Main God's Past, Eternal Regret

A vast and boundless phantom of the Realm Overlord hung in the center of heaven and earth, its hazy silhouette obscuring the firmament and forcibly partitioning the descending Seven-Colored Judgment Divine Light and the surging chaotic black mist into two distinct regions.

The dual catastrophes that had been pressing in step-by-step, threatening to crush everything, were now firmly held in check by this ancient figure that had suddenly awakened. The tremors of the earth slowly subsided, and those blood-colored contract patterns that had burrowed deep into the souls of living beings, constantly stripping away their vitality, recoiled and faded as if encountering a natural predator; the heart-wrenching pain they had caused also eased by more than half.

The surviving humans and cultivators of various races sat slumped on the shattered ground, gazing at the towering phantom above with eyes full of bewilderment and awe. Born and raised in this world and across this sea of stars, they had heard countless ancient legends since childhood, yet they had never known that deep beneath the planet they stood upon, such a supreme existence capable of governing the entire universe lay in slumber.

Above the void, Frieza's tense body relaxed slightly, and the restless Emperor Energy around him gradually returned to stability. He had lived for a long time, rampaging across the galaxy, and had seen powerful life forms of all shapes and sizes, as well as sensed the terrifying auras of high-dimensional powerhouses; yet, the aura emanating from this Realm Overlord phantom still stirred an indescribable sense of oppression in the depths of his heart.

It was not a brutal pressure built upon mere strength, but an inherent, primordial authority to rule over a universe—the mountains, rivers, stars, living beings, and vegetation of this cosmos were all within its jurisdiction.

"Defeated in the ancient war, the world believed the Realm Overlord had completely perished. I never expected it to have hidden and survived in such a manner," Frieza muttered to himself, his scarlet gaze locked tightly onto the phantom, his mind in turmoil.

Kallen clenched his fists, his chest heaving as his boiling Saiyan battle blood gradually calmed. In the ancient bloodline memories passed down through generations of the Pure-blooded Saiyan Race, there were vague, fragmented remnants regarding the Realm Overlord, but the ages were too distant, and most of the information had long since blurred and dissipated. Now, seeing the true form awaken with his own eyes, those sealed memory fragments began to stir and piece themselves together.

"So, the ancestors' desperate protection back then was not without a backup plan," Kallen said with a complex expression. "But why did the Realm Overlord remain silent for hundreds of millions of years, watching as all living beings became fodder for the heavens and allowing the Chaos Clan to devour the origin?"

The question swirled in everyone's minds, but no one could provide an answer.

The Golden Full-Power Super Saiyan floated among the clouds, his long golden hair hanging silently, his eyes settling with endless vicissitudes. He had witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations in this universe and had explored the ruins of ancient battlefields alone, yet he had never been able to grasp the full truth of that ancient defeat. Now that the Realm Overlord had manifested, that age-old history buried by time finally had a chance to be unveiled.

Lin Chen stood within the eye of the earth's formation, the light of his ancient golden bloodline faintly echoing with the origin of the surrounding land. The ancient memories unlocking in his mind surged continuously, and combined with the aura emanating from the Realm Overlord phantom before him, the fragmented scenes of the past began to connect into a complete picture.

He could clearly feel that the soul of this Realm Overlord was incomplete, and its body was merely a phantom condensed from the origin of the universe; after hundreds of millions of years of slumber and depletion, its power was no longer at its peak. Even so, its inherent primordial foundation was still enough to deter the Outer-Domain Supreme and the Chaos King.

Beyond the dimensional barrier, the seven supreme auras that had been poised for action clearly fluctuated.

The Seven-Colored Judgment Divine Light no longer pressed down blindly; its radiance flickered, revealing a hint of trepidation. For hundreds of millions of years, the Supreme of the Heavens had taken it for granted that this universe was a granary with no capacity for resistance, and the conclusion that the Realm Overlord had completely perished was deeply rooted. Now, the sudden awakening of the slumbering master had completely disrupted all their calculations.

