Revered Rednote had taken the tactic of threatening the entire Longshan family to force Longshan Yin to remain in his factionâs territory for his breakthrough. On the other hand, the Longshan patriarch was perfectly willing to play into this as he wanted to kill all of his clanâs enemies in one fell swoop. He was even willing to go down in a blaze of mutual destruction with them.
Both sides knew the otherâs plans and neither was willing to give way. The final victory would go to whoever had made more arrangements and was stronger.
For the moment, it appeared that Revered Rednote held the upper hand since heâd had the Three Brahmas infiltrate Dragonmountain Clime. Longshan Yin was wholly unaware that the Three Brahmas stood with the Longshanâs greatest enemy.
Revered Rednote had also recruited Big Dragon Cong of Bigdragon Clime, but likewise, he didnât know who Longshan Yan had brought to help his family.
A surging thunder tribulation exploded outward and covered Dragonmountain Clime. It targeted only Longshan Yin, but everything within that world was blanketed by a suffocating force. Even Revered Rednote didnât dare ambush Longshan Yin at this time.
While Longshan Yin would be a Void World King upon the conclusion of his tribulation, he would also be gravely injured. That was when the true battle would begin. If Revered Rednote devoured a Void World Kingâs core essence, he would also stand a chance of reaching these heights!
âHeâs about to break through.â Lu Yun suddenly arrived next to Longshan Yan.
âGreetings toââ The young man was prevented from bowing as Lu Yunâs hand kept him upright.
âDonât move if you donât want your fatherâs carefully laid plans to go to waste,â Lu Yun said calmly. Though his voice spread in all directions, only Longshan Yan could hear him.
No one else could even see that there was another person next to Longshan Yan. Since Lu Yun had truly grasped the cultivation levels of the fourth realm, he could manipulate this worldâs power as he would.
Longshan Yan snapped his mouth shut, not daring to say anything else.
âI can help you break through to World Manifest by using your fatherâs heavenly tribulation,â Lu Yun suddenly offered.
Longshan Yanâs eyes bulged with surprise. Lu Yun slapped a talisman onto him before he could respond.
The young man trembledâhis long-stagnant cultivation level suddenly surged and smashed a frustrating bottleneck thatâd plagued him to smithereens! He broke through to World Manifest in the next second!
It was too easy for a Nihil World Sovereign to help a true nihil cultivator ascend. The thunder tribulation that wouldâve formed for Longshan Yan dispersed with a single disapproving thought from Lu Yun.
âAh, so I see!â Another glimpse of comprehension dawned in his mind.
Last time Lu Yun visited the fourth realm, She Nong and the prisoners of the Hadal Hell had told him that there were no cultivation levels here. The bigger one was, the more power one contained and the stronger one was.
But upon his second visit, he discovered that there were six major cultivation levels to be found. Despite that, it wasnât a discovery that contradicted what theyâd told him.
Denizens of the fourth realm cultivated ânothingâ, so from a certain perspective, the six cultivation levels did indeed not exist. Out of nothing came somethingâthey were all derived from the level of ânothingâ.
Lu Yun hadnât experienced the intricacies of the fourth realm then, so the others hadnât bothered with details of this. For his repeat visit, he quickly mentioned âWorld Manifestâ and âNihil World Sovereignââterms that prompted further explanations from She Nong.
However, the snake still didnât mention âout of nothing came somethingâ or ânothingâ. Lu Yun had to experience some things for himself.
And now, heâd finally grasped everything. If he once more expanded his body to his limits, he would transform into ânothingâ and his cultivation level of Nihil World Sovereign and associated strength would no longer exist.
Of course, those who thought of the fourth realm in terms of cultivation levels would still see that Lu Yun was a Nihil World Sovereign when they looked at him.
After comprehending ânothingâ, Lu Yunâs mentality underwent another shift and he became more attuned to the fourth realm.
âNihil World Sovereign⊠Nihil World Sovereign⊠is the peak of ânothingâ. Therefore, what comes after is beyond ânothingâ.â Lu Yun took a deep breath, having guessed that there must be more cultivation levels to come. He couldnât see them, no matter what he tried. Perhaps the Tome of Life and Death was at that level, but he himself was still too weak to harness that power.
One thing he was certain of, and that was the Tome of Life and Death exceeded the existence of ânothingâ!
Not even Lu Yun had anticipated that he would increase his understanding of the realm after helping Longshan Yan break through to World Manifest. If it wasnât for this, he wouldâve thought that She Nong and the Bridge of Forgetfulness were lying to him. Heâd swing back around and take them to task for it.
But now, he was actually thankful to She Nong. Strength was easily obtained in the fourth realm, but an increase in cultivation level was exceedingly hard.
Longshan Yanâs strength grew in leaps and bounds after he ascended, reaching unfathomable heights. He was a stunning genius to begin with; his potential was displayed to the utmost after Lu Yun helped him.
There were three subdivisions when it came to World Manifestâminor, major, and true.
Thanks to the great one, heâd skipped right past minor and stabilized in major World Manifest!
His cultivation level was flawless and perfect; even his combat arts and cultivation methods had undergone a complete reorganization. Lu Yun was using Longshan Yan as a laboratory rat to test his own cultivation level.
Should I go back and help She Nong and the Bridge of Forgetfulness too? Lu Yun gave up on the thought after brief contemplation.
The Bridge of Forgetfulness was one thing since it was a treasure that Tianqi had made in the human dao hell. Itâd stumbled into the fourth realm by happenstance and become a living being. It didnât have a foundation in the fourth realm.
As for She Nong⊠his potential was leagues apart compared to Longshan Yan. Even if Lu Yun used his own cultivation level to enhance She Nongâs, the latter wouldnât reach Longshan Yanâs heaven-defying levels.
A heavenly tribulation roared through the sky, battering Longshan Yin. He seemed to want to suffer grave injuries as he thrust himself into the terrifying black lightning, allowing himself to be struck with abandon.
A strange energy blossomed from his body at the same time, slowly absorbing the heavenly thunderâs power. No one else noticed it, but it didnât escape Lu Yunâs senses.
âHe has a segment of Thunderstruck Wood inside of him! Thatâs the source of his confidence!â Lu Yun agitated with excitement when he detected the presence of the wood. âWhen he survives this tribulation, I want that wood,â he murmured to himself.
A smile appeared on Longshan Yanâs face. It was normal that a Nihil World Sovereign wanted something. If the heavyweight had continued to not ask for anything, Longshan Yan would start to worry that heâd become the great oneâs cannon fodder and would have to die in his stead.
<blockquote><b>Translator's Thoughts</b>That was seriously a lot of gobbledegook about the cultivation levels.