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Su Yu followed Feng Tian to the core area of the Phoenix Minor World.
"Sir, only you can enter beyond this point. Even I do not have the power to step inside."
Su Yu nodded. He could already feel it—what lay ahead was the very origin of the entire minor world.
This small world actually had a place where its source energy gathered. Compared to the Dragon Valley, it was far more complete.
Of course, it was also possible that the first Phoenix God had intended to build this place as the stronghold of the Phoenix clan, while the Dragon Valley was merely a resting ground for the dragon race.
After all, back then, the Dragon God was the strongest being in the entire Divine Dragon Domain, and also the ruler of the Divine Realm. His nine Dragon Kings were all god-king-level powerhouses. If someone claimed that the Divine Realm belonged to the dragon race, few would object.
As Su Yu's Phoenix God divine seat manifested, the god-king-level authority of the Phoenix God triggered a faint resonance, and he was pulled into a mysterious space.
Within this space, Su Yu could sense a powerful will sealed inside.
He looked toward the center of this space—there, a faintly visible shadow of a phoenix hovered.
It was only a fragment of a soul, a mere trace of will, but it exuded a uniquely overwhelming pressure.
To Su Yu, the pressure wasn't strong in terms of sheer force, but its essence was exceptionally high.
Though the power was not intense, it still gave Su Yu a palpable sense of suppression.
The moment Su Yu approached, that wisp of residual soul reacted.
His Phoenix God divine seat flared to life. Triggered by the resonance, the phoenix's illusory eyes slowly opened and looked at Su Yu.
At first, its gaze was filled with confusion. Then, as if recalling something, it asked in a puzzled tone:
"Who are you?"
A human with Phoenix bloodline?
Has the Phoenix clan been wiped out?
"Senior, I received the Phoenix clan's blessing and fortune by chance, and from that, I was able to condense the Phoenix God divine seat."
"To elevate the Phoenix God divine seat to the god-king level—you're quite remarkable." The will of the first Phoenix God looked at Su Yu as if trying to see through him.
However, he quickly realized that no matter how hard he tried, he could not see through this human.
"You are powerful—so powerful, it seems you are about to take that final step." He spoke slowly. "Since that's the case, why have you come to awaken me?"
"Senior, the current state of the Phoenix clan is far from ideal. At present, aside from one divine-level Phoenix that emerged due to Douluo Star's evolution, the rest of the clan lags far behind your era in terms of bloodline potential and overall strength," Su Yu explained.
Naturally, he had also come to learn more about the process of becoming a Supreme God King—but he couldn't directly reveal that motivation.
"Hmm?" The will of the first Phoenix God paused, then used the origin of the Phoenix Minor World to perceive the current condition of the Phoenix clan within it. In moments, he gained a clear understanding.
"How could this be?" he muttered, confused.
If the Phoenix clan wasn't annihilated, how could they have fallen to the point where they couldn't even produce a single deity?
Could it be that the Divine Realm has specifically suppressed the Phoenix clan?
"In your time, Senior, the Dragon God also fell due to his own issues. Before his death, he placed a restriction on Douluo Star, preventing soul beasts from becoming gods," Su Yu said helplessly.
He had learned this information from the God of Destruction.
It wasn't that the Divine Realm targeted soul beasts—rather, a mysterious restriction had appeared out of nowhere, and afterward, human deities began waging war against divine beasts. In the end, due to their ability to produce successors, humans won. The divine beasts were either slain or enslaved.
As a god-king, the God of Destruction had a general understanding that this was the doing of the Dragon God.
Even so, he didn't know why the Dragon God had done it.
Naturally, Su Yu knew even less about the Dragon God's true intentions.
The first Phoenix God offered no comment on the Dragon God's actions. In fact, even when hearing the name of the one who killed him, he showed neither hatred nor anger.
"You mentioned Douluo Star's evolution. Has it become a God Star or just a half-step God Star?"
Su Yu: ???
God Star? What's that?
First Phoenix God: ...
Silence fell between them.
It seemed there was a generational gap.
At this moment, the first Phoenix God used the origin energy to access information gathered from within the Phoenix clan and learned about the changes Douluo Star had undergone.
"So, Douluo Star has also regressed to below divine level," he sighed.
