Lord of the Earth

"Friends of the Spirit Race, now that you're here, why not show yourselves?"

Summer's gaze suddenly shifted to a seemingly calm void at the edge of the battlefield. His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority!

As soon as he finished speaking, the space rippled slightly, like the surface of a lake tossed with a pebble, with the ripples spreading outwards in layers.

A figure slowly emerged from the void, shrouded in a hazy spiritual light, exuding an ethereal and otherworldly aura, untouched by worldly dust. It was none other than the divine envoy from the Spirit Clan who had come this time.

He appeared calm, but the slight tension in his fingertips and the glint in the depths of his eyes betrayed the unease within him.

His gaze toward Xia Tian was incredibly complex, filled with unprecedented solemnity and deep apprehension, and even more so with a hint of shock that he could not completely conceal.

That was an instinctive reaction after witnessing absolute domination and having one's preconceived notions completely overturned.

Three powerful deities, along with their divine kingdom projections, were swiftly and decisively severed from the mortal realm. This scene was enough to shake the hearts of any witness!

"His Majesty the Emperor of Qianxia is awe-inspiring. He won the battle and defeated three usurping gods with the flick of his finger. It is truly... breathtaking."

The Spirit Race envoy's voice was ethereal, yet it carried an obvious hint of caution. He even bowed slightly, performing a gesture of equal or even slightly lower respect, adopting an extremely humble posture.

“Our clan has no intention of offending anyone. We have come here only to witness the clear and bright world of humanity, and more importantly... to express our clan’s respect for the Qianxia Dynasty and our enduring goodwill.”

Xia Tian was not surprised by the Spirit Clan's envoy's attitude.

Compared to the Tai Xuan Sect, a "hidden sect" that had long since abandoned the foundation of humanity and claimed to be transcendent yet greedily plundering, the Spirit Clan and Qianxia, ​​despite some friction and probing during the early stages of their expansion, generally maintained a relatively restrained, neutral, and even gradually conciliatory attitude.

Even later, the "Supreme Elder" of the Spirit Clan personally visited, also wanting to fulfill the original "marriage contract"... During these days, he did indeed provide Qianxia with a lot of intelligence and even help in "war spirits" in his conquest of the surrounding alien races.

This race is one that knows how to assess the situation, and Xia Tian did not "exterminate" them!
"I have received the goodwill of the Eldar."

Xia Tian nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping across the devastated battlefield below, where energy still raged wildly, and the three divine kingdom craters that were like giant scars embedded in the earth, still emitting mournful energy fluctuations. His tone was calm but carried an unwavering determination!
"Leave. Go back and tell your chieftain and those beings who sit high on their divine thrones that the land of Qianxia always welcomes friends who come with sincerity. But those who invade our territory and harm our people—"

He paused slightly, and the surrounding sea of ​​fortune, which had not yet calmed down, resonated and trembled. There were also seven-colored true dragons and human god lords, who uttered deep and majestic hums, their eyes pointing directly at this spirit race god envoy!
"Even if their divine kingdoms hang high in the heavens, unreachable, I can still... drag them down one by one and crush them into dust!"

Xia Tian's words carried immense weight, imbued with the unquestionable will of the Human Emperor and overwhelming domineering aura, striking the mind of the Spirit Clan's divine envoy like a heavy hammer.

The Spirit Race envoy was deeply shaken; his very soul seemed to tremble at the declaration. He dared not show the slightest negligence or doubt, and bowed deeply, almost touching the ground.

"Your Majesty's words are resounding and powerful, like a divine decree. I will certainly convey them to you without a single mistake!"

He stood up, not daring to linger for a moment. His body surged with spiritual light, transforming into a clear stream of light, as he tried to escape into the sky and leave this area that made him feel so oppressed and dangerous.

However, just as his figure was about to completely disappear into the void, Xia Tian's calm and serene voice, which seemed to be able to penetrate time and space, once again accurately entered his ears, without the slightest hint of worldly concerns.

"By the way, I would like to inform you that my Qianxia intends to hold a grand ceremony to ascend to the status of an 'Imperial Dynasty' in the near future. At that time, I will invite people from all directions to attend the ceremony. I request that the Spirit Clan send a more esteemed deity to attend in person."

The sound was soft, even somewhat casual.

