The Last Sentinel

"Damn it! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

"Li Wenzhong, you bastard! You're going to ruin everything!"

"He doesn't actually think the stargate is something we can get through, does he?"

"If this is a shortcut to escape the carbon-based universe, this demon-locking tower, why bother trying to break through all four walls?"

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the scent of ambergris mingled with the cold wind drifting in from outside, making it stifling and difficult to breathe. The vermilion pillars reflected the dim yellow palace lanterns, casting flickering light on Yan Shifan's distorted face.

The young Grand Secretary slammed his hand on the celadon teacup on the table, shattering it. Shards flew everywhere, and scalding tea soaked the hem of his court robes, but this did nothing to quell his anger. His murderous aura seemed to threaten to lift the roof of the palace. Everyone present was taken aback, and no one dared to utter a word to stop him.

The civil and military officials in the hall looked at each other, some with their heads down staring at the tips of his boots, others stealing glances at Yan Shifan, all with complicated expressions, and no one dared to speak.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; only Yan Shifan's heavy breathing echoed through the empty space.

The kind-hearted Huang Jin stood to the side, his brows furrowed, his hands unconsciously rubbing the corners of his sleeves. After a long while, he sighed, breaking the silence: "Your Excellency, did Li Wenzhong not attend the Imperial Meeting at the Baiyujing Ancestral Temple?"

Yan Shifan's chest heaved violently, his face ashen. Hearing this, he gritted his teeth, shook his head, and said with resentment, "No. After he woke up, he went straight to the Sword Qi Great Wall, saying that a new emperor brings a new court. He was a general of the founding emperor, and guarding the border was his destiny. Court affairs were none of his concern, so naturally he did not attend the ancestral temple meeting."

"This..." Huang Jin's lips twitched, his eyes filled with helplessness. He sighed softly, "No wonder he was able to suggest to Qi Tian the shortcut of attacking the other party's three thousand universes while they were back! If this shortcut could succeed, if there was even the slightest chance of success, we wouldn't have gone to fight the fourth wall to the death."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Juzheng, standing beside Gao Gong, frowned slightly and turned to look at him, his tone tinged with doubt: "Lord Gao, I joined the cabinet relatively late and have never participated in the Taizu Temple meeting. Why do you say that the method of entering the other side's vast universe through the teleportation star gate is simply impossible?"

Gao Gong's expression turned solemn, and he subconsciously lowered his voice, his aura becoming more subdued. He slowly said, "The carbon-based universe, also known as the Demon-Locking Tower in the myriad realms, is arguably the greatest hidden danger in the myriad realms. They have gone to great lengths to deal with us. In fact, it can be said that from the Investiture of the Gods to the fall of the Ming Dynasty, every dynastic change of the Great Xia Dynasty was a peak contest between them and us! In this long period of mutual confrontation, the experts of the myriad realms have summarized a supreme strategy to deal with the carbon-based universe."

Zhang Juzheng's eyes narrowed, and he pressed, "A countermeasure at the peak?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Shifan sneered, his murderous aura intensifying. He flicked his sleeve and spoke with utter disdain and contempt: "What kind of bullshit peak strategy is this? It's nothing more than them realizing they can't beat us anymore, so they came up with the idea of ​​using their own weapons against them, giving them a taste of their own medicine!"

Zhang Juzheng grew increasingly puzzled, his brows furrowing even more deeply: "An eye for an eye?"

Yan Shifan snorted coldly, his expression growing even colder, and slowly explained, "To put it bluntly, they're using our ancestors against us! They're using our former ancestors to form a barrier, trapping us in the middle. The so-called four walls are actually a barrier formed by the convergence of the four great dynasties. And the current star gates are all true destiny portals transformed from the Nirvana of mythical beings. In other words, behind each star gate lies a blessed land, a secret realm, or even a dungeon realm of a mythical being!"

He paused, his tone growing increasingly somber, and continued, "People from all the myriad realms are protected by laws, allowing them to safely enter our carbon-based universe without disturbing those instance mechanisms. However, people from our carbon-based universe must pass through these secret realm instances to reach the myriad realms. We are not protected by laws, and once we step into them, we will disturb the mechanisms that awaken the secret realm instances."

