Chapter 967: I’m About to Become a Big Shot, The World’s Star Core

Inside the grand hall, demonic qi churned violently. Massive black stone pillars, each a kilometer thick, stood like heavenly columns piercing through the clouds, disappearing into the swirling vortex above.

In this abyss that resembled a dark hell, Brooks stood respectfully at the bottom, waiting for the demon gods’ next instructions. However, as the five demon gods conversed, invisible principles spread through the air, distorting time and space. Brooks had no idea what they had discussed.

Half an hour later, their conversation about the primordial origin finally ended. Deorus lowered its head slightly, its indifferent gaze falling upon Brooks. Its voice was calm and cold. "Brooks, from now on, you will take over the remnants of the Assassination Division and reorganize it with a select force of True Demons. This division will merge into the Intelligence Division. You are to find a way to infiltrate human society and obtain critical intelligence, especially anything related to Chu Batian, his family and his friends, as detailed as possible. Besides that, you are also to monitor movements of the Heavenly Feathered Race. For this mission, I grant you access to both empires’ treasure vaults. No approval is needed for any resource below law-level, but anything law-level or higher must be cleared by Tarorya."

This great war had not only claimed the life of Barus, the former head of the Assassination Division, but two demon kings as well. The rest had barely escaped, seriously wounded, and the division’s elite force had been utterly wiped out.

At such a critical moment, it was Brooks, who had just broken through, that ended up being the only usable demon king. Thus, Deorus entrusted it with this important task.

Deorus still remembered this promising figure from the earlier training session. Brooks had impressive talent and handled matters with far more stability and efficiency than the other demon kings. Turning human cultivators into traitors, however, would require immense resources and temptations.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will give my all to complete this mission and uncover every detail about that human." Brooks bowed deeply, his tone solemn and respectful.

"You may go."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Brooks gave a respectful salute and slowly withdrew from the demonic palace. Once he stepped outside, he stood atop the stairs and looked down upon the bustling cities of the demonic domain. A faint smile rose at the corners of his lips.

Just then, the palace trembled. Three black beams of light shot into the sky, radiating the overwhelming pressure of demon gods, each one vanishing into a different direction across the heavens. Seeing this, Brooks’ eyes flickered slightly.

Inside the palace, Deorus looked at Ludius opposite it and suddenly said, "What do you think? Will Constantine’s return to the ancestral court and its summons to the Primordial Ancestor receive a response this time?"

Shrouded in darkness, Ludius’ voice came low and cold. "I don’t know. The Primordial Ancestor has been in slumber for so many years. Only the ancestral court’s sacrificial rites can establish contact. As for how much of the Primordial Ancestor’s injuries have healed, or when it might awaken completely... The replies we’ve received from the ancestral court over the years have always been vague. Even the last time the Primordial Ancestor briefly awoke, the order for eastward expansion was conveyed through Constantine’s ritual. As for the rest..." Ludius paused mid-sentence.

Deorus said nothing more, either. The palace fell into silence once again.

***

Ten thousand kilometers above the entrance to the forbidden zone, the white flames slowly faded, revealing a mech 1,500 meters tall, with 12 pairs of wings unfurled behind it.

Now that it had become a complete ancient divine weapon, the God Mech radiated even more powerful energy fluctuations. Its entire armor was etched with golden principle patterns, profound and sacred.

Between its twelve wings, bands of tangible white light streamed. The glow corroded the surrounding space, forming a vast metallic world. It resembled a continent more than ten thousand kilometers in diameter, suspended above the forbidden zone like a floating landmass.

As its internal world descended, the sheer force of the energy it emitted shattered space. The atmosphere exploded, sending rings of red shockwaves in every direction. The overwhelming display stunned countless cultivators below, leaving them dazed and awestruck. Among the kings and heavenly kings, looks of envy and excitement surfaced in their eyes.

Now that the Celestial King’s weapon had evolved, all three of humanity’s peak powerhouses possessed complete ancient divine weapons. Their strength had skyrocketed; each one now possessed the power of a world-level weapon, rivaling the rulers of empires in the middle stage of the ancient titan level. Demon gods like Kaodes, who had also been at the middle stage, could no longer match the Primordial King and the others.

On the shoulder of the mech, bathed in sacred light, a golden cube spun in place. From within came the hoarse, aged voice of the Celestial King. "You’ve done well, Chen Chu."

A smile appeared on Chen Chu’s face. "You flatter me, sir. This is what I was meant to do. Please, try it out and see how powerful it really is."

"Very well." The Celestial King sounded slightly excited. The golden cube then transformed into a beam of light and merged into the mech.

Boom!

The previously dormant mech trembled, releasing mighty principle power fluctuations from within. The white halo above its head blazed with brilliant light, piercing through the void, and in that instant, faint hymns seemed to echo across the heavens and earth.

