# Chapter 1528: Kunlun Realm at the Bottom
Two gods were in a standoff, their divine might spreading across the starry sky, suppressing all the saints below the Merit Divine Hall, forcing them to kneel prostrate, filled with utmost reverence while their bodies trembled in fear.
Having been attacked by a god, Zhang Ruochen was severely wounded. His sacred soul, physical body, and sacred source had all become tattered and broken.
In order to withstand the divine sound, even the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree within the Qiankun Realm had suffered heavy damage. All the leaves on its branches had turned to powder, and the earth around its trunk had become lifeless, transformed into a vast desert stretching ten thousand miles.
Fortunately, the Moon God had arrived in time. Otherwise, Zhang Ruochen would have had absolutely no chance of survival, and even the Qiankun Realm and the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree would have been shattered by the vibrations.
That was the power of a god. Even just speaking a few words could annihilate all things.
As moonlight entered his body, the wounds on Zhang Ruochen's physical body, sacred soul, and sacred source healed rapidly. Before long, he regained consciousness. The first thing that came into view was a holy, immortal face. Whether it was her skin or her facial features, there were no flaws whatsoever, as if she had been carved from divine jade and immortal crystal.
Any living being, upon seeing such a beautiful and spirited woman, would probably sigh in admiration.
Zhang Ruochen felt as if he were in a dream and couldn't help but blurt out, "Truly beautiful."
The Moon God's eyes were fixed straight ahead on the Merit Divine Hall, her long, curved eyelashes prominent. Seeing Zhang Ruochen regain consciousness, she gently pushed her hands downward.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen landed on the ground.
Zhang Ruochen observed his surroundings as memories flooded back like a tidal wave. "So just now, I was almost killed by some god in the Merit Divine Hall. Why? I saved the saints of the Shatuo Seven Realms and drove back the Rakshasa Clan. Shouldn't I be considered a great contributor to the Heavenly Court Realm?"
He had performed exceptionally well on the Merit Battlefield, with outstanding military achievements. He should have received focused training and rewards. Yet, upon returning to the Heavenly Court Realm, he instead faced a deadly crisis.
This psychological drop made Zhang Ruochen quite frustrated.
At the same time, he understood a cruel truth: he was indeed not strong enough yet. He still needed to continue cultivating diligently and strive to become stronger. Otherwise, he would be completely powerless before a god.
The Moon God and the Yan God within the Merit Divine Hall ultimately did not truly fight. Other gods had intervened and persuaded them to stop.
The methods of gods were extraordinary. Even if matters between them occurred before the eyes of all the saints, the saints could neither see nor hear anything.
About an hour later, a result finally emerged.
The Moon God's voice transmitted into Zhang Ruochen's ears, "The god who wanted to kill you is called Yan God."
"Why did he want to kill me? Because I used the power of the Qiankun Realm on the Merit Battlefield? But Fang Yi of the Blade Prison Realm also used the power of Baiwei Star." Zhang Ruochen said.
"This matter is very complicated and I can't explain it to you for now. But you can rest assured, he can't touch you, because you are my person." The Moon God's voice was extremely melodious, yet it conveyed an unshakable will.
A smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face. He looked up at the bright moon above and thought to himself, "The Moon God as a backer seems quite reliable. It wasn't in vain that I risked my life to help her win first place in the Saint Merit Battle. The key point is, this backer is also exceptionally beautiful. I bet many cultivators envy me."
Soon, Zhang Ruochen put away his smile, and his eyes gradually became solemn. "I am still very young now, so many cultivators envy me for having the Moon God's protection. But as my cultivation time grows longer and I get older, if I still need the Moon God's protection, then many people will probably mock me."
"Become stronger. I need to cultivate to the Saint King realm as soon as possible, or even the Great Saint realm. I must support my own piece of heaven and earth. Even without the Moon God's protection, I must have the ability to protect myself."
...
...
The Heavenly Court Realm couldn't allow two gods to fight. Someone stepped forward to stop the Moon God and the Yan God, and both gods made compromises.
