Lin Yuan approached the Heaven's Gate, standing less than half a meter away from it. Behind him, a thin line of black energy seemed almost tangible, blocking the Divine King and the other eleventh-rank perfected legendary beings from crossing.
This scene was incredibly shocking. Even the likes of the formidable Divine King were hesitant, unsure whether to cross the line recklessly.
Below the peak.
Over a hundred thousand powerful beings from various races watched with wide eyes.
In the scene before them, the Divine King and the other five powerhouses had been fighting fiercely.
But in the next moment, they suddenly stopped, retreated, and a figure appeared before the Heaven's Gate.
That figure casually drew a line and said, "Cross this line, and you will die."
What was most unbelievable was that the six powerhouses, including the Divine King, actually didn't cross the line? They just stood back and allowed the figure to remain in front of the Heaven's Gate?
"What's happening?"
"Why did the Divine King stop fighting?"
"Is that figure in front of the Heaven's Gate the mysterious powerhouse from the Blood Rain Kingdom of two hundred years ago, from human civilization? Did he suddenly intervene and intimidate the Divine King?"
"So arrogant, 'Cross this line and die'? He's acting like the Divine King is nothing!"
The powerful beings from various races discussed rapidly.
They were on the mountainside, unable to sense the energy fluctuations from the peak, so they could only judge the situation based on the reactions of the Divine King and the other powerhouses.
On the peak.
The remaining eleventh-rank powerhouses who hadn't fled were staring at Lin Yuan in shock.
"So powerful."
"How is this 'Blood Rain' from human civilization so strong?"
"As soon as he made a move, the Divine King and the others didn't dare to continue?"
The eleventh-rank powerhouses, being closer, could sense more, making the situation even more unbelievable.
They had previously believed that the Divine King, having refined a supreme weapon, was the strongest of all the powerful beings from the various races.
Even the five other eleventh-rank perfected legendary beings, led by the short elder, had to join forces to barely stand a chance against him.
And now, Lin Yuan appeared? The outside world had always considered Lin Yuan to be on the level of the Nine Great Powerhouses.
But he wasn't thought to be anywhere near the level of the Divine King or the short elder and the other five powerhouses.
"Lord Blood Rain…"
On the human civilization side, Xuan Yuan Duo and the other evolvers were stunned.
A little over a month ago, when they learned that Lin Yuan was also from human civilization, they had been thrilled.
Based on the strength Lin Yuan had displayed two hundred years ago, they thought that while he wasn't as strong as the Divine King, he had a shot at competing for the second, third, or fourth Heaven's Gate openings.
As for the first opening of the Heaven's Gate? To be honest, Xuan Yuan Duo had never held out hope for that. She had followed Lin Yuan just to see what the Heaven's Gate looked like.
After all, she was well aware of the Divine King's strength. Even if the short elder and the others joined forces against him, the chances of Lin Yuan entering the Heaven's Gate were slim.
So—
From the very beginning, Xuan Yuan Duo never thought this Heaven's Gate opening had anything to do with the human evolvers.
This was a competition between those naturally powerful special beings.
Outside the scroll.
The Strongest ones were also closely monitoring the events unfolding at the peak of the Heavenly Mountain.
They couldn't peer into the two-dimensional world, but they could observe the memories shared by the powerful beings from the various races on the Heavenly Mountain.
"The Divine King is indeed very strong."
"The quota for entering the Heaven's Gate this time is most likely going to the Divine King."
"As expected from a unique lifeform in the universe, the prized treasure of the Starry Sky Alliance."
The Strongest ones carefully deduced the outcome of the battle from the memory images, and there were no surprises.
They had long known that the Divine King would likely be the final victor. After all, compared to the other powerful beings, his advantage of having refined a perfectly suited supreme weapon was too significant.
The factions behind the powerful beings from various races had considered eliminating the Divine King early on, but the result had been the premature defeat of the Tianyu Clan.
However.
