Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 157 Emperor Yan
"By the way, now that you stand shoulder to shoulder with us as the Lord of the Universe, have you considered what title to use? Calling you by your name directly from now on might seem disrespectful. We also need to give the Universe Venerables and Immortals a proper way to address you." The Chaos City Lord offered Ling Xuan his sincere advice.

In this vast universe, every powerful being has a unique title.

On the one hand, titles symbolize high status and extraordinary strength, serving as a prominent marker of a powerful individual's identity; on the other hand, once a powerful individual reaches a certain level, their real name is no longer something that others can call out at will.

Typically, the titles of the strong begin to circulate during the Marquis level and are used all the way up to the Universe Venerable level.

Once promoted to the Lord of the Universe, having reached the pinnacle of the universe, one can adjust their title according to their own preferences.

However, Ling Xuan skipped most of the realms and directly ascended to the title of Lord of the Universe, for which there was no other title to replace him.

"Emperor Yan!" Ling Xuan pondered for a moment, many thoughts flashing through his mind, and finally chose this title.

"Emperor Yan?" The crowd murmured, savoring the title, their eyes filled with contemplation.

“A very special name.” The founder of the Giant Axe nodded first, his tone filled with approval.

Although these two characters are not like traditional titles, they do not violate any taboos of powerful individuals, making them a decent choice.

"Let us congratulate Emperor Yan on becoming the great ruler of the universe!" The creator of the giant axe waved his hand, and crystal-clear jade cups appeared out of thin air beside the seats of the powerful figures. The cups were filled with amber-colored wine with a rich aroma.

"Congratulations, Emperor Yan!" The human powerhouses all stood up, raised their wine cups, and spoke in loud and sincere voices.

……

The news that human Ling Xuan had broken through to become the Lord of the Universe and whose combat power was comparable to the strongest in the universe was like a thunderclap, instantly resounding throughout the entire universe.

Whether they are neutral forces or groups that have conflicts with humans, they are all amazed by Ling Xuan's rapid growth.

In just five thousand years—the time it takes to participate in a single Genius Battle—this young man has risen from a budding genius to become one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

Such speed is nothing short of a miracle in the three great cycles of the entire universe, and its immense value is self-evident.

At this moment, on the sixth extraterrestrial battlefield.

A human youth, nearly ten meters tall, stood on a pile of ruins, staring at the information coming from the virtual universe with a livid face.

The message was sent by his teacher, Lord Lanzang. It was brief but hit him like a hammer blow: "Ling Xuan has broken through to become a Universe Lord."

"Ling Xuan... has broken through to become a Universe Lord?" Cao Benqi murmured to himself, his voice trembling with disbelief. "How long has it been?"

His face was extremely pale, his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.

Lord Lanzang had comforted him many times, saying that his talent and potential far exceeded that of ordinary people, and that given time, his growth rate would definitely increase, and sooner or later he would be able to surpass Ling Xuan and leave him far behind.

Over the years, his cultivation level has steadily increased to the peak of the Realm Lord. He has come to the outer battlefield to experience life and death, and he has always been holding back a strong desire.

Seeing that Ling Xuan had not yet entered the extraterritorial battlefield, he was secretly pleased, thinking that he had already overtaken him without realizing it.

He was also secretly planning that once he made a name for himself on the battlefield outside the domain, he would deliberately act under the name "Ling Xuan" to provoke the alien powerhouses to vent their anger on that name in the future.

When the real Ling Xuan steps into the outer battlefield, he will definitely be targeted by powerful figures from all races.

This was to avenge the fact that the other party impersonated him in the Blood Luo World back then, offending many powerful figures and causing him to not have time to participate in the cosmic-level qualification battle, thus becoming a super genius in history who fell to the second secret realm.

But now, everything has vanished.

The real Ling Xuan has already stood at the pinnacle of the universe, a being who can stand on equal footing with the most powerful beings.

Why would someone like him condescend to come to the battlefield outside the realm and pretend to be an insignificant realm lord?
If he still dares to use the name "Ling Xuan" to swindle and deceive, he will only become a laughing stock in the entire extraterritorial battlefield.

As Cao Benqi gazed at the corpses of the alien squad in the distance, he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The gap between him and Ling Xuan was no longer a chasm that could be bridged by effort, but rather as insurmountable as dust and stars.

……

At the same time, Ling Xuan's family's status also rose accordingly.

The lifespan of powerful beings who devour the universe is terrifyingly long; once they become immortal, they possess almost eternal life.

However, obtaining eternal life is extremely difficult. Without powerful talent, it is almost impossible to overcome the three major obstacles to immortality.

This has led to the early demise of many powerful individuals' family members in the long river of time.

Very few strong individuals can quickly become super strong and raise their family members to be immortal or higher.

But now there is an exception.

In just five thousand years, Ling Xuan has become one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

Even stellar-level powerhouses have a lifespan of ten thousand years. As long as Ling Xuan's family members are alive, even if they have mediocre talents, Ling Xuan can use resources to "nourish" them into immortality.

