140: Chapter 140 Ancestral Star Trial, Nine-fold Battle Arena

The Hegemon Body Ancestral Star has no sky.

The "sky" here is a layer of perpetual, dark golden energy turbulence. It is the Law barrier of this ancient star, isolating all external interference—sunlight, starlight, and even the gravitational waves from the distant deep space—completely outside.

There is no alternation of day and night, no cycle of seasons, no wind, no clouds, no life.

There is only the earth.

It is an earth that cannot be measured by any known ruler. Its density is 47 times that of the crust of the Big Dipper Star Field, its hardness exceeds that of most epic-grade alloys, and every inch of its surface is covered with pits, cracks, and—fist marks.

Countless fist marks.

Large ones are like meteorite craters, over a hundred meters in diameter; small ones are like the size of a bowl, yet several meters deep.

Some fist marks are dark gold, the eternal imprints left by the predecessors of the Hegemon Body striking with all their might at their Peak; some are grayish-white, the condensed remnants of the breath left behind by Trial Takers after their struggle here.

Shi Potian stood at the edge of the first-fold Battle Arena, looking down at the earth beneath his feet.

His feet were deeply embedded in the ground—not because he didn't want to pull them out, but because the 127 times gravity of this ancient star did not allow him to "stand."

He could only "take root."

[Current Environment: Hegemon Body Ancestral Star · First Trial Zone]

[Gravity Multiplier: 127G]

[Law Suppression: Effectiveness of all non-"Strength" Laws reduced by 90%]

[Spiritual Qi Concentration: 0.01% (Cannot be restored via traditional Cultivation Technique)]

[Physical Body Strength Requirement: ≥ 120,000 points (Your current Physical Body strength: 147,000 points)]

[Adaptation Status: In Progress (Estimated full adaptation requires 72 hours)]

[Current Action Consumption: Walking = 37 times normal state, Combat = 52 times normal state]

Shi Potian did not wait for 72 hours.

He took a [Hegemon Blood Essence] from his Storage Ring and crushed it without hesitation.

Golden mist surged from the shattered crystal, seeping into his body through his pores. It was the crystallization of a Hegemon Body Yao Beast's lifelong cultivation, now melting within him like lava poured into a parched riverbed.

[You used "Hegemon Blood Essence" × 1]

[Physical Body Strength temporarily increased: +8% (Duration 60 seconds)]

[Adaptation Acceleration: Current adaptation progress +12%]

He pulled his right leg out of the ground and took a step forward.

His bones creaked under the unbearable weight, but he did not stop.

Second step, third step, fourth step...

By the time he walked to the Ancestral Star Primordial Stone—3 meters high, 2 meters wide, and weighing about 47 tons—in the center of the first-fold Battle Arena, his adaptation progress had increased from 0% to 31%.

[Ancestral Star Primordial Stone · Anvil of Trial]

[Type: Trial Target]

[Rank: None (Fixed Target)]

[Mass: 47.3 tons]

[Hardness: ★★★★★ (Five stars is the Ancestral Star benchmark)]

[Characteristics:]

[1. Indestructible: This stone is native mineral of the Hegemon Body Ancestral Star crust and cannot be destroyed by any means.]

[2. Resonance Feedback: When struck with sufficient force, it transmits vibrations to the Ancestral Star core, serving as proof of passing the trial.]

[3. Hegemon's Mark: Trial Takers who successfully shatter the stone (creating at least a Level 3 earthquake) will have a golden fist mark left on the surface of the stone, permanently preserved.]

[Current preserved fist marks: 27]

[Time of most recent fist mark: 374 years ago]

Twenty-seven. Twelve thousand years.

Only twenty-seven people have left their own fist marks on this stone.

Shi Potian stood before the stone.

He did not adjust his breathing, did not gather strength, and did not make any unnecessary movements.

He simply raised his right hand and clenched his fist.

And then—

He smashed down.

Boom—!!!

That was not the sound of steel colliding with steel.

It was the sound of flesh and blood colliding with a star.

The stone did not Move an inch.

But the bones in Shi Potian's fist shattered in seven places.