As the Strongest ones continued to observe, they were taken aback when they saw Lin Yuan appear and force the six powerhouses, including the Divine King, to retreat.
"What?"
"Is this human civilization's evolver?"
"How is he so strong? He actually overpowered the combined forces of the Divine King and the others?"
The Strongest ones were astonished. Even though the Divine King was nothing more than a promising potential ultimate being in their eyes, they were still surprised by the unexpected turn of events.
There was someone stronger than the Divine King? And this powerhouse was from human civilization?
"Hmm?"
The Starry Sky Alliance's Strongest one frowned as he watched the memory image of the Divine King, gaining a deeper understanding of Lin Yuan's aura.
"Hmph!"
"No wonder you, Xia Qin, were unwilling to cooperate with me."
"Your human civilization hides its strength well."
The Starry Sky Alliance's Strongest one glanced at the Strongest one Xia Qin with dissatisfaction.
At this moment, he finally understood why Xia Qin had been so dismissive earlier.
Because human civilization didn't need to rely on the Divine King to enter the Heaven's Gate.
Although the Divine King and the others hadn't fought Lin Yuan directly, just by sensing his presence, they could tell that his strength far exceeded theirs. To be precise, he was vastly superior.
Now, it seemed that Lin Yuan, not the Divine King, was the most likely candidate to enter the Heaven's Gate.
"Hahaha."
Xia Qin smiled.
In the past two hundred years, he hadn't asked Lin Yuan about his strength, thinking it might add unnecessary pressure.
Regardless of whether he asked or not, Lin Yuan's strength wouldn't have changed.
He believed it was better to let Lin Yuan play to his strengths.
"At least the 35th level of the Ancestor Witches."
He estimated that Lin Yuan had easily forced the Divine King and the five other powerhouses to retreat, and those six were all at the 30th and 31st levels of the Ancestor Witches.
A mere two or three levels above them wouldn't be enough to achieve this.
"How is human civilization so lucky?" In the distance, the Tianyu Clan's Ancestors exchanged glances, feeling a bit envious.
Their Tianyu Clan had been eliminated from the competition early on, and now, with the Heaven's Gate opening, the powerful beings of the Tianyu Clan didn't even bother to come.
"This powerhouse from human civilization is outshining even the Divine King in the two-dimensional world. His chances of becoming an ultimate being are quite high."
The Empresses of the Insect Race were worried. The human civilization and the Insect Race were mortal enemies, with no possibility of reconciliation.
The Starry Sky Alliance might still have a chance of cooperating with human civilization, but for the Insect Race and human civilization? They would never cooperate, even if they weren't immediately fighting.
The Empresses of the Insect Race feared that if human civilization produced another Strongest one, the pressure on them would only increase.
At the peak of the Tianshan.
The Divine King, the short elder, and the other powerhouses wore grim expressions.
They were closest to Lin Yuan and could clearly sense the kind of powerhouse they were facing.
"How can he be so much stronger than me?" The Divine King's mind was in turmoil.
For over three hundred years, he had trained relentlessly, constantly refining the supreme weapon he had fused with.
He had thought he was already invincible in this two-dimensional world. Even the short elder, an eleventh-rank perfected legendary being, could be dealt with confidently.
But Lin Yuan?
At this moment, the Divine King was filled with dread.
He had the distinct feeling that he stood no chance of defeating Lin Yuan.
In fact, if he forced a confrontation, there was a real possibility of a life-and-death situation.
"What do we do now?" The short elder glanced at the Divine King.
Previously, they had been enemies, but now that they faced an even stronger foe, they had instinctively allied themselves.
"What do we do?"
The Divine King hesitated.
The short elder's meaning was clear.
Do they join forces to test Lin Yuan?
Or should they simply leave?
"Let's leave." The Divine King took one last deep look at Lin Yuan and slowly retreated toward the mountainside.
He truly sensed a life-threatening danger from Lin Yuan, so he decided to give up on this opportunity to enter the Heaven's Gate.
