Chapter 2017: Godslayer’s Pilgrimage!

Arvantos smiled slightly. "Have any of you heard of the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage?"

The ten geniuses looked at each other. No one answered. Even Revona, who seemed to know plenty of secrets, showed a trace of confusion. Orion blinked. Ervin frowned in thought. Damian stayed quiet, but his expression made it obvious the term was new to him.

Max finally asked, "What is that?"

Arvantos’s smile faded, and his expression turned solemn.

"The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage is the highest-level opportunity available to the younger generation across all five universes."

Those words instantly changed the atmosphere in the hall.

Arvantos continued, "If the Cosmic Ascension Conference gathers the strongest geniuses of the Divine Realm from our universe, then the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage gathers the strongest geniuses from all five universes. The Primordial Universe, the Devil Universe, the Spirit Universe, the Angel Universe, and the Dragon Universe all send their most terrifying young monsters there."

The expressions of the ten geniuses shifted. All five universes. That meant they wouldn’t only be facing geniuses from the Divine Realm. They’d be facing devils born in the Devil Universe, spirits naturally close to law and life essence, angels wielding terrifying holy power and divine order, and dragons whose bodies and bloodlines ranked among the strongest in existence.

Arvantos said, "Don’t underestimate what that means. In our universe, all of you count as peak geniuses. But in the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage, you’ll run into beings who carry the destiny of their own universes. Some were born from royal bloodlines. Some have been trained by supreme races since childhood. Some are descendants of old monsters who fought in the last universal war. Some hold treasures, physiques, eyes, souls, and laws even I wouldn’t casually dismiss."

Orion’s excitement turned more serious. Damian’s eyes sharpened. Max stayed calm, but his interest had clearly been stirred.

Arvantos looked at them and continued, "The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage doesn’t sit inside any of the five universes. It exists in a strange region beyond the Wall of Eternity, beyond the reach of the five universes, in a place where their borders overlap without fully merging. Some call it the Forgotten Crossing. Some call it the Grave Road. Some call it the Battlefield Beneath the Gods. But its true name, at least in the oldest records, is the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage."

Max’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why’s it called that?"

Arvantos stayed silent for a moment. Then he said, "Because according to ancient records, gods once fell there."

The hall went deathly quiet.

Arvantos continued slowly, "Not Divine Masters. Not peak experts who got worshiped as gods by weaker worlds. I’m talking about beings closer to the true meaning of that word. Whether they were real True Gods, failed True Gods, or existences who’d touched the threshold above the Divine God Realm, no one can say for certain. Too much time has passed, and too many records have been lost. But what we do know is that countless divine remnants, broken weapons, blood-stained laws, shattered thrones, and sealed inheritances got left behind there."

His voice grew deeper. "Every cycle, the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage opens up for the younger generation of the five universes. No single race controls it. And because of that, it became a battleground for geniuses from all five universes."

Ervin asked quietly, "What kind of opportunities exist there?"

Arvantos glanced at him. "Almost every kind you can imagine, and plenty you can’t."

He raised one hand, and faint images appeared in the air in front of them. Max saw a vast road made of broken stars. He saw ruined temples floating inside storms of law. He saw a battlefield where enormous bones stretched across space like mountain ranges. He saw a river of golden blood flowing against time. He saw a shattered throne surrounded by countless weapon fragments. He saw a dark valley where laws moved like living beasts.

Arvantos said, "There are inheritance grounds left behind by fallen supreme beings. There are law pools capable of pushing a cultivator’s comprehension forward by centuries. There are body tempering zones where flesh gets crushed, rebuilt, and transformed. There are soul-forging ruins where one mistake can erase the mind, but success can strengthen the soul beyond ordinary limits. There are bloodline altars that can purify, evolve, or mutate bloodlines. There are ancient weapons that choose their own owners. There are battlefields where killing enemies earns divine marks, and those marks can be traded for opportunities that don’t exist anywhere in the Divine Realm."

Several geniuses drew in a soft breath.

Arvantos continued, "There are also trials tied to the five universes. Some test the body. Some test the soul. Some test law comprehension. Some test killing power. Some test will. Some test whether a cultivator can survive betrayal, illusion, despair, and temptation. The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage doesn’t raise gentle flowers. It sharpens blades."

Max’s eyes deepened. That kind of place sounded dangerous. But it was also exactly the kind of place where he could grow the fastest.

Arvantos looked at them solemnly. "Any opportunity you find there will be countless times stronger than anything you’d normally find in the Divine Realm. That’s why there’s never a shortage of geniuses willing to go in. Every race sends its monsters. Every universe sends its future pillars. Some go there to rise. Some go there to kill rivals before they mature. Some go there to seize inheritances that could shift the balance of their race."

Max’s eyes narrowed at that. ’This place probably isn’t simple.’

Arvantos looked at the ten of them and spoke again. "The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage doesn’t stay open all the time. It follows cycles that none of the five universes fully control. The next opening is coming up soon. If you choose this path, you’ll be sent there."

Orion couldn’t hold back any longer. "And the third path?"

Arvantos turned toward him. "The third path is tied to the Seven Monarchs."

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the hall shifted again.

Damian’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Monarchs?"

His reaction wasn’t small. Even someone as cold and composed as Damian couldn’t stay indifferent hearing that title. The others grew more attentive too. Some looked surprised, some looked doubtful, and some seemed like they’d only heard the name in passing without ever really believing it was real.

"Are they actually real?" Damian asked in a low voice. "I thought the Seven Monarchs were just legends, some wild rumor passed around the Divine Realm."

Before Arvantos could answer, Revona smiled faintly. "Oh, they’re very real," she said.

Everyone turned toward her. Revona’s expression stayed calm, but there was a strange depth in her eyes, as if that title had stirred up memories buried far beyond this life.

"In fact," she continued, "I even fought one of the Monarchs in one of my past lives."

The hall fell silent again.

Max looked at Revona for a moment, then turned back to Arvantos with a slight frown. "Monarchs?"

This time, he was genuinely confused. It was the first time he’d heard of them.

Judging by Damian’s reaction, though, they clearly weren’t ordinary figures. If someone like Damian had only ever treated them as legends, then these so-called Monarchs had to be existences hidden so deeply that even top geniuses of the Divine Realm didn’t know the full truth.