Chapter 2476: Striving for Leadership
Heavenly Snow City was the gathering place for this assembly of independent cultivators.
On this day, Heavenly Snow City was bustling with activity. Countless powerful figures came and went, all converging toward the same location, as if an extremely important gathering was taking place.
In the void, a young figure strolled through the air. He wore a simple, somewhat worn-out set of clothes, yet it could not conceal the transcendent aura emanating from him, as if he had already risen above the mundane. Clearly, this young man was a Saint realm expert.
"Such heavy snow," the young man said, extending his hand. A snowflake landed on his palm. Suddenly, a strange wind surged around him, as if space itself had frozen for a moment, the snowflakes ceasing to move. The young man smiled faintly, then continued walking forward. Over the years, he himself had lost track of how much time had passed.
In the Nine Heavens, five hundred years had gone by. However, during these years, he had traveled to places with their own worlds, where the flow of time differed from the Nine Heavens, passing much faster. Now, several thousand years had elapsed for him. Of course, his tens of thousands of clones and some of his more powerful Dao embryo avatars had all stepped into the River of Time, experiencing various different flows of time. Even now, many of his external avatars were still comprehending within the River of Time.
"Feng Mo, it seems I can now understand your thoughts," the young man murmured to himself with a smile. In the past, he had thought Feng Mo might be on the same level as the Divine Temple's Temple Lord, but now he no longer believed that. Over countless years, Feng Mo had forged the Three Lives Scripture. No one knew who the Three Lives were, how many lives they had lived, or how many types of power they had cultivated. Feng Mo's strength might even surpass that of the Divine Temple's Temple Lord.
Before long, the young man arrived at a place filled with people. Looking around, he saw that all the figures present were extremely powerful. Emperor realm cultivators were considered weak, and there were many Saint realm experts.
Although the Divine Temple was the strongest force in the Nine Heavens, standing high above all, the number of independent cultivators and experts emerging from various worlds was astonishing, far beyond what the Divine Temple could match. Once they gathered together, they could unleash terrifying power. Of course, this was only possible if there were exceptionally strong individuals capable of suppressing them and, at the same time, standing up to the high-level figures of the Divine Temple. Otherwise, they would be utterly vulnerable.
"Have the two of you already decided to do this?" a voice came from below. Looking at the crowd, the experts were clearly divided into three major factions. One faction was led by a figure in a green long robe, while another was dominated by a domineering presence who seemed to embody heaven and earth itself. These two were Zi Zhu and the Demon Saint Di Xi.
The final faction lacked an absolute core, but it was the largest in terms of the number of experts.
"I have said it before: those willing to follow me and establish the Chaos Heaven Alliance, come forward," the Demon Saint Di Xi said calmly. Many had followed him in the past, and now he was formally founding the Chaos Heaven Alliance.
"My Zi Zhu Alliance also welcomes everyone. Perhaps one day, the Zi Zhu Alliance will be renamed the Zi Zhu Divine Temple," Zi Zhu said calmly, causing many hearts to tremble. It was precisely because the Demon Saint Di Xi and Zi Zhu had reached a consensus, each establishing their own force, that the three factions had formed. The third faction had the most experts because they had not yet made a decision.
"Since you both dream of domination, we here can also establish an independent force," a powerful figure from the third faction spoke up, drawing agreement from many. Clearly, he too had followers. Over the years, they had all carved out their own foundations in the Nine Heavens. Every Supreme Realm expert had developed their own influence, but the Demon Saint Di Xi and Zi Zhu had the strongest appeal.
"Who will lead you?" Zi Zhu asked with a faint, indifferent smile, causing the expressions of those present to stiffen. Yes, who would lead? Among them were the largest number of Supreme Realm experts, totaling seven.
"I was once trapped in the Divine Tomb for tens of thousands of years and was a regional sovereign. How about I lead this force?" one person said. The other six Supreme Realm experts all looked at him. Another objected, "Old man, don't forget, I am also a sovereign. Why should you lead?"
