Chapter 196: Celestial Beings

As Mo Xiaotian and Changqingzi departed, earth-shattering transformations occurred within the Divine Palace of Xi.

Compared to the three who left, the Storyteller and Xue Wudi, who entered first, reaped far greater rewards. Their auras deepened within the same space, now saturated with dense spiritual energy bestowed by the palace. This boon propelled their martial arts to unprecedented heights, making them the true victors over Mo Xiaotian’s group, who only received basic rewards.

Three months flashed by.

A year and three months had passed since the Divine Palace of Xi first opened.

“Why… why can’t I bridge this final gap?!”

Xue Wudi stared at the esoteric inscriptions covering the wall, his confidence wavering for the first time.

The manual before him—*Shatter the Void*—transcended anything Changqingzi’s group encountered. While breaking through to Great Master seemed miraculous to them, this text revealed realms beyond: after Great Master came Celestial Being, and beyond that lay true Shattering the Void, the gateway to the Immortal Realm. For twelve months, fueled by the palace’s spiritual energy, Xue Wudi had obsessively cultivated. He’d ascended to Celestial Being half a year ago, yet now found himself stranded at the threshold of godhood, the final breakthrough maddeningly out of reach.

As awareness returned, the luminous scripts dimmed. The chamber’s spiritual energy dissipated, leaving bare stone walls.

Boom!

Xue Wudi’s fist cratered the floor. Not the tiles, but the very air fractured where he struck—spiderweb cracks shimmering in empty space.

Half-step Shattering.

Still leagues away from true transcendence.

“I will reach the Immortal Realm.”

The manual’s closing pages haunted him—depictions of an eternal paradise where dao-seekers gained immortality. After dominating the martial world for decades, Xue Wudi thirsted for more than mortal glory.

Memorizing the final techniques, he exited the vanished palace, emerging above windswept seas. No trace remained of the Divine Palace or the Storyteller. His senior brother had clearly manipulated hidden knowledge, but regrets were pointless now.

Soaring effortlessly through clouds—a Celestial Being’s privilege—Xue Wudi raced toward his crumbling empire.

The Martial Arts Alliance had been his iron-fisted creation, a pyramid built on corpses. Once, his name alone commanded universal obedience. But over a year of absence had shattered this unity.

Power vacuums breed vultures.

His disciples turned on each other like starving wolves. External forces pounced—the Demonic Sect, rogue masters, former allies. Three factions now remained: two led by his disciples, the third by the traitorous law enforcement elder.

“Yield, elder brother!”

At the alliance’s battle-scarred gates, Shao Feiyuan smirked beneath his green scholar robes. The youngest disciple stood flanked by tattooed outsiders and a Demonic Sect contingent. Rumor claimed their leader, Mo Xiaotian, had reached Celestial Being—surpassing even Xue Wudi’s known prowess.

Across the bloodied courtyard, Xue Feng adjusted his jade hairpiece. The eldest disciple’s robes hung in tatters, but his stance remained unbroken. “Traitor. When Master returns—”

“Master’s dead!” Shao Feiyuan spat. “Mo Xiaotian rules now. Last chance—kneel or bleed.”