this was a pure physical strength amplification.

Buzz! An irresistible and terrifying pressure involuntarily rose from within him!

The space of the Martial Arts Field seemed to distort slightly.

A sense of pure physical power filled his entire body; his muscles bulged, and his blood flowed like thunder. He lightly clenched his fist, feeling as if he could crush space itself.

"This feeling—purely in terms of power level, it's already close to that Snake Division Great Sun Realm Peak assassin who ambushed me last time!" Li Wen's eyes sparkled. "In other words, without using God-Shocking Sting or other Primordial Spirit secret techniques, just relying on the normal combat power of my Physical Body and True Essence fused with Primordial Spirit Power, I'm already approaching the edge of the 'threshold marquis' level!"

'threshold marquis' usually refers to Divine Demons who break through to the Marquis Realm using High Grade Divine Magic Artss, making them the lowest tier among all Marquis-level Divine Demons.

Only those who break through with a Super Grade Divine Magic Arts can be called a true "normal Marquis" with complete Marquis-level combat power.

As for someone like Li Wen, who cultivated the strongest Nine Heavens Divine Body to the ninth-layer Perfection before making a Breakthrough—according to common sense, once he steps into the Marquis Level in the future, his combat power will directly reach that of a top-tier Marquis-level Divine Demon.

Finally, he turned his attention to his Sea of Consciousness.

That newly opened "ocean," which had expanded several times over, was slowly absorbing energy from the Void Realm.

"The vast increase in the Sea of Consciousness's capacity means that the total amount of Primordial Spirit Power I can store in the future will be several times what it was before!" Li Wen felt the comfort of his Primordial Spirit avatar absorbing new spiritual Origin. "As long as I fill this expanded Sea of Consciousness to the brim and improve a bit more, I might be able to try and begin inscribing the runes for the..."

...seventh layer of the God-Shocking Sting!"

Once the inscription and nurturing were successful, the terrifying lethality of the God-Shocking Sting would undergo another qualitative change. "At that time, combined with my Blade Technique and Realm—slaying a threshold marquis Divine Demon will no longer be an issue."

"It's not far off. At the latest by the Middle Stage of the Great Sun Realm, my total Primordial Spirit Power should reach the minimum standard for inscription."

""

January 28th, Year 232 of the galactic calendar.

The first ray of morning light for the New Year failed to penetrate the thick alloy ceiling of the Underground Fortress Pass.

However, inside the Qingshi County garrison base, it was a few degrees brighter and warmer than the sunlight.

—

Festive decorations made from simple Materials were hung everywhere, and bright lanterns cast a warm glow on the cold metal corridors. The aroma of food mixed with the noisy chatter of voices poured continuously from the central dining hall.

This bustle was partly to welcome the brand-new year, and more importantly, it was for their vice-captain—Li Wen.

Last night on New Year's Eve, the news of Li Wen's successful Breakthrough to the Great Sun Realm in the silent courtyard was like a giant boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves and spreading throughout the entire Underground Fortress Pass by early morning.

This was a major event and a joyous occasion for the entire garrison team.

The dining hall was crowded with people, and the atmosphere was lively.

There were no exquisite delicacies, only large portions of filling meals to replenish physical energy and a few small snacks made by the team members themselves, but at this moment, everything tasted exceptionally sweet.

Everyone gathered around Li Wen spontaneously, the smiles on their faces sincere and earnest.

"Senior Brother Li, no, I should call you Great Captain Li!" Zhao Mingyu held up a wine cup, his face flushed with excitement and a bit of intoxication. "The Great Sun Realm! The commotion when you broke through last night—even through the door, I could feel a Divine Might that made my hair stand on end. Strong! Too strong!"

Several team members nearby nodded vigorously in agreement.

They had all followed Li Wen on missions many times and knew deeply how unfathomable this young vice-captain's strength was.

Now that he had formally stepped into the Great Sun Realm, the significance was extraordinary.

"It's the result of everyone's hard work together." Li Wen held a water cup, a peaceful smile on his face, not becoming arrogant because of the crowd's congratulations. "Guarding the Interstellar Gate is not the work of one person. In the new year, I will continue to rely on all of you, my brothers."

His concise words carried a steadying quality that set people at ease.

"To Captain Li!" the team members shouted in unison, clinking their cups.

Right in the middle of this excitement, Li Wen's personal terminal emitted a continuous series of notification tones.

He gave a slight gesture and walked to a quieter corner of the dining hall to check.

The first to flood in were communications from Kindling University.

[Fang Chengwu]: "You brat, reached the Great Sun Realm? Good, very good! The Foundation laid by the ninth-layer Perfection only truly begins to show its power once you reach the Great Sun Realm. Don't slack off; adapt to your power properly."

The words were simple, yet they conveyed his consistent concern and the expectations of a teacher.

[Du Yun]: "Li Wen, congratulations on the Breakthrough! A new year brings a new atmosphere. The Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters on the mountain certainly have something to talk about now."

[Fang Chenghong]: "Brother Wen! Awesome! Great Sun Realm! Are you even going to let ordinary people live? (An exaggerated tongue-sticking emoji) But I'm really happy for you! Come back and visit when you have time. That guy Sun Rui has mentioned you several times, saying Nine Heavens Peak has been quite lonely since you went down the mountain."

