"Hoo... it's finally over."
As Xiao Yan watched the three figures be shredded and destroyed by the power of Annihilation of All Life, he let out a long breath. But just as he relaxed, an overwhelming wave of weakness surged from the depths of his body. His limbs gave out, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
Yet right before he fell, a hand reached out and caught him. Xiao Yan blinked in surprise. He hadn't sensed anyone else in this space. But when he turned to look, he was stunned—the one who had caught him looked exactly like him.
It was the Flame Emperor—the one who should have been defeated by Annihilation of All Life just moments ago.
"Don't be alarmed. We're not going to fight anymore," the Flame Emperor said with a faint smile. As he spoke, a surge of pure spiritual energy surged from his palm into Xiao Yan's body. The energy replenished him completely, instantly restoring him to peak condition from his previously exhausted state.
Xiao Yan had already been at the peak of Sixth Grade Sovereign. He had only needed a few more days of seclusion to break through. However, the earlier battle had utterly drained his spiritual energy, leaving him in a state akin to a spent oil lamp. Yet now, with this sudden infusion of power, he actually broke through—reaching the Seventh Grade Sovereign realm in a single step.
"You're saying you're not fighting anymore… so that means I've passed the third trial of the Nine Nether Secret Realm?" Xiao Yan asked curiously. He had assumed he was battling nothing more than unconscious phantoms. But this Flame Emperor clearly had sentience—meaning communication had been possible all along.
"The third trial of the Nine Nether Secret Realm is actually about defeating yourself," the Flame Emperor said, shaking his head. As he spoke, he lightly tapped a finger in the air, and a glowing screen appeared before them. Within it, an image unfolded—Qing Tan battling another version of herself.
"So in a normal case, the opponent you should've faced wasn't us, but a phantom identical to you in strength and ability."
"Then what went wrong?" Xiao Yan asked. "If it was just a clone of myself, it would've been tough, but not this hard. What I faced felt like some hellish epic-difficulty trial..."
"Do you know what the highest cultivation realm in this world is?" the Flame Emperor asked suddenly.
"I heard from Clan Leader Tianhuang that it's Heavenly Sovereign," Xiao Yan replied after a moment's thought. "But I've always felt like there should be something beyond that."
"You're right. Heavenly Sovereign isn't the ultimate limit of this world. It's just that no one has managed to surpass it—yet," the Flame Emperor said slowly.
"Then what is that realm called?"
"If no one's ever reached it, naturally it doesn't have a name," the Flame Emperor said. "But that realm is somewhat related to the special identity you gained when you acquired that treasure back in the lower plane."
"You mean… Master of the Plane?" Xiao Yan asked, surprised. "Even the Great Thousand World has a Plane Embryo?"
"The Tianxuan Continent was just a speck of land, and even it had a Plane Embryo. So of course the Great Thousand World has something similar. In fact, the Great Thousand World possesses a will of its own. And if one wishes to transcend the Saint rank, they must first resonate with that will. That will… is what your people call the Sky Rankings."
"Sky Rankings?" Xiao Yan blinked in surprise. "But didn't you say no one's ever reached that realm? Why would the world's will have a name?"
"I said no one's reached that realm—but I didn't say no one has ever sensed it," the Flame Emperor replied. "In fact, tens of thousands of years ago, someone from your world did just that. He sensed the world's will and, through his own power, imprinted a surname onto the Sky Rankings. Because of that, he transcended the Saint rank and became the most powerful person in the Great Thousand World at the time."
"A surname? So to reach that realm, you have to leave your full name on the Sky Rankings?" Xiao Yan caught onto a key detail and asked quickly.
"Exactly. To transcend the Saint rank, one must inscribe their true name onto the world's will. If your full name is recorded, the world will recognize and approve you. You'll gain control over the Great Thousand World's own power. Of course, even just leaving a surname grants some of that power, though the effect will be greatly diminished."
"You've said all this… but what does it have to do with me?" Xiao Yan frowned, remembering their original conversation. "Don't tell me… you're the world's will?"
"You're quite sharp," the Flame Emperor exhaled deeply. "That's right. I am the Sky Rankings. What you faced earlier was a construct formed from the power of the world—a being that was once this world's greatest hope."
"Once its greatest hope? What do you mean?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.
"This world… several centuries from now, it will face a great catastrophe. One that could've been resisted. The ones meant to stand against it were the three figures you just saw. But for some unknown reason… those three will no longer appear in this world."
"You mean… the interference of Fate's power!" Xiao Yan suddenly clapped his hands. He recalled the theory he had back in the Tianxuan Continent.
"Exactly," the World Will nodded. "This world had already fallen into despair. But then I noticed your existence. You carried a unique fluctuation that could influence the world's power. More importantly… you were supposed to be one of those three. So I've been watching you all this time."
"You're not saying… you want me to take their place?" Xiao Yan suddenly realized the implication and asked warily.
"Let's put it this way—what other choice do I have?" the World Will sighed. "I don't know why you managed to survive Fate's disruption… but at this point, the entire Great Thousand World can only rely on you. You must grow, and fast—fast enough to face that impending catastrophe head-on."
"That's easy for you to say. I'm just a regular Sovereign. You expect me to shoulder something like this? No thanks, find someone else," Xiao Yan said, waving his hand. This guy hadn't said it outright, but he'd all but declared his goal—to have him inscribe his full name on the Sky Rankings...
'What a joke,' he thought. 'In all the long history of the Great Thousand World, not a single person's ever succeeded—and now I'm supposed to do it alone? That's just ridiculous.'
(End of Chapter)
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