Chapter 317: Void-Piercing Realm

"What a spectacular sight! Dozens of true disciples blasted away at once..."

"Haven't seen anything this exciting in a thousand years."

"So true disciples were only this strong..."

Further away from the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform, countless inner sect disciples witnessed this scene. No one knew how many sighed with emotion, nor how many secretly gloated over the true disciples' misfortune.

However, as more and more true disciples were sent flying, the expression on Yuan Miaoyi's face became increasingly ugly.

By the time almost every true disciple had been blasted out, leaving only Yan Huang behind, the lineage leader could not help but curse them.

"Utterly disgraceful."

This generation of true disciples truly was disgraceful.

On the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform, Yaoguang’s Space-Splitting Strike slammed into Liang Lin, the third-ranked true disciple, forcing the Golden Book Venerable to sweep him out of the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform. After that, no true disciple remained on the platform except Yan Huang.

"It’s over." His gaze fell on Yan Huang.

However, Yan Huang's expression was dark. His Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body continued to operate, and the battle sword in his hand once again released destructive lightning. He was determined to fight until the final moment.

He was holding on stubbornly.

Or rather, his status did not allow him to admit defeat. After all, he was the Heavenly Dao Sect’s number one true disciple, the eldest senior brother acknowledged by all disciples, as well as the direct disciple of the sect master.

But Yaoguang did give him face. What do your own burdens have to do with me?

Golden light flickered over the Wandering Dragon Sword.

Relying on the traits of Void’s Child, by now, triggering a void tsunami was completely effortless for Yaoguang.

With the slightest movement, he could draw upon the void tsunami and turn it into a Space-Splitting Strike that came crashing down heavily.

Yan Huang could block once, twice, perhaps even five or six times... But in the end, he could not block forever.

Finally, after Yaoguang unleashed ten consecutive Space-Splitting Strikes, Yan Huang’s Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body could no longer hold on. It split apart and exploded, releasing fire that lit up the sky.

Yaoguang’s eleventh Space-Splitting Strike followed before Yan Huang’s Crimson-Gold Divine Phoenix Body could complete the process of nirvanic rebirth. Golden light flashed, and his figure was directly transported out of the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform by the Golden Book Venerable.

"He lost."

Even though many true disciples had already anticipated the outcome, seeing this scene left them feeling incomparably bitter.

Yaoguang, a complete stranger to them, had appeared out of nowhere like a great fiend king, crushing every true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect. They had no way to resist him.

In the end, he obtained victory.

Yan Huang’s defeat seemed to represent the end of an era.

The Golden Book Venerable, however, was too lazy to care about their thoughts.

Golden Core cultivators lived no more than a thousand years.

To him, who had lived for who knew how many hundreds of thousands of years, they were like spring silkworms, dragonflies, and butterflies. Their sentimental sorrow over fleeting seasons held no meaning in his eyes.

He only needed to follow the rules that Dao Venerable Hong Meng had established for him.

"Is there anyone else who wishes to ascend the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform and issue a challenge?" the Golden Book Venerable said faintly.

He did not look at the gloomy faces of those Void-Piercing Realm elders or immortal lineage leaders.

The attitude of those in the Golden Core realm was meaningless, and the thoughts of the elders and lineage leaders weren't any more important.

As the Golden Book Venerable’s psychic thought echoed, the gazes of every disciple present turned toward the remaining true disciples.

Those true disciples remained silent.

Some true disciples could not even bear having everyone's eyes on them and left directly.

As for the elders and lineage leaders, they exchanged glances, powerless despite their intentions.

"It seems like there is no one else." The Golden Book Venerable took this scene in, then turned toward Yaoguang, who was still maintaining the power of his Azure Golden Core on the platform. "In that case... Congratulations. You have become a true disciple!"

"Thank you." Yaoguang nodded slightly.

As long as artifact spirits were not influenced by human cultivators for too long, they could conduct affairs from a fair and impartial position, because their thought process was completely different from that of humans.

"I am merely acting according to the rules." As the Golden Book Venerable spoke, he waved his empty hand, and a scroll unfolded before him. Eighty-eight names were impressively recorded on it. "All true disciples will move back by one rank. The eighty-eighth true disciple will be automatically demoted to the rank of inner sect disciple."

As this artifact spirit spoke, he paid no attention to the slightly pale face of one true disciple among the many. With a wave of his hand, he captured Yaoguang's mental imprint and engraved it on the scroll.

The entire process happened in full view of everyone.

No one obstructed it. No one could obstruct it.

The rules recorded on the Great Dao Golden Book were the foundation of the Heavenly Dao Sect’s existence, standing above all power and authority.

Yaoguang’s position as a true disciple was legitimate beyond any dispute.

The atmosphere in the field remained heavy for a moment.

Shortly after...

Among the true disciples, Ling Xi was the first to smile. She gave a fist-and-palm salute toward Yaoguang. "Congratulations, Senior Brother Yaoguang, on joining the ranks of the true disciples."

Once she spoke, Zhang Qin also immediately gave a fist-and-palm salute in congratulation. "Congratulations, True Disciple Yaoguang."

With these two true disciples expressing their stance, other true disciples who could read the situation, as well as many inner sect disciples, offered their congratulations at the same time. "Congratulations, Senior Brother Yaoguang, on becoming the first-ranked true disciple!"

Countless strands of psychic thought filled the area around the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

The inner sect disciples, in particular, were incomparably enthusiastic in expressing their congratulations.

Anyone could see that, now that Yaoguang had taken first place, a new force would soon emerge within the Heavenly Dao Sect.

***

Above the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform, Jin Yuliu frowned, yet said nothing.

After the other elders exchanged glances, they turned their gazes toward the immortal lineage leader.

