The Five Phoenixes would not join the High Martial Registry.
That calm declaration lingered above the blood-colored battlefield.
Venerable Joyful’s face twitched. The words sent chills racing through his flesh.
A deathly chill spread across the battlefield. A tribulation-transcending venerable lay dead—what a horrifying sight.
Most importantly, Venerable Joyful had never imagined the Judicial Venerable would actually die.
Lu’s decisiveness far exceeded anything he had anticipated.
He had assumed Lu would fear the Great Venerable, or at least compromise for the sake of the registry. There might be conflict, but never a fight to the death.
Yet reality had shattered his expectations.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu had dragged the Judicial Venerable into the grand array and killed him outright.
Venerable Joyful’s body turned ice-cold as he scanned the battlefield. It felt as though blood were flowing everywhere.
How many powerhouses had fallen in this newborn high martial world drifting in the Void Heaven?
One Holy Lord. Two Venerables.
In the Pingyang Sky, a venerable might not fall for thousands of years. Yet in mere days here in the Void Heaven, so many had perished.
“As expected… the Void Heaven truly is a cursed place.”
Venerable Joyful could no longer smile.
He murmured under his breath.
The Judicial Venerable’s death was no small matter. The power behind him was no ordinary force—it was the upper realm that even the Great Venerable feared.
Venerable Joyful raised his head and stared at the churning, storm-like array.
He took a deep breath.
“Lord… Lord Lu.”
He cupped his hands toward the clouds.
“This poor monk apologizes on behalf of the Judicial Venerable’s rudeness…”
The clouds rolled and roared.
Yet Lu’s figure remained unseen.
Every pore on Venerable Joyful’s body tightened.
Fear crept into his heart. If Lu could kill the Judicial Venerable, he could kill him just as easily.
Thus, he spoke with utmost caution, lowering himself as much as possible.
“However, Lord Lu, entry into the High Martial Registry is of utmost importance. It concerns the future of the Five Phoenixes.”
“Without registration, every attempt to engrave Dao resonance onto the origin will invite heavenly tribulation. One misstep, and the entire world could be reduced to ashes…”
“Transcending tribulation is a great calamity. Lord Lu… do not let a moment of anger doom the Five Phoenixes’ future.”
Venerable Joyful pleaded, hands still cupped.
On the blood-colored battlefield, Overlord and the others were stunned.
Was refusing the registry truly that dangerous? Constant tribulation punishment, the risk of utter annihilation?
Qi Liujia stared at the Judicial Venerable’s corpse, his expression complicated—joy mixed with sorrow.
He cupped his hands toward the Heaven-Covering Array.
“Young Master…”
But before he could continue, a calm voice drifted out from within the array.
“This Young Master has already decided.”
“What’s so great about joining some registry?”
Lu said.
“Go back and report to the Great Venerable. This Young Master will count to three.”
“If you’re still here after that, you can stay and keep him company.”
The words were flat, utterly calm.
Yet Venerable Joyful’s face paled dramatically.
The next instant, he said nothing more.
He did not dare treat Lu’s words as a joke.
A man who would kill a tribulation-transcending venerable without a second thought—he would not test him.
Hum…
The golden lotus beneath his feet spun. Venerable Joyful shot into the sky.
“Lord Lu, this monk takes his leave!”
“Lord Lu truly refuses to let the Five Phoenixes join the registry?”
He hesitated in the void, bowing as he asked.
“Three.”
BOOM!
The word thundered like heavenly wrath, shaking the skies and changing the color of the heavens.
Venerable Joyful’s expression collapsed.
He transformed into a streak of light and fled instantly.
The blood-colored battlefield fell deathly silent.
Qi Liujia didn’t know what to say—whether to rejoice or worry.
With this act, Lu had offended not only the Great Venerable but the upper realm the Judicial Venerable had spoken of.
Overlord exhaled slowly.
Lu’s strength shook him to his core.
Just the aura the Judicial Venerable had released had been unbearable for him—yet such a powerhouse had been slain effortlessly.
Nie Changqing and Ni Chunqiu’s eyes blazed with brilliant light.
As expected of the Young Master.
