Amid a vast ocean.
A solitary pavilion stood quietly. As far as the eye could see, sea and sky blended into one, without an end in sight.
The azure waters rippled gently, and enormous lotuses rose one after another, crystalline and exquisitely beautiful.
Inside the pavilion.
Li Yue looked at the Champion Marquis and the Old Daoist and voiced the question that had long troubled him.
"The Peak Divine Path Grand Assembly has been held nine hundred and twenty times."
"Each assembly takes place thirty million origin cycles after the last."
"And every Peak Divine Path Grand Assembly has one undisputed protagonist: its champion."
"The champion of the Peak Divine Path Grand Assembly is the protagonist of the Divine Path throughout those thirty million origin cycles."
"As the protagonist of the Divine Path, provided they do not perish along the way, they stand a very good chance of attaining the Dao and becoming a Dao Ancestor."
"Of course—"
"Beyond these protagonists of the Divine Path, many other Deities possess astonishing talent. They are scarcely inferior and likewise attain the Dao Ancestor realm."
"The protagonists of the Divine Path are born bearing its fortune, and naturally, they must also shoulder the corresponding mission."
"From ancient times to the present."
"Not one champion from the previous nine hundred and nineteen Peak Divine Path Grand Assemblies has survived, even if they became a Dao Ancestor."
The Old Daoist looked meaningfully at Li Yue as he spoke.
"What mission?"
Li Yue's expression grew grave.
The champions of all nine hundred and nineteen Peak Divine Path Grand Assemblies had died!
Even after becoming Dao Ancestors, they had still died!
And he was the nine hundred and twentieth.
"A kalpa."
"As the champion of the Peak Divine Path Grand Assembly, your mission is to hold back