To the Divine King, there was no need to risk his life battling Lin Yuan for the Heaven's Gate. As long as he survived, there would still be a chance to enter the Heaven's Gate the next time it opened.
As for why he had fought the short elder and the others earlier? It was because the Divine King hadn't felt any real pressure at the time and had been confident in defeating the five powerhouses.
But now? The Divine King had no confidence, and there was a chance he might perish. Naturally, he knew what choice to make.
"Leave?"
The five powerhouses, seeing the Divine King's movements, glanced at each other and began retreating as well.
They had barely been able to deal with the Divine King, and now, faced with Lin Yuan, who even the Divine King didn't dare challenge, they knew the outcome without even fighting.
"I can't believe that the one who will enter the Heaven's Gate isn't any of us." The short elder's heart felt heavy, and his face showed his deep regret.
The sight of the Divine King and the other five powerhouses retreating voluntarily left the other powerful beings watching in awe.
Retreating without a fight was a sign of weakness.
But were the Divine King and the others weak?
How could that be? The mere pressure they emitted had forced ninety-nine percent of the powerful beings to withdraw from the mountainside.
And just moments ago, the fierce battle between the six had sent shockwaves so intense that the remaining eleventh-rank powerhouses were too terrified to remain on the peak.
Yet now?
The six of them voluntarily retreated, giving up the chance to enter the Heaven's Gate.
The only explanation was that the human, 'Blood Rain,' standing before the Heaven's Gate, possessed strength far beyond what the Divine King and the others could handle.
So much so that the Divine King didn't even consider testing the waters.
"They're just going to leave?"
In front of the Heaven's Gate, Lin Yuan kept most of his attention on the gate, but he was still aware of the movements of the Divine King and the others.
"The Heaven's Gate is right here, and they won't even test it?"
Lin Yuan was slightly surprised. His earlier statement, 'Cross this line and die,' was entirely meant to provoke the Divine King and the others.
After all, the Divine King and the other five powerhouses carried many 'treasures.'
Other powerful beings from various races wouldn't dare carry treasures, fearing they'd be looted, but the Divine King, the short elder, and the other eleventh-rank perfected beings had no such concerns.
In fact, to maintain their combat strength, these six powerhouses carried multiple treasures.
Thus— Lin Yuan had never intended to let these six powerhouses go.
But if he killed them directly, many Strongest ones outside the scroll would be watching. The Divine King belonged to the Starry Sky Alliance, and the relationship between the Alliance and human civilization wasn't hostile.
If he killed the Divine King without any reason, it would look bad.
Killing the unique lifeforms like Tuoba Ancient God and others was no big deal since they had little chance of becoming ultimate beings.
But the Divine King? Lin Yuan knew that the Divine King was the Starry Sky Alliance's prized treasure, as valuable to them as he was to human civilization.
That's why Lin Yuan had drawn the line earlier, trying to provoke the Divine King and the others.
If they had crossed the line in a joint assault, just like when the short elder and the other powerhouses had teamed up against the Divine King, Lin Yuan would have had a legitimate reason to kill them and seize their treasures.
He said, 'Cross this line and die,' and if they did, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to kill them, right? However, Lin Yuan hadn't expected the Divine King and the others to be so cautious.
"Did I scare them with the aura I released earlier?"
Lin Yuan reflected on the situation and understood the reason.
"Forget it, I won't keep up the pretense."
Lin Yuan sighed, no longer caring about appearances.
In the next moment.
The 'black line' that had encircled most of the mountain peak suddenly began to expand.
In an instant, it encompassed the Divine King, the short elder, and the other five powerhouses.
"Hmm?"
The Divine King had been about to retreat from the peak, away from Lin Yuan.
But he quickly realized that the black line drawn by Lin Yuan had begun to expand, and before he could react, he was already within the area circled by the line.
"The line... can move?"
The Divine King was stunned.
The short elder and the other five powerhouses in the distance hadn't realized it either.
They had been moving away from Lin Yuan, only to find themselves trapped inside the black line.
