"Master, shouldn't we be packing up our belongings if we're going to leave for the destination of the tournament today?" Han Xuhan said, internally burning with the curiosity to understand what the hell would actually happen when they executed the spell.

His comprehension of the Celestial Gateway spell, combined with the very prominent title, gave him a rough idea of what might take place. However, almost everybody else around him seemed to know something about it that they did not feel like sharing for some reason. Whenever he tried to dig something out, the answer he would get was 'it's going to be a surprise! You'd have realized it already if your comprehension reached the third layer of the Celestial Gateway technique. It's pretty obvious, isn't it ?'

Han Xuhan could certainly see the obvious possibility. His mind, however, rejected the notion of something so incredible despite his current experience with the wonderful world of cultivation.

"It is unnecessary, disciple." Kong Ye looked much more calm and serene by now. The master and his four disciples stood on the highest point of the Heavenly Hailstorm mountain peak, a small, bare summit that now sported dozens of formations all over. The five of them had to step very carefully in order to avoid messing up the complicated designs made up of qi in various states, as well as a few cheap gadgets and makeshift mechanisms that connected and stabilized the formations.

Looking afar, almost all the mountain peaks around displayed a similar scene, the only difference being the number of disciples on them. The Heavenly Hailstorm mountain peak had only four disciples, all from the same generation while every other mountain peak had dozens of them. A handful of the older ones even contained almost a hundred disciples from dozens of generations. Mountain peaks like those had the disciples stationed all over the mountain observing and regulating the numerous formations.

In contrast, the Heavenly Hailstorm mountain peak did not contain that many formations. And the majority of them were under the care of elder Kong Ye. So the four martial siblings didn't feel the pressure of the task as much as the others.

"Have all three of you gained a dependable degree of proficiency in the third layer of the Celestial Gateway Technique?" Kong Ye asked in a low voice.

Mu Ran, Yuen Zhou and Xiao Wu nodded at the same time. Han Xuhan noted their instant responses to their master's enquiry.

It seemed that Kong Ye had managed to 'tame' these protagonists to a degree. A commendable feat indeed!

"Disciple Ran, are you absolutely sure that you want to carry out that foolish plan of yours ?" Kong Ye spoke once more, this time a bit more aggressively. Han Xuhan couldn't blame him. He himself somewhat regretted spewing that crappy plan to the crazy guy that day.

"Yes, master. I'm absolutely certain." Mu Ran's response was neither servile nor overbearing; just as expected.

Kong Ye sighed and fell silent, observing the scene around them with a contemplative expression. He seemed to have a lot on his mind these days just like Xiao Wu.

With the sun brightly shining above the eastern horizon, Xuan Zi's enhanced voice cut through the mountains, giving rise to a magnificent scene that would etch itself into Xuhan's memory for a long time.

"ELDERS AND DISCIPLES, TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!"

Dong!

The infamous bell of the sect which nobody had been able to locate to this day rang as loudly as the sect master's shouts.

Hundreds of disciples exploded into a flurry of movement as soon as the order was heard.

Han Xuhan rushed to the spot Kong Ye had instructed him to be alongside his three martial siblings. Xuhan was to stand not far from Kong Ye due to his lacking skills which could have a disastrous result. Mu Ran, Yuen Zhou and Xiao Wu were stationed further down the mountain near their own residences.

A minute later, the numerous bustling disciples settled down all over the mountains, each sitting in standard meditation pose on their designated spots.

Once again, Xuan Zi's amplified shout reverberated through the sect.

"MOBILIZE YOUR QI ACCORDING TO THE MANUAL!"

Dong!

Han Xuhan closed his eyes and carefully guided qi through his meridians, having mastered the process despite all the internal issues and anomalies inside the vessels by now. While his current, improved qi cycling was much better than what he could manage in the past, it was still nothing to boast about. Hardly had he completed the entire cycle with sweat on his back and brows when Xuan Zi's shout came for the third time.

"PERFORM THE FINAL STEP!"

Dong!

