Chapter 413: Chapter 413: The Divine Realm Lies Desolate; One Year Has Passed in the Mortal World — Brother Xiaotian, Draw Your Blade

This cosmic graveyard had returned to the void.

It transformed into a chaotic land that even many gods could not comprehend.

Looking at the Asura God, whose three faces were all stained with divine blood, propping himself up against the void with his sword, the gods fell into prolonged silence.

There was the shock of witnessing history, and even more so, disbelief at the outcome of the great battle.

The Asura God had been defeated.

Defeated by the Sword Lord who had only just ascended to the Divine Realm.

"Zhexian!" Qian Renxue darted to Li Zhexian’s side, nervously examining him from head to toe.

"I’m fine."

Li Zhexian held her slightly cool, delicate hand and smiled as he shook his head.

But inwardly, he was far less relaxed than he appeared.

The Asura God truly deserved his reputation as the strongest combatant in the Divine Realm. His ultimate strike, Final Blood Prison Calamity, had nearly shattered all laws of the Dao.

If Li Zhexian had not comprehended the Eleventh Sword, the outcome would still have been uncertain.

Though he still had methods he had yet to use—

—the Asura God likely had hidden trump cards as well.

With a thought, Li Zhexian transformed into a streak of sword light together with Qian Renxue, appearing before the Asura God.

"Asura—"

"I have lost."

Divine power surged around the Asura God, suppressing his injuries.

His three pairs of crimson eyes stared at the youth before him, revealing a rare, complex expression.

"You refused the Asura God position and remained true to your heart’s sword dao. Well done, Li Zhexian."

"The Asura God flatters me."

Li Zhexian cupped his fists in return.

In truth, he held great respect for the Asura God.

Back in the Slaughter City, he had already drawn this god’s attention.

And he understood clearly that many of the paths he had walked during his mortal cultivation had likely never escaped the Asura God’s gaze.

At this moment—

Ji Dong and Destruction led the gods as they descended through the air.

"The Divine Realm gains yet another God of Battle—congratulations indeed."

Ji Dong laughed loudly.

"The Food God has prepared a grand feast. Why not all go together to celebrate the Sword Lord and the Angel God’s ascension to the Divine Realm?"

With Li Zhexian’s victory over the Asura God,

he had become the new pinnacle of power in the Divine Realm.

Which god would dare refuse to give face?

The Sea God was the most enthusiastic of all.

"Let’s go together!"

"The Divine Realm hasn’t been this lively in a long time!"

"Sword Lord God King, please give us more guidance in the future!"

"Evil God King, with Sword Lord God King here today, you must drink more of your treasured immortal brews!"

Surrounded by the gods, The six God Kings transformed into streaks of divine light and departed.

Drip...

Drip...

Several strands of crystalline divine blood floated in the deep cosmos.

The supreme divine power contained within them sent subtle ripples through the void, spreading an indescribable aura of majesty.

At the same time—

In the depths of the starry sky.

Within a forbidden land sealed by countless layers.

The land was barren, steeped in ominous darkness. Enormous skeletal remains lay scattered everywhere. At the center stood a dragon skeleton ten thousand meters tall.

Even after endless ages,

It still radiated a terrifying, ancient dragon might.

Suddenly—

A nearly imperceptible trace of aura seeped inside.

Buzz!

Buzz!

The earth shook violently as fissures bulged open.

A dragon claw covered in golden scales burst from the ground. Each scale flowed with supreme physical power, and merely appearing caused space itself to shatter inch by inch.

"This aura..."

A violent dragon roar, suppressed for tens of thousands of ages, echoed through the realm, shaking the mountains of bones into rattling motion.

"It makes me yearn for it. I want to go out!"

"ROAR!!!"

...

The banquet lasted half a day, cups clinking as divine light flowed freely.

Ji Dong’s self-proclaimed title of Wine God truly lived up to its name.

Even Li Zhexian, a seasoned connoisseur who had tasted fine wines across the world, couldn’t help but raise his thumb in praise, exclaiming repeatedly.

The Eastern Region of the Divine Realm—

Had now become Li Zhexian’s private Dao ground.

Here, seas of clouds drifted and immortal mountains rose—undeniably the most beautiful scenery in the Divine Realm.

At this moment—

The Earth God was leading thirty master craftsman divine officials in massive construction efforts.

"Thank you for your hard work, Earth God, and everyone."

The Earth God and the craftsman gods all showed looks of alarm.

They were responsible in the Divine Realm for constructing palaces and other heavy labor, and no God King had ever been so polite to them.

This Sword Lord God King—who even slashed the Asura God—was so approachable left them deeply flattered.

"The God King is too kind! This is merely our duty!"

