While the player is in Battle Through the Heavens, the system is in The Great Ruler.

Chapter 260 Famous throughout the world, second in Central Plains!
With a flick of his sleeve, the Soul Emperor, carrying the heavily injured Soul Fiend, transformed into a black streak of light and vanished into the sky. Before leaving, his gaze swept over Lu Yu, and a cryptic chuckle echoed in the void, its meaning unclear—whether it was anger or admiration.

Upon seeing this, the remaining Soul Palace experts lost all fighting spirit and retreated like a tide. In just a short while, the world was cleared.

Lu Yu calmly straightened his slightly disheveled robes, walked up to Gu Yuan, bowed respectfully, and said in a frank tone, "Your son-in-law Lu Yu greets Father-in-law."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the young man, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

He didn't say much, but said gently, "This is not the place to talk. Come with me."

Not long after, in a quiet courtyard of Lingbao Pavilion.

Gu Yuan sat upright at the head of the stone table, with Lu Yu beside him, personally pouring him a cup of hot tea. The fragrant tea temporarily dispelled the tense atmosphere of the previous battle.

"What are your plans for the future?" Gu Yuan asked slowly, taking a sip of his drink.

Lu Yu pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "The most urgent task is to break through to the fourth-star Dou Sheng as soon as possible. The Soul Clan will never let the fall of Hun Miesheng go unpunished. The loss of a fifth-star Dou Sheng will be a devastating blow even to the Soul Clan."

He gently stroked the warm rim of the cup with his fingertips and continued, "Their counterattack will only be more ferocious. Faced with absolute power, any scheme is futile. I must have the strength to protect myself before that happens."

Gu Yuan put down his teacup, his eyes revealing approval: "It's good that you can see this clearly. I've known the Soul Emperor for thousands of years, and he's the most vengeful person. Today you killed Soul Extinction in front of him, and he will never let go of this karma easily."

He changed the subject, his tone carrying a deeper meaning: "However, you don't need to worry too much. Since he has chosen to retreat, he won't personally take action again anytime soon."

"Given his status, he wouldn't stoop to making things difficult for a junior. Since you are my son-in-law, he should at least consider the reputation of the ancient clan."

Gu Yuan tapped the table lightly with his fingertips. "But that means that next time, the methods will be even more insidious."

Lu Yu nodded solemnly: "This junior understands. It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. I will be extra cautious."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "I have no objection to your relationship with Xun'er. With your current achievements, I'm sure those guys in the Senate can't find any fault with you."

His gaze darkened. "However, I've heard that you have several confidantes. Let's get this straight today: what title do you intend to give Xun'er?"

Lu Yu's expression was calm, but his tone was firm: "To be honest, father-in-law, each of them is my beloved, someone I would live and die with. In my heart, there is no distinction between them; they are all indispensable."

"Humph……"

Gu Yuan remained calm, his fingertips gently stroking the rim of the teacup. "I might as well just listen to these words. But let alone people from my Gu clan, even outsiders would probably want to beat you up if they heard them."

Lu Yu coughed lightly, touched his nose, and said with a wry smile, "I know I'm in the wrong, so I came to pay my respects to my father-in-law first."

Seeing his sincere attitude, a barely perceptible smile flashed across Gu Yuan's eyes, but his tone remained calm: "You are indeed shrewd. Well then, I do not wish to interfere too much in the affairs of young people."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. "However, my ancient clan has a thousand-year history and its own rules. The elders and younger generation in the clan are not as easy to talk to as I am. If they make things difficult for you because of this, it will depend on your own abilities."

He gently set down his teacup, making a crisp sound: "After all, if you want to enjoy the blessings of having two women at once, you'll have to pay a price. Don't you think so?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yu bowed solemnly and said, "This junior understands. As long as I can have Xun'er by my side, I will gladly endure any trial."

"This is the best thing."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, satisfied. "Remember what you said today. As for those people in the clan..."

