Chapter 390.1: A Different Kind of Meeting with Jin Li

Stars filled the sky above the Nine Heavens, each representing a terrifying god. The sun blazed brilliantly and exuded a commanding presence. Though it wasn't the mightiest star in the sky, it was undoubtedly the most eye-catching. Suddenly, the starry skies shuddered, and every star projection trembled.

Countless Mythics instinctively looked up toward the Star World.

"Has a Heavenly Venerable ascended?"

"I am jealous!"

"I am already so old! When will it be my turn?!"

Each of them served a Heavenly Venerable and had the right to project their star across the heavens. That was why all of them felt the disturbance.

***

In an unknown abyss within the Sixth Heaven's sacred grounds, numerous Heavenly Venerables looked up in surprise.

"A new position has appeared?"

"Who has raised their position I wonder?"

"Fewer and fewer positions remain."

A Yang Spirit projecting their star across the heavens was different from a Mythic doing the same, as it required a specific, established position. Usually, one acquired a position either through an exchange of interests or by forcefully seizing it.

The gap between a Yang Spirit with a position and one without was immense. It was like the difference between two Yang Spirits of equal cultivation, except one possessed a Creation Treasure while the other did not. Anyone powerful enough to forcefully seize a position could obtain one through other means anyway.

A second later, one Heavenly Venerable narrowed their eyes, surprise flickering within them. "A sun? But the Great Sun... What a lunatic! Daring to seize the Great Sun Position from that one in the Sixth Heaven!"

A new sun had appeared among the stars, holding the Great Sun Position. However, compared to the Taihuang Palace’s Great Sun, it was embarrassingly small. The Yang Spirits either broke into laughter or stared in pure shock. In all these years, no one had ever dared seize a Great Sun Position by force. Whoever did that had chosen the grandest possible target!

The Yang Spirit in Taihuang Palace, seated in the Sixth Heaven of the Immortal World, was an absolute elite. And yet, some unknown Yang Spirit had dared to provoke such a figure! How suicidal!

A blue-robed Yang Spirit laughed. "Haha! I had assumed he was some ancient powerhouse, but how mistaken I was! If anything, he seems rather unremarkable. He’s bold but lacks any foresight!"

"A farce!"

"What a joke!"

The blue-robed Yang Spirit watched smugly. "If the Taihuang Palace Master makes a move, there is no hiding place in any heavens that would save him."

Now that he understood the opponent was a complete fool, he decided to resume his cultivation. Then, on impulse, the Yang Spirits looked up at the Star World one more time and their eyes went wide.

The blue-robed Yang Spirit was astonished. "Two Great Suns? Interesting. With that level of power, he could have easily obtained a position through ordinary means, yet he chose to provoke the Taihuang Palace Master. Truly overestimating his own—"

In the next second, another sun appeared.

The blue-robed Yang Spirit swallowed every word he had been about to say. "Three suns?! Impossible!"

Not every star projection was eligible to bear a position. Mythics' star projections, for instance, could not. In fact, it was already considered extraordinary if a Heavenly Venerable could claim even a single position in their entire lifetime. But three Great Suns?

What followed made their expression change entirely. One after another, Great Suns rose, each one larger than the last. The Star World, dark yet brilliant, blazed again and again with surging light.

Four, five... There were ten of them! Ten stars bearing the Great Sun Position had emerged among the heavens!

The blue-robed Yang Spirit gritted his teeth. "There cannot be two suns in one sky! The battle for the Great Sun Position has begun!"

If he had looked down on that unknown yet ambitious Yang Spirit before, he now felt truly old. His ambition and drive had likely left him long ago. Hardly any Yang Spirits could condense a star projection capable of bearing a Great Sun Position, let alone ten of them. Anyone who could have done so would have ascended to the Ninth Heaven long ago.

Now, this mysterious Yang Spirit had openly declared war on the Great Sun Position, issuing a challenge for everyone to see. Turmoil was about to befall the Sixth Heaven. The Taihuang Palace was about to have its hands full.

Just then, the blue-robed Yang Spirit seemed to think of something and paused. What if this mysterious Yang Spirit wins? Wouldn't that mean there would be ten suns hanging in the sky at once?