It appeared that the Dragon God had failed—and with his failure came his downfall.
"Senior, what exactly is a God Star?"
A star at the divine level?
Probably not.
"A God Star is what emerges when the Divine Realm reaches a state of immense strength and evolves further—an ideal existence that transcends all cosmic rules," the first Phoenix God explained.
"The Dragon God once hoped to evolve the Divine Dragon Domain into a God Star. In the end, it seems he failed."
"Transcending all rules?" Su Yu repeated. Upon hearing that, he immediately understood why the Dragon God had failed.
Given that the Dragon God already had issues of his own, trying to defy the universal laws would likely have triggered a complete breakdown. Perhaps that was what ultimately drove the Dragon God into madness.
"Senior, I'm also about to attempt my breakthrough. But from what I've learned, both you and the Dragon God seem to have suffered internal injuries during the process—injuries that led to a split in personality."
The first Phoenix God didn't deny it. Instead, he nodded in acknowledgment, clearly approving of Su Yu's cautious approach.
"The breakthrough beyond the God King level is no longer just about wielding the authority of a single domain. It requires moving toward omnipotence—mastering more of the laws of heaven and earth. Merging two God King-level authorities is merely the foundation. It's the first step toward contending with the heavens for even greater authority."
But even fusing two divine authorities isn't enough.
"The Dragon God commanded many authorities, and I too wielded the powers of Nirvana, Fire, and Life. Yet, I was still injured during my breakthrough."
The wounds inflicted by the laws are etched into the very core of one's authority. From that point on, the authority itself becomes tainted by hidden injuries. Using it naturally carries risk—risk of losing control.
"At our level, fusing with an authority also means fusing our very selves into it. Only through this can we truly master that authority and use it to oppose the will of heaven."
"And when that authority is damaged, it means our own consciousness is affected. The result of that backlash is madness."
The great battle that once broke out between the first Phoenix God and the Dragon God may very well have been fueled by such afflictions.
"Fusing oneself with authority?" Su Yu realized that this was likely the true essence of becoming a Supreme God King—not merely the act of merging authorities.
"This is a holistic process. To truly merge authorities, you must first make them a part of yourself. Otherwise, when you attempt to combine powers that were originally formed by the universe, the repulsion will become unbearable."
The reason the first Phoenix God believed Su Yu was close to breaking through was because he sensed that Su Yu had already integrated one authority into himself.
"You bear the aura of three authorities. One of them has already fused with your body. Of the remaining two, one is my Phoenix authority, while the other… is extremely powerful."
He focused briefly, then gave high praise to Su Yu's Reincarnation divine seat.
Su Yu released the aura of his Reincarnation divine seat, allowing the first Phoenix God to sense it.
"Reincarnation…" The first Phoenix God was astonished by Su Yu's divine seat.
"To think it achieves perfect transformation between life and death… The rules it incorporates and merges are already highly refined. Just by fusing with this single authority, you could compete with heaven for dominion. And if you manage to fuse with more authorities, your power will rise even further."
This divine seat was even more complete than the Nirvana authority he once held.
Most remarkably, this divine seat was perfectly attuned to Su Yu himself.
In other words, this divine seat had been condensed entirely by Su Yu.
Moreover, Su Yu's life force was vigorous, and his age was still quite young.
"I will share with you the experience of my breakthrough. When this fragment of my will dissipates, I hope you can lend a hand to the Phoenix clan."
The first Phoenix God's will transformed into the figure of a man clad in a long robe of crimson and gold, and he looked solemnly at Su Yu.
"Once you achieve your breakthrough, you should be able to help the Phoenix clan bypass the restrictions set by the Dragon God."
Su Yu could help individuals break through even now. But for the entire Phoenix clan to overcome the restriction, he would likely have to reach the level of the Dragon God—that is, to become a Supreme God King.
He was still one step away from that goal.
The first Phoenix God began recounting the experience of his own breakthrough.
As the image before him slowly faded, Su Yu remained calm.
He quietly reflected on the insights the first Phoenix God had just shared and felt the new understanding of numerous authorities begin to resonate within his Phoenix God divine seat.
"Those who learn from me may live; those who imitate me too closely may die."