A meaningful smile flashed in his eyes. "It all depends on your own fate."

Although he was very satisfied with the boy, that did not stop him from being happy to see him suffer.

If you can't physically assault someone yourself, can't you at least watch someone else do it?

……

After a few days,

With the conclusion of the battle against Lingbao Pavilion, this great war undoubtedly brought Lingbao Pavilion's prestige in Zhongzhou to an unprecedented peak.

The Lord of Lingbao Pavilion fought alone against the Lord of the Soul Palace, Hun Miesheng, and finally killed him with a single sword strike, causing his soul to be scattered!

Such a record is enough to shake the entire Central Continent. In the eyes of the world, the Dou Sheng powerhouse is a legendary existence, and the Soul Palace Master is a top figure in the Central Continent, second only to the Pill Tower Ancestor.

However, this formidable figure was killed on the spot by the Master of Lingbao Pavilion, a shock that forced all forces to re-examine this emerging power.

In stark contrast to the Lingbao Pavilion's resounding victory, the Soul Palace suffered unprecedented and devastating losses. As a result of this battle, both the Soul Palace's main and deputy hall masters perished, and of the nine Heavenly Venerables, only the Third, Seventh, and Eighth Heavenly Venerables survived.

Although these three Celestial Venerables are now barely keeping the Soul Palace running, they are like frightened birds, hiding in the Soul Palace headquarters all day and not daring to go out easily. The Soul Palace, which was once feared by all, is now in a state of panic and has lost its former arrogance.

All the major powers in Zhongzhou were secretly watching, waiting for the final fate of this old-established force. Meanwhile, Lingbao Pavilion was riding high, having officially risen to become the second largest power in Zhongzhou after this earth-shattering battle, a behemoth second only to the Pill Tower.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Lingbao Pavilion, atop Tianmu Mountain.

Amidst the swirling clouds and mist, a figure in azure stood proudly in the void.

Lu Yu's sleeves fluttered as he formed hand seals. The flames of life in front of him transformed into nine emerald green fire dragons, their roars echoing as they coiled around an ancient, ten-foot-tall medicine cauldron.

Runes flowed across the cauldron, and vast energy fluctuations spread like a tide, causing ripples to appear in the surrounding space.

"it's time."

Lu Yu's gaze flashed like lightning, and his hand seals suddenly changed. Nine fire dragons roared and plunged into the cauldron, causing it to tremble violently. A vast amount of energy surged forth like rivers flowing into the sea, forming a massive energy vortex above Mount Tianmu. The sky suddenly darkened, and amidst the churning clouds, streaks of jet-black lightning coalesced—the Black Demon Lightning Tribulation that inevitably precedes the birth of a Grade Nine Treasure Pill!
"Boom!"

The first bolt of black lightning tore through the sky, crashing down with an aura of destruction. Lu Yu remained unmoved; with a flick of his sleeve, an ancient-looking small tower appeared in his palm.

"Pagoda, take it!"

The small tower rose in response, swelling in the wind, and in an instant transformed into a colossal tower hundreds of feet tall, suspended in the sky. The tower slowly rotated, forming a massive energy vortex in the sky.

The black lightning bolt, which even a Dou Sheng expert would avoid, was completely absorbed into the tower like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, without even causing a ripple.

Immediately afterwards, a torrential downpour of black lightning descended, but under the power of the Floating Pagoda, it twisted and deformed, ultimately transforming into pure energy that was absorbed by the pagoda. Once the last lightning bolt was completely devoured, the Floating Pagoda slowly shrank and returned to Lu Yu's palm.

Just then, the medicine cauldron suddenly opened. In an instant, a radiant pill shot out, transforming into a seven-colored stream of light that shot straight into the sky.

"Want to go?"

Lu Yu laughed loudly, his figure flashing like lightning as he suddenly appeared in front of the stream of light, his large hand sweeping down directly.