The Chaos King's massive black shadow shifted incessantly within the black mist, its hollow eyes staring fixedly at the Realm Overlord phantom. Its previous indifferent and mocking attitude had vanished, replaced by deep apprehension and a trace of imperceptible panic.

"During the ancient decisive battle, your soul was clearly severely damaged and your origin was on the verge of collapse. How could you have deceived the heavens and the investigation of my Chaos Clan to lie dormant until now?"

The Chaos King's heavy, hoarse voice resounded through heaven and earth, filled with disbelief.

A sound from the distant, ancient past slowly emanated from the Realm Overlord phantom. It lacked sharp aggression, yet carried the weight and sorrow of traversing through eons, echoing in every corner of the world.

"To be defeated but not dead is merely to linger on in a desperate state. When the heavens joined forces to invade and the Chaos Clan temporarily defected to strike from both sides, the universal defense line collapsed entirely. Countless sages died on the battlefield, the foundation of the entire universe cracked, and my own origin was severely damaged and torn."

As the words slowly unfolded, a tragic past sealed for hundreds of millions of years was gradually revealed before everyone's eyes.

In the ancient era, this universe had vast territories, flourishing life, and a constant stream of geniuses from various races, with civilization reaching its peak. The Realm Overlord sat at the center of the universe, protecting the stable reproduction of thousands of living beings. At that time, the order of the heavens and worlds was clear, and they did not interfere with one another, maintaining stability for an extremely long period.

The change began with the expansion of ambition among high-level forces outside the domain.

The Supreme of the Heavens coveted the thick and pure primordial fortune of this universe and the heaven-sent cultivation talents of its various races, secretly plotting to annex and plunder them. Unwilling to launch a direct frontal assault that would deplete their own strength, they secretly wooed the Chaos Clan, which drifted outside the universe, offering rich promises to induce them to betray their covenant and join in the encirclement of the homeland.

On one side was the deep-rooted local universe, and on the other was the powerful coalition of the heavens plus the elite of the Chaos Clan. The battle was at a disadvantage from the very beginning.

Countless races set aside their differences to fight side by side, and war gods and heroes took turns on the front lines, yet they could not withstand the relentless onslaught of the two forces. Territories shrank, stars fell one after another, prosperous star regions turned into ruins, and the fallen piled up like mountains; the entire world was shrouded in blood and smoke.

The Realm Overlord exhausted all its power to protect the territory, fighting desperately against the Seven Supremes, but two fists could not defeat four hands. No matter how sturdy the defense line was, it approached collapse under day-after-day of attrition.

Seeing that the homeland was about to fall completely and thousands of living beings were about to be slaughtered, the surviving high-level powerhouses had no choice but to discuss a method of concession in order to preserve the seeds of their races from total extinction.

They finally signed the Eternal Sacrifice Contract, turning the entire universe into a source of nourishment for the heavens and handing it over to the Chaos Clan for supervision. At the cost of this humiliation, they bought temporary survival for the universe and allowed life to continue to propagate.

"When the contract was signed, I was well aware of the pros and cons," the Realm Overlord's voice carried deep helplessness and regret. "If we submit to being fodder, the origin will be exhausted after hundreds of millions of years, and the universe will still head toward extinction; but if we fight to the death, the races will be wiped out immediately, leaving not a shred of hope."

In that desperate situation, there was no perfect solution; they could only choose to keep a glimmer of hope alive.

Knowing that its origin was too damaged to fight again and unwilling to watch its descendants become prisoners and fodder for generations, the Realm Overlord made the decision to lie dormant. It stripped away its damaged soul, sank into the deepest part of the earth's core, and wrapped itself in the core origin of the universe, completely concealing its aura to avoid the dual investigation of the heavens and the Chaos Clan.

It silently nourished and repaired its soul wounds while quietly observing the changes in the universe under the contract, waiting for an opportunity to completely break the deadlock.