The Yan God no longer troubled Zhang Ruochen, and the Moon God no longer attacked the Merit Divine Hall.
"Whoosh——"
Outside the Merit Divine Hall, streaks of divine light appeared. Moments later, the Saint Kings and Great Saints of the Shatuo Seven Realms all appeared on the vast square, with powerful sacred force flowing through their bodies.
The four merit battles—"Saint Merit Battle," "Saint King Merit Battle," "Great Saint Merit Battle," and "Divine Merit Battle"—had all concluded.
The gods of the Shatuo Seven Realms all stood above the Merit Divine Hall. Because their divine power was too vast, the saints below couldn't clearly see their figures.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sky, seeing the bright moon, demon clouds, Buddha lotus, star mist... but he didn't sense Chi Yao's presence. He was puzzled.
"Could Chi Yao have died on the Merit Battlefield?" Zhang Ruochen wondered.
Since it was a merit battle, casualties were inevitable.
Gods indeed had powerful life force. As long as a large-scale divine war didn't break out, they almost never fell. But this wasn't absolute.
After all, gods were not immortal beings.
Moreover, Chi Yao was a new god, her foundation inferior to those gods who had cultivated for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years. It was entirely possible for her to die on the Merit Battlefield.
A young figure walked out from the Merit Divine Hall.
That young figure was a man who appeared to be in his twenties. He wore a three-colored precious armor, had silver-white long hair, and a vermilion three-feather crown on his head. His features were handsome, and his temperament was ethereal and transcendent, like an exiled immortal walking among the mortal world.
Behind the young man followed two women in white robes. One had an icy temperament, the other an elegant one, and both had reached the realm of One-Step Saint King.
"As expected of cultivators qualified to train within the Merit Divine Hall. Even two women who casually walk out are Saint Kings. Moreover, the aura emanating from them is quite powerful. Even Nine Nether Sword Saint and Chu Siyuan, who are also One-Step Saint Kings, might not be able to defeat them." Zhang Ruochen thought.
Of course, Nine Nether Sword Saint and Chu Siyuan had just broken through to One-Step Saint King and still had plenty of room for improvement.
Two such powerful women followed behind the silver-haired man like maidservants, indicating that he held a considerable position within the Merit Divine Hall.
"Is he... Shang Zihong?"
"Shang Zihong, the proud disciple of Yan God, hailed as the number one talent of the Merit Divine Hall in ten thousand years, and also the leader among the Merit Divine Hall's successors."
"Legend has it that Shang Zihong's appearance is unparalleled in the world, his personal charm transcendent. Any woman who has seen him can never forget him."
"This person must be Shang Zihong."
...
The saints of the Shatuo Seven Realms all harbored considerable resentment toward the Merit Divine Hall, feeling that it didn't care about their lives at all. However, upon seeing Shang Zihong, the female saints couldn't help holding their breath, drawn by his temperament, unable to look away.
It wasn't that they were truly so infatuated, but Shang Zihong's temperament was too unique. He naturally possessed a tremendous attraction for women, and every move he made showcased his extraordinary charm.
Shang Zihong walked out of the divine hall with a smile on his face. He leaned forward slightly, adjusted his appearance, and bowed respectfully to the gods standing in the sky.
Then, he stood straight again and addressed the saints below, "The merit battles have concluded. The merit points collected from the four battlefields have all been recorded on the four merit record walls. This unworthy one has received permission from the God Venerable to represent the Merit Divine Hall in tallying the total merit points of the Shatuo Seven Realms. Ultimately, based on the ranking of total merit points, the next battlefield will be selected."
Shang Zihong appeared neither humble nor arrogant, calm and composed. Even with gods standing above, he remained composed and self-possessed, without any fear or loss of composure.
At this moment, the saints and Saint Kings of Kunlun Realm, Blade Prison Realm, and Tianmu Realm all became somewhat nervous. These three realms were most likely to end up at the bottom, becoming the battlefield between the Heavenly Court Realm and the Hell Realm.