But it caused the Spirit Race envoy, who had already fled dozens of miles away and whose mind had relaxed slightly, to suddenly freeze, as if he had been gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand. The spiritual light flowing smoothly around his body instantly became disordered, and he couldn't help but reveal a trace of the pure and vast "divine" aura that should never have been easily revealed outside!
The aura flashed by, but it was filled with astonishment and horror. It dared not turn around, forcibly stabilizing its aura, and disappeared into the horizon at an even faster speed. Only its back view had an extra sense of panic.

"This path of destiny actually possesses the power to 'pollute the divine realm'... In that case, the gods may not be able to easily crush the human race as we imagined. In this battle between the two sides, the human race may still have trump cards up their sleeves..."

"We need to think carefully about where our Spirit Clan should stand..."

Outside Longyuan City, the smoke and energy storms that swept across the land were slowly dissipating, revealing a devastated landscape.

Only the three enormous, ferocious, and bottomless craters of the divine kingdom remain, like three eternal scars flowing with divine blood and wailing, deeply imprinted on the earth.

And these are also the most direct, the most shocking, and the most undeniable monuments!
Silent yet deafening, it proclaimed to the entire Eternal Land the supreme majesty of the Qianxia "Human Emperor," the rise of a dynasty that ruled over all living beings with destiny and defied the gods, and the immense power and infinite future of the human race's destiny path!

The ripples caused by this sudden and swiftly concluded "war of gods" will likely not disappear with the "conviction" of several humans and the departure of the bystanders.

On the contrary, it is more like a boulder thrown into a seemingly calm lake, with the real undercurrents and ripples only just beginning to spread to the entire vast and boundless eternal land!

The rules of heaven and earth are unlocked, all races rise together, and gods descend to earth.

For many races and forces, a magnificent yet cruel era has truly begun.

Not only within the human race, but also among the gods, there is "struggle"!
It should be understood that for those who follow the path of faith and divinity, the process of advancing further on the divine path through arduous self-cultivation and comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth is so difficult and slow as to be despairing. It may take hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of millions of years to climb from the first level of the divine realm to the second level.

The shortcut, or the generally accepted mainstream path, is to vigorously develop "faith," gather the power of all people's thoughts, and use the massive power of faith to refine divine personality, condense divinity, and expand the divine kingdom.

Besides managing their own established foundation, the "Taoist tradition," for many gods, the best, fastest, and most coveted source of faith is undoubtedly the vast "human kingdoms"!
The Tai Xuan Sect is merely one of countless forces flooding into the Eternal Land, vying for a share of the spoils. In fact, considering that it has only sent three low-level First Heaven deities so far, it probably doesn't even qualify as a truly top-tier or powerful representative…

Xia Tian understood one thing very clearly through his final confrontation with the Grandmaster Tai Xuan and the clues in his words.

It is highly likely that there is no "true god" level being behind the Tai Xuan Sect.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so shocked and out of control when he unleashed the "Heavenly Lock Key" containing special laws, to the point that his Dao heart was unbalanced and he completely lost his will to fight.

However, the Qianxia Dynasty rose from humble beginnings, overcoming numerous hardships and conquering all sides. The enemies it encountered were far more than just the Taixuan Sect.

Those races and forces that were once defeated, suppressed, or even wiped out.

The entities behind them are likely already secretly watching, and may even be preparing to intervene.

From the "Scorpion Emperor" behind the Scorpion Clan who offered human hearts as tribute; to the ancient being behind the Vampire Clan, a quasi-god who secretly smuggled himself in, attempting to conceal himself with the aura of humans, radiating an endless crimson bloodlust; and then to the "Spider Queen," the true god worshipped by the Dark Elves, who dwells in the abyss yet hangs high above the heavens...

Any one of these beings, in terms of foundation and strength, is likely far more powerful than these three "Tai Xuan Sect Ancestors" who are only at the first level of the Heavenly Realm today!

Thus, although the Qianxia Dynasty achieved an initial victory and established its prestige by defeating the gods, the road ahead was by no means smooth.

On the contrary, the shock of this battle may attract more and stronger greedy eyes in advance. What Qianxia will need to face is a more severe challenge from various pantheons, ancient traditions, and truly powerful alien races. It is a true battle of the gods and a battle for the survival of civilization!

"Therefore, the most urgent task is to elevate ourselves to an imperial dynasty as quickly as possible. That way, not only will our Qianxia have enough power to appoint more gods to deal with the changing situation... it will also raise the upper limit of power at the top level, so that we will have the strength to fight even against true gods..."

