Human-Demon Hegemony, the Fourth Level of Heart Power

[You handed the tribe over to that genius Return to Void God and Devil, and without further hesitation, you set off on the road to 'Yao Emperor City'.]

[Pangu World is unimaginably vast. You traveled north, carefully avoiding numerous dangers. Along the way, you contemplated the nature of heaven and earth and suddenly gained an entry-level understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Even without a formal manual to guide you, you found your progress to be rapid, and you resolved to continue down this path.]

[Ten years later, you finally arrived at Yao Emperor City. You stated your purpose, and relying on your own strength, you easily joined the Yao Emperor's army.]

[You were assigned to an unremarkable legion, where you practiced God and Devil battle formations alongside other Primordial Spirit perfection-stage Gods and Devils.]

[In the army, you came into contact with secret manuals containing the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. You studied them diligently, and your cultivation realm improved even more rapidly.]

[In the twelfth year of your service, your legion faced its first battle. Three thousand Primordial Spirit perfection-stage Gods and Devils formed a battle array, and you killed a Demon Race Celestial Immortal. You felt incredibly exhilarated.]

[After this battle, you felt that the pent-up frustration in your heart had largely dissipated, and your cultivation became increasingly smooth. However, you were still unable to break through that bottleneck to become a Return to Void God and Devil.]

[At 800 years old, you were still a Primordial Spirit God and Devil, but your strength had improved significantly. You had become a squad leader in the army, and you used your accumulated military merits to exchange for a special treasure, successfully cultivating a Second Primordial Spirit.]

[At 900 years old, you faced your first tribulation, which you passed with ease.]

[At 1,000 years old, you were still accumulating strength.]

[At 1,200 years old, you became a commander in the army.]

[At 1,500 years old, after countless battles, you finally underwent a transformation and broke through to become a Return to Void God and Devil.]

[At 1,700 years old, you reached the late stage of Return to Void. In terms of strength, you were already comparable to a Celestial Immortal, and you entered the Return to Void God and Devil Legion.]

[At 2,500 years old, the Demon Race launched a massive invasion. You followed the legion into battle. This fight was earth-shattering, and countless Gods and Devils perished. You survived by luck, but this was not the end; rather, it was the beginning of the conflict. A series of great wars erupted between the Human and Demon races.]

[You understood that there was nothing you could do, so you could only cultivate in silence. Amidst the continuous slaughter and combat, your realm progressed extremely quickly, and you soon reached the level of a million-year Loose Immortal. You felt an urge to undergo the Heavenly God Tribulation; once you became a Heavenly God, you could easily take your revenge and would be more likely to survive the conflict between the Human and Demon races.]

[At this moment, you choose: 1. Undergo the tribulation. 2. Continue to accumulate.]

"Continue to accumulate."

Zhou Yu made his choice without hesitation.

Wanting to undergo the Heavenly God Tribulation at the level of a million-year Loose Immortal? Even the weakest Heavenly God Tribulation could reach the level of a Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation.

With such a realm, and without supreme divine abilities like the Eight-Nine Profound Art or Star-Plucking Hand as a foundation, that would be seeking death.

As the memories from the simulation flooded into Zhou Yu's mind, the simulation soon began again.

[You chose to continue accumulating and improving yourself before undergoing the Heavenly God Tribulation, but you felt the time was ripe for your Second Primordial Spirit to undergo the Celestial Immortal Tribulation, and you succeeded.]

[Time passed, and the conflict between the Human and Demon races grew increasingly intense. Beyond direct combat, both sides began to use every possible means to cause trouble for the other.]

[Suddenly, one day, you heard that a peerless genius named "Hou Yi" had appeared in a neighboring elite legion. In less than a hundred years, Hou Yi had already become a Heavenly God. You sensed that things were not simple.]

[At 3,500 years old, ten suns appeared in the sky that day. They were the Ten Golden Crows, and the leader was a True God known as the Golden Crow Demon Emperor. The Golden Crow Demon Emperor led his nine brothers to ravage various human settlements, and the humans could only react passively, suffering heavy losses.]

[Until that day, Hou Yi, who had been a Heavenly God for nearly a thousand years, suddenly drew his bow and arrow. With incredible power, he shot and killed the Golden Crow of True God level, and the remaining Heavenly God Golden Crows were almost entirely wiped out.]

[After this battle, Hou Yi became famous throughout the Pangu World, but the struggle for hegemony between the humans and demons did not stop. The death of the Golden Crow True God instead completely intensified the conflict between the two sides.]

[When you were 3,500 years old, the decisive battle between the two sides finally erupted. Because your strength was insufficient, you were unable to participate, but you knew that the humans won this battle. The Three Sovereigns of the Human Race all displayed astonishing strength, and it is rumored that an Ancestral God fell in this battle.]

[After the war, the legion organized by the Yao Emperor was not disbanded but remained intact. At this moment, you choose: 1. Remain. 2. Withdraw.]

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and chose to withdraw.

Since the war between the humans and demons was over, the outside world would be much safer now. He could just go back and accumulate strength in peace.

[You chose to retire, and you returned to your hometown with the treasures you had accumulated over the years.]

[At this moment, you discovered with grief that the small tribe from back then had vanished; it ultimately failed to survive the aftermath of the great war.]