One could inherit and learn from the abilities of predecessors—but blind imitation would not succeed.
The path to becoming a Supreme God King was a singular and unique road. It couldn't be completed through inheritance alone.
Of course, if one's predecessor had truly perished, it might be possible to follow the same road.
At that moment, within Su Yu's Phoenix God divine seat, many divine authorities began to manifest—exactly those once held by the first Phoenix God.
If he wished, Su Yu could begin fusing these powers and follow the path of the first Phoenix God, raising his Phoenix God divine seat to the level of a Supreme God King.
However, he abandoned the idea.
Or rather, he never intended to use a divine seat itself to become a Supreme God King.
"A divine seat is, by its very nature, a condensation of heaven and earth—a part of heaven and earth. To use one part of heaven and earth to oppose heaven and earth themselves is simply overestimating oneself."
Even if you seize such authority and fuse it into your being, it remains only a fragment of the whole.
Just because the laws can condense an authority once doesn't mean the laws themselves vanish.
From the first Phoenix God's recounting, Su Yu could sense that he too had reached this realization: plundering heavenly authority to wrest control from heaven and earth is unwise.
Thus, during their breakthroughs, he, the Dragon God, and the other predecessors who attained Supreme God King all understood this. They fused their various authorities, sublimated them, and forged powers uniquely their own.
This way, even though the original rules persisted, the universe contained no authority identical to theirs—only the primal laws could oppose these unique powers.
In the first Phoenix God's reflection, the reason they still suffered backlash was that their authorities were not yet strong enough and did not encompass enough laws to withstand the cosmos's counterattack.
"Perhaps, by perfecting numerous authorities, integrating more laws, and strengthening a singular supreme power, one might eventually endure heaven and earth's backlash and seize control of the universe—but that path is exceedingly arduous."
Even Su Yu could not claim he could flawlessly merge countless laws to rival universal operation.
The universe is already a perfected heaven and earth; its laws operate without flaw—something no mere will can replicate.
Of course, by emulating the universe, one might forge the prototype of a new heaven and earth.
Then, as that world evolved, its laws would gradually refine, until it could rival a true cosmos.
This was Su Yu's path of transcendence.
He imitated the universe, delineated his own Dao with his power—drawing from the outside, nurturing from within.
"In truth, the Supreme God King is merely the transition from God King to the next realm, not a complete state in itself."
The next step beyond God King is either the Controller or the Transcendent.
To control—or transcend—the universe, one must first merge with an authority, then integrate many more, condense a unique supreme power, and use it to oppose heaven and earth.
Understanding this, Su Yu felt his journey had yielded great gains.
"I will not tread the Supreme God King's path, but without a doubt, that path offers invaluable lessons."
Before departing the Phoenix Minor World, Su Yu invoked the guiding power of law to alter its restrictions.
"From now on, any Phoenix clan member born within this minor world will face no barrier when breaking through."
He had already mastered interfacing with clan limitations. By isolating the Phoenix Minor World from Douluo Star in key laws, he made it an independent cultivation realm.
The Dragon God's restriction was etched into the bloodline. Those Phoenix members already born still carried that shackle, so their breakthroughs remained constrained. Should any approach that threshold, Su Yu would discreetly aid them.
Naturally, he believed that by then, Gu Yue Na would have inherited the Dragon God's divine seat and could lift the restriction entirely.
Su Yu did not return to the Divine Realm.
He had already gleaned its central insights and did not need to sit in meditation there—for now.
Time passed.
Su Yu's warning put the watching Divine Realm on alert; they did not intervene rashly, though they remained vigilant—and if an opportunity arose, they would act. After all, law does not punish the many, and Su Yu did not embody the will of the entire universe.
The realm to which the slain stranger God King belonged immediately aligned with the Malevolent Divine Realm and declared war on the Douluo Divine Realm.
Fortunately, both the Evil and Benevolent God Kings returned, and Tang San advanced to the front lines.
Su Yu's contributions in the previous battle were significant. Instead of resting, he journeyed through the cosmos, visiting myriad planes to comprehend their law operations, accumulating his final insights.
In his hands, each piece of illusory space grew increasingly tangible. The patterns of the Dao flowed ever more smoothly.
(End of chapter)