"He must have intended to use those two Divine Treasures amid the chaos earlier. But now, with the Heavenly Tribulation ascending from the level of the Myriad Heavenly Lightning Tribulations to that of the Chaos Heavenly Lightning Tribulations, he had no choice but to use them prematurely—lest he perish before ever getting the chance."
The Divine Punishment Immortal murmured solemnly.
What had seemed moments ago to be a situation firmly within her grasp had now spiraled into unpredictability, all because of the Human Great Emperor's desperate maneuver—one that no one had seen coming.
Of course, only those aloof and self-assured Immortals believed that the appearance of the two beads marked the Human Great Emperor's final bid to preserve his life.
Had he heard their thoughts, he might have burst into laughter.
For the Human Great Emperor, this was merely the opening move—nothing more than a prelude.
He still had far more to reveal today, and this time he would make them truly understand the terror that the Human Race could unleash.
Their race was weak—there was no doubt about that.
Their race was infamous for backstabbing and deception—no confirmation needed there, either.
Yet, when the moment demanded it—when the fire of resistance burned bright—they would send hundreds of thousands to their deaths without hesitation, just to make their ideals clear and their stand unshakable.
Such was the Human Race, led by none other than the Human Great Emperor.
Flawed? Certainly. Imperfect? Undeniably. But in defiance, they stood tall until the bitter end.
And in this era, the Human Great Emperor was nothing short of a miracle—a dragon among men.Envied by rivals, adored by his people, and revered by countless followers who sang his praises even in whispers.
It wasn't just the Immortals of the Lower Heavens he stood against—no.He had clashed with powerful Immortals who had descended from the Middle Heavens, using underhanded means and forbidden methods—and even then, they failed to push him back.
In other words, many formidable Middle Heaven Immortals were no match for him at all.
Such was the majesty of this era's Human Great Emperor.
His cultivation was unfathomable. His background, immense. His power, peerless.If he so desired, he could have stood at the line of Ascension—transcending from an Enlightened of the Lower Heavens to a true Ascendant, stepping into the vastness of the Middle Heavens, and gazing upon the elusive Path of True Immortality.
Becoming an Ascendant and ascend to the Middle Heavens from the Lower Heavens, to take a glimpse of the True Immortal Pathway!
It was a dream shared by countless beings—Immortals and mortals alike—and even more for those who ruled the Lower Heavens but never reached beyond.
Yet, even with the gates of Ascension wide open before him, the Human Great Emperor refused.
He remained in this world.
He chose to walk among the same mortals, stand on equal footing with the very Immortals who ruled over them, enduring the weight of the world with them.
And he did so not for power, nor prestige—but for purpose.
For the sake of the Human Race—to give them a chance to rise against the Immortals' cruelty and greed—he willingly bore that burden.This sacrifice, this defiance, earned him boundless admiration, worship, and unwavering loyalty.
So when he revealed his plan—to be captured by the Immortal Council and brought before the Divine Punishment Immortal—few could accept it.
His followers, who had marched beside him through blood and fire, were prepared to sacrifice everything—their bodies, souls, and very existence—just so he could live and fight another day.
Forget the petty schemes of Lower Heaven Immortals, or even the overwhelming presence of the Divine Punishment Immortal's projection—if a Divine Being had descended in wrath, they still wouldn't have taken a single step back.
Such was the devotion they held for their Emperor.
And the Emperor? He knew. He understood.
But he had his own ideals.
To him, this was an experiment—a question waiting for an answer: Could they truly resist those who reigned in the Heavens Above?
If not, then resistance would remain eternal, no matter the cost. But if it was possible...Then the heavens themselves might one day tremble before his rise.
So he held his followers back.
Burning with fury, ready to ignite the world—they stayed their hand under his command, lest they startle the snake too soon.
The Human Great Emperor was no fool. He knew that whether he succeeded or fell, the battle must continue. The fire must never die.
And so, rather than gamble his people's lives in vain, he stepped alone onto the celestial chessboard.