Still the same Young Master Lu who, back in Beiluo City, would issue killing orders without batting an eye.
With the Judicial Venerable dead, the Dao decree floating beside him began to crumble, scattering into the void.
Every cultivator who had been forcibly summoned felt radiant light envelop them.
The next moment, they were teleported back to where they had come from.
For each of them, the experience had been earth-shattering.
They had witnessed the terrifying might of the mysterious lord of White Jade Capital.
Powerhouses from beyond the Void Heaven were nothing but insects before Young Master Lu.
At the same time, they realized just how fortunate they were to have comprehended Dao intents.
It made the Dao stele in the Nine Prisons Secret Realm all the more precious to them.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The blood-colored battlefield emptied.
Only the Judicial Venerable’s corpse remained, kneeling in death.
Qi Liujia stepped forward to the body. Even in death, the terrifying aura radiating from a tribulation-transcending venerable was overwhelming.
He gazed at the sword wound between the corpse’s brows.
Young Master Lu was truly unfathomable.
For such a monster to be born in the Void Heaven… could it be connected to the ancient emperors?
Qi Liujia’s eyes flickered.
Suddenly, the sound of wheels rolling across the ground rang out.
Lu appeared, seated calmly in his Thousand-Bladed Chair.
“Young Master.”
Qi Liujia bowed.
“Dispose of the body. Throw it into the void.”
Lu said.
Qi Liujia bowed in acknowledgment. The void of the Void Heaven contained terrifying regulatory power. Once tossed in, even the flesh and blood of the strongest beings would soon wither and decay under the rules.
The corpses of the Black-and-White Holy Lords from before had already been reduced to nothing, not even bones remaining.
Such regulatory power did not exist in other heavens—that was why the Void Heaven was so feared.
The stronger one was, the more terrifying the rules became.
That was why many top powerhouses refused to set foot here.
In the Pingyang Sky, a venerable’s corpse might remain undecayed for millennia, their bones enduring tens of thousands of years.
But in the Void Heaven, within days, the rules would erase everything.
Qi Liujia stood behind Lu, wanting to speak but hesitating.
“You want to ask why the Five Phoenixes won’t join the registry?”
Lu propped his chin on one hand.
Qi Liujia nodded.
“Joining or not—it doesn’t make much difference.”
“As for the thunder tribulations, there’s no need to worry. This Young Master will bear them all.”
Lu said.
Qi Liujia’s body trembled at the words.
“Besides, are thunder tribulations truly just calamities?”
“To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. Since we choose to engrave Dao resonance into the origin, we must be prepared to withstand the tribulations.”
Lu continued slowly.
“See the tribulations as tempering.”
“So what does it matter whether we join the registry or not?”
“Moreover…”
Lu turned in his chair, gazing calmly at Qi Liujia.
“If joining means we have to swallow humiliation at every turn… then what’s the point of joining at all?”
Qi Liujia was speechless.
The Young Master’s temper… was as straightforward as ever.
“Go.”
Lu waved a hand.
“Yes.”
Qi Liujia stepped back, then lifted the Judicial Venerable’s corpse and strode into the void.
BOOM!
Terrifying energy surged within the void.
The faint presence of regulatory intent flickered.
The corpse was placed on a cold, barren continent fragment.
Under the rules, its flesh began to wither and dry…
The blood-colored battlefield fell silent once more.
Lu glanced at the Heaven-Covering Array.
Of the Four Heaven-Slaying Arrays, this was only one.
Three remained missing.
He wondered when he would obtain them. Once all four were complete and arranged around the Five Phoenixes, perhaps he could finally relax.
For now, he could only reinforce the Heaven-Covering Array.
He opened his palm. The jade-like Heaven-Covering Sword floated above it.
BOOM!
Thirty He of Chaos Energy surged forth, enveloping the array as he engraved upon it.
The Heaven-Covering Sword grew stronger, and the array’s defensive power soared accordingly.
Watching from the void, Qi Liujia was stunned as the array became ever more mysterious and radiant.
This Heaven-Covering Array… had likely reached the pinnacle of earth-tier formations!