"Woo~"

Faced with capture, the light rapidly expanded, transforming into a snow-white spirit deer. It opened its clear eyes and looked at Lu Yu with a somewhat pitiful expression.

"That's clever of you."

Lu Yu chuckled and lightly clapped his hand, sending the spirit deer flying backward. In mid-air, its body rapidly shrank, transforming into another "Lu Yu" in the blink of an eye, with even the details of its robes being identical.

"As expected of a ninth-grade precious pill, it can even imitate my appearance."

Lu Yu observed this "self" with great interest. The figure formed from the precious pill, though identical in appearance, had empty, lifeless eyes, clearly merely a shell. It clumsily imitated Lu Yu's posture, yet didn't even understand the most basic energy circulation.

"Woo——"

The ninth-grade precious pill, which had transformed into Lu Yu's appearance, let out a low growl, clearly unable to understand human speech.

Lu Yu said no more, and with a flick of his sleeve, he pointed a finger that instantly pierced the imposter's forehead.

With a mournful cry, the fake Lu Yu's figure twisted and dissipated, eventually reverting to a pill the size of a longan, which quietly landed in Lu Yu's palm. The pill had a milky white luster, and one could vaguely sense the resentful spiritual fluctuations within it.

"Since you have spiritual powers, you should understand that some beings cannot be imitated."

Lu Yu put the elixir into a jade bottle, and the lingering fragrance of the elixir in the sky was still intoxicating.

The Supreme Pill has finally been successfully refined!
……

Soon after,

Lu Yu arrived at the Blood Pool of Tianshan, shrouded in clouds and mist.

The crimson energy enveloped the entire pool like a light veil. Cai Lin sat quietly in the center of the pool, his body shimmering with eight-colored light, merging with the powerful energy in the blood pool. He was clearly at a crucial moment in his cultivation.

Sensing Lu Yu's presence, she slowly opened her eyes, a ripple appearing in her deep, still eyes.

"You came."

Lu Yu smiled and took out a jade box. The moment the lid was opened, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the entire blood pool. The Supreme Pill lay quietly inside, emitting a soft halo.

"This is... a Grade 9 precious pill?" Cai Lin's pupils shrank slightly. Even with her current strength, a Grade 9 precious pill was a rare treasure that was hard to come by.

"The Supreme Pill will greatly benefit your breakthrough to the Dou Sheng realm."

Lu Yu pushed the jade box in front of her, "Although you still have a lot of Seven-Colored Origin Qi left in your body, every little bit helps. This pill can help you break through your bottleneck."

Cai Lin gave him a deep look, but did not refuse. She knew Lu Yu's temperament; once he had given it up, there was no reason for him to take it back.

"Thank you," she said softly, a fleeting tenderness in her eyes.

Lu Yu smiled and said, "I will be going into seclusion for a while to refine some pills to aid Xian'er's cultivation, so I won't be able to visit you as often."

Cai Lin nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes, and said softly, "I can feel that my bloodline power is on the verge of transformation. This breakthrough to Dou Sheng will probably transform me into the Nine-Colored Devouring Python, which will take at least several months. By the time you come out of seclusion, I may have already successfully broken through to the next realm."

Lu Yu nodded slightly, then said nothing more, took a step, and his figure instantly disappeared from the spot.

Cai Lin watched his figure disappear into the blood pool before slowly withdrawing her gaze. She lowered her eyes and stared at the jade box in her hand, within which the Supreme Pill was radiating a warm glow.

"The realm of Dou Sheng." She murmured to herself, a hint of determination flashing in her eyes.

Since he has bestowed this opportunity upon her, she must succeed in breaking through to the next level. Not only for herself, but also so that she can fight alongside him in the future.

Ripples spread across the crimson pool, and Cai Lin's figure gradually disappeared into it, beginning his seclusion to break through to the Battle Saint realm that countless people dream of.

……

(End of this chapter)