Within the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain, the First Multidimensional Universe unfolds in its vastness. The Skeleton Star Sea stretches across the void like a silent river of white bones, with billions of star remains overlapping each other, forming layers of slowly rotating vortexes of debris. On the eastern side of this sea of stars, where death and radiance intertwine, a colossal city constructed entirely of silver-gray crystals and ancient bones floats above it— the Returning Light Heavenly City.
The entire city resembled a relic forgotten by time, yet a faint but undying radiance flowed through countless runes and veins. The towering city walls seemed to be pieced together from the spines of countless giant beasts, with flickering Fate Soul Crystal Core embedded between each joint, making the entire city appear from a distance like a colossal entity that was still breathing.
The Hua Family Lineage's territory is located in the very heart of this city. The palaces are layered upon each other, with an ancient and solemn structure. Faint spiritual light bands float above the palace roofs, like circles of slowly rotating Fate Soul trajectories, enveloping the entire territory. At this moment, in a side hall, several Hua Lineage disciples are gathered on one side, their voices low but unable to conceal the turmoil of their emotions.
"Do you think... our Steward Hua Jingmeng will be able to reach the Supreme this time?" a disciple asked softly, his eyes filled with a mixture of expectation and resentment.
The other person scoffed, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "Able? You overestimate him. If the Grand Elder hadn't personally opened the Star-Tempering Hall for him and used the Star-Tempering Source Runes accumulated by the clan, do you think he could have reached this point?"
"That's not quite right," someone next to him retorted in a low voice, "Deacon Hua Jingmeng is quite talented; otherwise, the Grand Elder wouldn't have placed his bets on him."
"Talent?" The man sneered. "Which member of the Hua Lineage who has reached this position isn't exceptionally talented? But resources are what truly determine everything. If he didn't have that connection, he probably wouldn't even be qualified to enter the Star-Tempering Hall."
A young disciple in the corner sighed, his tone filled with obvious envy, "Ah, if I could have such an opportunity, it would be worth any amount of suffering... Right now, I'm still struggling in the outer sect, barely even touching the threshold of the Profound Mystic Void Realm."
"Stop dreaming," the other waved his hand. "A place like the Star-Tempering Hall isn't for everyone. Even if you were allowed in, you might not come out alive."
"But he's been inside for almost three months..." someone whispered. "If he could break through, he should have come out long ago. I think he's probably stuck."
After those words, everyone fell silent for a moment. An indescribable emotion permeated the air—a mixture of expectation, envy, and a certain unacknowledged awe.
At this moment, deep within the Hua Family Lineage's territory, a palace standing quietly, completely different from the outside world, is located.
The Star-Tempering Hall lacks conventional wall structures; it resembles a cross-section of the starry sky forcibly fixed into reality. Outside the hall's doors, space twists and turns, as if countless stars are compressed into an extremely small area and slowly rotating.
The roof of the palace Does Not Exist, but one can see an endless sea of stars hanging down, starlight flowing like a waterfall. Each ray of starlight contains extremely pure tempering power. That power is not gentle, but carries an almost cruel sharpness, as if it wants to completely dismantle and rebuild the Fate Soul structure of everything that enters.
In the center of the hall, a massive array slowly began to operate.
The array patterns are composed of countless Ultimate starlight rays, each of which is constantly changing, recombining, and collapsing, forming an endless cycle. At the core of the array, a figure sits cross-legged.
Hua Jingmeng, his body had already been completely swallowed by starlight.
Countless starlight, like sharp blades, pierced his Fate Soul from all directions. With each cut, it tore apart the original structure within his body, only to reassemble it in a more precise and stable manner. The process was relentless, as if a cold and precise artifact of creation was shattering his existence again and again, only to rebuild it once more.
Fine cracks kept appearing on his skin. No blood flowed from the cracks, but instead, strands of pure starlight overflowed, which was the most primordial form revealed after his Fate Soul was stripped away.
His eyes were tightly closed, veins bulged on his forehead, his jaw was clenched tightly, and his consciousness was violently trembling.