[With nowhere else to go, you chose to travel the world.]

[Years flowed by, and your realm grew higher and higher. By the time you were 15,000 years old, you were only one step away from fully comprehending the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. You felt somewhat astonished; you had not expected your talent to reach this point.]

[At this moment, you again had the thought of undergoing the Heavenly God Tribulation. You choose: 1. Undergo the tribulation. 2. Continue to accumulate.]

"Continue to accumulate," Zhou Yu chose directly.

He didn't know why there was no time limit in this simulation, but a Return to Void God and Devil realm at this level was definitely comparable to a peak Celestial Immortal. Such strength could withstand the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations for a long time, and with his long lifespan, there was no need to rush.

In any case, with "Heaven Rewards Diligence," as long as he kept cultivating, he would eventually break through.

[You continued your travels. Suddenly, one day, you encountered a Demon Race Celestial Immortal. You had long since investigated the identity of the demon immortal responsible for the destruction of your tribe, and you instantly recognized him as one of your original enemies. There were rumors that he had died in the decisive battle between the two races; you did not expect him to still be alive. You struck without hesitation and tore him into pieces.]

[Having killed your enemy with your own hands, you felt a sense of immense relief in your heart. You returned to the place where your tribe once stood and lived in seclusion there.]

[Before you knew it, you were one million years old. Heaven rewards diligence; you miraculously comprehended the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and your Second Primordial Spirit attained the level of a True Immortal.]

[Having mastered the Great Path, you were full of confidence and once again had the thought of undergoing the Heavenly God Tribulation. At this moment, you choose: 1. Undergo the tribulation. 2. Continue to accumulate.]

"Logically speaking, the success rate for the tribulation should be quite high now." Zhou Yu understood this in his heart.

However, he still chose to continue accumulating. In any case, with the talent 'Heaven Rewards Diligence,' it wouldn't be difficult to make progress with more accumulation.

[You chose to continue accumulating. As time passed, you gradually began to comprehend the power of space.]

[At one million years old, your power of space reached the third level.]

[At 15 million years old, your power of space reached the fourth level.]

[At this moment, you felt that you had accumulated enough, and you chose to undergo the tribulation.]

[Because you had experienced the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations so many times, your Heavenly God Tribulation was also incomparably terrifying. Within the lightning tribulation, the legendary 'Pure Yang Golden Light Lightning' even appeared, but this posed no threat to you at this point.]

The only thing you found troublesome was the Heart Demon Tribulation, but ever since you killed that Monster Race Celestial Immortal, your heart had been without flaws. Millennia of tempering had long since rendered your Dao Heart incomparably firm; in the end, the Heart Demon Tribulation failed to become an obstacle, and you successfully crossed the tribulation to become an Empyrean God.

News of your ascension to Empyrean God reached Yao Emperor quickly. The God and Devil Legion originally formed had a million Return to Void God and Devils, but apart from Hou Yi, no others had succeeded in crossing the tribulation. Ten million years had passed, and almost all the Return to Void God and Devils from the legion that fought the Demon Race back then had perished. That you waited ten million years to cross the tribulation and actually succeeded was truly astonishing.

Yao Emperor sought you out personally and asked if you were willing to return to the army.

At this moment, you choose: 1. Accept. 2. Refuse.

This tribulation didn't even give me a choice this time, Zhou Yu sighed inwardly. Then again, having finally mastered the fourth level of spatial power, it would have been unjustifiable not to ascend.

However, there is no need to re-enter the army at this point, is there? After some thought, Zhou Yu chose to refuse.

And the moment Zhou Yu chose to refuse, a surging torrent of memories flooded into his mind.

Memories spanning over ten million years were no small shock to Zhou Yu.

But Zhou Yu had long been prepared; furthermore, the memories from each of his previous simulations had served as a tempering process, making his heart far stronger than it had ever been.

As Zhou Yu digested these memories, his gaze quickly returned to calm.

Born as a mayfly, merging with heaven and earth. A sense of relief washed over Zhou Yu. The fusion of the two sets of memories allowed him to completely break through his mental bottleneck.

Every cultivator has grand goals to a greater or lesser extent, but how many can truly say they never doubt themselves?

When an ant looks up at the sky, can it help but be shaken by that vast, boundless existence?

But no matter how insignificant, the path lies beneath one's feet; one must simply move forward step by step. Zhou Yu's heart was very serene now, devoid of all confusion.

He had understood the principles long ago, but understanding them on the surface did not mean he had truly grasped their essence.

At this moment, Zhou Yu was no longer confused, which signified a transformation of his soul.

His heart was like a tender sprout breaking through the soil—though inconspicuous, it began to grow with stubborn persistence.

Heart Force Fourth Level—Mortal Dust.

Zhou Yu felt quite emotional. Through repeated simulations, his Dao heart had long met the requirements for the fourth level of Heart Force, but without truly comprehending its essence, he could not break through.

Now that he had grasped the true meaning, the breakthrough was a natural consequence.

The fourth level of Heart Force—a heart without fear, infinite Heart Force. The gap between this and the third level is simply too vast. Zhou Yu sighed; only upon reaching this stage did he understand its true power.

Continue the simulation. Zhou Yu did not dwell on it further.