"At that time, we will witness the awakening of a powerful being from the myths and legends of the Great Xia Dynasty, who will subject us to the most severe suppression!"

"After all, those mythical beings have long since perished, leaving behind only their fighting consciousness. They have no memories and attack indiscriminately against everyone, unable to distinguish between friend and foe."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng seemed to be deep in thought. He gently stroked his chin with his fingertips and slowly said, "If what the young Grand Secretary said is true, doesn't that mean that if we want to pass through the four great walls, we must break through the barriers of the four great dynasties; and if we want to pass through the Star Gate, we must fight the mythical powerhouses who have already undergone Nirvana inside, and we must clear the secret realm instance?"

"Thump—"

Just then, from behind the heavy curtains, a clear, crisp sound of a golden chime suddenly rang out, breaking the silence in the hall.

The voice was neither hurried nor slow, yet it carried an undeniable authority that caused everyone present to instantly lower their heads and become respectful.

It was the Jiajing Emperor.

Jiajing's voice came from behind the curtain, leisurely and steady, carrying the unique imperial pressure, as he slowly said, "What Zhang Shentong said is very true. I can also tell you a secret. The so-called strong people in the Human Alliance today, such as Xuan Nu and Kua Fu, are actually just commemorative titles for those who failed to challenge the mythical powerhouses of the Star Gate. These titles have attributes and can be inherited. The inheritor can possess a portion of the divinity of these titles."

Zhang Juzheng looked up at the direction of the curtain, his tone tinged with reverence, and bowed as he asked, "Your Majesty, if the titles of these elite mythical figures of the Human Alliance are commemorative titles for those who failed in their challenges, then what about those who succeeded? Has no one ever honorably defeated a mythical powerhouse and walked out of the Star Gate?"

"Of course there are." Jiajing's voice remained calm, yet it carried a hint of pride. "The Great Xia civilization is brilliant and magnificent, with countless outstanding talents emerging. Naturally, there are those who can successfully challenge it."

"Leaving aside the distant past, let's just talk about the powerful figures of the last few hundred years."

"Our great Ming Dynasty sage, Wang Yangming."

"The Three-Body Problem Wallfacer is Zhang Beihai."

"The Swordholder of the Three-Body Problem, Luo Ji."

"Pangu was the first speaker of the Human Alliance."

"Especially Pangu, he is a very special existence. Pangu himself did not pass the test of the Pangu Great Power, but because his status was too high, even though he failed this test, the title of Pangu and the inherited divinity he received made him almost indifferent to other mythological great powers. This led to the fact that all the heavens and myriad worlds had no way to deal with Pangu and could only banish him."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng's eyes flashed with a hint of understanding, and he slowly said, "So, the so-called benevolence that all the heavens and myriad realms have been talking about in releasing Pangu is not true benevolence. It's simply because they couldn't kill Pangu, so they had no other choice."

"Otherwise what?" Yan Shifan rolled his eyes, his lips curled into a sneer, his tone full of contempt for all the heavens and myriad worlds. "Those hypocritical bastards, if they had any chance of killing us, they wouldn't give us a single chance of survival! Their so-called mercy is nothing but an excuse for their incompetence."

Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, then turned and asked, "As Your Majesty said, behind each star gate is a powerful figure from the fallen mythical era of our Great Xia. So, which powerful figure from the mythical era is behind the star gate that Qi Tian is now passing through?"

Yan Song had remained silent until he heard this, then coughed lightly, his expression grave, and slowly said, "Which powerful figure is it? I can't say."

"Before the Ming Dynasty, those old guys in the myriad worlds hadn't all died out yet. They controlled the strength of mythical beings quite well, always matching the weak with the weak and the strong with the strong. They were extremely targeted at those carbon-based new generation powerhouses who entered the Star Gate Challenge."