It knew the drawbacks of the dual shackles of the contract: while they trapped the universe, they also bound the Chaos Clan. Once the contract was broken, the Chaos Clan would inevitably wreak havoc on the multiverse without restraint, and the heavens would launch a frantic counterattack once they lost their nourishment; the entire world would surely fall into an even greater catastrophe.

Therefore, for hundreds of millions of years, the Realm Overlord remained patient and hidden.

It watched generation after generation of living beings be born and grow, watched geniuses train and break through with all their might, and watched everyone remain oblivious to their own fate, becoming fodder for others. Its heart was filled with sorrow, yet it could not easily reveal itself.

Breaking the balance too early would only prematurely trigger an uncontrollable apocalyptic disaster, wasting all the remaining hope in vain.

"I have been waiting, waiting for a descendant to appear who could discern fate and dare to defy it. Waiting for the opportunity to gather the will of all living beings, carry on the legacy of the ancient sages, and balance the two catastrophes."

As the voice fell, the Realm Overlord's hazy gaze slowly moved downward, finally landing on Lin Chen in the eye of the formation.

The moment he was watched by that supreme gaze, Lin Chen's bloodline suddenly burned, and a sense of kinship born from the same source arose in the depths of his soul, as if his inherent mission was finally echoing with the ancient heritage at this very moment.

Kallen, Frieza, and the Golden Full-Power Super Saiyan suddenly saw the light, instantly understanding the Realm Overlord's painstaking efforts over hundreds of millions of years.

What appeared to be cold observation was actually the burden of a blood feud for the entire world, enduring endless torment alone while silently guarding the last spark of a comeback.

"So our resistance was already within the Realm Overlord's expectations," Kallen's emotions surged, the unyielding pride of the Saiyan race becoming even firmer. "The unfulfilled wish of our ancient ancestors has finally found a turning point."

Frieza's expression changed several times. A man who had always considered himself supreme, he rarely felt admiration for others. But after hearing the ancient history and looking at the Realm Overlord phantom bearing the eternal grudge, the arrogance in his heart gradually subsided.

Every inch of land in this universe was stained with the blood of ancestors, and the fate of every living being was tied to ancient grievances. The hegemony he had obsessed over in the past was, in the context of vast time, merely fleeting vanity within a cage.

"Lying dormant is not a long-term solution after all. Now that the contract has shifted, the heavens have already begun their liquidation in advance, and the Chaos Clan has broken free from their shackles. If we continue to wait, we will only be sitting ducks," Frieza said in a deep voice, his gaze sharp. "Only by joining forces now do we have a chance to rewrite our fate."

The Golden Full-Power Super Saiyan nodded slightly: "The regrets of the ancient times shall be made up for by us today. However, the current situation is perilous; on one side are the Supreme of the Heavens intending to harvest the origin, and on the other is the Chaos Clan about to lose control. Our odds of winning remain slim."

The Realm Overlord phantom swayed gently, and the primordial energy between heaven and earth flowed accordingly.

"Having slept for hundreds of millions of years, my soul has not yet fully recovered, and I have less than one-tenth of my peak strength, making it impossible for me to directly destroy the two great enemies. But I can unlock the ancient primordial restrictions that have been sealed for eons, awaken the ancient residual power scattered throughout the universe, and at the same time, completely release the bloodline shackles, so that the living beings of this world are no longer suppressed in their talent and potential by the power of the contract."

This single sentence sent a surge of excitement through everyone.

For a long time, the cultivation of all living beings would inexplicably encounter bottlenecks, and once their combat power reached a certain height, they could no longer break through; the root cause was the Sacrifice Contract, which locked the upper limit of their origin. If the shackles were broken and the hidden talent and power of each race were fully unleashed, their overall combat power would inevitably see a massive surge.

Beyond the dimensions, the Seven Supremes seemed to perceive the Main God's intent to break the restrictions, and their dormant auras instantly turned sharp and menacing. The Seven-Colored Judgment Divine Light suddenly condensed; no longer scattering, it transformed into several immensely thick pillars of light, carrying the resolve to destroy everything as they slammed fiercely toward the Main God's phantom.

