Section 130 (Part 1) The Primordial Divine Kingdom

Lin Qiye possessed transcendent combat prowess, making him practically invincible below the immortal tier, especially when launching surprise attacks.

Consequently, Lin Qiye and Chen Fan traversed various defensive sectors, eliminating peak Diamond-tier fiends.

The two youths were like a ferocious dragon and a descending deity respectively. With every strike they unleashed, the fiends felt deep terror and awe.

In just half a day, the fierce offensive of the fiend race was thoroughly neutralized by Lin Qiye and Chen Fan.

A half-immortal-tier fiend raged impotently outside the protective barrier. Unable to break through, it could only frantically bombard the shield. Yet, this barrier was specifically designed to guard against immortal-tier fiends; how could it be easily destroyed?

Although the thin walls of the barrier twisted wildly under the relentless bombardment, Chief Zheng of the Technology Association remained extremely confident.

"Have no fear. This protective barrier is supported by dozens of Diamond-tier fiends, tens of thousands of Platinum-tier walkers, and an abundance of resources. It will be completely fine."

"Holding out for ten days to half a month is not a problem at all."

Lin Qiye nodded slightly, casting his gaze toward the barrier.

"Chief Zheng, does this thing possess offensive capabilities?"

Chief Zheng was momentarily stunned.

"It does, but activating its attacks is extremely difficult. It requires spiritual power of the immortal-tier quality. However, once activated, it packs immortal-tier lethality."

A peculiar expression suddenly surfaced on Lin Qiye's face.

He felt that he should be able to trigger an attack.

And so, Lin Qiye voiced his thoughts.

Chief Zheng wore an expression of sheer disbelief. "Are you saying you want to use this minor immortal artifact to launch an attack and cause the downfall of a half-immortal-tier fiend?"

"Correct."

"I don't just want to use it; I am fully capable of using it."

A confident light flickered in Lin Qiye's eyes as he drifted gracefully before the core of the protective barrier.

Chief Zheng watched Lin Qiye nervously.

"Is that truly possible?"

"Truly possible."

Even as he spoke, Lin Qiye's immortal consciousness and soul were channeled into the minor immortal artifact.

In an instant, a slender red circle drifted out from the protective barrier and looped around the body of the half-immortal-tier fiend.

The half-immortal-tier fiend attempted to dodge, but there was nowhere to hide!

The next second, the half-immortal-tier fiend was reduced to ashes.

Meanwhile, the minor immortal artifact dimmed by a fraction.

The major factions were left dumbfounded. Even Chief Zheng stood frozen like a wooden chicken.

"You... you... you..."

All the Diamond-tier walkers were struck speechless.

"It's over?"

"It's over! The half-immortal-tier fiend has fallen!"

The walkers erupted into cheers.

"We owe it all to these two monstrous talents, Mr. Lin and young friend Chen Fan. Otherwise, our Star City would have been utterly breached!"

"Indeed. Mr. Lin unearthed the fiends and resolved our internal troubles, and now, with his formidable strength, he has repelled the external threats. Truly, heroes emerge from the young."

Alliance Leader Wang walked up to Lin Qiye with a beaming smile.

"Mr. Lin, thanks to your timely assistance, Star City has been kept safe."

"Quite right. On behalf of the Seven Cities Coalition Army and the residents of Star City, we express our heartfelt gratitude to you."

Lin Qiye waved his hand dismissively.

"A mere trivial matter."

"This is no trivial matter. If Mr. Lin had not burst forth so brilliantly, Star City would already have been reduced to dust and ashes."

"We are well aware of Mr. Lin's great contribution."

"Oh, and Mr. Lin, this is the reward promised to you by the Seven Cities Coalition Army—information regarding a primordial divine kingdom. It is extremely detailed, far more so than the one we previously sold. Please accept it at its original value."

"Furthermore, there is a ring token here..."

"I'm afraid this key token is required to penetrate deep into the core. We hadn't planned on selling this before..."

The original version? And a token as well?

Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow, then looked up at Alliance Leader Wang.

He understood now. Initially, the Seven Cities Coalition Army had still held something back.

But now? They were handing all of this over without reservation.

Lin Qiye nodded slightly.

"My thanks."

A brilliant smile bloomed on Lin Qiye's face.

***

At noon, the Coalition Army discovered that the cannon-fodder fiends outside Star City were retreating like a receding tide.

The four major factions held a grand celebration banquet.

***

When the banquet concluded, Lin Qiye returned to the floating island.

"Xiaofan, I am going to claim the primordial divine kingdom. Once I obtain it, I will be able to ascend to immortality, so I cannot afford to waste time."

"Brother Ye, I'll go with you. My strength is decent, and I can definitely lend a hand."

