One day later.

The Sun once again hung high above the colossal tree, its light cascading across the sky.

Yu Xuan slowly opened his eyes.

He felt groggy.

Not physically tired but mentally... stretched.

His instincts for timing were still sharp.

Because the moment he sat up, Ximen Juesheng, the self-proclaimed Old Ancestor and Third Human Emperor, was already walking toward him.

’Perfect timing,’ Yu Xuan thought.

Then his mind drifted back.

’...What a strange dream.’

A self-proclaimed Sun barged into his dreamscape, accused him of disrespect, forced him into a gacha game and he ended up obtaining a supreme technique.

A very strange supreme technique.

Though highly practical.

He coughed lightly.

’I definitely did not create that myself, right?’

He hadn’t suddenly achieved enlightenment and forged such a bizarre method out of thin air... right?

His expression grew complicated.

’Even if I lose my Young Master position one day... I could definitely become a Yang Master.’ His lips twitched at that thought.

Jian Chen, standing nearby with his silver hair flowing faintly, observed Yu Xuan’s changing expressions and could not help but wonder.

’What exactly did the Seventh Sun give him...?’

Just then, Ximen Juesheng arrived before them.

"The negotiations are done let’s go—"

He paused mid-sentence as his gaze shifted.

Two figures were approaching from the distance.

The air subtly tightened.

"...Now look at this," a deep voice echoed from above.

"Even the Heaven Changing Sword is here."

Space folded inward.

The sky dimmed slightly as the Grand Void Emperor descended, every step bending the surrounding fabric of space as though it were cloth beneath his feet.

The title of Grand Void Emperor was not lightly earned.

It belonged only to those who ruled unimaginable vast territories of the Void.

And he was among the first beings ever born within that endless darkness.

Behind him walked another equally terrifying existence.

"For Heaven’s sake... can you first stop copying my appearance?" a calm yet irritated voice said.

Yu Xuan looked.

Then blinked.

Then blinked again.

The being called the Eternal Supreme looked deceptively simple, if one ignored the fact that where a head should be, there existed a rotating black hole. A faint crimson glow swirled along its accretion disk, like irritation made visible.

The Grand Void Emperor had adopted a similar form.

Except his singularity lacked the crimson disk.

"...I didn’t know even the Eternal Supreme would come," Ximen Juesheng said slowly, eyes narrowing. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He had invited the Grand Void Emperor.

The Eternal Supreme was not part of the arrangement.

The two powerhouse’s gazes locked.

The air felt heavy.

Unseen pressure radiated outward like invisible tidal waves, causing the landmasses to tremble subtly.

Humans and Eternals were not openly at war.

But their history was... complicated.

In many worlds, the Eternals were the first inhabitants.

Humans came later.

Yet in numerous realms, Humanity became destiny’s favored race.

Naturally, resentment followed.

Their relationship, on a cosmic scale, could best be described as chaotic neutral.

"I truly don’t mind your presence, Eternal Supreme," Ximen Juesheng said lightly.

"Why do I sense your sincerity is lacking?" the Eternal Supreme replied.

Though his tone was steady, inwardly he felt something else.

A premonition.

The mortal challenger standing quietly below.

Yu Xuan.

Was somehow tied to the long-term fate of the Eternal Race.

He did not know why.

But beings of their level did not ignore such instincts.

They understood the deeper mechanisms of Heaven.

What rises must fall.

But where it falls, and how far.

Beings like them sometimes influenced that descent.

And at this moment, turning Humanity into an outright enemy felt... unwise.

Though Humans and Eternals clashed often, they were not irreconcilable enemies.

They could still exist beneath the same sky.

If losses could be minimized.

The Eternal Supreme would prefer that outcome.

After all, he was one of the leaders of the Eternal Race.

And he carried a hidden identity known only to a select few.

"I hope you won’t be stingy then," Ximen Juesheng snorted.

At their level, arithmetic was dangerous.

Sometimes 1 + 1 equaled −11.

Such was the math.

Still.

He did not reject the Eternal Supreme’s presence.

His mind spun rapidly.

’So many gathered already... Do I take greater risks and call her as well?’

He had not anticipated this many legendary figures rallying for a single mortal challenger.

And judging by the possibility of them being released from this place.

There would be more uninvited guests soon.

Meanwhile.

Yu Xuan stood quietly between Jian Chen and The Human Emperor.

Looking at one black hole-headed entity.

Then another.

He silently concluded once again.

’...This is definitely not a mortal trial.’

Because he had never heard of a mortal Black Hole, was there even such a concept?

***

Leaf Number 119

In this realm, nothing was random.

The sky curved in calculated arcs.

The rivers flowed in geometric spirals.

Mountains rose in deliberate symmetry.

Every stone, every gust of wind, every flicker of light.

Followed both a visible structure and an invisible blueprint.

This was the Realm of the Architect.

And not just any Architect.

A Prime Architect.

The Architects were an ancient race, rivaling Celestials in the power of Creation.

And a Prime among them was a being beyond measure.

Within a folded pocket-space shaped like an impossibly intricate castle, its towers twisting like spirals of logic, stood Prime Architect Jiyx.

His form was like that of a square being.

And before him floated his latest masterpiece.

A Sentinel.

"Hehe... this finally looks like something worthy of the term ’prototype,’" Jiyx muttered, adjusting a floating array of rotating runic rings around the Sentinel.

This had been his long-cherished dream.

After nearly four hundred thousand years of refining the early versions, he had this model.

He had worked toward this creation, refining its structure, modifying its internal pathways, increasing its capacity to withstand that paradox-level forces.

To complete it.

He had even swallowed his pride and requested assistance from a particular fellow he normally avoided.

"Many have arrived here, did you plan a conference or something?" a mechanical voice interrupted calmly.

Jiyx turned.

Floating behind him was another being.

Metallic.

Humanoid.

Precision-engineered joints, glowing optic lenses, articulated limbs of dark alloy.

If Yu Xuan were present, he would have blurted out exactly one thought.

’...That’s a damn robot!’