# Chapter 2950: The Master of Xinghuantian
Early morning, by the lake, mist wrapped around the drooping willows.
The drunkard's hair was a messy tangle, his face extremely grim, as he sat at a stone table beside a willow tree.
Two large white geese arrogantly craned their necks, hissing at him, demanding food.
"Scram! All you know is eating. I'll stew you sooner or later."
"Honk! Honk!"
The two large white geese showed no fear at all, their cries unceasing.
The drunkard grew impatient and kicked them flying into the lake, following up with another round of curses.
It was at this moment that Zhang Ruochen walked into the manor.
Yuyao stood to one side, divine mist like fog surrounding her, her delicate figure hazy and indistinct. She sent a voice transmission to Zhang Ruochen: "Master is in a bad mood. Don't provoke him."
The drunkard glared over, bloodshot veins visible in his eyes, and roared: "Who's in a bad mood? I'm fine, better than anyone."
"Be careful."
Yuyao reminded him, then quickly walked away.
Zhang Ruochen regretted coming.
He shouldn't have come at all.
Even a great god with spiritual power exceeding the eightieth rank had been scared off—and she was his personal disciple. It was said that people who loved drinking, once drunk, would recognize no kin.
Looking at the drunkard's appearance, he had clearly already drunk quite a bit. Who knew if his consciousness was still clear?
Zhang Ruochen didn't dare gamble. He followed closely behind Yuyao, preparing to leave.
Behind him, a hoarse, rasping roar sounded: "Don't you leave. You, that Zhang kid, stop right there. Come here."
A single "come here," and Zhang Ruochen felt a fierce wind swirling around him, his body being pulled.
When he stopped, Zhang Ruochen found himself already sitting on the stone stool. Just as he was about to stand up, a wrinkled hand pressed down on his shoulder, pressing so hard that his entire skeleton felt like it might shatter.
There was absolutely no restraint in the force.
Zhang Ruochen silently lamented his misfortune, smelling a strong odor of alcohol at the tip of his nose.
It wasn't ordinary wine. Just catching a whiff made Zhang Ruochen dizzy and lightheaded. He quickly held his breath.
The drunkard's mouth was practically pressed against his ear, saying: "Speak!"
Zhang Ruochen was cautious and careful: "Speak about what?"
"Speak!" the drunkard said.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't bear the force pressing on his shoulder and tried to shift his body, only to find that the entire space-time had been frozen. He couldn't move at all!
"Fine, I'll speak! Before, this junior didn't know senior's identity and offended you in many ways. Please forgive me."
"Is that what I'm asking you to speak about?"
The drunkard's eyes widened as he stared at Zhang Ruochen from close range, his hair even falling onto Zhang Ruochen's face.
Zhang Ruochen became even more cautious and asked: "May I ask, senior, what exactly do you want me to speak about?"
"Of course, how to deal with the thirteen realms' army from the Heavenly Court? And how to handle the gods of the Hell Realm from outside the realm?" The drunkard released his hand, sat down across from Zhang Ruochen, picked up the wine jug, and took a drink.
Zhang Ruochen looked over in surprise.
"Do you think I'm really drunk?"
The drunkard slammed the wine jug onto the stone table, exasperated: "I'm perfectly clear-headed! Now, this difficult problem—what do you say we should do?"
The pressure in Zhang Ruochen's heart dissipated considerably, but seeing that the drunkard didn't seem particularly sober, he still spoke very carefully: "This junior is just an outsider. For matters like this, I believe senior must already have a plan."
"Do you think someone of my status would stoop to handle this kind of thing? Even facing those heavens of the Heavenly Court and Hell, I'm not the least bit afraid. If I had to handle this myself, where would I put my face?"
As he spoke, the drunkard slapped his own face, making a "smack, smack" sound, then continued: "Look at this kind of thing—did Heavenly Mother personally step in? Did Shang the Bearded personally step in? Did Feng Caiyi personally step in? Someone of my status, what status I have!"
The drunkard grabbed the wine jug and hurled it at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen dodged sideways, quickly saying: "Whatever senior commands, just say it."
With a clatter, the wine jug fell to the ground and rolled around.
The drunkard nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand: "Go!"
No matter how quick-witted Zhang Ruochen was, he couldn't figure out what the drunkard actually meant by all this.