"You!"
The Divine King and the others immediately understood and turned to look at Lin Yuan in front of the Heaven's Gate.
"Well, since you've crossed the line, don't blame me for taking action."
Lin Yuan slowly turned around, his gaze calm, and spoke softly.
"If you want to fight, just fight. Don't look for excuses."
The Divine King's eyes turned frenzied. With his mind racing, he now understood that Lin Yuan had never intended to let them go.
The Divine King's four arms began to glow, the power radiating from him far surpassing what he had shown during his battle with the short elder and the others.
Swoosh.
Lin Yuan appeared silently before the Divine King, pressing down lightly with his right hand.
There was no fierce collision, no energy shockwave, it was as if he had just touched him lightly, but the Divine King's four arms twisted and deformed, his bones crumbling to dust, and his entire body was sent flying, smashing into the edge of the peak.
"A supreme weapon truly lives up to its name."
Lin Yuan nodded slightly. If it hadn't been for the protective force released from within the Divine King's four arms, the Divine King would have been completely obliterated by that single palm strike.
Even so, the Divine King had now lost about sixty percent of his combat strength.
"Run."
Seeing this, the short elder and the other powerhouses had originally thought about joining forces with the Divine King. But after seeing him severely injured by Lin Yuan in one move, they no longer dared to stay and fled in different directions.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Lin Yuan exhaled softly, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body, his immense energy spreading in all directions.
Where his energy spread, the air grew thick, and the short elder and the other five powerhouses felt as though they were carrying a mountain on their backs, moving as slowly as turtles.
In the two-dimensional world, all extraordinary powers were suppressed, making domains and worlds impossible to use.
The energy field that Lin Yuan was now displaying wasn't a domain or a world. It was a natural force field created by the overwhelming strength of his body.
Just as in the universe, the greater the mass of a celestial body, the larger the area it influences. This is a purely physical rule, and it applied to this two-dimensional world as well.
"Ahhh!"
The short elder suddenly turned, realizing that Lin Yuan had appeared behind him.
"I have defensive treasures. You can't kill me." The short elder stopped fleeing and prepared to face Lin Yuan's attack.
The Divine King had a supreme weapon perfectly suited to him, so he didn't care about the treasures in the two-dimensional world.
Because, in the Divine King's eyes, with his strength, he would never need those defensive treasures.
But the short elder was different. He wore two defensive treasures and believed that no matter how strong Lin Yuan was, it would be difficult to kill him.
However.
Lin Yuan struck out again with a palm.
Pfft.
The terrifying force penetrated the short elder's two defensive treasures, leaving only a ten-thousandth of its power to land on his body.
But even that was too much for the short elder to handle. In an instant, most of his internal organs were shattered, and he lost all ability to resist.
Swoosh! Lin Yuan appeared behind the third powerhouse in an instant, delivering the same palm strike.
The fourth, another palm.
The fifth, another palm.
"This..." The powerful beings from various races watching the scene were stunned into silence as they witnessed this one-sided slaughter.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed that beings as powerful as the Divine King and the short elder, both eleventh-rank perfected legendary beings, could be killed so easily. Who, other than the Strongest ones, could do such a thing?
In the deepest part of the two-dimensional world.
This place could no longer be considered part of the two-dimensional world. It was a more hidden layer of space.
On a vast land, an old man, only half a meter tall, lay lazily on a chair, his eyes half-closed.
Before him lay a massive 'scroll.'
Within the 'scroll,' misty clouds floated, seemingly containing a vast and real world.
The half-meter-tall old man had been sleeping when something disturbed him, causing him to open his eyes and glance at the huge 'scroll' before him.
"Breaking through the limits of thirty worlds in just over three hundred years? It seems I've found a real gem this time," the old man's eyes gleamed with amazement as he carefully observed.
"No, this talent is too monstrous. I'll have to keep watching."
The old man thought for a moment. "I'll continue observing for another ten thousand years. Let's see how far you can go."
...
20 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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