Immortal of the Nine Realms

Another year slipped by. Much fewer battles had erupted this year. The number of divine ability users remaining within the Saint Tower had dwindled drastically. The rankings for the top hundred thousand had long been finalized. However, those people had already been eliminated and could only return to their Inner Domains to spectate alongside everyone else.

The battlefield that the Saints and Half Saints truly cared about was that of the Third Step Limit Breaking experts, followed by the Second Step, and then the First Step. As for the Nine Transformations Realm and the Three Foundation Realms, the level of attention they received dropped significantly. Only the Saints and Half Saints of their respective clans paid them any mind.

Puchi!

Fang Chen watched as the figure opposite him was hacked to pieces by his sword intent, eventually turning to ashes. Another flash of golden light merged into his body, forming a brand-new halo behind his back.

Over the course of this year, he had encountered four deathmatches. Every single time, his opponent was a lone individual. One couldn't help but wonder if this was an intentional arrangement by Saint Longsheng. Each of the four death battles was harder than the last, and the strength of the opponents he encountered had long surpassed Xie Aman at the same rank.

Fortunately, Fang Chen's methods were equally formidable. He managed the situations with composure and leisure, winning four matches in a row. He didn't know exactly what that signified, but according to his estimates, he should have already cracked the top three thousand.

"The core area... Aside from the twelve powerful races, there probably aren't many divine ability experts left from the other foreign races," muttered Fang Chen to himself, pacing forward toward the core region.

Aside from the fourteen halos floating behind him, a succession of faintly discernible Inner Domains followed closely in the void behind his steps.

***

"The top three thousand..."

The Saints and Half Saints of the human race were surprised once again. Every single time they thought Fang Chen had reached his absolute limit and was on the verge of defeat, he'd manage to surprise them again. It happened many times, and before they knew it, he had already stormed his way into an exceptionally high ranking. Even if he wasn't already in the top three thousand, he was already hovering right around that mark.

In other words, only a few thousand sixth-transformation divine ability experts remained in the Saint Tower Battle. Apart from those belonging to the twelve powerful races, the races the remaining participants hailed from wouldn't be much weaker than the twelve powerful races either, representing the absolute apex tier within the Divine Realm.

Fang Chen was the sole individual who appeared entirely out of place.

Saint Wandao, standing within his own Inner Domain, suddenly broke the silence. "Fang Lie, I wish to accept this clansman of yours as my disciple. What do you think?"

Saint Jinyang and Saint Luoxue didn't say a word, though their gazes turned slightly solemn.

"He might as well come under my tutelage to study the divine abilities of the Five Viscera Temple," said Saint Chenxiang.

"Saint Chenxiang, that divine ability of yours has too many drawbacks and is far too overbearing. It is not suitable for a junior to study. He would be better off coming to my place to learn the Heavenly Supreme Pill Technique."

"Whether it is the Five Viscera Temple or the Heavenly Supreme Pill Technique, both are exceptional divine abilities,” said Saint Duobao. “However, compared to the divine abilities mastered by Saint Wandao, they still fall a fraction short. The two of you shouldn't compete with Saint Wandao.”

The moment he spoke up, it drew a faint, mocking sneer and a light grunt. It came from Saint Heifo. As for Saint Beixuan, he had yet to voice any opinion up to this point, remaining detached and silent as if determined to be a true bystander.

"Are you all not ashamed to steal a disciple from me?"

Saint Wandao laughed and barked, "I don't care. Once the Saint Tower Battle ends, I am going to meet him in person."

Saint Danzun and Saint Chenxiang remained noncommittal.

"Saint Wandao, this child already has an inheritance and a master. I am afraid it won't be proper for him to enter your sect now," said Fang Lie with a smile.

Saint Wandao was slightly startled. "So he already has a master. Well, forget it then."

As a Saint, he wouldn't throw away his dignity over a mere sixth transformation who had broken into the top three thousand. Had the boy been participating in the Third Step of Limit Breaking section of the Saint Tower Battle, that would be a different story.

Meanwhile, the Half Saint Jinwu Inner Domain naturally trailed behind this cluster of Saints' Inner Domains, not daring to overstep bounds.

"My seniority is higher than Fang Lie's, yet he managed to advance to the Saint Realm before me. I can let that go. But how can a direct descendant of his bloodline turn out to be such an incredible prodigy? He managed to break into the top three thousand despite the human race's weak foundation. Could it be that the fortune of our race in this era is going to gather around the Fang Clan?" murmured Half Saint Jinwu softly to himself.

He knew Half Saint Zangxue could hear him.

Half Saint Zangxue remained completely unmoved. "Even if this child breaks into the top one hundred, he is merely a sixth transformation. You and I could easily pinch him to death. If you have no method to handle Saint Fang, do not harbor any more designs on this youth, lest you draw fire to yourself."

She paused before continuing, "I suspect that after this battle, if he can retreat unscathed, he will surely catch the eyes of the Saints. Aside from Saint Fang, Saint Wandao and the others will protect him as well."

Half Saint Jinwu fell silent.

***

Fang Chen's path forward had been barred.

A hundred zhang directly ahead of him stood a bizarre figure. That divine ability expert seemed to possess three heads and six arms. Each of his arms held a weapon. The three heads looked identical. The figure quietly watched Fang Chen, all three pairs of eyes filled with bewilderment and curiosity.

Fang Chen observed his opponent. The Three Heads and Six Arms technique? No, that's not right...

It looked like that person was executing the Three Heads and Six Arms technique, but a closer inspection revealed that no technique had been used. The three heads and six arms were natural-born.

"Behind you, there are many Inner Domains. What race do you belong to? Are the Half Saints and Saints within those Inner Domains all your kinsmen?" asked the opponent.

Before Fang Chen could speak, another figure slithered over. It possessed a human torso and a snake's tail. Its tail was several zhang tall.

"This fellow belongs to the human race, a very weak race. I didn't expect such a prodigy could emerge from them and last until now. Was it just good luck?" the snake-tailed human remarked with a beaming smile.

"You two clearly hail from powerful races. This junior shall not participate in the struggle between you two," said Fang Chen as he backed away, smiling.

Yet, the snake-tailed human was unyielding. "Don't leave. Luck can't carry someone this far. Rather than dying to someone else later, why not die to me instead?"

Fang Chen ignored the man's words and didn't stop his retreat.

Suddenly, a golden wall of light manifested out of thin air, blocking his retreat. Had he not stopped his steps in time and crashed into the wall, he would have been obliterated into pieces on the spot.

Turning around to look, a massive Deathmatch Token had appeared in the center of the three of them.

***

Half Saint Zangling frowned slightly. "It's the Deviant Snake Race and the Southern God Race."

Fang Qianxue let out a quiet sigh in her heart. Fang Chen's luck was truly terrible. The crowd had already reconciled themselves to the fact that Fang Chen would eventually face members of one of the twelve powerful races. However, they could never have imagined that when it happened, it would be two of them at the same time.

"Ancestor Chen's luck is rather poor. Given the temperament of these twelve powerful races, they will likely target him first..." said Fang Han with a bitter laugh.

The crowd nodded in agreement.

It wasn't just limited to the twelve powerful races. Any race that was slightly stronger than the human race maintained a similar attitude toward weaker races, as if weak races didn't even deserve to exist within the God Realm.