With each ray of starlight penetrating his body, he could clearly feel the pain of his own "existence" being torn apart. It was not physical pain, but a deeper tearing, and even the cognition of "I am me" was constantly being shattered and forcibly reassembled.
The starlight surrounding the formation suddenly trembled violently, and huge star rings emerged from the void, overlapping each other and contracting towards the center.
The pressure surged instantly, Hua Jingmeng's body trembled violently. Her previously stabilized Fate Soul structure collapsed again, and a crack spread from her brow to her entire body, as if it would shatter completely at any moment.
His breathing suddenly became erratic, his consciousness began to sink, and at that Threshold moment of collapse, his eyes snapped open.
Starlight suddenly burst forth in his pupils, "Break for me!" A roar exploded within the Star-Tempering Hall, the sound itself not audible, but it stirred up a monstrous wave within the formation.
The Fate Soul within him, repeatedly torn apart and constantly reassembled, suddenly began to coalesce. Countless shattered nodes simultaneously lit up with a faint light, quietly forming a completely new way of connecting with each other.
This connection is independent of the original structure; it takes a more stable and purer core as its center, and rapidly expands and spreads outward along invisible veins, reconnecting all the fragmented parts into a whole.
The starlight from the formation converged wildly, pouring down like a torrent and merging entirely into his body, causing the entire Star-Tempering Hall to tremble.
In the void, a colossal star shadow slowly appeared, and a true star field unfolded behind him. Billions of stars arranged themselves into a complete trajectory at the same moment, and that trajectory perfectly overlapped with his Fate Soul.
The next instant, all the starlight suddenly vanished, and everything fell silent. Hua Jingmeng slowly stood up.
The aura within his body had completely changed; it was a perfect and stable fluctuation of power, each wisp of which was like refined steel that had been forged a thousand times, without a trace of impurity.
Mystic Void Realm - Supreme. The last ray of starlight in the Star-Tempering Hall slowly dissipated. He stood there, his chest rising and falling slightly, a barely suppressed sharpness flashing in his eyes.
A subtle ripple suddenly appeared in the space Star-Tempering Hall. The flowing starlight seemed to be gently caressed by an invisible hand, instantly receding back into the hall, so silent that not even a trace of its afterglow would leak out. Then, the hall door, woven from the remnants of stars and Fate Soul runes, slowly opened.
A figure stepped out, his pace unhurried yet carrying an aura that naturally pressed down on the surroundings. Hua Jingmeng stood on the threshold, his aura completely different from before. His robes fluttered without wind, and subtle starlight flickered and faded at the hem.
Even the light itself seemed unwilling to linger on him for long. He slightly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the disciples who had not yet left. That single glance was extremely indifferent, yet it saw through everyone from head to toe. There was no emotional fluctuation in his eyes, only a superior calm and confidence, like an eagle that had already soared into the sky, looking down on the creatures still struggling in the swamp.
The disciples outside the hall, who had been buzzing with discussion, fell silent for a moment, followed by a chorus of hushed exclamations: "He really broke through... to the Mystic Void Realm · Supreme..." "Tsk, this guy actually made it..." "He was just saying he couldn't do it, doesn't his face hurt now?" Some couldn't help but sneer, while others' eyes were filled with a mixture of envy and resentment.
Amidst this complex emotion, several disciples at the Mystic Void Realm Initial Stage quickly pushed forward, their faces beaming with almost exaggeratedly respectful smiles. "Congratulations, Steward Hua, on successfully reaching the Supreme! Such talent truly makes you a pillar of our Hua Lineage's future!" "Congratulations, Steward, your breakthrough in this stage is truly astonishing!"
One of them practically pressed himself against her, his tone clearly obsequious, "Boss, you're amazing! You even withstood this Star-Tempering Soul-Cleansing Array. From now on, we'll all be relying on you."
Hua Jingmeng did not respond to these words. He merely glanced at them indifferently. His gaze contained no obvious contempt, yet it caused the men to subconsciously suppress their smiles and even lower their breathing. He stepped out of the palace gate, and the moment his foot touched the ground, a very fine ripple spread through the space beneath his feet.