After a long silence, a calm voice sounded: "He lost. Let him go."
Everyone turned to look.
The speaker was a black-haired young man standing on the golden ancient path. He was tall and slender, surrounded by a faint golden glow. Although he appeared lean, his demeanor was steady, as if the collapse of the heavens wouldn't faze him.
"Who are you?" Qin Zi asked, looking at him.
"Qingtian."
The young man responded indifferently, maintaining steady eye contact with Qin Zi without any hint of retreat.
Qin Zi twitched the corner of his mouth. What a pointless question—he had never even heard of this person!
Still, this young man exuded great strength, enough to make Qin Zi feel a hint of danger. He was likely the leading figure of Taixuan Heaven.
"Go ahead."
Qin Zi thought for a moment and casually tossed the blonde young man aside, as if releasing a pigeon into the air.
The blonde young man flapped his wings awkwardly, flying back to the golden ancient path with a grim expression.
He shot a resentful look at Qin Zi but didn't say anything. Gritting his teeth, he lowered his head in frustration.
"Thank you."
Qingtian cupped his hands toward Qin Zi in a gesture of thanks.
Qin Zi smiled but said nothing. He could tell that this young man did not truly respect him as the Lord of Xuanyuan Heaven.
There was nothing more to say about it.
Respect is something others give you willingly. If they don't show it, it simply means you haven't earned it.
"Indeed, the Lord of Xuanyuan Heaven is remarkable. With just a casual move, he subdued the Blood Sky Roc of Taixuan Heaven. Such strength is truly admirable."
At this moment, a voice rang out with laughter.
It was the carefree young king of Taiqing Heaven who had spoken.
He was a handsome young man with white hair and white robes, standing casually atop the spinning starry vortex, his body radiating a faint white glow. He looked like a bright moon hanging among the stars.
"Trying to stir trouble?"
Qingtian shot a cold glance at him.
"Huh? Hahaha, you misunderstand, you misunderstand! How could I, Bai Shuize, ever do something like that?" The carefree young man with white hair quickly covered his mouth, laughing sheepishly like a guilty thief.
But in the next moment, his tone shifted, his eyes narrowing as he smirked, "I'm clearly provoking you openly!"
"Buzz!"
A sharp light shot from Qingtian's eyes, as if it could split the heavens, and his aura surged to the sky!
"Ah... Senior Brother Bai still loves to cause trouble. He never misses an opportunity to stir things up," sighed several of the young kings from Taiqing Heaven, smiling wryly as they stepped forward to block Bai Shuize. They spoke to Qingtian, "Please don't be angry, senior brother of Taixuan Heaven. Our Senior Brother Bai... has a bit of a mental problem."
"What did you say?! Say that again! If you dare to slander my good name, I'll suppress you all!"
The white-haired young man was immediately displeased. He looked like he wanted to step forward and teach the speaker a lesson, but two others held him back.
"Don't stop me! I swear I'll suppress him today! Who are you calling crazy? Say it again!"
Bai Shuize fumed, struggling as if he were about to charge forward. But every time he made a move, even before the two beside him could pull him back, it was as if he was held by an invisible elastic band, snapping back into place with a "Don't hold me back" attitude.
"Sigh..."
The young kings of Taiqing Heaven were exasperated, some even covering half their faces in embarrassment.
Senior Brother Bai was excellent in every way, but his personality was peculiar, often acting in ways no one could understand.
Perhaps all extraordinary people had their eccentricities. But to be honest, if Senior Brother Bai didn't have these quirks…
That would be truly terrifying!
They remembered how the elders in their family had described Senior Brother Bai—unparalleled through the ages, an extraordinary genius, a monster that shouldn't exist in this world!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
At this moment, a violent tremor spread throughout the area, drawing everyone's attention. The enormous ancient gate began to slowly open.
The massive gate cracked open slightly, and endless beams of light poured out. A boundless aura of life surged like a vast ocean, sweeping out in all directions.
"The World Tree space has opened!"
"Hahaha, charge!"
"I'm going all out!"
In an instant, swarms of figures surged forward like locusts, rushing toward the crack, flooding into the space without hesitation.
At a time like this, all pretense of morality was discarded.
If things came down to a fair competition, most people would have no chance at all. Their only hope lay in taking the lead and securing an advantage.
The prodigies from the major forces did not interfere. After all, in an unknown environment, someone had to be the first to explore.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
One by one, figures crashed into the light screen within the ancient gate, causing ripples to spread like raindrops on a lake.
Fortunately, nothing went wrong.
"Let's go in as well."
"Let's move."
The prodigies of the various forces followed suit, quickly flying toward the ancient gate. Qin Zi was no exception.
"Pop!"
It felt as though he had popped a bubble or broken through a membrane as Qin Zi entered a warm, humid world.
"Whoosh!"
Endless life energy surged toward him like white mist, flooding into his body continuously.
"Ah..."
Qin Zi let out a low, ecstatic moan, feeling as though his entire body was soaking in warm water, with every cell in his body breathing in the life force.
His power began to soar.
It was as if he was being reborn!
Of course, Qin Zi was not the only one benefiting from this opportunity. At that moment, everyone who entered the World Tree space was being baptized by the life force, each person floating in the air, expressions of bliss on their faces.
Especially some of the women, their faces flushed, bodies trembling slightly, their legs tightly pressed together.
After some time passed.
Qin Zi's baptism was complete. As he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a breathtaking sight—an enormous tree that stretched beyond imagination!
The tree stood towering in the chaos, its branches and leaves lush. Between every branch, colorful mist swirled, but upon closer inspection, these "mists" were actually vast and resplendent galaxies!
Between the branches, bright white lights occasionally flickered, like diamonds reflecting sunlight, twinkling one after another.
Qin Zi quickly counted with his divine sense—exactly 129,600 lights. These must be the World Seeds.
The World Seeds were too small to see from this distance, but their radiant glow could be seen clearly.
"Welcome to the World Tree space... Welcome to the World Tree space, the World Tree space, space, space..."
A voice, ancient and deep, echoed throughout the vast space, reverberating with endless echoes.
This voice was terrifying. If it had been outside, a single roar from it would have shattered billions of stars.
"It's the voice of the World Tree!"
"I've heard my elders say that the World Tree has consciousness, and its power is beyond imagination, far surpassing even the mightiest figures!"
"Yes, but the World Tree follows certain rules. As long as we abide by them, it won't harm us."
People whispered to each other.
This wasn't a secret. The reason it was being discussed now was to reassure one another.
At this moment, the voice of the World Tree rang out once more: "I know you've come for the World Seeds, but these treasures are born from the endless life force I've cultivated. They only mature once every 1.296 billion years, so I can't just give them to you."
"Unless... you play a little game with me."