Wind and snow danced wildly over the ruins of the site, as ice crystals sliced through the surrounding space.

As the phantom of the pseudo-divine rank Alligator Snapping Turtle fused into the Ice Empress's forehead, her form underwent a mutation. Dark blue scales covered her snow-white skin, and she was encased in a suit of mystic ice battle armor, while the surrounding frost Origin caused the flow of time to slow down.

She ascended high into the air and opened her eyes!

"Bang—!!!"

An aura that made the ruin world tremble erupted!

Under the impact of this aura, the ice surface collapsed in sheets, and space cracked with countless fissures.

Zhou Huai stood amidst the ruins, his brow furrowed.

This old woman's current aura was already stronger than the skeleton calling itself the Human Emperor that he had killed back in the Abyss of Mist.

This should be the level of the SSS-Class ceiling.

"This is going to be tricky." Zhou Huai tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand.

A delicate giggle came from mid-air.

"Hehe... Kid, you're in big trouble this time."

Zhou Huai followed the sound and saw Chun, dressed in a green dress, sitting on the back of the Demon Dragon Xiao Hei.

She had her arms crossed, holding half a gnawed wild fruit in her hand, looking like a spectator who didn't mind if the trouble got bigger.

Chun swung her fair, tender legs and shouted to Zhou Huai below, "How is it? Do you feel helpless? If you sincerely beg me now—like crying and shouting 'Help me, Good Sister'—I might consider stepping in to teach her a lesson if I'm in a good mood."

Hearing these sarcastic remarks, Zhou Huai spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva in annoyance: "Cut it out! You're an old monster who has lived for many epochs, and you want me to call you 'Good Sister'? Aren't you afraid of biting your tongue!"

He paused and pointed the hilt of his sword at the sky: "You'd better just sit up there quietly and enjoy the show. Don't let the blood splatter all over you when the fight starts."

Chun wasn't annoyed by Zhou Huai's rejection; instead, she smiled: "Oh my, death is at your doorstep, yet your tone is still so arrogant. She has now fused with the soul of a pseudo-divine rank exotic beast; her strength has multiplied out of thin air."

Chun leaned forward, looking at Zhou Huai: "She can become stronger by borrowing a corpse for a soul. Do you think... you can be like her and raise your Realm on the spot?"

Hearing this, Zhou Huai laughed.

"Hehe... Hahahaha!"

Zhou Huai threw his head back and laughed, his voice piercing through the wind and snow: "Old Hag, you actually got one thing right."

He looked directly up at the Ice Empress: "If she can become stronger, do you think I can't?!"

Hearing this, Chun burst out laughing: "Fine then! I'll /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ sit right here and watch your performance. I'd like to see what kind of terrifying tricks you can pull out of your bag of trump cards!"

Zhou Huai ignored Chun's teasing and sank his consciousness into the System deep within his mind.

"System, check the Karma balance!"

He calculated rapidly in his heart. To combat those ancient remnants before, he had accumulated over forty million Karma. Plus, during this period, the hundreds of thousands of citizens in East Sea City had worshipped him as a deity, and the continuous flow of faith and gratitude allowed him to receive a substantial amount every day.

Now, the total amount of Karma to be used for Heaven-Defying fate-changing had just broken through the fifty million mark!

"I originally wanted to save it for Mr. Duan, but if I don't use it now, I'll lose my life right here!"

Zhou Huai gritted his teeth.

In any case, the strength of his main body was determined by the feedback from the Ranks of the many Clones fused within him. The higher the Ranks of the Clones, the more his main body, which had fused with All-Aspects Unity, would see its strength explode geometrically!

"Since I'm spending, I'll max it out directly!"

Thinking of this, Zhou Huai no longer hesitated!

"Great Sage Li Er! Saints Domain, open!!!"

Zhou Huai let out a thunderous roar.

"Buzz—!"

Radiant golden light erupted from his body. The ice field for dozens of meters around was enveloped by this holy and soft light, turning into a pure land isolated from all things.

With the support of this Domain, no matter how common-sense-defying his actions were, the backlash of the Heavenly Dao Laws would be forcibly reduced by a full tenfold!

Immediately after, Zhou Huai looked up, his hands forming seals in front of his chest, as grand mantras spilled from his mouth.

"Words Follow the Law!"

He spoke word by word: "First upgrade target! SSS-Class Profession, Insect Emperor Caesar!"

"Raise him—to Rank fifty!!!"

As his voice fell.

"Rumble—!"

The originally lifeless sky of the ruins, oppressed by the Ice Empress's pseudo-divine rank aura, let out a violent thunderclap! A column of holy white light as thick as a bucket ignored the barriers of space and struck down directly from the Nine Heavens, enveloping Zhou Huai completely!

【Ding! Fifteen million Karma deducted!】

Insect Emperor Caesar, whose Rank had stayed at 40, began to leap wildly under the infusion of the overbearing rules of Words Follow the Law!

Rank 42! Rank 45! Rank 50!

Consuming a full fifteen million Karma, Caesar's Rank crossed a massive chasm in just one second, reaching a terrifying Rank fifty!

As Caesar's Rank completed its transformation, a massive feedback force flooded into Zhou Huai's limbs and bones.

"Crack! Crack!"

The sound of bones popping echoed from within Zhou Huai's body, and his already terrifying aura began to climb steadily. The dark gold airwaves dissipating around him forcibly shattered the incoming frost storm!

Looking at Zhou Huai, who was bathed in white light with his aura soaring, the Ice Empress's eyes—fused with the vertical pupils of the Alligator Snapping Turtle—contracted: "You... you can actually directly tamper with the Laws and forcibly raise your Realm?! You will be destroyed by the Heavenly Dao!"

"Destroyed by the Heavenly Dao? I am the Heavenly Dao!" Zhou Huai laughed wildly in the white light.

But he knew very well that raising just one Caesar to Rank 50 was not enough to crush the monster in front of him.

"This is still not enough!!!"

Zhou Huai's eyes turned crimson due to the abundance of power. He gritted his teeth and roared toward the sky once more!

"Words Follow the Law!"

"SSS-Class Profession, Sky-Ruling Ancestral Dragon Rider, Arthur!"

"Raise him—to Rank fifty!!!"

"Bang—!!!"

As Zhou Huai roared this out, the entire ruins of the Ise Grand Shrine shook!

On the System panel, the remaining thirty-five million Karma was drained completely, not a single drop left!

One must know that Insect Emperor Caesar had been raised from Rank 40, but the top-tier profession Sky-Ruling Ancestral Dragon Rider Arthur, which possessed a Unique Hidden Prefix, was only at a pitiful Rank 1 before this!

From Rank 1 directly to Rank 50! What a Heaven-Defying act this was!

"Ugh, aaaaaah—!"

The intense pain made Zhou Huai unable to stop himself from roaring. Even with the tenfold reduction from the Saints Domain, the infusion of Laws brought about by the sudden Rank jump of 49 levels still caused fine beads of blood to seep from his skin.

But he gritted his teeth and endured it!

For the improvement of Zhou Huai's main body, this was a massive leap!

"Bang!" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

A dark gold light pillar, ten times thicker than before, shot up from Zhou Huai's body, directly piercing a hole through the overcast ice and snow in the sky. Zhou Huai's aura soared significantly; a sense of power that could crush stars with a mere gesture filled his every cell!

In mid-air, Chun, who had been leisurely watching, even forgot to gnaw on the fruit in her hand. Her rosy little mouth hung slightly open, her face full of disbelief: "This... from nothing to everything, even skipping the Cultivate process, a direct initiation? This kid is simply an unreasonable madman!"