When Qi Liujia returned to the battlefield, Lu had already vanished.
…
The Five Phoenixes.
Back at the headquarters of his demonic cult, Liu Yuanhao patted his chest, face pale with lingering fear.
“That bald donkey almost got me killed.”
“Thank the heavens I didn’t speak up and say I wanted to leave… I thought he was some big shot, but Young Master Lu killed him with a single move.”
Liu Yuanhao sneered.
Looking around and realizing he was safely back in his cult, he finally relaxed.
Still, thinking of Lu’s terror made him shudder.
The cult would have to keep an even lower profile from now on. If they accidentally offended that extremely petty Young Master Lu and got casually wiped out, he’d have nowhere to cry.
It had taken so much effort to build the cult in the endless western desert. If some idiot subordinate provoked Lu Ping’an and got them all slapped to death, it would be too unjust.
Mo Tianyu opened his eyes, a wistful look on his face.
“Sigh…”
“Monk, safe travels. I did warn you… but you just wouldn’t listen.”
Mo Tianyu felt a strange kinship.
After all, he too had once been slapped into the ground like a carrot by Lu.
Such a familiar experience.
But he, Mo Tianyu, had been luckier—he survived.
As for this Judicial Venerable…
Mo Tianyu sighed again, a touch of sadness in his heart.
Was it his fault?
If he hadn’t read the monk’s fortune…
Perhaps the Judicial Venerable would still be alive.
All the cultivators forcibly summoned to the battlefield returned home.
Many looked up at the sky, expressions complex.
“Young Master Lu gave up entry into the registry just to stand up for us…”
“The burden he carries… is far too heavy.”
Many sighed in admiration.
It only strengthened their resolve to grow stronger.
They didn’t fully understand what the registry meant, but they knew it was monumental.
…
Beyond the Void Heaven.
Holy Lord Tuoba and Holy Lord Qingling watched Venerable Joyful flee back in panic, their faces freezing.
Behind them, servants carried congratulatory treasures, ready to enter the Five Phoenixes once it joined the registry.
Now, judging by Venerable Joyful’s state, something had clearly gone wrong.
And where was the Judicial Venerable who had entered alongside him to conduct the evaluation?
His status was no joke. Though not the strongest, he represented the upper realm itself.
Venerable Joyful hurried past, face grim.
Seeing the two Holy Lords, he normally would have stopped for a friendly chat.
But today, he had no mood for small talk.
“Venerable Joyful, why the rush?”
Holy Lord Tuoba asked.
Venerable Joyful glanced at the treasures behind them.
“Put them away…”
He said.
“What?”
Both Holy Lords paled.
“The Judicial Venerable is dead—slain by Lord Lu in the Void Heaven…”
“The Five Phoenixes refuses to join the registry.”
“Big trouble is coming.”
Venerable Joyful shook his head, then stepped onto his lotus and sped toward the Little Thunder Sound Buddhist Realm in the Pingyang Sky.
Holy Lord Tuoba and Holy Lord Qingling exchanged glances, sucking in sharp breaths.
This… couldn’t be real?
The Judicial Venerable—dead?
A tribulation-transcending venerable representing the upper realm, treated with utmost courtesy even by the Great Venerable of Little Thunder Sound…
Dead?
In the Five Phoenixes?
Goosebumps rose on their skin as they stared toward the Void Heaven. In their minds emerged the image of that white-robed youth seated calmly in his silver wheelchair, smiling gently like a refined nobleman.
“How can this guy be so ruthless?!”
Holy Lord Qingling exclaimed.
“He’s going to cause a catastrophe. I think Lord Lu has been set up by the Great Venerable of Little Thunder Sound…”
Holy Lord Tuoba narrowed his eyes.
“No… it doesn’t feel like a setup. The Great Venerable probably did want to use Lord Lu to teach the Judicial Venerable a lesson, but he absolutely never intended for the man to die.”
“Because if the Judicial Venerable dies, the Great Venerable suffers the most.”
The two Holy Lords looked at each other and sighed.
They could feel a storm brewing.
Their earlier desire to celebrate the Five Phoenixes’ registration faded completely. Right now, the safest thing was to do nothing at all.