Li Zhexian nodded with a smile. With a thought, he drew pure spring water from the tea fields of Spirit Mountain across the void, transforming it into pools of sweet, nourishing rain that hovered in the air.

"You’ve worked hard. I’m a bit tipsy, so I’ll head in to rest first."

"We respectfully see the God King off!"

Back in the temporary divine palace,

Li Zhexian looked around.

Though the palace—roofed with glazed tiles and walled in white jade—was majestic in scale, it still felt strangely empty and desolate.

A God King should normally command many subordinate gods.

But having only just ascended to the Divine Realm, his foundation was still shallow.

Only the divine officials who had originally managed the Eastern Divine Region

stood trembling at his sides, ready to kneel whenever they saw him.

"Sigh..."

He let out a soft sigh, drawing Qian Renxue into his arms as he leaned back against the throne, a trace of languor showing between his brows.

"Finding it dull already?"

Qian Renxue lifted her gaze, smiling as she looked at the youth.

"This seat isn’t nearly as comfortable as the sandalwood chair you gave me."

Li Zhexian’s eyes lit up.

"I should remind Sister Yanyan and the others—when they come up, tell them to bring the chair along."

With that, he moved as if to go to the Divine Realm Plaza.

According to the laws of the Divine Realm,

If a god wished to communicate with the lower realms, it had to be done at the plaza under the supervision of the Law Enforcement God.

"Hmm?"

Just as he was about to depart with Qian Renxue, he suddenly stopped.

He remembered one of the authorities under his control.

And moreover—

He himself was the Law Enforcement God.

"Why go to the Divine Realm Plaza?!"

"If I still follow rules to the letter, wouldn’t being a god be pointless?"

...

It had been over a year since Li Zhexian’s ascension.

During this year—

Many major events had taken place in the lower realm.

The final outcome of the Heavenly Ridge Martial Tournament was a three-way tie between Dugu Bo, Chen Xin, and Golden Crocodile Douluo. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

After that,

Dugu Bo digested Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent Cores and exhausted the immortal herb reserves of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, finally breaking through to Level 99.

As for Chen Xin, after witnessing Li Zhexian prove the Dao through the sword,

he announced his closed-door cultivation.

One day, above the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect,

sword qi stretched thirty thousand miles—

he finally stepped into the realm of the peerless.

...

Sea God Island.

In a certain deep-sea region—

"Break!"

With an angry shout from Yu Tianheng, the crimson light of his ninth Spirit Ring flared brilliantly, annihilating a hundred-thousand-year sea Spirit Beast.

"The fifth trial is complete—only the final trial remains."

At that moment,

Energy surged across multiple sea regions. Figures stepped upon the waves, gathering together aboard a single vessel.

"How are everyone’s trials going?"

Zhu Zhuqing spoke first.

Her figure had grown ever more graceful. The black robe set off her snow-white skin, and when her eyes opened and closed, her gaze was sharp and piercing.

"Pretty smoothly!"

"The six Red Level trials are complete!"

"The Black Level trials really do lag step by step!"

"Everyone’s only got the final trial left!"

After the excited exchange, they leaned against the ship’s rail, letting the sea breeze wash over them.

The conversation gradually faded.

An unusual stillness spread through the air.

Over the past year, it had always been like this—everyone understood it without needing to say so.

Their gazes unconsciously turned toward the center of the deck, to the three-foot-tall divine statue shrouded in sandalwood incense.

Huo Wu adjusted the sails with practiced ease and snorted softly.

"He went up to the Divine Realm and couldn’t even send a message. It’s been a whole year without a word."

Zhu Zhuqing gently gathered her hair with slender fingers and said softly,

"Zhexian has only just ascended to the Divine Realm. He must be busy with many affairs."

"As long as we become gods soon, we’ll naturally reunite with him in the Divine Realm."

Feng Buyu, his eyes wrapped in black silk and his senses the sharpest of all, felt his heart suddenly jolt.

He abruptly turned toward Feng Xiaotian, who was holding a long blade.

"It’s close—becoming a god is no longer out of reach!"

"I heard Brother Xiaotian refined the Thirty Six Successive Chops down to eighteen strikes last month, and even wanted to spar with Zhexian?"

Yu Tianheng, Huo Wushuang, and Oscar all showed puzzled expressions upon hearing this, but years of tacit understanding led them to nod together.

"We can testify!"

Though Feng Xiaotian didn’t remember ever saying such a thing, given the situation, he went along with it.

"That’s right. Unfortunately, Zhexian has already ascended."

After several moments of silence—

A smiling voice sounded by everyone’s ears.

"It’s no matter. I can still come down.

Brother Xiaotian, draw your blade."