Warriors Must Fight—Without Struggle, There Is No Hope of Ascending to Godhood!

"Moon—the Great Yin of heaven and earth, the Final Great Yin. Among the cosmic sea of stars, there are many planets called moons, but only the true gods of antiquity may bear the title of Great Yin Grand Moon!"

"Its true body is vast beyond measure. A mere corner of its outline descending can nourish countless planets and foster life, can grant the true spirits of all beings enlightenment."

Zhou Wuliang sat upright in a Grand Master's Chair, speaking without pause, as though recounting ancient history—or perhaps a legend.

As his voice rose and fell, some unseen guidance seemed to flow into the hearts of Luo Fan and the others.

The furrows in the three of their brows eased slightly.

Their taut nerves finally found a measure of relief as well.

Under Zhou Wuliang's guidance with Mind Power, supplemented by Heart and Mind Incense and a series of other aids,

a flawless, radiant grand moon became clear before their eyes!

What a sight it was!

A pure white grand moon hung high above all beings. It was peerlessly majestic, radiating endless brilliance. Tens of thousands of lights and shadows intertwined and circled around it, like divine rings, while boundless characters drifted and swam through the space around it.

Every character seemed to contain an indescribable true meaning. Even exerting all their strength, they could not make out a single detail.

Thud!!

Mo Ya was the first to remove her helmet. She panted heavily, drenched in sweat from head to toe. It was not that she did not wish to continue experiencing the wonders of the Secret Painting, but her mind could no longer bear the strain.

If she forced herself to keep looking, it would do more harm than good and could very likely affect her subsequent cultivation.

She did not want to see that happen, so she could only give up.

"As expected of a Secret Painting engraved with the Great Yin True God. If one could completely gather its Dao, its benefits would be inexhaustible!"

Mo Ya came from a merchant family on New Star. Her background was not particularly noble, but in this era, sufficient wealth was enough to pave a road straight to the heavens.

One of her greatest purposes in coming to the Ancestral Star this time was Great Yin Falling Sky.

She knew very well that while her talent was decent, she still fell far short of those true monsters. If she could gain even a little of the Ancestral Star's fortune and have a chance to enter that ruin, that would naturally be best.

But if she could not get in, then recruiting some geniuses and gaining control of Great Yin Falling Sky would become her primary goal.

She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the Grand Yin Divinity within her mind. Yet even with all her effort, she could only recall the radiance of that grand moon. Everything else had become impossible to remember.

"True gods are difficult to engrave." Seeing Mo Ya's state, Zhou Wuliang immediately understood where she had stalled.

Although Great Yin Falling Sky contained only a corner of the Great Yin's true body, attempting to gather Dao from it was still exceptionally difficult.

Mo Ya being the first to end her Dao Gathering was within his expectations. This child had decent talent and could endure hardship, but she was too clear-headed. She knew exactly how far she could go and where her limits lay.

Knowing oneself was a good thing. If someone clearly understood what they were good at and how much they could accomplish, then they would never live an ordinary life, because they knew exactly how to cut their losses and how far they needed to push themselves.

But because Mo Ya knew herself too well, she was destined not to fight to the death or go against the current. Therefore, once she sensed that she might not be able to continue gathering Dao, she would inevitably be the first to remove the device.

That was not to say her actions were wrong. From certain perspectives, what she had done was entirely the optimal choice. Not only had her Dao Gathering progress reached her limit, but it would not affect her future cultivation.

But precisely because of that, she would never know that potential was the roar that shattered the shackles of self-knowledge!

For a warrior, self-knowledge also meant losing that sharpness and drive.

The path of a warrior demanded struggle. Without struggle, one would lose. Without struggle, one would die. Without struggle, one would vanish into the mortal dust, unknown and insignificant. Without struggle—

There was no hope of ascending to godhood!!

Luo Fan and Tang Yangwu were still holding on. Sweat had already soaked through their clothes. If not for the Heart and Mind Incense calming their minds, they would have long since lost control of themselves.

Veins bulged all over Tang Yangwu's body. Before his eyes, the hazy moonlight gradually became clearer. Beneath those towering divine rings seemed to lie an indescribable brilliance.