They would never allow variables to arise within the cage, nor would they permit this soon-to-be-acquired origin to slip completely from their control.

Seeing this, the Chaos King did not hesitate. The churning pitch-black mist gathered entirely, the boundless Chaos Power coalescing into the form of a ferocious beast, following closely behind the Judgment Divine Light as it lunged toward the central phantom.

One side sought to strangle the awakening sovereign, while the other fought to break free from ten thousand years of shackles; two supreme forces launched a fierce assault simultaneously.

The Main God's phantom did not retreat in the slightest. Layers of heavy, ancient patterns suddenly illuminated its hazy body, and the origin of the universe's earth, the power of the galaxy, and the lingering wills of sages converged, constructing an Origin Barrier that spanned the heavens and the earth.

Boom—

A heaven-shaking collision resounded throughout the universe, and invisible shockwaves swept wildly from the point of impact. Shattered mountains crumbled completely, the void tore open with dense, spiderweb-like cracks, and the entire Earth shook violently, as if it would disintegrate and collapse at any moment.

The Origin Barrier held firm against the dual onslaught, trembling violently but refusing to shatter.

However, Lin Chen keenly noticed that the outline of the Main God's phantom was becoming increasingly faint under the impact; its already incomplete soul was being continuously consumed. Forcibly blocking the joint attack of two such powerhouses was a massive drain on the Main God in its current state.

"The Main God's power is insufficient to hold out for long; we cannot remain purely on the defensive." Lin Chen spoke up immediately, his gaze sweeping over the three people beside him. "The four origins must re-aggregate, and with the heaven and earth power channeled by the Main God, we will restrain the external enemies together."

The four reached a tacit understanding instantly, setting aside all past grievances and stances.

Golden Bloodline Power, Purple Saiyan Battle Qi, stark-white Emperor Energy, and the Super Saiyan Origin that had settled for eons—four distinct yet equally formidable powers soared into the sky, merging into the heaven and earth Origin Barrier. The previously thin defensive wall instantly grew several times thicker, steadily bearing the brunt of the successive impacts.

Seeing that the strike had failed, the Chaos King let out a low roar that echoed through the black mist: "Residual power is ultimately unable to turn the tide. Even if you break the shackles of your talent, you cannot stop the combined might of the heavens and chaos. Today, this universe is destined to meet its end."

The Main God's phantom spoke slowly, its tone steady and resolute: "The ending is never written by others. The humiliation and sacrifices of billions of years, and the lives of countless sages, will never be buried in vain."

Just as the situation reached a stalemate and the forces of both sides were locked in a tug-of-war, a new, fragmented memory suddenly surfaced in Lin Chen's mind.

In the vision, at the end of the ancient decisive battle, besides the signing of the contract and the Main God going into hibernation, there seemed to be an extremely hidden Void Secret Realm that had been sealed by the joint efforts of all the powerhouses. Within the secret realm lay a mysterious treasure capable of shaking the structure of the heavens—a treasure that even the Main God had not been able to easily utilize back then.

The memory fragment was blurry, and he could only vaguely glimpse the treasure emitting a peculiar light interwoven with black and white, pulling upon the dual powers of chaos and origin.

Before Lin Chen could carefully process this sudden memory, the Seven-Colored Divine Light high above in the firmament, which had been held back with such difficulty, suddenly contracted and gathered.

Deep within the gaps of the dimensional barrier, a cold and indifferent supreme divine sense locked directly onto Lin Chen's body, and with irresistible majesty, it slowly dropped a cold pronouncement.

"A mere junior ant dares to attempt to overturn the eternal order. Since the Main God has awakened, there will be no more delays. I shall initiate the cross-boundary descent immediately and personally erase all rebels."

The Outer-Domain Supreme was no longer satisfied with remote rule-based judgment and intended to step into this low-dimensional universe in person.

At the same time, the universe's origin, which had been flowing steadily deep within the earth's core, suddenly exhibited strange turbulence, and the seal of that hidden secret realm, which had been buried for billions of years, began to loosen and crack at this very moment.