The three Ling brothers, who were originally just wandering around the secret realm and seemed unremarkable, suddenly became the most prominent figures in the entire secret realm.

Even the Heavenly Eclipse Palace Master, who guards the Blood Luo World, stepped forward and took the three brothers as his disciples.

"Dad." The third son, Ling Feng, happily teleported into the palace that Ling Xuan had just built on the top of Tianzhou Island.

"What's wrong?" Ling Xuan sat in the main seat in the hall, looking at his youngest son with a gentle smile on his lips.

Now, he can maintain his consciousness in the virtual universe for a long time, just like the founder of the giant axe back then. He can communicate with the powerful members of his clan and also communicate with his family at any time.

"How did you cultivate?" Ling Feng leaned closer, asking with a curious expression. "We both have five thousand years of cultivation, but I've lived a thousand years longer than you, and I'm still doing universe-level missions, while you've already become the Lord of the Universe!"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but scratch his head, his tone full of astonishment.

Ling Xuan chuckled upon hearing this, lightly tapping the table with his fingertips. A gentle energy carried a glass of fine wine to Ling Feng: "Of course, it's a combination of hard work and talent. Your talent is nothing compared to mine."

"Hey, Dad, don't tease me." Ling Feng took the wine and drank it all in one gulp, smacking his lips as he said, "But seriously, my eldest and second brothers are about to be promoted to Domain Lords. The higher-ups said we'd be sent to the Qianwu Universe Kingdom. You know, geniuses like us are often thorns in the side of those alien races, especially since you're at the height of your power right now. Those alien races can't beat you, what if they come to retaliate against us? I'm too small to handle that."

Ling Xuan nodded upon hearing this, agreeing with the brat's assessment. "There's some truth to it."

Seeing his father agree to give him a lot of gold coins, Ling Feng's eyes flashed with anticipation. He rubbed his hands together and said, "Dad, could you give us a special favor? Give us some good stuff to keep us alive. I don't need top-tier treasures, but a few top-tier treasures for self-defense would be fine. If all else fails, a few sets of high-level treasures would be nice to make up the numbers?"

"A supreme treasure?" Ling Xuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "I don't even have many supreme treasures myself, and you're just giving them away so casually?"

"Where are the eldest and second eldest?" Ling Xuan was surprised. He didn't expect this kid to be even more shameless than he was back then, asking for a supreme treasure right off the bat. He was only a son because he was his own; otherwise, he would have killed him.

"Isn't this just asking for an exorbitant price and then negotiating on the spot?" Ling Feng pouted, feeling wronged. "My older brothers were too embarrassed to ask for it themselves, so they had to make me their representative."

Ling Xuan nodded. The eldest and second eldest brothers were indeed too proud and aloof to ask for favors. Only the third brother, like his mother Ren Yaoli, was so outgoing and could ask him for benefits without any restraint.

"Let's all go back to Manlong Star."

Back on Manlong Star, the entire Zhulong Clan, under the leadership of the Zhulong King, held an extremely grand celebration banquet to congratulate Ling Xuan, the Flame Emperor.

Ling Xuan exchanged several soul-type treasures suitable for his family from the human treasure trove, and also gave them his own divine power tokens so that he could descend to rescue them at any time.

This battle not only cemented Ling Xuan's reputation as the Flame Emperor.

The Xuan Gu clone, who withstood Ling Xuan's attack as a Universe Venerable, also gained the reputation of having the strongest defense in the universe, and some powerful figures even began to call him the Lord of the Golden Wall.

Their status among the Zerg has also risen accordingly.

The Xuan Gu clone itself was valued by the Zerg Queen and was a key target for the Zerg Alliance to win over.

In this battle, Venerable Xuangu protected the two Zerg Queens from the sixth-order Universe Lord Yandi, which can be said to be a great achievement. The Zerg Queen directly announced in the Zerg Alliance that when Venerable Xuangu broke through to become the Universe Lord, his status would be second only to hers.

……

Zhou Heng's clone, along with Xiao Jiuyou's clone, had arrived at the edge of the God-Destroying Abyss.

The surrounding space was distorted and deformed under the endless heat, and the scene in front of us became illusory and indistinct.

Above their heads, the endless sea of ​​lava resembled a crimson sky about to collapse, with rolling lava churning wildly. Every now and then, thick columns of lava, as powerful as angry dragons, crashed down on the black rocky earth below with the force of thunder. The roar was deafening, and each impact caused the earth to tremble violently, with cracks spreading rapidly like the mouths of ferocious beasts.

Ling Xuan stood at the edge of the black rocky land, raising his eyes to gaze at the endless sea of ​​lava floating high in the sky.

In the route that Puff planned for him, among the 892 extremely dangerous places, the Dangerous God Abyss was the most dangerous, firmly ranking among the top three.

The God-Slaying Gorge has a vast and endless sea of ​​lava above and a boundless expanse of black rock below. To successfully cross it, one must traverse between the two with great difficulty, and the journey is fraught with danger.

Other dangers aside, Ling Xuan was confident that he could overcome them all with his "Flame Beast Heavenly Domain", "Heaven-Slaying Blade", and "Heavenly Temple".

