I became a god through frontier slaughter, and I crushed the academy's prodigies!

"Kid, was that bronze palace that Xiao Ting showed you the other day, the one suspended in that void?"

In Shen Tian's mind, the image of that ancient bronze palace, comparable in size to a city with a population of tens of millions and covered with dried bloodstains, came into view.

There's also that grand mural that occupies two kilometers of wall, covered with images of shattered stars and massive warships hurtling into the darkness of deep space.

The incredibly powerful figures depicted in the murals all exude a terrifying, world-destroying aura.

"Of course I remember."

Shen Tian nodded and then offered his own speculation.

"In ancient times, the sages of the human race used all the resources of this planet to create a magical artifact in order to conquer the outer space. To be precise, it was an interstellar warship used to break through the barriers between worlds."

A gleam of admiration flashed in Ouyang Qianjue's eyes as he stroked his beard and said:

"You have good eyesight and a quick mind. It is said that in ancient times, due to the depletion of spiritual energy and the deterioration of the environment, the sages had no choice but to leave their homes and flee the Earth to find a new habitat."

He suddenly flicked his sleeve and let out a deafening snort.

A tangible azure-gold sword light shot straight into the sky, splitting the clouds above in two.

"The depletion of spiritual energy is merely a symptom. The real, fatal cause is what I just mentioned in four words—the depletion of the world's fundamental essence."

"The origin of the world?"

Lu Changming muttered softly to himself.

Even though he is now at the eighth level, hearing this term is as distant as a myth for a mortal.

"You can think of it as the 'spark of life' on this planet."

Ouyang Qianjue extended his right hand, and on his palm, sword energy compressed into a miniature planet emitting a blue glow. Inside the planet, countless complex golden threads were constantly intertwining and entangled.

"Martial artists from the first to the sixth rank cultivate their qi and blood. From the seventh rank onwards, they begin to draw upon the power of heaven and earth. At the eighth and ninth ranks, they comprehend the laws. But where do these laws come from?"

Ouyang Qianjue suddenly clenched his five fingers.

With a soft bang, the blue miniature planet instantly disintegrated, turning into countless fragments of starlight.

"Laws are the embodiment of the rules of a planet, and the origin of the world is the soil that carries these rules."

Ouyang Qianjue's gaze was like lightning, fixed on Shen Tian.

"At the peak of the ninth rank, one has honed their essence, energy, and spirit to perfection. To cross that insurmountable barrier and reach the tenth rank, one needs to combine their own law imprint with the world's origin, thereby completing a complete leap in life. But what if the origin of this planet is dried up, leaving no place to even begin?"

If the soil dries up, towering trees cannot grow.

If this is a deadlock, it means that no matter how extraordinary a martial artist's talent is, no matter how much they hone their physical body and laws, the ceiling is already firmly stuck there.

"Therefore, a serious gap occurred in the dating of ancient times."

Ouyang Qianjue's voice carried a hint of desolation.

"The ancient human race's tenth-tier, and even super-strong individuals beyond the tenth tier, are suffering from severe aging and generational gaps due to the lack of a source of power and the absence of successors. For a once powerful civilization that dominated the endless starry sky, the absence of new god-level powerhouses to replenish its fighting strength is tantamount to a slow death."

Ouyang Qianjue turned around and pointed to the void rifts left by the previous battle at the end of the sky.

"For the sake of the continuation of civilization, they did not sit idly by and wait for death. Since their own land was barren, they went out to fight! To the outer realms! To plunder the origins of other star systems, to seek new life! The Bronze Palace rose into the sky against that tragic backdrop."

Amidst the ruins, a fierce wind howled.

The lingering smell of gunpowder in the air was diluted by this grand sense of historical weight.

Shen Tian listened quietly.

The terrifying ten-kilometer-long crack on that dilapidated bronze palace flashed through my mind.

The extent of the devastation of that interstellar war is now impossible for later generations to verify.

"Later, Blue Star entered a long period of silence."

Ouyang Qianjue raised his head, sensing the restless power of heaven and earth in the air.

"Until extraordinary energy surged into Earth again, martial arts flourished. It seems Earth has ushered in a golden age of flourishing life, right?"

Shen Tian's gaze swept over his surroundings.

"But this is just a false prosperity."

Ouyang Qianjue said decisively,

"The origin of the world still shows no signs of being born."

Ouyang Qianjue stepped forward:

"Over the past thirty years, I have traversed all the forbidden zones of this planet, even venturing deep into its core, in search of traces of the world's origin. However, my findings indicate that the origin of this planet remains utterly depleted."

Ouyang Qianjue clenched his fists, and the void around him emitted a series of cracking sounds as if he could not bear the weight.

A bluish-gold light shot straight into the sky.

"This is why I've been stuck for thirty years! There's clearly a big door in front of me, and I've already grasped the doorknob, but the lock is welded shut! Without the baptism of the world's origin, even if I push the polarization law to its limit, I still can't take that final step!"

Lu Changming, who was standing next to him, took several steps back in alarm.

The mere wisp of sword intent leaked from Ouyang Qianjue's emotional fluctuations caused the Lord of Tianyun Mansion to feel an unbearable pain in his chest, as if his very soul was about to be cleaved in two.

Lu Changming was filled with shock.

This feeling of powerlessness and frustration—possessing unparalleled combat power yet being shackled by heaven and earth—must be an immense torment for an invincible powerhouse of his time.

Shen Tian stood still, his Eternal Overlord Body's blood and qi surging automatically, blocking the oppressive sword energy three feet away.

"Therefore, Brahma is the same."

Shen Tian said softly.

"Senior Ouyang."

"If what you say is true, the ancient civilization was forced to build the Bronze Palace and flee because the world's fundamental energy on Earth was depleted and its spiritual energy exhausted. Then why... is Earth's spiritual energy recovering now?"

Since Earth is a barren wasteland, why has such a vast amount of extraordinary energy been continuously flowing in over the past hundred years?

The martial arts system rose to prominence as a result, even granting alien races world-destroying power on this land.

Shen Tian, ​​who was standing next to him, gave the answer first.

"Because of the endless world."

Shen Tian's voice was very calm.

Ouyang Qianjue's eyelids, which had been slightly lowered, suddenly lifted, and surprise flashed in his pupils.

Ouyang Qianjue suppressed his surging sword energy, his tone revealing a hint of disbelief, and nodded.

"Indeed, it's because of the endless world."

"It's quite a coincidence."

"I went to the Black Abyss Rift before. Down there, I met a guy who claimed to be from the Abyss Royal Family."

"Only after I killed him did I learn about the endless world."

"More than a hundred years ago, countless spatial rifts suddenly tore open in the sky above this planet. We call it the descent of the gray fog, or the Great Cataclysm, which ushered in an era of spiritual revival."

"This is actually because Earth and the endless world have become connected, creating a spatial channel."

"The Endless World is neither a planet nor simply a galaxy."

"It was a high-dimensional plane of immense size, beyond our imagination. It was like an ancient behemoth roaming the universe. And the plane where Earth is located happened to be in its path of wandering."

"Two dimensions have collided."

"The so-called extraordinary energy we feel is actually the spiritual energy that awakens martial artists and fills the world with power."

"That was the energy of the endless world, flowing into the once-dried-up Blue Star through the spatial channels like a burst dam."