But at this moment, how could he dare to say another word?
Zhang Ruochen turned and left.
"Thump!"
Behind him came the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, along with long, drawn-out snoring.
Zhang Ruochen didn't dare turn back to look. Walking out of the manor, he was already drenched in cold sweat. Seeing Yuyao ahead, he immediately showed a bitter smile: "Great God, you've set me up. With Drunkard Senior's cultivation, if he accidentally killed me in his drunkenness, who would I go to for justice?"
"Master is addicted to wine, but he has never truly been drunk before. I didn't expect that today he would be this intoxicated. Earlier, when he told me to bring you here, although he was in a bad mood, his consciousness was still clear." Yuyao's eyes showed an apologetic expression.
Zhang Ruochen was not one to haggle over trifles: "What exactly did Drunkard Senior mean?"
"Haven't you figured out his meaning yet? He has handed Xinghuantian over to you." Yuyao said.
Although Zhang Ruochen had vaguely sensed this, he still found it somewhat hard to believe.
"From now on, you are the master of Xinghuantian. You can make all decisions." Yuyao said.
Zhang Ruochen said: "How can this be? I'm just an outsider, and my cultivation is low. Great God, you becoming the master of Xinghuantian would be truly deserved."
Yuyao said: "My injuries are severe. I need to go into seclusion for a long time. Didn't you claim you wanted to marry Qinger? Why do you now say you're an outsider? Or do you think the Inverse God Clan will bring you many troubles, and now you want to draw a clear line with us?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. He really hadn't expected to be so highly regarded by powerful figures like the drunkard and Yuyao.
One must know that Xinghuantian was the former residence of a Heavenly Venerable, a truly great realm in the universe, far larger than the ten great worlds he had won in the Ten Realms Battle combined.
In terms of strength and resources, Xinghuantian was a thousand or ten thousand times more prosperous than Sansheng Realm.
Compared to the top hundred powerful realms of the Heavenly Court, it was more than equal.
In other words, as long as Zhang Ruochen revealed his title as the master of Xinghuantian, he could sit on equal footing with the Soul Realm Master, Moon God, Mandala Flower God, and others. Even if his cultivation wasn't yet strong enough, his status and the manpower and resources he could mobilize would already be at the level of a cosmic overlord.
Zhang Ruochen deeply understood how enormous the implications of this were: "But I am now a god of the Hell Realm. If you make me the master of Xinghuantian, will the Heavenly Court still regard you as a neutral faction?"
Yuyao said: "Are you really a god of the Hell Realm?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart stirred as he looked at her.
Yuyao continued: "Your ties with the Heavenly Court, Zhang Ruochen, are too deep. And you have never hidden the fact that your ideals are completely opposite to those of the Hell Realm. In the Hell Realm, only some cultivators from the Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan can accept you as a living being. For the various undead clans, you, Zhang Ruochen, have never been one of them."
"The reason some cultivators from the Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan can accept you is because of the influence of Xue Jue War God and Heavenly Mother within these two clans, not because of yourself."
"In the Ten Realms Battle, you neither represented the Hell Realm nor the Heavenly Court. Isn't this also your way of expressing your stance to the outside world?"
Zhang Ruochen couldn't refute: "In the current situation of the world, can anyone truly remain neutral? Can anyone truly represent themselves?"
"As long as you are strong enough, you can."
Yuyao said: "Don't worry. We are not forcing you to leave the Hell Realm. For now, becoming the master of Xinghuantian will only benefit you, not harm you. Any decision you make will be backed by Master. And you, with your unique identity, can help Xinghuantian resolve the current crisis."
The current crisis was that the gods of the Hell Realm wanted to devour the saint realm army of the thirteen realms.
If Xinghuantian wanted to avoid drawing fire to itself, it had to protect the thirteen realms' saint realm army.
It was precisely because they understood the interests and relationships involved that the Thousand Star Xinghuantian Formation was still blocking the gods of the Hell Realm from entering. But this could easily anger the Hell Realm gods, triggering a second war.
A war to destroy Xinghuantian.
If Zhang Ruochen became the master of Xinghuantian, it would undoubtedly ease the current deadlock.
Zhang Ruochen asked: "I have a question. The Heavenly Court has launched a massive attack on Xinghuantian, and the two sides have already formed a deep enmity. Why doesn't Xinghuantian simply join the Hell Realm?"
