Zhou Yuan had inexplicably become the overall commander of the heavens. However, he did not really care about such status. If it did not help to better unite the five heavens, he would honestly have zero interest in the position, because, if things went wrong, he would be the target of everyone’s blame.

After all, the higher the position, the greater the responsibility.

Despite this, Zhou Yuan could not reject. In the face of the mysterious and powerful Sacred Race, the three heavens needed someone to place their hopes and belief in. Guan Qinglong and Jiang Jinlin could originally fulfill the role, but after Zhou Yuan’s cultivation breakthrough, they were now rather lacking in comparison.

If Zhou Yuan had not stepped forward, the troop’s morale would have been substantially affected.

In any case, the most important thing now was to fight for nine main channels that would soon arrive! Compared to this grand event, the ancestral qi branch channels and mystic ruins were not even worth mentioning.

The power of the nine main channels was so great that it could even affect an entire heaven.

Such power was unimaginable to Heavenly Sun practitioners like Zhou Yuan and the others. If not for Guyuan Heaven’s special rules, practitioners with their cultivation would never have the qualifications to participate in a battle of such stakes.

However, it was also a huge opportunity for them. Even a tiny sliver of the power contained within the nine main channels was enough for them to undergo a complete transformation.

It was a one-in-a-million opportunity.

Hence, after becoming the overall commander, Zhou Yuan immediately ordered every member of the three heavens to begin rushing towards the central region, where the nine main channels disturbance was originating.

The army swiftly set off, making no pit stops. In fact, they even decisively abandoned any branch channels that were drawn out due to the nine main channels’ imminent emergence.

Everyone knew that all the other heavens, including the Sacred Race heavens, were heading towards the main channels at full speed.

The faster they arrived, the more time they would have to prepare.

...

Countless Genesis Qi clouds whizzed past in the sky.

Zhou Yuan was seated on a cloud at the very front. His eyes were lightly shut, and he was concentrating on the numerous changes that had occurred in his body.

He had honestly benefited a lot from the stone tablet.

Not only had his cultivation progressed to the advanced Heavenly Sun stage, but his Genesis Qi foundations had also soared to the 4.3 billion level, completely surpassing the 4 billion barrier. Do not underestimate this barrier; it was something that countless amazing heaven prides had ultimately failed to cross.

Even someone like Guan Qinglong would find it very difficult to increase his Genesis Qi foundation in the Heavenly Sun stage without some kind of amazing encounter, leaving him no choice but to instead attack the Nascent Source stage.

Moreover, there was a substantial gap between a practitioner who had stepped into the Nascent Source stage at the 3.9 billion level and the 4 billion level. In fact, it would even affect their future cultivation progress during the Nascent Source stage.

Wu Yao, Su Youwei and Zhao Mushen had the qualifications and potential to reach the 4 billion barrier because they were more talented than Guan Qinglong.

As such, one can see just how praiseworthy it was for Zhou Yuan to reach the 4.3 billion level. This was also the reason why the three heavens had unanimously agreed for him to be the commander in chief.

Such strength and foundations were more than enough to make them submit.

However, the 4.3 billion Genesis Qi foundation was not the only thing Zhou Yuan had gained: the seventh dragon rune on his Heavenly Sun had reached full completion. In other words, he now had a seven-claw Heavenly Sun.

Zhou Yuan was not far from the highest nine-claw Heavenly Sun. From what his senior brother Zhuan Zhu had told him, a heaven-defying transformation would occur when he achieved a nine-claw Heavenly Sun and stepped into the Nascent Source stage.

Initial, advanced and perfect were the three levels of the Nascent Source stage.

While others would reach the initial stage after ascending from the Heavenly Sun stage, a practitioner with a nine-claw Heavenly Sun would be able to directly form an advanced Nascent Source!

This was essentially skipping an entire lesser cultivation realm.

Only Nascent Source experts would understand how much time, effort and luck were needed to advance from the initial stage. Hence, such a breakthrough would definitely make them go crazy with envy.

“It is increasingly difficult to form the subsequent dragon runes. If I wish to achieve the nine-claw rank, I’ll need the power of the first channel!”

There were nine main channels, and the strongest among them was known as the first channel. For Zhou Yuan to reach the nine-claw rank, he would require the most powerful first channel. The others were just not enough.

Red-hot desire surging out from his heart, Zhou Yuan opened his eyes and peered into the distance, his gaze filled with fierce determination.

The battle for Guyuan Heaven was supposed to be extremely cruel, after all. Hence, regardless of whether it was for Hunyuan Heaven or himself, he would try to compete for the first channel in the final fight! Even if his opponent was the most mysterious and immeasurable Shengzu Heaven!

The next ten days were spent traveling at full speed.

On the tenth day, Zhou Yuan finally felt the ancestral qi undulations surge wildly. This meant that they were finally entering the central zone where the nine main channels would appear.

However, just as they entered, Zhou Yuan suddenly raised his hand. The endless stream of clouds came to a sudden halt behind him.

Guan Qinglong, Jiang Jinlin and the others frowned slightly as they looked towards the front. They had sensed the appearance of a great number of Genesis Qi undulations, and the scale did not lose much to their side.

Guan Qinglong asked in a solemn voice, “Is it the Sacred Race?”

Zhou Yuan shook his head as surprise emerged on his face. “Not the Sacred Race. It’s...Qiankun Heaven and Wuxing Heaven.”

“Oh?” It was Guan Qinglong’s turn to be surprised. He had not expected Qiankun Heaven and Wuxing Heaven to be together.

From the mountains in the distance, several streaks of Genesis Qi rose into the sky and swiftly approached.

Guan Qinglong’s voice immediately rumbled like thunder, “Friends from Qiankun Heaven and Wuxing Heaven, Hunyuan Heaven, Wanshou Heaven and Cangxuan Heaven have already elected captain Zhou Yuan of Hunyuan Heaven’s Tianyuan Region as the overall commander for the five heavens. We’d like to invite your commanders to come over for a discussion.”

Guan Qinglong did not hide anything. Instead, he dived straight into the most important topic to see what response Qiankun Heaven and Wuxing Heaven would have. After all, they needed to somehow unite the five heavens before the imminent final clash with the Sacred Race.

The approaching figures came to a stop when they heard his words and then returned to the mountain range.

It was silent for a long time.

In the end, a voice that was neither angry nor happy echoed from the mountains, “Qiankun Heaven does not accept your decision.”