Amid those sacred, devout chants—resonating as if billions of voices were singing in unison—the God Mech began to transform.

The twelve pairs of wings on its back unfolded further and extended upward. Its internal framework began to refine and restructure, and soon, what emerged resembled something not quite human, more like a cosmic fortress.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Four beams of white light imbued with principle power shot from the God Mech’s chest, piercing through the sky and enveloping four orbital battleships below, each twenty kilometers long and colored red, white, black, and purple respectively.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The four massive orbital battleships quaked violently, launching skyward to the astonishment of countless onlookers. As they rose past ten thousand kilometers, they began to transform. By the time they reached altitude, they had morphed into limb-like components, which snapped into place and fused with the God Mech. In that instant, a white-golden celestial body with a diameter of one hundred kilometers took form.

Hum!

Within the God Mech, now serving as the core, an even greater surge of principle power erupted. A white glow spread out, assimilating the four orbital components completely.

At the same time, a powerful pulse signal burst out like gamma radiation, spreading in all directions. In a blink, it tore across one hundred thousand kilometers, then two hundred thousand, then five hundred thousand...

In the mythical world, humanity's electronic technology had always been heavily suppressed. Electromagnetic signals used for wireless communication were frequently disrupted by rampant transcendent energy, and precision electronic components corroded rapidly, shortening their lifespan.

Yet now, the pulse signal emitted by the God Mech carried invisible principle power that bypassed all interference, enveloping the entire two-million-kilometer radius of the forbidden zone battlefield. Instantly, signal displays in the scattered battlefront outposts lit up one after another, even those still under construction.

Even Chen Chu couldn’t help showing surprise at that moment. This wasn’t just about establishing communication across a two-million-kilometer range. The expanding pulse also marked the extension of the Celestial King’s power.

The spread of principle power over such a vast area was almost unimaginable. It wasn’t far from the Divine King of Light and Eternal Divine Tree, whose combined power blanketed the entire divine region.

Of course, this was only the extent of the principle diffusion. It didn’t mean that the Celestial King’s actual strength had taken half a step into the true spirit level. Still, unlike the Primordial King, who shattered the sky with the complete Skybreaking Mace, the Celestial King made no further moves here.

The watch on Chen Chu’s wrist lit up faintly, and Gabriel’s voice came through. "Chen Chu, I’ve brought all the resources you requested. Should I meet you now, or are you coming down?"

Heavenly King Gabriel was still unable to ascend ten thousand kilometers, so Chen Chu would have to descend to collect the goods.

"Thank you, ma’am. I’ll come down now." As he spoke, the space around Chen Chu twisted, and his figure vanished instantly.

As he left, a cold electronic voice rang out from within the God Mech.

[

Buzz...

Initiating God Defense System. Mapping coordinates. Calculating apocalyptic relay points...]

Heavenly King Gabriel stood upon the void, surrounded by floating orbs of white light. Within each sphere of light, some rare natural treasure was sealed with the power of laws.

Some were massive blue crystals the size of hills, radiating intense spatial fluctuations. Others resembled barrels of golden blood, glowing like miniature artificial suns.

Seeing the black-haired youth appear out of thin air, Gabriel smiled. "You’re here, Chen Chu. Hurry and take these away. If you’d been any later, I might’ve lost control and taken them for myself."

The top experts of the alliance's three major powers, including heavenly kings and even divine kings, had contributed all of the resources useful to a heavenly king. Many of them had made Gabriel herself envious. If she refined them all, she could likely push her cultivation from the middle stage of the heavenly king level straight to the peak.

"You must be joking." Chen Chu smiled, not taking the comment to heart.

After a brief exchange, Gabriel departed to attend to other matters. Chen Chu, on the other hand, looked at the floating natural treasures before him, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Now that he had helped the Celestial King enhance an ancient divine weapon, it was finally his turn. He just didn’t know if these resources would be enough for him to break through to the peak of the heavenly king level. After all, his foundation was incredibly solid, and naturally, the requirements would be higher.

Whoosh!

Golden flames erupted from Chen Chu’s body, sweeping up the natural treasures too massive for spatial equipment, then vanished in a golden streak of light.

Black gales howled and blue lightning crackled across the planar world. One by one, world-infused treasures, including tree roots, blue crystals, and more, descended from the sky. As soon as they appeared, thunderbolts struck and shattered them. The entire plane trembled from the impact.

Meanwhile, atop a distant mountain peak, Chen Chu sat in meditation. His mouth opened wide, releasing powerful suction, and he swallowed an entire vat of golden dragon blood that gleamed like an artificial sun.

Boom!

The tyrannical and searing force of the dragon bloodline erupted, yet it failed to shake Chen Chu’s powerful true form in the slightest. Instead, it was devoured by an even more domineering force within him.