Looking at the congratulatory messages sent by familiar names, a hint of warmth appeared in Li Wen's eyes.

Although the years on the mountain had passed, those fellow students who had stood side-by-side with him remained a solid bond.

He replied to each of them seriously with his thanks.

Rejoining the noisy dining hall, Li Wen clearly felt that the gaze of the team members when they looked at him held an even deeper level of respect.

He understood the source of this respect's power—a Great Sun Realm Divine Demon.

On this Blue Planet, where the recovery of spiritual energy had been going on for less than two hundred and thirty years, a Great Sun Realm Divine Demon was already an indisputable backbone of strength.

The birth of each one meant a more stable cornerstone on the human defense line.

And for someone like Li Wen, who stepped into the Great Sun Realm with a Foundation of the ninth-layer Perfection of the Nine Heavens Divine Body, his potential and strength far exceeded his peers.

To put it in a way that wasn't an exaggeration, as long as a Marquis-level Divine Demon didn't appear, he was a top-tier figure standing at the absolute Peak, looking down upon all living beings.

His value was even enough to independently shoulder the heavy responsibility of guarding a medium-sized Underground Fortress Pass.

This wasn't arrogance, but a realization based on reality.

There were as many as three hundred medium-sized Interstellar Gates on the Blue Planet through which Great Sun Realm Yao Race could pass, but the Human Race had only a mere two hundred or so Marquis-level Divine Demons.

This huge gap meant that many medium-sized fortress passes had to adopt a method where multiple Peak Great Sun Realm Divine Demons joined forces to guard them.

The low-voiced conversations of the team members also gradually turned to these heavy realities.

"Sigh, I heard that last month, the medium-sized fortress pass in the eastern Rock City area of Jiangnan fell again—" an older team member who looked a bit weathered sighed. "Senior Brother Wang Ji and his team were all lost, five Peak Great Sun Realm experts—"

The atmosphere sank slightly.

"The Yao Race is doing it on purpose!" Zhao Mingyu gritted his teeth, his voice filled with anger. "They clearly could flatten it in one go, but they just stop after capturing the fortress pass. After a while, when we send people back in to garrison it, they come and harvest us again! This damn overt scheme, and we have no choice but to keep filling it with people!"

Yes, this was the blatant overt scheme of the Yao Race.

Using their absolute numerical advantage, they utilized countless medium-sized fortress passes—which they viewed as "fishing grounds"—to continuously consume the Human Race's precious Great Sun Realm combat power.

The Human Race still had to defend them, because once a medium-sized fortress pass was left open, countless Great Sun Realm Yao Race would enter the territory.

The Blue Planet was so vast that once a massive number of Great Sun Realm Yao Race successfully broke in and chose to go into hiding, scattering deep underground and suppressing their Demonic Qi, even powerful King-rank Divine Demons would find it difficult to conduct a carpet search to clear them all out.

That would be an unimaginable disaster.

Except for a few cities protected by large-scale fortress passes personally guarded by Marquis-level Divine Demons, every other place on the surface of the Blue Planet would become a hunting ground for the Yao Race, and humanity's breeding grounds would rapidly shrink or even go extinct.

Losing a large population base would mean the birth of a new generation of human powerhouses would become a distant hope, and the extinction of the entire race would perhaps only be a matter of time.

Therefore, the birth of every Divine Demon who possessed Peak Great Sun Realm power, or even combat power that challenged the limits of a Marquis, was never just the success of one individual.

It was an extra tough barrier on the entire race's defense line, an extra spark of hope.

It was worthy of the most sincere cheers in this Underground Fortress Pass, and the most earnest congratulations from distant teachers and friends.

Laughter, the clinking of cups, and discussion rose again in the dining hall. Amidst the joy of celebrating the New Year, there was also a heavy sense of responsibility and determination for the future.

Li Wen's gaze swept over the faces around him, some young and some weathered, finally landing on the heavy blast doors leading to the Interstellar Gate monitoring area.

This was his battlefield.

Guarding this place was guarding the lights of ten thousand homes behind him.

January 29th, Year 232 of the galactic calendar.

Everyone's predictions became reality.

In just a few days, a formal transfer order from the Supreme Command of Kindling University arrived at the Qingshi County fortress pass.

Looking at the prominent words "Transfer to Rock Underground Fortress Pass" on the light screen, Li Wen was silent for a moment.

Indeed, for someone who possessed the ninth-layer Perfection of the Nine Heavens Divine Body and had combat power close to the Marquis-level upon entering the Great Sun Realm, staying long-term in a place like Qingshi County—a small-to-medium Interstellar Gate node that had just been stabilized and had a relatively low threat level—was a waste of talent.

As Zhao Mingyu and his superiors had analyzed, his value should be fully realized on a broader, high-pressure frontline battlefield.

The Rock Fortress Pass had just fallen and urgently needed a powerful Divine Demon to fill the gap; that was the position where he could currently exert the most deterrent power.

Although there was some reluctance in his heart—this was his hometown, the place he had personally guarded, and his parents were here.

But duty called, and the big picture was more important.

Li Wen quickly accepted the arrangement.