After all, this lineage leader had been the one who ordered all the true disciples to attack together and stop Yaoguang from becoming a true disciple.

They simply had not expected that even with twenty or thirty true disciples attacking at the same time, including high-ranking ones such as Yan Huang and Liang Lin, they would still fail to stop Yaoguang’s rise. The immortal lineage leader had likely lost all face.

However, the immortal lineage leader did not care about the other elders' gazes. Instead, he was secretly observing the sect master. His heart was filled with unease.

Zong Wenxian glanced at him. With an indifferent expression, he rose into the air and arrived directly above the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform.

Only then did the sect master reveal a faint smile. "I did not expect the inner sect to have overlooked a pearl like you, Yaoguang. With your performance on the Heavenly Dao Sword Platform today, even on the Void-Piercing Realm Candidate Rankings jointly established by the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects, you would be able to rank among the top three, and perhaps even contend for the honor of being first on the Candidate Rankings. For the Heavenly Dao Sect to have a true disciple like you is the sect’s good fortune."

"Sect Master, you're flattering me," Yaoguang replied politely.

"This is no flattery, but the truth." As Zong Wenxian spoke, he went straight to the point. "It has been a very long time since I last accepted a disciple, but with a true disciple like you, Yaoguang, even I cannot help being somewhat moved. Today, in front of the many elders and lineage leaders, I intend to accept you as my direct disciple and personally guide you to reach the Void-Piercing Realm as soon as possible. What do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the ordinary true disciples, inner sect disciples, and officers all revealed shocked expressions. Many of their faces were filled with envy.

The sect master’s direct disciple!

A sect master on the North Sea Star was different from those in other worlds. They represented the highest authority within a sect. In terms of weight, they stood a step above even the supreme elders.

Aside from Dao Lords, the sect-master-level existences of the Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects had complete authority, as well as the qualifications to mobilize every supreme elder and assign them missions.

Of course, Void-Shattering Realm supreme elders enjoyed lofty treatment in any force. Even a sect master could not order them to risk their lives. But at the very least, the sect master represented the sect's orthodox authority, holding the moral high ground within the sect.

From this, one could see just how important the status of a sect master’s direct disciple was. This was also why every inner sect disciple looked at Yaoguang with envy and jealousy.

Becoming the sect master’s direct disciple was just as valuable as becoming a supreme elder's direct disciple. To any disciple, it was like reaching the heavens.

However, compared to the inner sect disciples and ordinary true disciples, the many elders, lineage leaders, peak masters, and even a few true disciples such as Ling Xi all had somewhat strange expressions.

Ling Xi, in particular, glanced at Yaoguang, then at the sect master, before hurriedly lowering her head, not daring to say another word.

For a true disciple, becoming the sect master’s direct disciple could indeed be considered to reach into the heavens and obtain a boundless future.

But Yaoguang possessed a special void-type physique. Even she could see that, let alone the other elders, peak masters, lineage leaders, and the sect master.

A void-type special physique could greatly reduce the difficulty of advancing to the Void-Piercing Realm to begin with. On top of that, Yaoguang’s Azure Golden Core was so profound. With such a foundation, he likely only needed to settle himself for a while longer before naturally reaching the Void-Piercing Realm.

The Void-Piercing Realm, Void-Refining Realm, and Void-Shattering Realm all belonged to the same greater realm in a certain sense.

They were similar to the Radiant Sun, Blazing White, and Azure Golden Cores.

Once a disciple took a master, the master could interfere in many aspects of the disciple’s affairs, even planning out his life.

Under such circumstances, and given that the disparity in cultivation between Yaoguang and the sect master wasn't that large, was it suitable for Yaoguang to take Zong Wenxian as his master? Of course it wasn't.

Yet the sect master had made this request anyway. It was as though he had not regarded Yaoguang as a future Void-Piercing Realm cultivator at all. As for what his reasons were... That was absolutely not something a true disciple like Ling Xi could investigate deeply.

"Accept me as your disciple and help me reach the Void-Piercing Realm as soon as possible?" Yaoguang looked at Zong Wenxian’s smiling face, and his gaze involuntarily swept toward Jin Yuliu among the elders.

"Indeed. With your talent, if I guide you and pour my resources into you, I am confident I can help you reach the Void-Piercing Realm within ten years." Zong Wenxian smiled.

"Ten years to reach the Void-Piercing Realm? There is no need." As Yaoguang spoke, the Azure Golden Core that had originally only been manifested as an illusion suddenly leaped out from within his body.

At the same time, his Dharma Form, which had been condensed from boundless psychic thought, also shot into the sky and erupted fully. In the haze, it seemed to tear apart the heavens and the earth, transforming nothingness into existence and forcibly giving rise to the phantom of a world.

Because of the Grotto Origin Technique, this process seemed to have already been completed long ago. When Yaoguang's Dharma Form erupted, it was as though a world phantom had developed from a single origin point, and it directly encompassed the entire Azure Golden Core.

As the two fused, the Azure Golden Core collapsed with a thunderous rumble. Thanks to the guidance of the void laws that Yaoguang had mastered to an exquisite level, a massive Primordial Void emerged from the Golden Core and reflected the world formed by the Dharma Form.

Yaoguang was breaking through to the Void-Refining Realm in front of everyone.

The Primordial Void formed from the collapse of the Golden Core provided energy, drawing upon the void laws. Then, using the void laws as the foundation of existence, it merged with the illusory world that had originated from the eruption of the Dharma Form.

It turned illusion into reality, and nothingness into existence.

In an incomparably brief span of time, a grotto-heaven had already been woven together using the void laws.

As the spatial ripples leaking from this grotto-heaven started spreading in all directions, Yaoguang also stepped out from within that distorted void, where it seemed as though two worlds had overlapped.

"I have reached the Void-Piercing Realm."