Hearing their exchange, Lin Feng, who was above, was slightly surprised. So two sovereigns who had emerged from the Divine Tomb had also gathered here, clearly unwilling to remain idle. Indeed, if Pingfan and Saleng had not met him back then and gone to the Fate Temple, they might now be part of these independent cultivator forces. The destruction of the Soul Divine Temple by the Flame Divine Temple's alliance had served as a warning: without forming alliances, they risked being enslaved or annihilated by the Divine Temples. This was the general trend, unless they could establish a force comparable to a Divine Temple.
"Hmph, why should it be you two and not me?" another Supreme expert in black robes snorted coldly. None of the seven Supreme-level sovereigns were willing to yield to the others.
"Since you all can't agree, how about I take the position of leader?" At that moment, a clear and cheerful voice rang out. Everyone turned their gazes and saw a figure sitting on the main hall ahead, arms crossed, watching the spectacle with interest.
Sharp gazes shot toward that person. Many thought to themselves that this man had quite the audacity. Seven Supreme-level figures were arguing over who would lead the third force, and even the Demon Saint Di Xi and Zi Zhu had not interfered. Yet he wanted to step in and become the leader.
However, some frowned. This person's cultivation level was unclear, and they could not see through his exact strength.
"Everyone, what do you think?" The young man wore a slightly sinister smile, carrying a hint of frivolity. Although he appeared young, everyone knew that in this world, one could not judge age by appearance. He might very well be an old monster.
"You have quite the bold tone. Who are you?" a Supreme expert asked coldly.
"Heavenly Punishment, enacting punishment on behalf of heaven," Lin Feng replied. Naturally, he was not using his true identity. In fact, no one could recognize him as Lin Feng now, not even Supreme-level experts.
"What an arrogant name," everyone thought. Heavenly Punishment, enacting punishment on behalf of heaven—it exuded a domineering aura.
"What qualifies you to be our leader?" the man asked again, staring at Lin Feng. These seven sovereigns clearly all wanted to lead their own force, which was why they had not joined the factions of Zi Zhu and the Demon Saint Di Xi. Otherwise, the Chaos Heaven Alliance and the Zi Zhu Alliance would have been enough.
"If I become the leader, I will name this force the Heavenly Punishment Alliance. When the Divine Temples are destroyed, the Heavenly Punishment Alliance will become the Heavenly Punishment Divine Temple, wielding the power of heavenly punishment. What do you all think?" Lin Feng stood up, looking at the seven sovereigns, and smiled. "As for why I should lead, why don't you try me and find out?"
"Such arrogant words. Let me first test whether you even have the right to speak here," a Supreme expert said as he stood up. Suddenly, a terrifying aura filled the air. In that instant, the entire void seemed to freeze and solidify.
"I can't move!" Many bodies trembled violently. They found that they could not move at all. This level of power was terrifying. They wondered what type of perfected origin power this Supreme expert had fused.
When one fused perfected origin power and stepped into the Supreme realm, the fused origin would undergo a transformation. The attacks would no longer carry the traces of the two fused origin types; you could not even sense them. The fusion was a qualitative change.
It was like when the flow of time changed—you could neither feel the presence of time nor the sensation of fast or slow. There was only a strange feeling, as if something had changed.
"Chi!" The Supreme expert vanished from his spot. He struck out with a palm, directly slapping toward the void. In an instant, it seemed as if countless fragments were dancing in the air. Lin Feng's expression stiffened, and his face changed. The power of disintegration landed on him, extremely terrifying.
"At the Supreme realm, everyone is an incredibly formidable figure."
Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, Lin Feng's body directly disintegrated, causing many to sigh. This man truly did not know his limits; he had died from a single blow.
However, their gazes soon froze again. The fragments seemed to reassemble, and in the next moment, Lin Feng's figure reappeared, smiling at the Supreme expert with his hands behind his back.
The Supreme expert's expression instantly froze as he stared at Lin Feng. "What origin did you fuse to create such a divine ability?"
"Guess," Lin Feng said with a smile. "That attack just now wasn't enough. Continue!"