Shang Zihong waved his sleeve, and rumbling sounds echoed across the vast square. Four merit record walls rose up, recording the merit points the Shatuo Seven Realms had collected on the four battlefields.
The first merit record wall represented the Divine Merit Battle. It was completely blank.
That is, the gods of the Shatuo Seven Realms had not collected any merit points.
The second merit record wall represented the Great Saint Merit Battle.
Ranked first was the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm, and ranked last was the Guanghan Realm. Of course, even the lowest-ranked Guanghan Realm had collected 17 billion merit points.
The Great Saints of the Guanghan Realm had only killed six Great Saints from the Hell Realm in total.
Clearly, killing one Great Saint from the Hell Realm yielded far more merit points than killing ten thousand saints from the Hell Realm.
The third merit record wall represented the Saint King Merit Battle.
Ranked first was the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm, and ranked last was the Guanghan Realm.
The fourth merit record wall represented the Saint Merit Battle. Ranked first was the Guanghan Realm.
Shang Zihong slowly raised both arms, and streams of sacred force flew from his palms, like four rivers of sacred force, merging into the four merit record walls.
"Merge."
Shang Zihong lightly shouted.
Immediately, the four merit record walls merged together into one, and the merit point data on them rapidly superimposed.
Moments later, the total merit points from the four merit battlefields were calculated:
Ranked first, Great Demon Ten Directions Realm.
Ranked second, Eight Divisions Realm.
Ranked third, Purple Mansion Realm.
Ranked fourth, Tianmu Realm.
Ranked fifth, Blade Prison Realm.
Ranked sixth, Kunlun Realm.
Ranked seventh, Guanghan Realm.
Although the Guanghan Realm was ranked lowest, its cultivators all had smiles on their faces, without a trace of tension or worry.
Shang Zihong withdrew his sacred force and smiled again: "According to the rules, the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm achieved first place in the Great Saint Merit Battle and the Saint King Merit Battle, while the Guanghan Realm achieved first place in the Saint Merit Battle. Therefore, these two realms are not included in the ranking."
Shang Zihong extended his finger and traced twice in the air.
Immediately, the highest-ranked Great Demon Ten Directions Realm and the lowest-ranked Guanghan Realm disappeared from the merit record wall.
Only five realms remained listed above, with Kunlun Realm at the bottom.
Seeing the ranking on the merit record wall, the cultivators of Kunlun Realm all felt as if struck by lightning, dumbfounded, unable to accept this fact. Because they were very clear that once Kunlun Realm became a battlefield, it meant death and destruction.
The billions of common people and myriad races of living beings in Kunlun Realm would soon be plunged into the flames of war.
A saint from Kunlun Realm laughed with tears in his eyes while roaring heart-wrenchingly, "We fought desperately for so long, so many friends and family died in battle, and yet this is still the outcome. Why? Why did we come to the Heavenly Court Realm? Why?"
Wan Zhaoyi, Qing Xiao, Nine Nether Sword Saint, Chu Siyuan, Shengshu Cainü... countless great figures who commanded wind and rain in Kunlun Realm all had solemn expressions, their hearts extremely pained and filled with self-blame. If only they had tried harder, fought more desperately, perhaps they could have changed this outcome.
Unfortunately, there was no longer any chance.
Many great figures from Kunlun Realm knew that even if they hadn't come to the Heavenly Court Realm, in a few years, Kunlun Realm's defenses would have been breached by the Hell Realm, ultimately heading toward destruction.
Coming to the Heavenly Court Realm at least gave them a glimmer of hope.
Of course, as things stood now, they had not managed to seize that glimmer of hope.
The cultivators of Blade Prison Realm and Tianmu Realm, on the other hand, let out long sighs of relief, all wearing smiles.
Shang Zihong said, "Now, I shall announce the final ranking of this merit battle and the next battlefield..."
"Hold on."
A powerful and awe-inspiring voice came from the depths of the universe, interrupting what Shang Zihong was about to say next.
Zhang Ruochen's pupils suddenly contracted. He looked toward the direction from which the voice came and softly uttered two words: "Chi... Yao..."