Hope of the Race

At the entrance of the Tomb Mausoleum, the Bei Zhen Star Master of the East Emperor Holy Land and other powerful beings waiting by the hatch were astonished to hear a cold voice as they watched Lei Yi Demon God, Tiebu Demon Master, and other retreating candidates emerge: “You all, leave the Tomb Mausoleum immediately. The hatch is about to close. If you don’t exit now… you won’t have another chance to leave.”

“The hatch is closing?”

“Only one can survive this inheritance, the next Duan Dong River! Everyone else will die. It seems even the escape routes are being sealed off.”

“Go!”

The Bei Zhen Star Master and his large group of beings flew outwards. As nearly a hundred powerful individuals soared out of the hatch, with a ‘whoosh,’ the gate slammed shut. The entire Tomb Mausoleum was now sealed, with no exit. The hundred or so powerful beings from various races, looking back at the closed hatch, couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

“Lei Yi Demon God, impressive.”

“Lei Yi Demon God, I never expected this inheritance to be guided by your hand, even causing the God-Eye Clan such a massive loss. Haha, the God-Eye Clan must truly despise you.” The other powerful beings present all looked at Lei Yi Demon God, without a trace of hostility.

For one, if not for Lei Yi Demon God, when would they have discovered this Duan Dong River lineage inheritance?

Secondly, Lei Yi Demon God only targeted the God-Eye Clan, which in a way helped them by eliminating a major enemy.

What’s more, Lei Yi Demon God now possesses the Ice Cliff Fortress, making him incredibly difficult to kill. And once he refines that ‘True God Realm,’ Lei Yi Demon God will undoubtedly become one of the most formidable Universe’s Ultimate Experts… Coupled with his status as a lone cultivator, all factions are naturally willing to befriend him.

“Their hatred is precisely what I desire. The more they hate me, the more exhilarated and joyful I become,” Lei Yi Demon God sneered. “To become a Universe’s Ultimate Expert, only to be humiliated by the God-Eye Clan, and even have my sole confidant, Kong Luo, killed by them… In this life, I have no clan, no other aspirations, save to make the God-Eye Clan regret their actions, to make them suffer immensely, even to the point of their clan’s annihilation!”

This made the other powerful beings exchange glances, secretly astonished.

What immense hatred! Poor God-Eye Clan!

…

“Esteemed True Masters, the Ice Cliff Fortress was dragged into the abyss. The Second True Master immediately sensed danger and ordered all of us with avatars to self-detonate! Thus, Immortal Gods, Universe Venerables, and Universe Masters with avatars all self-detonated to escape,” Wuliang Master respectfully reported to the avatars of the five True Masters around him.

“That abyss possessed immense power, and it seemed to contain illusion-type attack methods as well.”

“The Second True Master and Seventh True Master struggled greatly to cope at the time, seemingly unable to withstand it, and ordered us to self-detonate and depart immediately.”

One by one, the survivors described the situation.

The five True Masters nearby wore extremely grim expressions. They already knew the details. This was their God-Eye Clan’s greatest chance to transcend reincarnation, but they never expected Lei Yi Demon God to appear midway, not only cutting off their opportunity but also causing the demise of both the Second True Master and the Seventh True Master. These were two Universe’s Ultimate Experts, along with two extremely important supreme treasures.

Their seven great True Masters possessed a combined combat technique. Now, with two missing… even if the remaining five launched a combined attack, their power would be significantly diminished.

“Damn him!” The Sixth True Master’s eyes were cold.

“Lei Yi Demon God, that despicable Lei Yi Demon God destroyed the hope of my God-Eye Clan! We should have killed him at all costs back then!” The Fifth True Master roared, gnashing his teeth.

“Who could have known that Lei Yi Demon God would be so lucky as to discover the Tomb Mausoleum first?” the Third True Master said hoarsely. “A Lei Yi Demon God without a supreme treasure and with ordinary strength… wasn’t he keeping a low profile and not daring to show his face after that incident? It was purely his luck, otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened. Damn it! He destroyed the greatest hope of my God-Eye Clan, and caused the demise of the Seventh and the others…”

“The Second and the Seventh…” The First True Master murmured slowly, a pained expression on his face.

“If our clan has no hope of transcending reincarnation, then we will drag that Lei Yi Demon God down to death with us!” the Fifth True Master snarled through gritted teeth.

“Calm down.”

The First True Master opened his eyes and shook his head, saying, “Revenge comes last. Our great limit is approaching… Our clan must strive with all our might for a glimmer of hope, to transcend reincarnation. That is our ultimate goal. If we cannot transcend reincarnation, the glory of my God-Eye Clan will vanish forever. I fear that after a few more reincarnation eras, no one will even remember our God-Eye Clan.”

…

While the God-Eye Clan suffered, the East Emperor Holy Land and the humans of the Primal Universe were filled with anticipation.