"But after the Ming Dynasty, a great calamity occurred within the myriad realms. After this calamity, all the old beings died, and the strength of the mythical beings became completely out of control, with entry entirely random. Take Pangu, for example. Based on the strength of the first chairman of the Other Alliance, he should have been matched with a mythical being at most the level of Yinglong or Hanba, but he was directly matched with the creator god Pangu! This not only baffled us, but also left the myriad realms completely dumbfounded. They never expected that the Pangu Secret Realm would be triggered!"

Zhang Juzheng frowned, his tone tinged with disbelief: "As you say, after Qi Tian enters this star gate, all sorts of mythical dungeons and powerful secret realms could appear? It could be the Earth God, the Kitchen God, or even the Jade Emperor's Gouchen?"

Yan Song sighed softly, his expression growing increasingly grave. He shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter who it is anymore. If he passes the test, Qi Tian will disappear from everyone's sight, just like Luo Ji, Zhang Beihai, and Pan Gu. If he fails, Qi Tian will be completely wiped out, leaving only the title of 'test-taker' to be passed down to the next generation of the Human Alliance. In any case, Qi Tian is destined to disappear."

Zhang Juzheng was taken aback, his eyes filled with confusion, and asked, "Wasn't it said that failing the test would result in a commemorative title? How could someone die?"

Yan Song explained, "The title is reserved for the next successor, not for the person who fails. If the person fails to pass the test, they will inevitably die, just like the title of Xuan Nu was not earned by herself, but inherited. When someone fails to pass the test, the source will take back the title and then choose a reliable successor to bestow the title upon them. These things are beyond our control. Let's all wait and see what happens and see how Qi Tian's fate unfolds! Hopefully, he will be randomly assigned to a not-too-difficult mythical realm."

Silence returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Everyone remained silent, their gazes fixed on the sky outside, their expressions a mixture of worry, anticipation, and regret. The wind outside grew stronger, causing the curtains to sway slightly, and the light from the palace lanterns to flicker, casting shifting shadows on everyone's faces.

Above the sky, the scenery changes in an instant.

The stargate's light curtain collapsed violently, its light gradually dimming, and it was about to close. The surrounding space distorted, rippling with waves, exuding an oppressive atmosphere.

Instead of retreating, Qi Tian advanced, his eyes as firm as iron. His aura surged, and in a flash, he became a blur, rushing straight towards the core of the star gate. His figure darted through the distorted space at extreme speed, leaving only a faint, cold glint in his eyes.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding cultivators' expressions changed drastically. They all unleashed their magical treasures and activated their spiritual power, desperately trying to stop Qi Tian. They roared and pounced forward, their magical treasures gleaming brightly. Red, yellow, blue, and green spiritual power attacks swept across the sky and engulfed Qi Tian, ​​creating a massive force that almost submerged the entire space.

"Stop him! Don't let him in!"

"Qi Tian, ​​you're courting death!"

The roars, the sounds of magical artifacts tearing through the air, and the clashes of spiritual energy intertwined and resounded throughout the sky.

Qi Tian's eyes were as cold as ice, and his aura suddenly surged, freezing the surrounding air instantly. He raised his hand and unleashed several icy blades. The icy blades were crystal clear, carrying a bone-chilling cold, and they tore through the void, directly colliding with the cultivator's attack.

"boom--!"

A deafening roar erupted instantly as the icy blades collided with the spiritual energy attack, unleashing a dazzling light. The shockwaves of cold air and spiritual energy spread outwards, sweeping in all directions. The cultivators were utterly no match for them; their physical bodies and magical treasures were shattered, turning into dust that filled the sky. They vanished completely into the world without even leaving a scream.

Clearing away the obstacles, Qi Tian continued his advance without hesitation, his figure flashing as he charged straight into the core of the Star Gate, heading directly for the Mythical Secret Realm. His figure was gradually swallowed by the light of the Star Gate, leaving only a resolute silhouette as he disappeared from everyone's sight.

Above the sky, the star gate's light curtain collapsed completely, its light extinguished, and calm returned. Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the people remained staring at the sky, their expressions varied, their hearts filled with unease as they awaited Qi Tian's final fate.

The hall fell silent once more, with only the scent of ambergris slowly permeating the air.