CHAPTER 79.2: WITH HEAVENLY DAO FOUNDATION, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO STOP ME?

Piece by piece, Qi Yuan strung it together.

The Great Sun had once ruled this world, only to be overthrown by an invader. He feigned survival, invited the alien demons, and plunged this world into ruin. And now, he sought to seize Qi Yuan's body.

"Those old men could hurt me. And you think you can?" Qi Yuan's eyes brimmed with scorn. "You're nothing but an NPC capped at level 99 in a rigged game world. Too cowardly for true dominion, too cheap for grand destiny. In TV dramas, you'd be a third-rate villain."

Qi Yuan's words struck deep. Great Sun's voice cracked, as though his pride had been clawed raw. "You’re all bark and no bite! The countless memories of the Divine Reflections already twist your mind. Soon, I will replace you—I will become you!"

Qi Yuan smirked. "Heh. When I was watching Rainbow Cat & Blue Rabbit [1], you were still playing with mud. Do you know how many games I've played, how many shows and anime I've watched? And you think some NPC backstory can overwrite my consciousness? Please. If anyone got brainwashed by too many games, it's you."

He exaggerated, of course. Those memories had affected him. When he saw the corpses hanging beneath the ancient tree, he had fallen silent. But he had quickly brushed it aside. It was just a game. Why grow attached? Every time he logged out, he cleared his cache.

Great Sun roared, voice shaking the entire end zone. "You know nothing of the gulf between us! You haven't even shattered the Divine realm barrier, how dare you oppose me? I once ruled the White Sun Continent! With a single word, I set the world's laws! I forged the platform atop Heaven's End, made countless prodigies slaughter each other for my gaze. The victor became part of me! I laid the rules: no being may surpass level 99. To touch level 100 is to touch the Origin, and that I shall never allow!"

Then, he bellowed with madness, "You will be my puppet, my flesh, my ascension!"

A storm of spiritual power surged, crashing into Qi Yuan's mind. The sheer weight of it dwarfed anything he had ever felt before.

Even the fifty-three Divine realm cultivators' memories were nothing compared to this tide. The Great Sun began his possession.

"Great Sun... you're a very qualified grandpa villain. You ask how I'll stop you? I have the Heavenly Dao class Foundation Establishment. You should be asking yourself how to stop me." Qi Yuan sat bloodied, clutching his sword, yet he still smiled. "You want to devour me? Isn’t it the other way around?”

After all, Qi Yuan'd gathered every Heavenly Dao Fragment. The Great Sun thought he was just a genius with a growth spurt. He never imagined Qi Yuan could farm XP by slaying mobs, or earn Heavenly Dao Fragments by clearing forbidden zones. That very Dao, which even the Great Sun dared not covet.

Then, Qi Yuan closed his eyes and images flashed before him. A great sun, shining on the world full of beings. Qi Yuan's consciousness clung to the heavens up above. His consciousness expanded, orbiting the world like a satellite—an all-seeing eye.

He saw the demon clans crawling out from the deep blue sea; while humans—ragged and tattered—stumbling forth from the mountains.

He saw a hundred races vying for supremacy. The demon clans clashed endlessly, tearing entire mountains apart.

He saw human clans contending. A great general rode an iron-clan beast, only to be beheaded with a single sword strike.

He saw ten thousand demons devouring. An unrivaled giant beast twisted itself, draining three thousand miles of land dry.

He saw flowers bloom and wither, icebergs melt, celestial maidens bathing, monkeys relieving themselves.

He even saw a stone absorb the essence of sun and moon until it exploded, transforming into a humanoid being.

The humanoid being was born sacred, a true favored child of the world. When he spoke, his words shaped reality itself. When he walked to the river to drink, a ten-thousand-year immortal fruit drifted to his side. When he slept upon the ground, a suit of armor fell beside him. In cultivation, he surpassed ordinary men by countless measures.

In only a few thousand years, this humanoid being became the sovereign of the world, slaying the great overlords of the demon clans and the emperors of men. Endless memories unfurled.

Qi Yuan saw the humanoid being rampaged across the land, his towering figure filling every corner of his vision. Qi Yuan found himself entranced, even slipping into the illusion that he was that being, stirring endless rivers of blood across the world.

As Qi Yuan lived through that being's entire life in a first-person perspective, his mind would eventually get consumed. In the end, after endless years of transformation, he would have become the Great Sun. ...At least, that was the Great Sun's plan.

Out of nowhere, Qi Yuan cursed, "What? Taking women as tribute? Even committing rape? You're not even as good as a second-rate villain knockoff! I've read too many stories already. This poser is way too much, I need to spice things up.”

Unfortunately, the Great Sun never realized that Qi Yuan had gathered all the Heavenly Dao Fragments. His vision was no longer confined to the humanoid being.

Instead, he watched a quarrel between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, ants carrying grains of rice, hermaphroditic creatures mating—basically everything this world had to offer.

Qi Yuan surveyed the world as if he were a gamer, browsing the lore and backstory of a game world. Sometimes, he was invested, and some other time, he scoffed and pointed out bugs. He had no idea how much time had passed.

The long-forgotten humanoid being suddenly shrieked, "No! Why won't you look at me? I am your everything! I am you!"

Like a water balloon pricked by a needle, the humanoid being burst, collapsing into fragments within Qi Yuan's mind.

He never even noticed. He was still roaming through the vastness of this world. It was too big, with far too much left to see.

***

Inside Earth's End...

Qi Yuan sat on the steps, eyes still closed, both hands tightly gripping his sword.

Just then, the vast space of Earth's End trembled. A blazing-sun-like radiance erupted, flooding the entire area with white light.

A massive roar shook the air. "Who are you really? I will kill you!"

The usurping soul dispersed, and a colossal stone appeared, wreathed in white flame. The blinding radiance engulfed the entire area. This was the Great Sun's only remaining true body.

The massive stone radiated an aura beyond even the Divine realm, as though space itself shuddered under its presence.

Its thunderous roar echoed throughout Earth's End. "Who are you, truly?!”

"Bastard child, I'm your father!" Qi Yuan’s eyes suddenly shot open. He glanced at the stone with open disdain. "I take that back. I don't have such an ugly son."

Though Qi Yuan had completed the Heavenly Dao and the Great Sun could be considered his child, he absolutely refused to acknowledge it. It was too disgraceful.

The Great Sun's voice twisted with rage and agony, roaring in despair, "You deserve to die! I don't know how you managed to erase my remnants... But in this world, those who cannot break through to the true Divine realm are bound to die! It's all your fault! Why won't you die? Why do you force me like this?"

Having failed to seize Qi Yuan's body, he could only thrash in humiliation. He was gravely wounded and near death, unable to unleash even a fraction of his strength. Regardless, he was still the mightiest being in this world. With no true danger left, he finally revealed his main body.

"Die!"

Blazing white light surged toward Qi Yuan, countless forces comparable to the Origin itself.

Qi Yuan muttered under his breath, "Hey, I suddenly see the alien demons’ point now. Filial piety ought to be respected."

Even as the Great Sun's strongest strike bore down upon him, he was still smiling.

In his heart, he whispered one word, Level up.

1. A chinese animated series that aired from 2004-2011. I am not familiar with this. ☜