It was the End of the Primordial Era, more than ninety-four thousand years after Heng Emperor had publicly announced his seclusion, in the Strange World.
"Dong!"
At dawn, the lingering toll of a bell seemed like a low roar from distant antiquity, surging hazily into the sky. The resonance of the Great Dao sent ripples through the void like invisible waves, reverberating across this vast world.
Beneath the great bell, a creature as towering as a mountain was stretching his body to his heart's content. His breathing was long and deep, each breath carrying a faint dragon's roar and whipping up fierce gales.
Though humanoid, he bore Qilin Armor, Kunpeng Wings, white tiger claws, and parts from many other divine birds and extraordinary beasts. Combined in a single body, they were utterly bizarre yet perfectly harmonious, making him not only fierce and powerful, but swift as the wind.
This was none other than Beast God, once of the Divine Ruins forbidden zone in the Shrouding the Heavens universe, a Dao Prover who had been active in the middle of Primordial Antiquity.
Now, the ancient emperor who had once shaken the universe wore a steady, serene expression. His fists, like the giant hammers of a deity, struck the Kunlun Immortal Bell again and again, making this great bell of the Immortal Dao send out waves that cleansed the Life Forbidden Zone beneath his feet.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
The bell's reverberations held not the slightest trace of combat or slaughter. Instead, they carried a tranquil, lingering sacred resonance, prompting the many Supremes within the forbidden zone's ancient halls to open their eyes as their bodies and Primordial Spirits grew calm.
"Beast God is issuing another challenge!"
Within an ancient stone hall wreathed year-round in brilliant golden light, Fighting Saint Emperor opened his