The Half-Ancestor Ascension

Under the watery moonlight, the snow peak was translucent and sparkling, dreamlike and illusory.

Lan Nuo, in white garments surpassing snow, with ice-like skin and jade-like bones, stood quietly atop the snow peak. Her long hair flew in the wind, and her whole body was shrouded in a hazy holy radiance that made even the moon in the sky seem dim.

Many powerful rogue cultivators watched from distant snow peaks. When one achieves the eternal divine throne of a Half-Ancestor, many tribulations descend—a rare sight through the ages, thus drawing the attention of all gods.

Xiao Chen stood silently on an ice peak, his mind as still as an ancient well as he gazed at the peerlessly divine woman before him. Before coming here, there had still been a faint ripple in his heart—after all, Lan Nuo was too famous for his generation, a goddess in many hearts.

But upon arriving, that faint ripple vanished completely. At this moment, an extraordinary tranquility filled his heart.

There was no denying that the peerless woman ahead had once left a trace of ripples in his heart, but that was merely appreciation for perfect beauty. Now, his heart was empty and ethereal, without a single ripple.

The divine maiden of yesteryear was now in his eyes merely an exceptional woman about to become a Half-Ancestor, nothing more.

Gazing at Lan Nuo, he recalled many past events, as if seeing through all that had gone before for the first time.

For an instant, his spirit roamed beyond the void, sinking into a long memory, until at last he fully returned to the present.

At that moment, he felt as though he had suddenly set down many people and things. In a flash, his entire mind rushed into the vast starry heavens; a mass of divine radiance blazed in his heart, and his divine consciousness grew ever more brilliant and condensed.

In that brief span, his divine consciousness had expanded greatly—he had achieved a minor sublimation.

Tianya looked at him and said, "Brother Xiao Chen, just now your body seemed to vanish from heaven and earth after emitting light. Standing beside you, I could no longer sense your presence."

Jin Sanyi chuckled. "Brother, don't steal the spotlight, all right? Are you the one about to become a Half-Ancestor, or that incredibly beautiful woman across from you?"

Xiao Chen smiled but did not reply.

At that moment, atop Mitikas Peak, a dazzling divine radiance suddenly burst forth. Then an incomparably powerful energy fluctuation shot straight up to the heavens.

The blinding light made the night sky resplendent, illuminating the entire mountain range as bright as day.

Then, streaks of divine rainbows soared upward like great waterfalls cascading in reverse into the sky—a truly spectacular sight. Long rivers of light surged and roared, their thunderous rumble unceasing.

Heavenly thunder crashed, lightning danced, and in an instant, the winds and clouds shifted, heaven and earth changed color.

Atop Mitikas Peak, centered on the celestial prodigy Lan Nuo, fully eighty-one divine rainbows shot toward the vast starry sky, like eighty-one ancestral dragons charging into the heavens.

The blazing brilliance dazzled the eyes, and earsplitting thunder rolled without end.

Lan Nuo had begun to assault the eternal divine throne of a Half-Ancestor!

When one assaulted the Half-Ancestor realm, concealment was impossible, for the movement was too great—one needed the power of heaven and earth to temper oneself. Any powerful cultivator in this world could sense it.

At that moment, in the distant East and even overseas, the Half-Ancestors of foreign races who had been in seclusion all opened their eyes, revealing looks of astonishment.

No new Half-Ancestor had been born in many years. Tonight, it was so sudden. They sensed the powerful energy fluctuations from the West, and when they opened their heavenly eyes, they saw that dazzling divine radiance.

Half-Ancestors from overseas islands tore through space and arrived in the Western lands, wanting to see who was stepping into their domain.

On Mitikas Peak, Lan Nuo's divine power surged like a tide; brilliant light burst forth. The divine splendor shining through her body was like enormous heavenly swords plunging into the sky, radiance blooming.

Endless heavenly thunder rained down, exploding against Lan Nuo's body, but all of it was blocked by the divine brilliance around her. She continuously absorbed the power of the stunning lightning into her own form.

"Boom—"

After the eighty-one divine rainbows shot into the sky, Lan Nuo's ethereal immortal body sent forth over two hundred more beams of blinding light. In total, more than three hundred divine rays, like resplendent great waterfalls, roared across the sky, connecting heaven and the mortal realm.

The dazzling divine cascades, thick as mountains, swept across the entire sky and finally surged into the starry depths.

The myriad stars seemed to tremble, their light dazzling. Then, countless constellations in the heavens swept down beams of divine splendor, connecting to the summit of Mitikas Peak, merging with Lan Nuo's immortal body.

The night turned as bright as day; endless starlight poured down, converging on Lan Nuo's divine form.

This was the key to achieving the eternal divine throne of a Half-Ancestor—using the power of heaven and earth, all things, and the stars of the cosmos to temper the divine soul and fleshly body!

