Yu Ji's sword light held a Destruction Aura, but before it could strike Lu Ren, a divine ray shattered it.
"Yu Ji, what are you doing?" Zhu Lie demanded coldly.
"Zhu Lie, Lu Ren is too formidable. Once he becomes a Divine Emperor, even you may struggle to suppress him. We should kill him now!" Yu Ji said.
"Yu Ji, you have your own motives, don't you? You have a grudge against Lu Ren. You're afraid he'll come after you if he joins the Calamity Organization," Zhu Lie said evenly.
"You saw what happened when Lu Ren faced his tribulation. If he becomes a Divine Emperor, he may abandon the Ancient Desolate Clan and flee!" Yu Ji explained.
"Are you questioning my strength?" Zhu Lie asked coldly.
"I wouldn't dare!"
Yu Ji's expression darkened. She and Zhu Lie were both hall masters of the Twelve Tribulations Hall, so their positions were equal.
But in the Calamity Organization, strength ruled all. Zhu Lie was stronger than she was. Even if he killed her outright, the organization would not punish him.
Meanwhile, earth-shaking changes were taking place inside Lu Ren.
First, new flesh grew over his body at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Within his sword soul, the Nine Lives Sword, formed from seventy-two Divine Rules, had fully taken shape. The power of those rules surged.
Inside Lu Ren's Godhead, the Xuanhuang Law Domain enveloped the Great Tomb Divine Infant. Threads of divine power seeped into every corner of the domain, causing it to begin evolving into a world.
Ordinarily, a Divine Emperor could not evolve a world. Only a Peak Divine Emperor could do so by refining the origin of the Divine Realm into a law domain and transforming divine power into World Ancestral Power.
Yet Lu Ren's divine