[You landed an effective strike on the "Ancestral Star Primordial Stone"]

[Impact Assessment: Level 2.1 earthquake (Trial passing standard: ≥ Level 3.0)]

[Standard not met, please continue]

He looked down at his bloodied right hand, at the seven finger bones that had pierced his skin and were showing white, broken ends.

He did not frown, did not gasp, and did not even use his left hand to support his right wrist.

He simply directed all the mist from the [Hegemon Blood Essence]—which had about 4 seconds of duration left—into his right arm.

The golden mist, like greedy leeches, scrambled into the seven broken bone gaps.

[Hegemon Blood Essence · Rapid Repair]

[Consumption: Remaining duration 4 seconds]

[Repair progress: Bone damage repaired 17%]

[Suggestion: Use complete essence for treatment (takes 30 seconds)]

He did not have time for a second complete essence.

The second punch—while the bones were not yet fully healed, the intense pain had not subsided, and the blood had not even stopped—fell.

Boom—!!!

The stone remained motionless.

But this time, eleven of his fist bones shattered.

[Impact Assessment: Level 2.5 earthquake]

Without hesitation.

Third punch.

Boom—!!!

[Impact Assessment: Level 2.8 earthquake]

Fourth punch.

Boom—!!!

[Impact Assessment: Level 2.9 earthquake]

Fifth punch.

Boom—!!!

[Impact Assessment: Level 3.1 earthquake]

[Trial Passed]

On the surface of the Ancestral Star Primordial Stone, below the twenty-seven ancient golden fist marks, a twenty-eighth one slowly emerged.

It was Shi Potian's fist mark.

It was shallower than any other, smaller than any other, and its edges were even slightly blurred—because the hand that left this mark had already broken fourteen bones at the time.

But it was still there.

Alongside those Hegemons from twelve thousand years ago, those Saints from three thousand years ago, and those Kings from three hundred and seventy-four years ago—it stood side by side.

[You obtained: Hegemon Body Ancestral Star · Elementary Recognition]

[Physical Body Strength permanently increased: +12%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline Purity increased: 43.2% → 44.8%]

[Unlocked: Teleportation permission to Hegemon Body Ancestral Star · Second Trial Zone]

Shi Potian did not look at the fist mark.

He turned around, and with that right hand—still dripping blood, unhealed, and even having two broken bone fragments piercing the skin—he took out a second [Hegemon Blood Essence].

Crushed it.

Golden mist surged into the wound, bones healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, skin closed, and bloodstains dried up.

Thirty seconds later, he lowered his hand and walked toward the portal to the second-fold Battle Arena.

His back was as straight as a spear.

Second-fold · Flow-Breaking.

The lava river was 47 meters wide, with a flow velocity of 1.2 times the speed of sound, and a temperature of 2170 degrees Celsius.

Shi Potian stood on the bank for thirty seconds, then walked into the lava.

Not "rushing," not "jumping," but "walking."

His Hegemon Body golden light was like a candle in the wind amidst the 2170-degree high heat; his skin carbonized within three seconds, his muscles turned charred black within five seconds, and his blood vessels embolized within seven seconds.

He walked for eleven seconds.

When he reached the center of the lava river, his right leg was completely carbonized, and he could not bear weight below the knee joint.

He knelt on one knee with his left leg and plunged his hands into the riverbed.

[Hegemon Body · Flow-Breaking Mark]

This was not a System skill, not a Cultivation Technique Legacy, not any Move taught to him by any player or NPC.

It was something he realized himself during those thirty seconds standing on the bank of the lava river.

Using flesh and blood as a levee, using bones as a dam, using will as a sluice gate.

Cutting off time, cutting off space, cutting off this magma that had been rushing for thirty-seven million years.

Rumble—!!!

The entire lava river froze the moment his hands plunged into the riverbed.

Not cooling, but suppression.

[You successfully cut off the lava river (Duration: 7.3 seconds)]

[Trial Passed]

[Physical Body Strength permanently increased: +15%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline Purity increased: 44.8% → 46.2%]

[Unlocked: Teleportation permission to Hegemon Body Ancestral Star · Third Trial Zone]

He stood up from the frozen lava river.