Today, the Qianxia Empire, through continuous conquest, integration, and expansion, has an extremely vast territory under its actual control, stretching over a million miles from north to south. Its total population has long since exceeded 100 billion, with the majority of its people being human beings, numbering over 10 billion!

This is an extremely alarming number, signifying a massive demographic dividend and immense potential for religious influence, but also an unimaginable challenge to governance.

Putting aside everything else, during this process alone, Qian Xia subdued many "top-tier and super races" with force!
Just like the Golden Eagle Clan, the Green Fox Clan, the Wild Bull Clan, and so on...

These races mostly possess their own "gods" or deities that they worship or that originated within their own tribe.

Now that the world has been unlocked, these "gods" will descend with the help of their own racial divine weapons, ancient artifacts, or even the blessings of true gods!
After that, what should be the attitude towards the human race: to "conquer" them like the Tai Xuan Sect, or to "retreat" them like the Spirit Race?
This is truly unknown.

This will be an extremely brutal era of conflict that will affect the entire Eternal Land, sweep across all races, and involve countless gods and civilizations. It will be a war between races, a struggle for the source of faith, with almost no way out.

Fortunately, the human race's ability to survive countless calamities and even produce a being like Xia Tian, ​​who attained enlightenment through destiny, was not entirely a matter of luck. The ancient sages and hidden gods of humanity clearly had foreseen and planned for the complex and difficult situation after the unsealing of heaven and earth.

Not only did they leave behind hidden mechanisms like the "Key to the Heavenly Lock" to counter specific laws, but they also left behind such profound and unforeseen measures through various clandestine means.

Furthermore, during the fusion of heaven and earth and the dramatic changes in the rules, the human gods relied on a contingency plan to repair the "Supreme Artifact - Embryo" and also took advantage of the invasion of numerous "Cataclysmic Creatures"!

It allowed a large number of human prodigies and demigods to gain experience and, by resisting the "catastrophe creatures," to acquire a great deal of fortune and merit!
These people are all exceptionally talented and blessed with good fortune. They have great potential and are qualified to be "deified" in the future, thus supporting the backbone of the human race.

Even at this very moment, many powerful human beings who have "returned" from the City of Saints in the Eternal Land have ignited their divine fire and successfully ascended to godhood!

However, these people are mostly scattered throughout the Eternal Land, making it difficult for them to unite as one.

Now, with Xia Tian, ​​the ruler of the Qianxia Dynasty who controls the two pillars of "Merchant Alliance and Holy City," as the central core, there is a possibility of uniting these outstanding individuals!
"However, the number of dynasties that the entire human race now has is no less than a hundred... There are also more than a dozen quasi-imperial dynasties. Even if my Qianxia has the title of 'Lord of the Holy City'... it is still insufficient to completely rule the human race... or even just rule China... It is imperative to advance to an imperial dynasty as soon as possible."

Furthermore, theoretically, only a "dynasty" that has accumulated a sufficiently large amount of fortune has enough capital and status to directly "bestow titles" on deities and establish divine positions.

However, if one concentrates one's fortune without sparing any expense or considering the cost.

Therefore, even a lower-level "dynasty" level fortune has the potential to be forcibly accumulated and manifested as a "peak demigod" or even a "god"!
This is because the path of destiny gathers the power of the beliefs, aspirations, labor, wisdom, and even civilization itself of hundreds of millions of people. This is a more magnificent, more powerful, and more fundamental "power of all living beings".

In the long run, its level of power and potential far surpasses that of the "path of faith," which relies solely on emotional willpower, is prone to impurities, and creates constraints!
While the power of faith is pure and easily absorbed and utilized by deities, it is also easily influenced by the emotions of believers, resulting in drawbacks such as an unstable foundation and limited path.

The Way of Fortune, however, is all-encompassing and all-encompassing, focusing more on the manifestation of the overall will of civilization. As long as the dynasty is prosperous and the civilization continues, its power is almost inexhaustible, and it is also more growth-oriented and malleable...

Once the Qianxia dynasty successfully ascends to the status of an "imperial dynasty," it will thoroughly integrate and unleash the immense potential of its hundreds of billions of subjects and millions of miles of territory.

Therefore, the power it can unleash will be immeasurable.

At that time, the ruler of the dynasty that governs the four directions will be no less powerful than a top god, and may even be comparable to a more powerful being!

This is also the greatest reliance and confidence that Xia Tian and the Qianxia Dynasty have in this grand era of the impending battle of gods and the competition of civilizations. (End of this chapter)