It was a process that every Half-Ancestor had to undergo.

No one knew how many stars' divine light connected to Mitikas Peak. Lan Nuo was utterly engulfed by the brilliant radiance, while bolts of heavenly thunder roared incessantly.

The power of heaven and earth, all things, the myriad stars—the force of the worlds—forged the flesh and soul of a Half-Ancestor. This was the fundamental reason why Half-Ancestors could look down upon all beings.

The sky was filled with divine splendor connecting the stars to Mitikas Peak. The spectacular scene shocked all cultivators who witnessed it, making them truly understand the vast gap between themselves and a Half-Ancestor.

Suddenly, a blood-red beam tore open the sky. A blood-colored sword aura, over twenty li long and two li wide, came slashing from a distant snow peak, its target the divine maiden Lan Nuo atop Mitikas Peak.

Someone was interfering with her achievement of the eternal Half-Ancestor throne!

This was an extremely serious matter. At such a critical moment, if someone obstructed and sabotaged it, it would be very dangerous, potentially causing the divine maiden Lan Nuo to lose all her progress.

Yet there was no way around it. Even though she had chosen the relatively quiet Western lands, the extraordinary sign of achieving Half-Ancestor status would still be sensed by all supreme experts.

The twenty-li blood-light tore through heaven and earth, reaching her in an instant. With a boom, it shattered a patch of crystalline divine radiance and plunged into Mitikas Peak.

Lan Nuo's body swayed slightly, but she weathered the blow.

The clanging of metal echoed unceasingly. Xiao Chen moved into action. He did not wish to sit idly by while Lan Nuo was so basely ambushed. Twenty-seven War Swords lined the sky, slashing toward the distant snowy mountain.

"Boom—"

In almost the same instant, that mountain range was shattered, with dust and snow flying everywhere.

The twenty-seven War Swords swept back and forth before quickly returning.

Clearly, the one who struck from the shadows did not wish to reveal his identity. After one blow, he had fled far away, changing position.

"Swish—"

The sound of tearing air came again. From all directions, nine blood-red beams of light shot forth, each over twenty or thirty li long, their power unfathomable.

Dozens of taller snow peaks collapsed under the residual shockwaves of that might, a testament to the terrifying power contained in those nine great blood-light beams.

Xiao Chen swung his War Swords repeatedly, blocking five of the blood-light beams, but four still struck toward Mitikas Peak.

"Boom—"

An earsplitting sound shook the entire Western land. The four blood-light beams and the power of the endless stars collided in a cataclysm, illuminating all the land—as if ten suns blazed in the sky together.

At least one Half-Ancestor was attacking, minimally two or three; otherwise, Xiao Chen could have fully blocked them.

"What kind of venomous scum would do this?!"

An old man, thoroughly ragged and with white hair like tangled weeds, charged up into the sky and shouted to all four directions: "My disciple is achieving the eternal Half-Ancestor throne tonight by open and righteous means. If you harm her in secret, you will pay tenfold for it!"

It was Shanwaishan, long unseen. At this moment, there was no trace of his usual madness. Filled with fury, he shouted to the four corners: "Do you see what this is?!"

In his hands were a pair of enormous battle-axe and shield, black light soaring into the heavens. Demonic aura roiled around them, as if a million demon gods were roaring. He bellowed: "This is the battle-axe and shield of the War God Xing Tian! Though he and the Great Demon Chi You could not be here, they have already declared that anyone who dares to harm Lan Nuo will face a death chase for eternity!"

A man's reputation casts a long shadow. Xing Tian and Chi You—who were they? Truly great ancient demon gods, with actual records of slaying Half-Ancestors in single combat. They were invincible and among the most feared of Half-Ancestors.

"You may also know my disciple Lan Nuo's origins. She has two other master-ancestors—Renwairen and Tianwaitian. If you dare harm her, expect a joint death chase by four Half-Ancestors from today onward!"

Shanwaishan roared in fury. At this critical moment, he was genuinely frantic and had to invoke the names of others to intimidate the hidden Half-Ancestors.

Those four great blood-light beams, each twenty or thirty li long, had plunged into Mitikas Peak but seemed not to have harmed Lan Nuo. At this moment, her divine splendor blazed even brighter.

One could clearly see that the baleful energy within the blood-light beams had been dispersed, while the essence they contained was absorbed by Lan Nuo.

This spectacle left people in awe—this woman was truly extraordinary!

Xiao Chen soared into the sky. By now he was clad in a set of dark-gleaming iron armor, like a Death God's battle vestments. Amidst the divine radiance of the snow mountains, he seemed somewhat sinister.

Yet the black iron armor also made him appear mightily martial, radiating an extraordinarily fearsome pressure.

"Add me—one who is not a Half-Ancestor. It has been over a hundred and fifty years since I last walked the mortal world. I would gladly find a Half-Ancestor to hone my War Swords."