The carbonized part of his right leg began to peel off under the treatment of the Hegemon Blood Essence, revealing new, tender, yet stronger flesh beneath.

He glanced at the frozen lava river, said nothing, and walked toward the third-fold portal.

Third-fold · Earth-Splitting.

He used fist force to trigger crustal resonance, creating a magnitude 7.4 earthquake.

The cost was seventeen fractures in his arms, multiple organ displacements, and three ribs piercing his lungs.

[Trial Passed]

[Physical Body Strength permanently increased: +18%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline Purity increased: 46.2% → 48.1%]

Fourth-fold · Mountain-Shaking.

He used his Physical Body to strike an 873-meter-high mountain, causing it to shift 4.7 meters overall.

The cost was three compressive fractures of the spine, a linear fracture of the skull, and a shattered left shoulder joint.

[Trial Passed]

[Physical Body Strength permanently increased: +21%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline Purity increased: 48.1% → 50.3%]

Fifth-fold · Sky-Stepping.

Without any leverage, he stepped into the Void Realm 99 times using pure Physical Body strength.

At the 73rd step, his right leg carbonized again—not because of high heat this time, but because it bore a load 127 times beyond its design limit.

At the 88th step, his left Achilles tendon snapped.

At the 95th step, his consciousness began to scatter.

At the 99th step—he took that step.

[Trial Passed]

[Physical Body Strength permanently increased: +25%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline Purity increased: 50.3% → 52.7%]

He stood in the Void Realm, gasping for air. Blood seeped from his nasal cavity, ear canals, and eye corners, dripping vertically under 127 times gravity, hitting the ground like the beating of heavy war drums.

He looked down at his hands, which had lost their original shape but were still clenched into fists.

Four more folds to go.

Sixth-fold · Star-Shattering.

He destroyed an asteroid 11.4 kilometers in diameter.

No external force, no mecha, no weapons, no props.

Only himself.

He used forty-seven punches.

The first punch shifted the asteroid's rotation axis by 0.03 degrees.

The seventeenth punch caused the first penetrating crack to appear on the surface.

The thirty-first punch split the asteroid into two pieces.

The forty-seventh punch caused the two fragments to further shatter into countless pieces less than a hundred meters in diameter, spreading a cloud of debris three thousand kilometers in radius in the Void Realm.

[Trial Passed]

[Physical Body Strength permanently increased: +30%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline Purity increased: 52.7% → 55.9%]

He floated in the center of the debris cloud, not a single piece of intact skin on his body.

But his eyes remained open.

He looked at the star remains he had torn apart with his own hands, looked at the dust that was once a star, slowly drifting in the vacuum.

He suddenly thought of his grandfather.

He thought of those hands, calloused like his own, which in the end held not a sword or blade, but a hoe.

He remembered what his grandfather said before he died:

"In my whole life, I've never truly had a fight."

Shi Potian closed his eyes.

Three seconds later, he opened them and floated toward the direction of the seventh-fold Battle Arena.

Seventh-fold · Self-Defeat.

Hegemon Body mirror image.

It was his perfect copy—100% attributes, 100% skills, 100% combat instinct.

Even, 100% will.

Two Shi Potians fought in the center of the seventh-fold Battle Arena for a full forty minutes.

No tactics, no techniques, no frills.

Just the most primitive, most barbaric, most pure—fist against fist, bone against bone, blood against blood.

When they simultaneously threw the seven hundred and thirty-first punch, simultaneously smashed into each other's faces, simultaneously flew backward, and simultaneously smashed into three-meter-deep pits under 127 times gravity—the mirror image shattered.

[Trial Passed]

[Physical Body Strength permanently increased: +35%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline Purity increased: 55.9% → 59.2%]

Shi Potian lay at the bottom of the pit, looking at that dark golden sky that would never have stars.

His bones were at least 40% shattered.

His Hegemon Blood was burning to the verge of exhaustion.