The final step consisted of connecting the mental control of qi with the formations all around them. It was obviously the most crucial step, as well as the hardest one. Despite his numerous practices of this step in the last few days, Xuhan still felt his heart shaking as he mobilized his entire mental force alongside hundreds of his peers.

This step would be the first eliminator of many small sects all around the planet. Any issue with the collective synchronization would result into the failure of the execution of the main spell.

Teeth gritted, fists clenched, Han Xuhan managed to stumble his way through the hardest portion of the movement and was about to relax when he messed up. One of his damaged meridians which leaked qi by a large amount received a high amount of qi and nearly consumed the entirety of his reserves. Just as he was about to panic and disrupt the spell, a powerful, yet minimal mental force waded its way through his body and gathered up the qi leaking from the meridian, sending it back to the original path with the most subtle manipulation of qi Han Xuhan had ever witnessed. The returned qi instantly fell under his control as if it hadn't been under foreign influence at all just then.

He didn't need to open his eyes to know that Kong Ye was behind that stunt. He was familiar with the man's methods, as well as the unique aura of his mental force.

Silently, Xuhan guided the qi into completing the special step and stopped there, awaiting the next instruction.

It seemed that many others had met similar issues during this time. Despite his lacking speed, Xuhan had to wait a long time after the completion of that step before Xuan Zi was heard again.

"CONNECT WITH THE FORMATION AND CORRECT EVERY FLAW BEFORE THE FINAL EXECUTION! "

Dong!

Xuhan's consciousness sank into a vast network made up of nothing but energy, qi and waves of forces. It was like a chaotic river under a tsunami-induced flood. His mental force was the tiny boat protecting his consciousness amidst the destructive waves from every direction. He recognized the paths and intersections soon enough, having designed some of the less complex ones himself last week.

This was the world of pure formations they had created. In each intersection, someone's mental connection laboured to stabilise the increasingly chaotic waves caused by the spell's awakening. It was as if they were trying to suppress the struggles of a gargantuan beast beneath their feet.

Master and disciples' minds connected in a way Xuhan had never thought possible, exchanging nothing but pure information that came in forms of pictures and illustrations at lightning speed, as well as an invisible guidance on comprehending the flowing information.

He understood what to do, and proceeded to forcefully contain the smallest of waves and regulate the least complicated formations in the Heavenly Hailstorm mountain peak. Many of them were made by his own hands. It wasn't difficult to take control of them and keep them connected with the rest of the more complex formations.

Faintly, he heard a familiar voice in the real world, followed by the ring of a bell.

"Execute the last cycle."

Dong!

Struggling to remember what the last cycle was, Xuhan mobilized the remaining qi inside his meridians and followed a simple course of movement.

A few seconds later, he arrived at the conclusive point of the cycle.

BOOOM!

The loudest sound he had ever heard exploded inside his consciousness.

....... ......... ........ ........

In a prominent solar system on the outskirts of the Redthorn Galaxy, the fifth planet displayed a sudden phenomenon.

All over its greenish-blue surface, bright, tiny pictures appeared one after one, illuminating the exosphere.

The pictures varied in terms of content; some depicting animals, strange beings, twisted silhouettes, some depicting simple shapes and patterns, some even depicting words in long-lost languages.

Some of the displays shone dimly while a handful few nearly outshone everything in their vicinity, even covering the surface beneath them.

Soon, the pictures expanded and connected with each other through thin extensions and rays of light. It was a magnificent display of power and liveliness.

Far away on a barren red planet, a single, inhuman eye took shape out of thin air. It looked to be a cross between the eye of advanced molluscs and arthropods. Some parts of it looked extremely unnatural, artificial even, sporting long tubes of flesh and crystallized layers of non-living substances that constantly moved within as if it was a semi-organic machine adjusting for better sight.

The eye focused on the lavish display on the surface of the fifth planet in the solar system for a long time. Despite its dissimilarity with anything remotely humanoid in nature, quite a human mirth appeared in the gaze locked onto the planet.