His voice was calm and slow, but it carried an incomparable weight!

Around Xiao Chen, twenty-seven War Swords materialized, their divine rainbows startling the heavens. The black iron armor on his body was covered in specks of light, stirring a battle intent that shot to the sky.

Looking at this youth with his wild black hair, his soul-shaking iron armor, and his War Swords spanning the firmament, all cultivators in the snow mountains felt a genuine chill and a sense of dread.

To dare take a blade to a Half-Ancestor, to treat a Half-Ancestor as a whetstone—what incredible arrogance!

Not a Half-Ancestor, yet surpassing one!

The older generation had all recognized Xiao Chen. Although he had not appeared in the world for over a hundred and fifty years, the stunning battle of the Forbidden Sea years ago would not be forgotten.

Back then, this young man could shake Half-Ancestors. After so many years, no one knew what terrifying level he had reached.

Only he dared to speak such words—the one man in the Nine Provinces and all the four worlds who was not a Half-Ancestor yet dared to turn his blade on them.

"He really did survive!"

"This man never fell after all!"

…

Many powerful rogue cultivators murmured to themselves.

And many younger cultivators had also come to the snowy mountains; they could not help but buzz with discussion.

"So he really is the Great Demon King—no wonder he could make the Little Asura and the Tiger family's Heavenly King kneel in the Misty Rain Tower."

"Xiao Chen—that is Xiao Chen!"

"It's him! Xiao Chen is the Great Demon King, and the Great Demon King is Xiao Chen!"

…

Sabotaging someone's achievement of the eternal Half-Ancestor throne at such a critical moment was a foul tactic, shameful in the extreme. The Hidden Half-Ancestors seemed to feel the pressure and did not continue their attack.

On two other snowy peaks, some could no longer stay calm.

Several of the Tiger family's second-generation experts and elite third-generation members were there. After a brief whispered conversation, they vanished instantly.

On another peak, several Sun Church Divine Knights were also having a hushed discussion, and soon they too vanished from the snowy peaks.

Not long after, the Tiger family experts and Sun Church Divine Knights converged a hundred li away. With knowing looks, several of them spoke.

"Perhaps tonight is a rare opportunity."

"Indeed. He is going to strike at us anyway. We might as well seize the chance while the Half-Ancestors who oppose him are here. Perhaps we can pull those old bastards into the fray."

"Is your Sun Church's ancient formation truly that powerful? Five hundred divine knights united can shake a Half-Ancestor?"

"Rest assured—they can even suppress a Half-Ancestor. Your Tiger family's five hundred experts have been drilling for years. If we combine our two divine formations, we can certainly suppress him."

"It will likely be difficult to suppress him. Though he is not a Half-Ancestor, you all know he has already given Half-Ancestors severe headaches. If we can only wound him, then the hostile Half-Ancestors here might not be able to resist destroying him!"

"Ha ha ha..."

The Sun Church Divine Knights and Tiger family experts shared a laugh.

At this moment, the divine maiden Lan Nuo had passed through layer after layer of peril and was steadily stepping into the true domain of Half-Ancestor.

The countless stars blazed with brilliance, each sending forth dazzling beams to Mitikas Peak. At last, it seemed as though the entire Milky Way had tilted down. The power of heaven and earth, all things, the myriad stars, and the world itself continuously tempered Lan Nuo's flesh and soul.

Presently, one could gradually feel the vast pressure radiating from her.

"I wonder, when my Martial Body reaches that step, what kind of world force will be drawn to temper my physique?" Xiao Chen mused to himself.

"Boom!"

From the distant horizon came a fluctuation even more terrifying than the vast pressure—surging like a flood, the entire snowy mountain range trembled.

A battle intent so strong it could shake the heavens swept across the whole sky, its pressure overwhelming the nine heavens!

In the far sky, five hundred Sun Church Divine Knights stood with solemn expressions, each as if an ancient war god reborn. The ancient armor they wore gleamed with the cold metallic luster unique to their kind, covered in sword scars and arrow holes, branded with the indelible marks of time, recording their former glory.

The core members were ancient Divine Knights who had survived from the primordial age.

Their mounts were no ordinary beasts—some were covered entirely in dragon scale armor, others shroud in resplendent defensive divine light. All were primeval savage beasts, slowly approaching through the void.

"Xiao Chen, prepare to die!"

…

A thunderous shout came in perfect unison. The five hundred Sun Knights were like ancient heavenly gods descending upon the world!

The vast sound shook the entire Western land.

But upon seeing all this, Xiao Chen showed no trace of alarm. On the contrary, a sky-shaking battle intent surged up within him. Like an angry sword that caused heaven and earth to pale, he was fearsome to behold.

With his black hair wildly dancing, his iron armor soul-shaking, and his War Swords spanning the sky, he had long been ready for a great battle!