His consciousness was experiencing the most severe scattering since the fifth-fold trial.

But he did not Move.

Because he knew—there were two more folds.

Eighth-fold · Pulse-Inheriting.

This was the most special of the nine-fold trials.

No combat, no destruction, no violence.

Only—bearing.

The spiritual consciousness of the Hegemon Body ancestors poured into him.

That was not power, not Law, not any "skill" that could be quantified, learned, or inherited.

That was memory.

Memory that spanned twelve thousand years, accumulated over thirty-seven generations of Hegemons, every moment spent in battle, every battle spent risking one's life, every drop of blood spilled on the road of defending dignity and faith.

Shi Potian knelt in the center of the eighth-fold Battle Arena.

Above his head was a slowly cracking Void Realm fissure.

There was no light, no sound, no perceivable existence in the fissure.

Only "weight."

That was a weight that 127 times gravity could not describe.

It was thirty-seven unyielding wills, twelve thousand years of undying Battle Intent, countless fist marks and footprints and blood and sweat and tears and unwillingness and regrets and obsessions—all pressing down on one person's Soul.

"Ah—!!!"

Shi Potian screamed for the first time.

That was not physical pain.

That was the tearing sensation of his Soul being forcibly flooded by thirty-seven times his own, completely different, conflicting, yet mutually recognizing "selves."

He saw the first Hegemon.

A giant standing naked in the primeval Chaos. No armor, no weapons, not even a complete language. He only used his fists, punch after punch, smashing toward that unformed Ancestral Star.

Why smash it?

Because that was his home. Because his clansmen were there. Because someone had to guard it.

He smashed for seven hundred years, smashing an irregular asteroid into the proto-form of the Hegemon Body Ancestral Star.

When he died, his Physical Body turned into mountain ranges, his blood turned into rivers, and his bones turned into mineral veins.

His last punch smashed into the core of the Ancestral Star, letting this star, which had not yet fully formed, have a heartbeat for the first time.

Shi Potian saw the second Hegemon.

A middle-aged man wearing animal skins and holding a bone spear. His clansmen had almost all died in a natural disaster, leaving only him and three children. He led the children across the entire continent, through the pursuits of other races, through hunger and cold and disease and despair—finally, he placed the three children in the safest valley of the Ancestral Star.

Then he turned around and faced the pursuers alone.

In that battle, he killed thirty-seven enemies and sustained over two hundred wounds himself.

When he died, he was still gripping that bone spear broken into three pieces.

The third.

The fourth.

The seventeenth.

The twenty-ninth.

The thirty-seventh.

...

Twelve thousand years.

Thirty-seven generations of Hegemons.

Some died on the battlefield, some died during the Legacy, and some died in their final meditation before their Lifespan was exhausted.

Some left their names behind, carved onto the merit monument of the Ancestral Star; others did not even have names, having quietly failed during some trial and been forgotten by everyone.

But they all had one thing in common.

They never gave up.

Never.

Shi Potian's seven orifices were bleeding, his pupils began to dilate, his heart rate had exceeded the human limit by three times, and his Hegemon markings turned from gold to dark red—that was the sign that his Hegemon Blood was about to burn out.

But he did not fall.

He knelt there, head tilted up, facing the weight of twelve thousand years pouring down from that crack.

He saw the thirty-seventh generation Hegemon—his ancestor, the old man who had taught boxing in a rural martial arts gym for thirty years and finally died of a cerebral hemorrhage in the hospital.

The old man was wearing a faded blue work uniform, his hands were full of calluses and cracks, and there was unwashed dirt in his fingernails. He stood at the entrance of the martial arts gym, watching the back of the last disciple leaving, without speaking.

Then he turned around and looked at the Void Realm—

Looking at his descendant, kneeling in the center of the Legacy Hall of the Ancestral Star, twelve thousand years later.

He smiled.

In that smile, there was no regret, no unwillingness, no accusation against fate.

There was only a very faint, very faint...

Gratification.

"So," the old man's voice was very light, like wind blowing through a wheat field, "our Shi family really did produce a Martial God."

Shi Potian opened his mouth.