***

At the same time, within Taihuang Palace.

The old Mythic with the quivering beard wiped the sweat from his face and stared up at the sky. "M-my eyesight must be getting bad from age. Why are there suddenly ten suns up there?"

The other Mythics were likewise staring at the Star World in shock.

One of them trembled. "A Heavenly Venerable is challenging the Great Sun Position!"

A chill ran through every Mythic. This was the kind of event that existed only in historical records. None of them had ever witnessed it in person.

An exasperated Mythic muttered to himself, "Ten suns above the sky, and he doesn't even have a position?"

Displaying ten suns is just meaningless! He’s just...

An elderly Mythic vanished in a puff of smoke. "Ahem. It sure is running a little hot today. I am going back to cool off!"

The other old Mythics took their cue and rose as well.

"Ah, my Heavenly Venerable's granddaughter is expecting her 1,786th child. I really must go and see her!"

They understood the situation perfectly well. Before today, news of the Divine Moon Palace Master's injury would have been enough to persuade their backers to enter the fray. Now, out of nowhere, an unknown Yang Spirit was challenging the Taihuang Palace's Great Sun Position.

A battle for a position was a fight to the death. It was far more brutal than anything between the Taihuang Palace and the Divine Moon Palace. Moreover, the Taihuang Palace would inevitably shift its focus from the Divine Moon Palace to the Ten Suns Heavenly Sovereign. Picking a fight with the Divine Moon Palace would be akin to digging one's own grave.

The Mythics departed one by one.

The golden-robed man’s expression darkened beyond measure. In his fury, he flipped the entire table. "Why the fuck is it so hot in here?!"

He didn't really care about someone challenging Taihuang Palace's Great Sun Position. What he cared about was that his achievement was gone. All that work evaporated just like that.

***

Across all worlds and the myriad realms, every living creature looked up at the same time and saw ten new suns hanging overhead. They had no idea what had happened, but they were certain that something terrifying had occurred.

***

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan was perfectly relaxed. "My ten suns are totally owning that one sun. Ten to one, it’s my win. I'm also younger and better-looking than the Taihuang Palace Master. I have a handsome crimson robe and he doesn't. Hell yeah, it’s a total win!"

He immediately concluded, "Therefore, I am the true sun. You, counterfeit sun, when will you fall?"

Originally, he had planned to wait a little longer and gather at least a trillion Golden Cores before ascending to the upper world. With so many stars spread across the myriad realms, most of them complete strangers, his social anxiety was bound to flare up. To find the Flowing Wind World, he had been forced to move early.

Qi Yuan very much wanted to give a speech. "Alas, the myriad realms are very cold. It wasn't just the coldness between people, but the literal coldness of the climate as well. Beautiful women shiver and the handsome men freeze. Fortunately, I arrived with ten suns. This world will be cold no longer."

Unfortunately, his Golden Cores were still too few, or he would have arranged them into words so that every living creature across all worlds could read his proclamation.

He let his mind wander. "Sadly, I still don't have any black holes. All my suns look the same. The biodiversity is lacking. The world is unchanging and dull."

Imagine a world with no sun, like the one in The Wandering Earth[1], with ice and frost everywhere. The people had to be desperately missing sunlight.

The Wandering Earth's setting was like Blue Planet. If Qi Yuan were to give Earth a sun, he naturally wouldn't settle for an ordinary one. It would have to be, at the very least, a black hole sun. The people of The Wandering Earth would surely be moved. They would all sing to him, "Thank you, because of you, the four seasons are warm."

Setting these thoughts aside, Qi Yuan said softly to Canary, "Move the Star Golden Cores toward that star a little. It's too dim. Not bright enough."

***

Inside a Star Golden Core, Ning Tao opened her eyes. Though a subtle, quiet grievance flashed across her face, she nodded gently. "Alright."

The Star Golden Core drifted through the Star World above, moving toward that one dim, unremarkable star.

1. The Wandering Earth is a 2019 Chinese science fiction film directed by Frant Gwo, loosely based on the 2000 short story of the same name by Liu Cixin. ☜