While Chen Chu found a spot for seclusion, others were also busy with their own preparations. Heavenly King Zhenwu stared thoughtfully at the content appearing on the True Martial Stele, murmuring, "The three demon gods left, each heading in a different direction... Are they off to fetch reinforcements?"

At the same time, Qian Tian and the other supreme powerhouses had dispersed in all directions to dispel the residual principle power left behind by Deorus and the other demon gods.

***

In a vast subterranean research facility beneath West Meng, searing magma churned. Gigantic pipelines extended through it, resembling a network of circuits. On the shores of the molten sea, countless mechanical devices blinked with lights while personnel bustled about in controlled urgency.

"Reporting in: The Cold Star Marrow Fluid has stabilized No.1’s super energy, and it’s approaching the activation threshold. The soul synchronization rate between the pilot and No.1 has exceeded 500%, nearing the critical point for releasing its primordial mode. The pilot’s current spiritual state is stable, with no signs of contamination, meeting the criteria for initial fusion. Restraint Armor No.1 is loaded and secured."

In the heart of the magma sea, Mech No.1, towering a full kilometer in height, had most of its frame submerged. Only its head and half a shoulder emerged above the surface, glowing faintly with bluish-white light from its eyes.

Behind it stood an even more colossal mech. It was black and red in color, like a supersized version of No.1, but completely hollow inside. Centered around No.1, the surrounding three-thousand-meter radius radiated a bone-chilling cold. Pale blue liquid flowed throughout, emanating an icy aura that threatened to freeze everything.

Gazing at the dormant No.1, Luo Wuming asked solemnly, "Luo Fei, how are you feeling?"

A calm, indifferent voice echoed from within the mech, devoid of emotion. "Not yet. I haven’t sensed the opportunity for a breakthrough."

Luo Wuming nodded slowly. "Maintain the energy conversion. Push the Cold Star Dragon Pearl’s internal ice power to maximum output. Suppress No.1’s biological activity. Inform the surface to double check every circuit connection point. Soon, I’ll be drawing power from every nuclear plant on the planet."

"Yes, Professor Luo."

***

This is my territory, intruder. Leave!

Dark rocks jutted from a flaming sea of lava, where thousands of fire dragons soared, ranging in length from hundreds to thousands of meters and resembling western dragons.

There were more than ten thousand of these magma fire dragons. The weakest among them radiated level 9 auras, over thirty had reached the mythical level, and seven titan-level dragons stretched over two to three kilometers each. They all roared in unison, their flame-filled eyes blazing with fury and majesty.

High above the inferno, the sky was torn apart by a massive rift. Beyond, a golden-black colossal beast, measuring 9,100 meters long, loomed coldly. Its vertical golden pupils stared down at the roaring magma dragons below.

Flanking the Destructive Dragon Emperor flew two smaller dragons—one silver, the other golden-blue—each 1,400 meters long.

The Silver Colossal Dragon looked excited.

What a powerful fire principle! That thing down there is an ancient draconic beast. Should we beat it up first, Ao Tian, then invite it to join the Dragon Palace?

This was only the second ancient draconic beast the Silver Dragon had ever seen, and it instinctively felt a kind of kinship. If this ancient titan agreed to join the Dragon Palace, the empire would have two ancient colossal dragons under its banner.

I want to eat it,

the Dragon Emperor growled. Within its golden vertical pupils, two black cross-shaped runes rotated. Its dreadful gaze pierced through the layers of molten rock to the world’s core.

There, amid rolling waves of dark-golden magma, coiled a colossal molten dragon over twelve thousand meters long with nine distinct dragon heads. This was a Nine-Headed Magma Dragon, ancient and terrifying.

Cradled in its claws was a black sphere, one kilometer in diameter. Crisscrossed with glowing fissures, it emitted streams of black-red molten material. It was a sun in its own right.

The fire, heat, and energy saturating the magma world, including the condensed black reef-like rock, all originated from that molten black-red sun, from which the Dragon Emperor sensed an incomparably heavy aura. The energy fluctuations it released stirred every cell in its body with an instinctual hunger to devour.

This was an extremely high-level natural treasure, perhaps even the star core of a former major world in the Chaotic Region.

If it could devour that star core, along with the magma world and the late-stage ancient-titan-level Nine-Headed Magma Dragon, the Dragon Emperor’s strength could break through to the middle stage of the ancient titan level at the very least.

On top of that, a deep instinct told it that devouring the star core might trigger a further evolution in its already heavenly-tier bloodline. With that thought, blazing red light burst from the Dragon Emperor’s body.

Roar!

The entire magma world quaked violently. The black rift tore open to a full million meters in length, and from it descended a dark-red colossal beast nearly thirty thousand meters long.