Yuyao said: "Is it really as simple as it appears on the surface? Not to mention the deep hatred between the Inverse God Clan and the Hell Realm, just consider Xinghuantian's geographical location. Once it surrenders to the Hell Realm, Xinghuantian will inevitably become the Hell Realm's vanguard against the Heavenly Court. You can imagine what the final outcome would be."
"Furthermore, what determines all of this is Master and that one on Star Heaven Cliff. The height at which they stand, the things they see—we cannot yet see them."
"For the Heavenly Court, occupying Xinghuantian requires the thirteen realms' saint realm army. But destroying Xinghuantian is very simple!"
Zhang Ruochen said: "I still don't understand why the Heavenly Court army must occupy Xinghuantian. Is it to turn this place into a war base? Or to open a battle line for a counterattack against the Hell Realm? Or is it really targeting the Inverse God Clan? Targeting Drunkard Senior?"
"Actually, until today, I didn't understand the Heavenly Court's intentions either."
Yuyao thought for a moment before saying: "The Heavenly Court's target was never Xinghuantian, but Haishi Star Dock. It's just that Xinghuantian and Master stood in front of Haishi Star Dock, becoming the biggest obstacle."
"Has war also broken out at Haishi Star Dock?" Zhang Ruochen was shaken.
Yuyao said: "More terrifying than war. It nearly caused heaven and earth to collapse. Zhang Ruochen, do you know that the ancient civilization faction's defensive line is about to be breached?"
Zhang Ruochen had never been to the Starry Sky Battlefield and wasn't particularly familiar with this.
Yuyao continued: "The Heavenly Court had no choice but to go all in. They wanted to use a heaven-defying method to detonate the shattered time and space of Haishi Star Dock, opening a cosmic spatial rift to strike directly at Shura Star Pillar Realm, annihilating the entire Shura Clan and the Hell Realm army in one blow."
Zhang Ruochen was shocked to the point of numbness. Who had such audacity?
Who could possess such heaven-defying means?
The starry sky where Shura Star Pillar Realm was located had already collided with the starry sky of the ancient civilization faction, only temporarily blocked by the Starry Sky Defense Line.
And the star domain where Shura Star Pillar Realm was now located happened to be adjacent to Xinghuantian and Haishi Star Dock.
Haishi Star Dock was the origin place of the universe, with very unstable time and space. If the force was strong enough, it was very possible to tear open a spatial crack that spanned the starry sky, delivering a devastating blow to Shura Star Pillar Realm.
It was like dropping a drop of cold water into a pot of boiling oil—it would explode instantly.
Not to mention Zhang Ruochen, even the top experts of the Hell Realm couldn't imagine that anyone in the world could have such ability and audacity. That was why, from beginning to end, their attention was focused on Xinghuantian.
Yuyao said: "If the Heavenly Court had succeeded, Haishi Star Dock would have expanded at least a hundred times, and the surrounding star domains would have become fragmented and chaotic. Destroying Shura Star Pillar Realm and wiping out the Hell Realm army would have been a one-and-done solution for the Heavenly Court, completely ending the war, and they could even have taken the opportunity to counterattack the Hell Realm."
"Why did it fail?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Yuyao said: "Because of you. Because of you, Desolate Heaven, and Jue Miao Chan Nu, the Heavenly Court failed to control Xinghuantian before the Hell Realm army arrived, failed to force Master to compromise. Since Master didn't compromise, that one on Star Heaven Cliff naturally wouldn't compromise either."
"Of course, this was only a secondary reason. The main reason was that the Heavenly Court's that one lacked the confidence to control the earth-shattering power that would erupt from Haishi Star Dock. With the slightest mistake, the Heavenly Court army and the various ancient civilizations would also be destroyed. It was precisely because of his hesitation that he handed the decision-making power to the war situation in Xinghuantian, to my Master's choice."
Zhang Ruochen felt ice-cold all over. He wished he hadn't asked about these things. Knowing the truth, he felt that compared to those top experts standing at the pinnacle of heaven and earth, he was too insignificant, like a speck of dust.
Their audacity, methods, and macro-level patterns had long since moved beyond a simple fight or a war sweeping across a great realm.
Even the war of the gods seemed insignificant in their eyes.