In his heart, he was prepared—for every scheme, every ambush, every godly illusion conjured by the Immortals or the Divine Punishment Immortal's projection.
Unlike what others feared, he held no dread, no despair.
For in his mind, he had already walked through the storm—and beyond.
----
While the two golden beads continued to revolve silently around the Human Great Emperor, glowing with ever-increasing brilliance, the surrounding Immortals grew increasingly wary of the unknown.
Then—under the control of the Divine Punishment Immortal—the first bolt of the Chaos Heavenly Tribulations descended from the skies with terrifying ferocity, tearing space as it crashed downward like the wrath of an ancient god.
The Human Great Emperor, of course, noticed.
He glanced casually at the golden beads. With every revolution, the aura they radiated intensified, their divine presence surging like a tide preparing to crash.
"Not yet. Just a little more."
Muttering softly under his breath, his gaze calm yet unwavering, he moved his right hand slightly and made a small gesture using his fingers. A simple flick of his fingers was all it took.
A stream of Sword Qi burst forth—sharp, radiant, unrestrained—and flew to meet the descending bolt of chaos-infused lightning, as though it were nothing more than a challenge to be answered.
Crack! Crack!
Boom!!
Before the stunned eyes of every Immortal present, the Unbreakable Sealing Chains that had bound the Human Great Emperor to the Atonement Platform shattered like an insignificant piece of paper was being torn apart by the knife, without any resistance.
Chains said to be unbreakable—relics from the Middle Heavens and Heavens Above—collapsed within seconds.
Unbelievable.
Impossible.
Yet it had just happened.
The Immortals, once so certain of their control, could only stare as reality unraveled before them.
The Human Great Emperor chuckled lightly, standing on the very same Atonement Platform that once bound him, brushing imaginary dust from his robes.
"That was your insurance? A mere Unbreakable Sealing Chain from the Heavens Above?"
He let the words hang in the air, sharp and mocking.
Then his voice erupted—like thunder crashing across the heavens.
"How dare you?"
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
The words reverberated across the realm, heavy and oppressive.And with just that, the Immortals faltered.
Their bodies moved involuntarily, weighed down by a pressure they could neither understand nor resist. Their minds—refined and cultivated over millennia—wavered and cracked from just a shout.
What kind of monster was this man?
He stood there—casually, defiantly—on the Atonement Platform, a throne of defiance against the Heavens themselves. His gaze swept past them, unbothered, landing instead on the distant figure of the Divine Punishment Immortal.
And as if to emphasize his disdain for the so-called divine judgment, the Finger Sword Qi—born from a flick of his hand—met the First Bolt of Chaos Heavenly Lightning Tribulation and obliterated it.
No resistance. No collision of cosmic proportions.It simply vanished—dispersed like smoke before a breeze.
As though this was the natural order of things.
Those who had only moments ago been shocked by the breaking of the chains were now struck by something far more terrifying: fear.
A man, bound by divine chains, had casually gestured—and in doing so, destroyed the First Bolt of the Chaos Heavenly Tribulation like it was nothing.
The First Bolt.
The manifestation of an Ancient and Supreme Heavenly Force, a Law of the Ancient World that reigned supreme above all.
Gone—just like that.
Even the Divine Punishment Immortal's gaze narrowed slightly.
She had estimated that the Human Great Emperor could likely withstand up to the ThirdBolt using all his means. But to erase the First so easily, so casually…?
"So this is his true strength? Or just a glimpse of it?"
"How is he still even in the Lower Heavens? Against the very laws of the World?"
The Sword Qi he released was not ordinary. Even Ascendant Immortals from the Middle Heavens would suffer injuries from such a technique. A being of this caliber should not remain in the Lower Heavens. The world itself should be forcing him toward Ascension by invoking Tribulations. The fact that he still remained below defied reason.
"It seems... he still has many cards hidden from the world, unknown to everyone."
The Divine Punishment Immortal murmured, her expression became unreadable as her fingers moved once more.
She would not wait.
The Second Bolt of Chaos Heavenly Lightning Tribulation was already descending.
The true test was only beginning.