The ancient Ancestor of the East Emperor Holy Land personally conversed with Blood Venerable and Youzan Master, clearly brimming with expectation…

Giant Axe Founder and Chaos City Lord also met with Luo Feng…

The Purple Moon Ancestor of the Purple Moon Holy Land also met with Luchong Master…

All factions were hopeful, and the heavy burdens of their respective races weighed upon the candidates, making each of them incredibly fervent. Since they had decided to accept the inheritance, it was essentially a path of ‘almost certain death.’ After all, Luo Feng and Blood Venerable held the greatest hope, while almost all other powerful beings were destined to die. Their task was simply to transmit as much information back to their races as possible before their demise.

…

“Transcending reincarnation is incredibly difficult. Even the Original Ancestor back then had no certainty of succeeding, and I still have a slight gap compared to him, let alone transcending reincarnation,” Giant Axe Founder said, looking at Luo Feng. “Countless reincarnation eras have passed, and there are only two Holy Land Universes in total. The difficulty of transcending reincarnation is unimaginable. Although I, Giant Axe, am extremely confident, I cannot claim to be certain of transcending reincarnation within three reincarnation eras. This opportunity is the greatest chance for our human race, and you are currently the candidate with the highest potential.”

“Our human race rose step by step from weakness, and under the leadership of the Original Ancestor, we emerged among the powerful races of the Primal Universe, becoming one of the pinnacle races.”

“We humans have endured countless wars, wars against other races, facing the danger of annihilation multiple times, until the rise of the Original Ancestor… Now, our human race is powerful. Countless human descendants can roam and play carefree in the Virtual Universe, cultivate with abundant resources, and even make many races our vassals.”

“We humans are the strongest race.”

“At the very least, we possess the strongest heart! We are never content to be weak…”

“Our human race will never be content to be annihilated in the river of time,” Giant Axe Founder said, looking at Luo Feng. “What we humans must do is exist eternally, even stronger than those two Holy Lands, even reaching the level of ancient civilizations, creating an even more brilliant and powerful civilization!”

“And this time… is an opportunity!”

“Every powerful being’s rise has critical turning points. And the rise of a race also has critical turning points… Your current opportunity is the crucial turning point for the fate of our human race. This turning point has two paths, and which path the human race’s destiny takes depends on you,” Giant Axe Founder said, looking at Luo Feng with profound expectation.

Luo Feng nodded solemnly: “I will give it my all!”

…

The calls of flying beasts, the roars of exotic creatures—this was a world like a paradise, filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers. From afar, one could see flying beasts displaying their feathers, soaring with fully spread wings, leaving trails of fiery rainbow light or brilliant colorful glows in their wake…

In the distance, the figures of exotic beasts faintly appeared among the weeds, or occasionally, the tip of an exotic beast’s iceberg emerged from a faraway lake.

“This is the inheritance space,” Duan Dong River said, standing mid-air, his gaze ethereal. “Where successive Duan Dong Rivers have received their inheritance.”

The powerful beings from various races also floated behind him.

The spatial entrance that had appeared when they entered was now closed and sealed, clearly indicating no way out. However, Luo Feng and the others paid no mind to anything else, their hearts filled with anticipation for the inheritance they were about to receive, and secretly astonished… If this inheritance space truly was where successive Duan Dong Rivers received their inheritance, then its existence spanned an incredibly long time.

“It’s called an inheritance space,” Duan Dong River sighed with emotion, “but it can absorb energy, all forms of energy, including the chaotic currents within the Universe Ocean, to maintain spatial stability and sustain life within the space.”

Although Luo Feng and the others were surprised, they quickly composed themselves.

Because… they were used to it.

Although ordinary powerful beings, including Universe’s Ultimate Experts, couldn’t directly absorb the chaotic currents of the universe, only ‘miniature universes’ and the ‘Primal Universe’ could assimilate these chaotic currents into themselves. However, this rule simply didn’t apply to ancient civilizations. Like the Universe Boat, like this inheritance space…

All could exist for incredibly long periods. While miniature universes typically existed for three reincarnation eras, this inheritance space had existed for endless reincarnation eras.

“Now… you are about to receive the inheritance,” Duan Dong River said, pointing into the distance. “Look!”

Luo Feng and the others all looked.

On the vast wilderness in the distance, numerous light gates suddenly rose. Each light gate bore an image. If one looked closely at an image… one could vaguely see a powerful being controlling millions of golden lights, attacking a distant scene. Viewing other images revealed different scenes.

“The successive inheritors of my Duan Dong River lineage include those skilled in close combat, long-range attacks, weapon refinement, and mechanical control… encompassing almost all categories from my homeland,” Duan Dong River said, pointing into the distance. “There are a total of 820 entrances in the distance. Entering one will grant a different basic inheritance.”

“Only one person can enter each entrance to receive the inheritance.”

“Yinhe chooses first, Blood chooses second… and so on,” Duan Dong River stated directly. “This is merely a basic inheritance, to verify if you are suitable for my Duan Dong River lineage. Once the final inheritor is determined, only that inheritor will be qualified to receive the true core inheritance, the one that only each generation’s Duan Dong River is privy to.”

“Begin your selection,” Duan Dong River commanded directly, looking at Luo Feng. “Yinhe, you choose.”

“Yes, Lord Duan Dong River,” Luo Feng bowed slightly, then transformed into a brilliant streak of light, streaking across the sky, approaching the 820 spatial entrances in the distance…