"Besides, I don't need that kind of divine kingdom, so you don't have to worry about me snatching it from you, hehehe."

Hearing this, Lin Qiye could not help but display a surprised expression.

"You don't need a divine kingdom?"

Chen Fan offered a mysterious, enigmatic smile.

"Hehe, the secret to ascending to immortality as a dragon is hidden within my bloodline."

"I see..."

Lin Qiye felt a twinge of envy.

"Had I known, I would have snatched your Primordial Dragon Embryo."

Chen Fan chuckled playfully.

"Brother Ye's talent scorns even the Primordial Dragon Embryo."

Lin Qiye smiled.

"How could it scorn it? I am green with envy over your current abilities. You don't even have to search for a primordial divine kingdom yourself. Look at me..."

Lin Qiye smiled and shook his head.

"However, on this trip, you need to remain in Star City and anchor Ideal Island."

"Just wait for my return; nothing will go wrong."

Hearing these words, Chen Fan placed an unshakable, blind confidence in Lin Qiye.

"Very well, then I wish Brother Ye a triumphant return!"

After entrusting the affairs of Star City to Chen Fan, Lin Qiye set off alone toward the location of the divine kingdom.

This time, his sole objective was to acquire the divine kingdom and ascend to the immortal realm!

A single divine kingdom could save him three years of time in the primary world.

For him, it was impossible to estimate what realm he would reach three years down the line.

Bypassing this troublesome process would undoubtedly allow him to leave his peers far behind in the dust.

Even the top geniuses hailing from Heavenly Court Island would find it difficult to contend with him.

***

Along the road to the divine kingdom, Lin Qiye boredly opened the forum to check the information.

A prominent red announcement caught his eye.

"A fiend universe has ascended into the southern region of the primary world. All walkers, please exercise caution!"

The massive row of red characters on the title made it difficult for anyone not to notice.

Lin Qiye could not help but frown.

Secondary universes were incapable of expansion; the size of their domain space was determined at their birth.

The primary world was different.

The primary world was expanding at every moment.

Over the long passage of time, the boundaries of the primary world had become virtually unmeasurable.

The reason for the primary world's expansion was precisely its absorption of collapsing secondary universes one after another.

However, there were exceptions.

Situations like this involved fiends using certain methods to forcefully break through the barriers of a secondary universe and complete an ascension.

Such a universe would also be integrated by the primary world, but an ascended universe would not be at the mercy of the primary world's dominance.

They tended to appear randomly in any location.

While their original regions would not be squeezed out, much of the surrounding layout would be severely disrupted.

For any living beings situated in that region, this was definitely not good news.

Now that another fiend universe had emerged in the south, the situation in the southern region would likely be rewritten once more.

"It seems I truly cannot afford to waste a single moment. I must obtain the divine kingdom as quickly as possible and ascend to the immortal tier first."

Lin Qiye accelerated his pace.

Although the major human factions had already dispatched experts to investigate the southern region, their current location happened to be right at the southern border.

Even though the probability of being threatened was relatively low, one must never harbor even half a shred of wishful thinking.

Without sufficient strength of one's own, no place in the world was truly safe.

"Thanks to the previous great battle wiping out nearly all the fiends in this region, otherwise I'd probably be delayed quite a bit on this road."

Because of the war in Star City, most of the fiends had gathered for that battle and were thoroughly annihilated.

Even if there were a few stray fish, they could no longer pose any threat to the surroundings of Star City.

Especially when faced with the powerful aura of Lin Qiye, not a single fiend on the road dared to jump out and court trouble.

Bolstered by [Lightning Teleportation], Lin Qiye reached the coordinates in a mere single day.

"There are spatial fluctuations ahead. It seems this must be the place."

Lin Qiye descended beneath a mountain peak.

Following the trace of abnormal spatial fluctuation, he quickly arrived at a conspicuous secret realm entrance.

The entrance rippled like water currents, pressed closely against the mountain body, standing a full dozen meters tall.

Just as Lin Qiye was about to step forward to investigate, he suddenly sensed several Diamond-tier auras rapidly approaching his position.

Someone was coming?

Lin Qiye flashed aside, completely concealing his aura.

"Brother Wan, this time we've helped you secure this divine kingdom. When we return, don't forget what you promised us!"

"Rest assured, once I ascend to the immortal realm, how could my family not hold me in high regard? At that time, benefits for you fellows will definitely not be lacking!"

"We'd better quicken our pace. I saw quite a few people from the commandery city heading this way much earlier."

"You're right. If someone else snatches it first, we'll take a huge loss."

Four or five figures landed at the entrance of the secret realm. After casting their gazes around, they stepped inside without the slightest hesitation.

Lin Qiye used his immortal consciousness and soul to silently perceive the scene.

"Competitors, are they? Hehe. I wonder if they possess key tokens."