He wanted to shout "Grandpa."

But he could not make any sound.

The crack began to close slowly.

The old man's figure became more and more faint, more and more blurry.

He took one last look at Shi Potian, took one last look at those hands covered in calluses, which were currently gripping the ground tightly, refusing to fall—

Then he nodded.

The crack closed.

[Trial Passed]

[Physical Body strength permanently increased: +40%]

[Hegemon Body Bloodline purity increased: 59.2% -> 64.7%]

[You have obtained: Hegemon Body Ancestor · Collective Recognition]

[You have unlocked: Hegemon Body Ultimate Form · Hegemon Without Borders (Incomplete)]

[You have obtained: "Hegemon World Sutra" Fragment · Upper Volume]

[Warning: Your Hegemon Blood has burned to the critical point]

[Current Hegemon Blood concentration: 7.3% (Normal combat state requires ≥ 30%)]

[Suggestion: Immediately stop the trial and undergo 72 hours of deep recovery]

Shi Potian was still kneeling there.

His consciousness was completely scattered, his body could no longer execute any commands, and his Hegemon Blood had dropped to the limit where the System issued a red warning.

But he did not fall.

It was not that he did not want to fall.

It was that although the crack had closed, the weight of those twelve thousand years was still pressing on him.

He could not stand up.

He did not even know how long he could hold on.

He just relied on his last bit of instinct, staring fixedly ahead—

There, in the direction of the Ninth Battle Arena.

One more stage.

The last step.

But he... had no strength left.

—

Chaos Valley, third floor of the main hall.

Lin Ye suddenly opened his eyes.

At his fingertips, the Resonance Talisman bound to Shi Potian's Azure Dragon Hall Master Token was trembling wildly.

[Detected that the holder of "Heavenly Court · Azure Dragon Hall Master Token" has entered a critical state]

[Health: 12%]

[Divine Power: 3%]

[Hegemon Blood concentration: 7.3%]

[Current location: Hegemon Body Ancestral Star · Eighth Trial Zone]

[Distance: Cannot be calculated (cross-Star Domain barrier)]

[Suggestion: None]

Lin Ye stood up.

He did not speak, did not notify anyone, and did not make any unnecessary movements.

He just walked to the window, looking at the dark golden star in the night sky that was a bit brighter than yesterday.

Then, he closed his eyes.

Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body.

This was the first time since his Rebirth that he had attempted—

Projecting Chaos Divine Power across the sea of stars to another star.

It was not a Spell, not a skill, not any operation allowed by the game mechanics.

This was a taboo.

This was "outside the rules," something not even the System had defined.

But he had to try.

Because that was his brother there.

Because that brother was about to be crushed under the weight of twelve thousand years.

Because he had promised—

"You will carry it through."

...

Hegemon Body Ancestral Star, Eighth Trial Zone.

Shi Potian's vision had gone completely black.

He could not feel his limbs, could not feel his heartbeat, and could not even feel that he was still alive.

He was just kneeling there, like a lifeless sculpture in the center of the Eighth Battle Arena.

Then—

He suddenly felt a trace of warmth.

The warmth came from somewhere in his chest, not physical, not energy, not any physical existence that could be perceived.

It was a wisp of extremely faint, extremely thin Chaos Divine Power that seemed ready to dissipate at any moment—

It came from who knows how many light-years away, passed through the eternal Void Realm, passed through the Law barrier of the Ancestral Star, passed through the suppression of 127 times gravity—

And landed gently on the surface of his heart.

No sound, no image, no words.

Only a very familiar, very calm, very certain feeling—

"You will carry it through."

"Because you are Shi Potian."

"The Azure Dragon Hall Master of the Heavenly Court."

"My brother."

Shi Potian's eyelids moved.

His pupils were still dilated, his consciousness was still blurry, and his body was still unable to execute any commands.

But that warmth stayed on the surface of his heart for less than three seconds.

Three seconds.

Enough for him to recover 0.1% of his consciousness.

Enough for him to see clearly the direction of the Ninth Battle Arena ahead.