However, the most terrifying thing in the God-Slaying Gorge is the "Lava Demon God" that strikes fear into the hearts of all.

The Lava Demon God stands nearly 10 billion kilometers tall, its body covered in thick rocks and endless magma, revealing only three eyes that emit an eerie light and a gigantic mouth full of ferocious fangs, with four thick arms that resemble pillars supporting the sky.

It possesses extremely low intelligence, almost none, yet its strength is so formidable that it inspires despair.

The Lava Demon God fights with his massive body using only his fists and feet, but his fist and foot techniques are exquisite. When fighting, even the strongest beings in the universe who possess the most powerful treasures are often at a disadvantage when they clash with him.

What's even more troublesome is that its body is indestructible, and to this day no one has been able to inflict the slightest damage on it.

Once you fight him, only the strongest beings in the universe can barely escape his clutches. If the ruler of the universe were to fight him, he would almost certainly die.

Fortunately, these lava demons seem to be bound by some mysterious rule and have an extremely strong sense of territory, so they will never step out of the range of the God-Slaying Abyss.

Moreover, the Extinction God Gorge is a vast area, and as long as you proceed cautiously, the probability of encountering the Lava Demon God with only nine heads is not high.

"Be careful." Zhou Heng's clone took a deep breath and adjusted his state.

The area before reaching the God-Slaying Abyss was relatively easy, allowing Zhou Heng's clone to take a rare break.

Zhou Heng's clone remained highly focused, steadily advancing forward, and the Fiery Beast Domain instantly unfolded.

This field was like an invisible yet resilient shield, protecting him firmly, while at the same time it was like a keen eye, meticulously exploring the complex and dangerous environment around him.

As they traveled, the scorching heat, even with the protection of the Flame Beast Domain, still caused Zhou Heng's clone to frown slightly.

Such terrifying temperature is enough to reduce a cosmic venerable to nothingness in an instant.

The road ahead is fraught with danger; each of the boulders that fell from the sea of ​​lava contains the destructive force of the universe.

The massive rocks can be hundreds of millions of kilometers in diameter. If they were to strike, not only the ruler of the universe, but even the strongest being in the universe would not dare to underestimate their power.

With keen perception and superb combat skills, Zhou Heng's clone accurately predicted the trajectory of each boulder, dodging and avoiding it at the last second.

"break!"

The blade of light, stretching for hundreds of millions of kilometers, suddenly cleaved through a massive rock that was falling from above, spanning tens of millions of kilometers. This cleavage immediately sent the massive rock flying to the side.

Lava falls, and celestial boulders occasionally fall.

……

On the eleventh day after entering the God-Slaying Abyss, as Zhou Heng's clone was fully focused on traversing this perilous region, a head slowly emerged from a dark corner beyond the reach of his domain, in a cave in the black rocky earth.

The sparse, fiery red hair on the head flew wildly, like burning thorns, and the single eye on the head gleamed with an eerie and greedy light, locking onto the rapidly moving Zhou Heng clone in the outside world.

"Hmm? Someone actually dares to venture into the God-Slaying Abyss without fear of death." The head frowned slightly and muttered to itself, "Strange, where did this guy come from? I've never seen him before. Judging from his aura, he's a Universe Lord, probably a newcomer from the Third Cycle Era, nothing particularly powerful. But he seems to be carrying some extraordinary treasure, hehe..."

As soon as the words were spoken, a fiery red figure, resembling a human child, shot out of the cave with a "whoosh," leaving a long afterimage in the air.

"Hahaha, little guy!" A sharp, piercing voice instantly reached Zhou Heng's clone's ears. "You've got some nerve, daring to trespass into this God-Slaying Abyss. Judging by the treasures you carry, they must be extraordinary. If you know what's good for you, hand over your most precious treasures, and I'll spare your life, how about it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Heng's clone turned around abruptly, his gaze like a tangible blade, instantly locking onto the fiery red figure. He immediately recognized the other party's identity—it was Yin Tuo from the First Universe Reincarnation Era.

"Yin Tuo, you really have wild ideas. You think you can take away my treasure?" Zhou Heng's clone sneered, his voice icy and chilling, as if it came from the deepest hell, carrying endless coldness.

After saying that, Zhou Heng's clone moved his mind and, through the Flame Beast Heaven Domain, controlled a huge celestial rock that suddenly fell from the endless sea of ​​lava in the distance.

This celestial rock is over 300 million kilometers in diameter, like a small, derailed planet, and was already hurtling downwards at an alarming speed.

With the power of the Fiery Beast Heavenly Domain added, its power increased dramatically in an instant. It changed direction and, like a precision-guided missile, swept towards Yintuo below.

"Boom!" As the celestial rock flew at high speed, it distorted the surrounding space, turning into a dazzling phantom streak of light. It plummeted downwards at a speed a hundred times faster than the speed of light, and wherever it passed, space cracked like a shattered mirror, making a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound.

"Hmph!" Upon seeing this, Yin Tuo let out a roar, and with this roar, golden fragments shot out from his body like a fountain.

(End of this chapter)