Lu Jiulian truly felt like he was taking the blame.

  But he looked around—no one else was present. He sensed no other auras.

  In this comprehension ground, the Fire Origin Beast Ancestor statue’s mystery ripples forced everyone into meditation. No other human genius could have helped him kill the enemies.

  So…

  Lu Jiulian concluded that he must have killed these god-demons himself.

  Sleep-killing?

  Did he, Lu Jiulian… possess some unknown, immensely powerful hidden divine ability?

  Narrowing his eyes, a sharp glint flashed in Lu Jiulian’s gaze.

  “No one else is here… then these god-demons were slain by me, Lu Jiulian.”

  Lu Jiulian sighed and walked among the corpses. The Azure Lotus Sword flicked, severing vital parts from the god-demons’ bodies.

  God-demon corpses were treasures to humans.

  Scales could be forged into spiritual treasures; certain flesh could be used for medicine or pills.

  The same logic as god-demons devouring humans for cultivation.

  Lu Jiulian didn’t store the corpses. This was god-demon territory. Taking even the bodies would make escape impossible.

  After all, killing god-demons and not leaving complete corpses…

  The heaven-god rank god-demons would use that as an excuse to crush him.

  Exhaling slowly, Lu Jiulian sensed his Fire Origin mystery sea.

  “Eight thousand li in diameter… I never expected I, Lu Jiulian, would possess such talent in Fire Origin mysteries.”

  Lu Jiulian shook his head, filled with emotion.

  “Perhaps I, Lu Jiulian, have many talents I haven’t yet discovered…”

  “Could I, Lu Jiulian… be an all-rounder?”

  He didn’t linger.

  Lu Jiulian continued flying toward the depths of the comprehension ground. He discovered that the closer he got to the Beast Ancestor statue, the greater the insight from the mystery ripples.

  Moreover, Lu Jiulian knew well that being at the outer edge of this small world, only by reaching the center and narrowing the activity range could he reunite with the human geniuses. Then they could huddle together and form a strong force against the god-demons.

  Among the human geniuses, there were still Heavenly Emperor-level powerhouses.

  …

  The first wave of mystery ripples ended.

  Like waves spreading outward, the entire small world fell into eerie silence.

  In the void above.

  The atmosphere was tense.

  Tonggu’s eyes were cold and filled with killing intent.

  He seemed ready to ignite at any moment.

  The Elemental Gods appeared much more relaxed.

  The heaven-god rank god-demon’s strike had been arranged by them. The goal was simple—scatter the human geniuses and pick them off one by one.

  Though they forbade heaven-god rank god-demons and human quasi-saints from acting,

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  this was their territory. The rules were theirs to make.

  And that heaven-god rank god-demon hadn’t killed any human geniuses—so no violation.

  If Tonggu couldn’t hold back and attacked, they’d have an excuse to strike, killing all human geniuses and Tonggu himself—dealing humanity a devastating blow!

  Even if Tonggu endured, with more god-demons than human geniuses in the comprehension ground, the end result would still be humanity’s annihilation.

  Moreover, many races in the ancient starry void sided with the god-demons.

  Neutral races had no chance to appear here. The god-demons not wiping them out was already merciful.

  Humanity had gathered some starry races, but the god-demons didn’t care. Those races were weak, their worlds only at early immortal-martial levels.

  “Oh? The first wave of mystery ripples is over… let’s see the casualties.”

  “Tonggu, don’t underestimate these mystery ripples. Fire Origin mysteries differ from Gold Origin—very lethal. If comprehension fails, the soul will be burned away…”

  The Fire Elemental God looked at the grim-faced Tonggu and smiled.

  This wave, humanity must have suffered heavy losses.

  Hum…

  Before Tonggu, the Elemental Gods, and many heaven-god rank god-demons, a map appeared.

  Stars dotted it.

  Tonggu looked at the positions representing human geniuses and exhaled. More survived than expected.

  “First wave of mystery ripples ended. Humanity lost one. God-demons lost six.”

  The heaven-god rank god-demon overseeing the comprehension ground sent the report through divine soul fluctuation.

  The god-demon’s tone seemed hesitant…

  After all… this report was somewhat embarrassing.

  In the void.

  The atmosphere became strange.

  Though humanity lost one—painful for Tonggu—

  Seeing god-demons lose six, Tonggu froze. A wave of emotion surged in his heart.