Enough for him to remember—

There was one more punch.

The last, one punch.

[Your Health: 11% -> 9% -> 7%]

[Detected unknown energy source performing cross-Star Domain infusion on you]

[Source identifying... Identification failed (energy characteristics not in System database)]

[Forced execution: Restore Hegemon Blood concentration at the cost of Health]

[Conversion efficiency: 1% Health = 0.3% Hegemon Blood concentration]

[Your current maximum bearable Health loss: 7% (Below 15% will trigger forced offline protection)]

7% Health.

2.1% Hegemon Blood concentration.

Plus the remaining 7.3%—

9.4%.

Not enough.

Far from enough.

The opponent of the Ninth Battle Arena was the Hegemon Body Old Ancestor phantom, Rank 70.

He needed at least 30% Hegemon Blood concentration to be qualified to stand before that phantom.

Shi Potian did not hesitate.

He chose—

[Forced removal of offline protection]

[You will respawn at the resurrection point when your Health drops to 0%]

[Penalty for death in this battle: Rank -3, Hegemon Blood purity -5%, unable to challenge the Ancestral Star trial again within 48 hours]

[Confirm]

[Confirm]

[Confirm]

His Health began to drop at a rate of 1% per second.

7%... 6%... 5%...

Hegemon Blood concentration rose at the same speed.

9.7%... 10.3%... 11.0%...

When his Health dropped to 3%, the Hegemon Blood concentration finally broke through 15%.

When his Health dropped to 1%, the Hegemon Blood concentration reached 17.4%.

That Chaos Divine Power that had crossed the sea of stars trembled one last time at this moment, then dissipated.

Shi Potian opened his eyes.

His pupils were still dilated, his body was still shattered, and his Hegemon Blood was still on the verge of exhaustion.

But he stood up.

Using that right leg—which had been charred in the Fifth Trial, reconnected in the Sixth Trial, broken again in the Seventh Trial, and repeatedly scoured by the memories of the thirty-seven generations of Hegemons in the Eighth Trial—

He stood up.

He turned around, facing the direction of the Ninth Battle Arena.

He raised his right hand.

It was a hand that could not fully clench into a fist—the finger bones of three fingers were permanently deformed, the thick calluses on the palm had been worn through three times in the Fourth Trial, and the ligaments of the wrist had been completely torn in the Seventh Trial and had yet to heal.

But he still raised it.

Because there was one more punch.

[You have completed: Hegemon Body Ancestral Star · Eight Trials]

[Current status: Near death (Health 1%) / Hegemon Blood exhausted (concentration 17.4%) / Multiple unhealed comminuted fractures / Large-scale displacement of internal organs not yet reset / Consciousness clarity 23%]

[System suggestion: Stop immediately, forced teleportation to safe zone]

[Your results in the Eight Trials:]

[First Trial · Rock Crushing: Level 3.1 seismic wave (Passed)]

[Second Trial · Flow Stopping: 7.3 seconds (Passed)]

[Third Trial · Earth Splitting: Level 7.4 (Passed)]

[Fourth Trial · Mountain Shaking: 4.7 meters (Passed)]

[Fifth Trial · Sky Stepping: 99 steps (Passed)]

[Sixth Trial · Star Shattering: 47 punches (Passed)]

[Seventh Trial · Defeating Self: 731 rounds (Passed)]

[Eighth Trial · Inheriting Pulse: Fully endured the memories of thirty-seven generations of Hegemons (Passed)]

[You have obtained: Hegemon Blood Essence x 2 (Trial reward)]

[Hegemon Blood Essence · Ancestral Star Special]

[Type: Bloodline strengthening material]

[Quality: Legendary]

[Description: An essence condensed from the Origin power of the Hegemon Body Ancestral Star, its purity is 17 times that of Yao Beast products in the Big Dipper Star Field, containing a trace of the primitive Hegemon intent of the Ancestral Star's core.]