Getting too close to the Five Phoenixes would spell trouble.
Besides, without the registry, the Five Phoenixes would face endless terrifying tribulations. Their future was uncertain.
Getting involved now could drag them down too.
So they waved away their servants and turned to leave.
Little Thunder Sound Buddhist Realm.
Ancient temples glowed softly.
At the central pagoda, Venerable Joyful rushed inside.
Moments later, terrifying aura exploded from the tower, clouds churning like stormy seas.
Venerable Joyful soon emerged again.
But his expression was strange.
He never would have guessed—
Though the Great Venerable raged at the Judicial Venerable’s death, he took no action.
Not only did he not dispatch an army to raze the Five Phoenixes and appease the upper realm’s anger,
He even specifically ordered Venerable Joyful to stand down.
What… was the Great Venerable thinking?
…
The Five Phoenixes.
Ancient Tomb.
Fifth Gateway.
Within the silent palace, a stone coffin rested quietly, eternal flames flickering.
Suddenly, four skeletons materialized around it.
“General, he refused.”
Said the skeleton in the pink dress.
A soft chuckle emerged from the coffin.
“As expected…”
“General, shall we prepare for war?” asked the armored skeleton.
“He killed an envoy and rejected the registry. He will surely anger terrifying existences. This world faces annihilation.”
Yet a leisurely voice drifted from the coffin.
“No need.”
“They won’t dare come.”
“At least… not until the ‘Emperor Weapon’ appears.”
The voice rang out, then fell silent.
The four skeletons’ ghostly flames flickered as they exchanged glances, then withdrew from the fifth gateway.
…
Origin Lake, Lake Heart Island.
Lu returned amid swirling mist.
He paid little attention to the reactions of the outside world—even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.
After killing the Judicial Venerable, he had taken defensive measures.
He reinforced the Heaven-Covering Array.
Within it, he layered countless smaller defensive formations. Even experts surpassing tribulation transcendence would be bogged down and frustrated.
Lu was confident—not just because of the array, but because of the terrifying regulatory power of the Void Heaven.
As long as that power endured, any being capable of breaking the array would not dare descend. The damage from the rules would leave even them gravely wounded.
They weren’t stupid. They understood profit and loss.
“Still… the Five Phoenixes must grow stronger, and fast.”
“Too weak, and we’ll be bullied everywhere.”
“And this regulatory veil over the Void Heaven—who knows when it might vanish? When that day comes, the Five Phoenixes must at least be able to protect itself.”
Lu tapped lightly on the armrest of his Thousand-Bladed Chair.
“Now that the Five Phoenixes has become a high martial world, the first step to growth is increasing the number of cultivators who comprehend Dao intents, engraving sufficient Dao resonance into the origin.”
“Next, it’s time to organize the cultivation realms beyond the Three Gods Realm.”
“Beyond that, we must comprehensively raise the strength of all cultivators. Cultivation and Qi refinement are the foundation.”
“With the higher ceiling of a high martial world, there’s far more room to maneuver.”
Ideas flashed rapidly through Lu’s mind as he laid out the Five Phoenixes’ strengthening plan.
“Hmm…”
“With my current strength, could I extend the ‘Lin’ profound array word—the one that controls time—across the entire Five Phoenixes? Accelerate the world’s time flow?”
“If possible, the Five Phoenixes could advance far faster in a short period.”
The thought excited him.
Back when he was only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, he couldn’t cover the entire world with the time-accelerating ‘Lin’ profound.
Now, he could try.
Pressure was motivation.
Though Lu suspected the supreme beings who bore grudges against the Void Heaven would not dare descend,
he could not be one hundred percent certain.
Thus, strengthening the Five Phoenixes was urgent.
“Beyond that, the inheritances I planned earlier should be released…”
“Also, create special physiques like Father’s Myriad Poison Body… and compile cultivation methods tailored for Five Phoenixes cultivators.”
Lu narrowed his eyes.
He organized and summarized the upcoming tasks.
He exhaled.
Then, his mind sank into the long-unused Preaching Platform, now upgraded and waiting.