  This report truly showed humanity’s unyielding roar in desperation.

  The next moment, Tonggu suppressed his sorrow and let out a mocking laugh.

  “Oh? God-demons lost six? Looks like… your chosen batch of god-demons isn’t up to par.”

  Tonggu’s face twitched, perfectly portraying his infuriating demeanor. The mockery in his laughter was completely unrestrained.

  The Elemental Gods fell silent.

  Around them, the void twisted continuously, faintly tearing open as spatial turbulence surged.

  They were furious. They were enraged.

  Of course, also deeply shocked.

  How could this be?!

  Humanity only lost one?

  What happened to picking them off one by one?!

  And Tonggu’s words stabbed like a thorn into their hearts, pushing their emotions toward explosion.

  Tonggu was frantically messing with the Elemental Gods’ mentality.

  If they wouldn’t let him live well, Tonggu wouldn’t miss any chance to make them suffer.

  “What happened?!”

  The Fire Elemental God asked coldly.

  The heaven-god rank god-demon overseeing the ground remained silent for a long time.

  Then he relayed the report.

  “Great-path rank god-demon Fire Eye killed one human Extreme Emperor genius.”

  “Human Extreme Emperor Dantai Xuan killed one immortal-rank god-demon.”

  “Human Heavenly Emperor Luo Yang killed one immortal-rank god-demon.”

  “Human Extreme Emperor Lu Jiulian killed twelve immortal-rank god-demons.”

  Tonggu and the five Elemental Gods’ gazes fell on the screen. Words appeared.

  The report displayed vividly.

  “Who is this Lu Jiulian?!”

  The Fire Elemental God exploded in rage!

  Four of the six dead god-demons fell to this person.

  Tonggu was stunned for a long time. He never expected two of the four from the Five Phoenix to perform so outstandingly.

  He naturally knew the human Heavenly Emperor Luo Yang—no weaker than Chai Feng. Killing one god-demon was normal.

  But what was with Lu Jiulian?

  Even Tonggu drew a sharp breath. Impossible. From what he knew of Lu Jiulian, the child’s strength could at most kill one god-demon.

  After all, the immortal-rank god-demons qualified to enter this comprehension ground weren’t ordinary wanderers like Evil Eye or Kui Si. Each was an elite from the Elemental Realm!

  The Fire Elemental God swept his sleeve. The screen vanished.

  “Send people to surround and kill this Lu Jiulian! If he doesn’t die… he’ll become a grave threat to our god-demon race!”

  “Such talent—must be eliminated!”

  The Fire Elemental God roared.

  “Understood.”

  The heaven-god rank god-demon understood the gravity. So…

  Ignoring Tonggu’s suppressed killing intent, he acknowledged the Fire Elemental God and departed.

  Back in the comprehension ground.

  He guided one great-path rank god-demon after another focused on comprehension.

  “What? Humanity produced an unparalleled genius Lu Jiulian? He killed sixteen immortal-rank god-demons?!”

  A great-path rank god-demon opened his eyes, shock flashing within.

  What a fearsome reputation!

  Killing twelve immortal-rank god-demons in one go—did he have cross-rank combat power?

  Moreover, Lu Jiulian’s mystery sea reached thirty thousand li in diameter.

  Even among these great-path rank god-demons, the most outstanding only had fifteen thousand li.

  This Lu Jiulian… must die!

  Rumble rumble!

  In the comprehension ground, winds and clouds shifted.

  One great-path rank god-demon after another stopped comprehending mysteries. With mystery seas above their heads, they flew toward the coordinates given by the heaven-god rank god-demon.

  Many immortal-rank god-demons also received the message.

  They drew sharp breaths.

  Human Extreme Emperor Lu Jiulian—fearsome reputation.

  If immortal-rank god-demons encountered him, do not engage—flee immediately.

  Because of Lu Jiulian’s fearsome reputation, the god-demons who planned to pick off humans one by one abandoned the pursuit and gathered together.

  After all, against such a fearsome figure, fewer than twenty immortal-rank god-demons might get wiped out!

  This also gave the pressured human geniuses some breathing room.

  While all the god-demons’ attention was drawn to Lu Jiulian’s reputation,

  no one noticed…

  A young woman riding a fire phoenix had unknowingly crossed mountains and fire seas, arriving before the Fire Origin Beast Ancestor statue.