[Effect:]

[1. Immediately restore 20% Hegemon Blood concentration, and permanently increase Hegemon Blood limit by 5%]

[2. Permanently increase Physical Body strength by 8%]

[3. Certain probability (approx. 30%) to comprehend a certain Legacy combat technique of the Hegemon Body ancestor]

[Usage restriction: Each essence requires 30 seconds to refine, during which movement/combat is impossible]

[Current available refinement time: 0 seconds (Enemy has arrived)]

In the direction of the Ninth Battle Arena, the stone door was slowly opening.

There was no light behind the door.

Only a phantom sitting cross-legged.

The phantom's face could not be seen clearly, its figure could not be seen clearly, and it was not even clear whether it was a human or some other existence.

Only a silhouette.

But the moment that silhouette appeared, the gravity of the entire Eighth Trial Zone—not 127 times—but a gravity field of over 300 times, crashed down!

Shi Potian knelt on one knee.

His right leg had been charred once in the Fourth Trial, reconnected in the Sixth Trial, and repeatedly tempered by the memories of the thirty-seven generations of Hegemons in the Eighth Trial.

It was still trembling.

But he did not let his knee touch the ground.

He used his hand—that hand with three permanently deformed fingers, flesh and blood blurred in the palm, and completely torn wrist ligaments—

To support the ground.

Then, he raised his head.

He looked at the phantom slowly walking out of the stone door.

He looked at the dim, crack-filled, yet still emitting an unbearable pressure on its chest—

[Hegemon Body Old Ancestor · Primitive Phantom]

[Rank: 70 (Saint Realm · Projection)]

[Identity: Residual of the eternal will of the Hegemon Body lineage's ancestor]

[Characteristics:]

[1. Incomplete body: This phantom is only a 1/10000 projection of the ancestor's power in his prime]

[2. Unconscious: Does not possess an independent personality, only a "gatekeeper mechanism" to test the Trial Taker's final qualifications]

[3. Absolutely fair: Treats all challengers equally, does not change attack intensity due to Bloodline purity, trial results, or injury status]

[4. One-punch agreement: This phantom will only launch one attack. If you can take it head-on (no dodging, no blocking, no retreating), it is considered passing the Ninth Trial]

One punch.

Only one punch.

Shi Potian watched the phantom slowly stand up, watching him raise that right hand that had traversed eternal years and still contained the power to destroy the heavens and the earth.

He did not dodge.

He did not even set up a defensive posture.

He just stood there, with those hands that had been completely deformed but were still tightly clenched into fists, hanging at his sides.

The phantom's fist began to glow.

That light was not gold, not dark gold, not any color related to the Hegemon Body that Lin Ye had ever seen.

It was transparent.

Pure to the point of having no Impurities, no attributes, no "characteristics" that could be defined—

Power.

Pure power.

Shi Potian looked at that fist.

He suddenly remembered the lava river of the Second Trial.

He remembered that magma, which had been flowing for thirty-seven million years, and the feeling of forcibly suppressing the "momentum" of all things in heaven and earth into his own body when he cut it off with his Physical Body.

He remembered the void stepping of the Fifth Trial.

He remembered those 99 steps, every step treading on the empty Void Realm, every step feeling like he would fall into the abyss the next second, but he ultimately did not fall.

He remembered the mirror image of the Seventh Trial.

He remembered how that opponent, exactly the same as himself, with the same will, finally fell before him after seven hundred and thirty-one punches.

He remembered the thirty-seven generations of ancestors of the Eighth Trial.

He remembered Grandpa.

He remembered his father.

He remembered himself.

The phantom's fist was already raised above its head.

Shi Potian closed his eyes.

Deep in his consciousness, that wisp of long-dissipated Chaos Divine Power seemed to light up again.

Very light, very short, only less than 0.1 seconds.

But in that 0.1 seconds, he heard a voice.

Not Lin Ye's voice.

It was his own voice.

It was from the 64.7% pure Hegemon Blood in his body, from the Physical Body he had tempered bit by bit in the eight trials, from the depths of his Soul that had accepted the infusion of the memories of thirty-seven generations of Hegemons—

A voice of his own surging out:

"In this life—"

"I want to have a real fight."

He opened his eyes.

The phantom's fist had already fallen.