If they did, the competition would become exceptionally fierce.

"There should be quite a few geniuses coming to devour the primordial divine kingdom..."

Lost in thought, Lin Qiye retrieved his illusion mask and put it on.

His appearance and temperament instantly morphed into that of the [Spiritual-type] walker who had appeared in the Empress Universe.

Within the span of a few breaths, Lin Qiye's aura shifted dramatically.

After inspecting himself to ensure there were no flaws that could give him away, Lin Qiye strode forward to the entrance of the secret realm.

"The spatial fluctuations at the entrance are stable; there are no dangers."

"There are no ambushes inside either."

"Safe."

Having sensed everything, Lin Qiye stepped into the passage.

A transparent barrier severed the world.

A single step away, Lin Qiye found himself plunged into a ruined wasteland.

Thick, lingering fiend qi drifted through the ruins.

Mountains, rivers, and the firmament were all shrouded in a grayish mist.

"Traces of battle are everywhere. It seems the fiends invaded the divine kingdom, leading to the downfall of powerful beings and leaving even the master of the divine kingdom missing. This was a bitter, arduous war."

Lin Qiye sighed inwardly.

The buildings within his line of sight had basically been reduced to ruins.

Many of the ruins were already overgrown with towering ancient trees, bearing witness to the countless years that had passed.

"Destined one, welcome to your arrival."

Just as Lin Qiye swept his divine sense to survey the surroundings, a voice suddenly and abruptly rang out in his mind.

Lin Qiye instantly grew vigilant.

"Do not be nervous. I am the consciousness of this primordial divine kingdom, responsible for guiding destined individuals here."

Following this self-introduction, a phantom slowly materialized before Lin Qiye.

The consciousness of the primordial divine kingdom?

Lin Qiye perked up, maintaining his guard.

Sweeping his divine sense over it, he discovered that the phantom indeed shared the exact same aura as this divine kingdom.

"Are you the master of this divine kingdom?"

Facing Lin Qiye's question, the phantom smiled indifferently.

"Yes, and also no."

"I merely inherited a wisp of his thought; fundamentally, there is a distinction."

"The purpose of my existence is to find a suitable successor."

Lin Qiye looked at the phantom and pondered for a moment.

Judging from its connection to the divine kingdom, it didn't seem to be lying, but caution was always paramount.

"Finding a successor? Is that why you scattered the tokens, letting a bunch of geniuses come in here and vie against one another to weed out the most suitable successor?"

"So, what are the conditions for the trial? Let's make it straightforward."

Lin Qiye asked very directly.

Since the consciousness of the primordial divine kingdom had appeared before him, it meant a suitable target had clearly not been found yet.

Quite a few people had arrived earlier, and among them were undoubtedly plenty of geniuses.

Yet, with no suitable successor selected yet, it meant certain rigorous tests must be passed.

The phantom raised its hand and pointed toward the depths of the divine kingdom.

"It is very simple."

"Originally, this divine kingdom was used to suppress the Hell Path of the Fiends. However, as too much time has passed, cracks have appeared in the divine kingdom's seal, and numerous fiends are roaming wild within."

"You need to slay fiends and purify the divine kingdom. The higher the intensity and quality of your purification, the greater your hope of becoming the successor of the divine kingdom among all competitors!"

Lin Qiye nodded slightly.

Using this method to select a successor was indeed simple and crude.

Anyone capable of purifying fiends possessed innate talent, superior quality, and the qualifications to inherit the divine kingdom.

Moreover, there were no small number of people participating in the contest.

With so many people fighting desperately, they could simultaneously clear out the fiends suppressed within the divine kingdom.

It was entirely killing two birds with one stone.

To put it another way:

On one hand, it selected a successor.

On the other hand, it borrowed the hands of geniuses to restore the seal of the divine kingdom.

It could truly be called multi-tasking for multiple gains.

"This is the item used for recording. Any fiend slain by you will be registered by it."

"I wish you luck, destined one."

With a wave of the phantom's right hand, a token resembling mutton-fat jade appeared before Lin Qiye.

Lin Qiye accepted the mutton-fat jade token and wanted to ask further, but the phantom dissolved into nothingness and vanished without a trace.

"Purifying fiends will be recorded on the token, is that it?"

Lin Qiye observed the token and realized it was forged from a special mineral capable of absorbing fiendish energy.

"How should I purify the divine kingdom and slay fiends to secure first place?"

Lin Qiye stood rooted to the spot, quietly contemplating.

***

Author's Note: Subscriptions requested! Subscriptions requested! The story has fattened up and is ready for slaughter. Actually, I wanted to lay some foreshadowing, but it seems you readers don't care much for that; you just want to see the action. So I'll speed things up!

Monthly votes requested~

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