Luo Fan, meanwhile, was red from head to toe, his concentration pushed to its limit. Unlike Tang Yangwu, who seemed to have glimpsed another side of the Great Yin, the Great Yin before Luo Fan remained majestic and hazy. Since he could not see through it, he could only do everything in his power to imprint it into his mind.

It did not matter if he did not understand. It did not matter if he could not comprehend it. As long as he engraved it into his mind, one day, he would have the chance to gain insight.

"Yangwu was born with Clear Eyes, equivalent to possessing an innate eye technique. His comprehension in Mind Cultivation and Dao Gathering is stronger.

"Luo Fan is somewhat lacking in that regard, but he comes from a military family and possesses an unwavering will. These two children might truly comprehend something."

Zhou Wuliang took in both of their performances.

Tang Yangwu came from the Tang Family. They had once been a New Star family, but after a scandal, they had been sent back to the Ancestral Star. Still, the family's foundations were considerable.

He possessed an excellent temperament and had opened eighty-eight acupoints within his body. If he gained some insight through Dao Gathering, he might have a chance to touch the threshold of the Ming Tiao Realm before the Martial Examination.

Luo Fan came from a military family and had experienced combat and slaughter since childhood. It was said that from the age of fifteen, he had participated in all manner of technical competitions under his family's arrangements.

He was exceptionally skilled at one-on-one combat, with an extremely resolute will. If he succeeded in forcibly memorizing the Great Yin's true body, it could greatly strengthen his mind.

The two each had their strengths and could be considered decent geniuses.

But they could only barely be called... decent.

Compared to those freaks born with Martial Bones and divine features, whose acupoints opened naturally and whose minds were innately formed, they were still not worth mentioning. And now, freaks of that caliber were on their way to the Ancestral Star.

It would be best if he obtained one of the ten spots in the Martial Examination. If not, so be it. In any case, the true purpose of his coming to the Ancestral Star was not that opportunity.

"If that child had been raised by my side from an early age, he might have had a chance to contend with the stars." Zhou Wuliang wrinkled his nose, thinking of the student who gave him quite a headache.

Before he could sigh over it, he suddenly felt uncomfortable all over. He hurriedly wrinkled his nose six more times in succession before finally feeling better.

"Master!" Li Hu's voice suddenly rang out beside his ear, transmitted through Mind Power.

Hearing the voice, Zhou Wuliang lightly raised a hand. The door opened soundlessly, and Li Hu entered with Su Tu and the other person.

Seeing that Su Tu had come as well, a trace of surprise rose in Zhou Wuliang's eyes.

He did indeed think highly of Su Tu's talent and wanted to know how gifted the child was in matters of the mind.

But the child had only just come into contact with the Martial Dao. No matter how well he learned, without the Martial Dao to support him, his Heart and Mind Height would inevitably be much lower. Rashly exposing him to Dao Gathering would bring a hundred harms and not a single benefit.

Su Tu knew nothing of Zhou Wuliang's thoughts and considerations.

The instant he stepped through the door, the blank scroll in the middle of the room caught his attention.

At that moment, Su Tu's mind involuntarily became intensely focused.

Then, it was as if he had entered another world—a world where a sea of stars glittered.

Unlike the scene Luo Fan and the others had seen, Su Tu seemed to stand from a god's-eye view, looking down upon the cosmic sea of stars.

He saw countless planes layered and interwoven together.

He saw densely packed, endless stars like marbles on a toy table.

He saw towering figures walking along the dark side of the universe. Stars, all living beings, countless races, the myriad heavens—everything was but foam and shadow to them. No, to Them.

Then, a boundless shadow appeared before his eyes.

It was a pale, dead-silent planet, vast beyond measure, as though it existed on the dark side of the world, concealing everything. The instant Su Tu saw that planet, a name surfaced in his mind.

"Great Yin!"

What followed was endless intertwined, overlapping decay and death. A senseless feeling of decline and extinction emanated from the Great Yin. Finally, Su Tu saw a slender figure walking out from within it, her back turned toward all living beings.

Then, in the next instant,

before Su Tu's eyes, the world

was annihilated!!