The skies of Arin's world no longer knew peace.
Clouds of tribulation rolled across land and sea like marching armies, thundering with power that could shatter mountains and boil oceans.
It all began with Shen Mu, the old sect leader whose courage had pierced the heavens.
His successful breakthrough and survival through the Tribulation of the Void shattered the limits that bound countless beings for millennia.
What followed… was chaos.
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When the light of Shen Mu's tribulation faded, it left behind not only the first Nascent Soul of the age but also a contagious fire of desire.
Across the continents, every cultivator who stood at the peak of the Golden Core Realm looked toward the heavens with trembling eyes.
"The path exists…"
"If he can reach Nascent Soul, then so can I!"
"The heavens have opened again!"
In that moment, ambition became a storm.
Dungeons that had lain untouched now blazed with battle.
The fallen were hunted without mercy.
Every cultivator, every beast that could still move, sought merit—the key to transcendence.
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The Roar of the Oceans
Deep beneath the endless waves, something ancient stirred.
The sea had always been home to titans—massive creatures whose strength rivaled sects. For ages they slumbered, shackled by the same invisible ceiling.
But now, the currents pulsed with spiritual might; the scent of tribulation awakened the old kings of the deep.
Six great sea beasts rose from their abyssal thrones.
Each carried an aura vast enough to turn the seas red.
Driven by instinct and hunger for power, they devoured corrupted kin, shattered undersea dungeons, and challenged the heavens themselves.
Six whirlpools formed across the world's oceans, their eyes glowing with blinding blue lightning.
For three days and nights, the storms raged—lightning illuminating the dark depths, waves tearing through islands.
When calm finally returned, six colossal figures hovered over the waters—each radiating a pressure that made the entire ocean kneel.
Six Nascent Soul Sea Sovereigns had been born.
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The Awakening of the Land
Not to be outdone, the ancient beasts of the land howled in defiance.
From the scorching deserts, burning volcanoes, and frozen mountains, titans emerged.
Each one carried a bloodline that had been stagnant for thousands of years, now surging with newfound energy.
They tore through corrupted beasts and overran dungeons, devouring their essence.
When their time came, the sky split open once more.
Five tribulations erupted across the continents, shaking the world to its core.
Under the endless barrage of thunder and flame, five land beasts endured and ascended—each awakening a Nascent Soul within.
When their roars faded, the mountains bowed and the forests trembled.
The earth had birthed five new sovereigns.
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The human race, inspired and desperate, refused to remain behind.
The promise of the Nascent Soul Realm ignited every sect, every hidden clan, and every wandering cultivator.
The scent of merit hung in the air like incense; dungeons became holy lands of slaughter.
Those who had been peak Golden Core experts for centuries now saw a faint path ahead.
In the span of weeks, the heavens darkened again—six times.
From six different corners of the world, thunder answered ambition.
Six tribulations, six trials of annihilation.
When they ended, six human cultivators stood proud—eyes glowing like stars, auras vast as seas.
The first generation of Nascent Soul Humans had arrived.
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The World Transforms
Arin watched silently.
Mountains grew taller.
The oceans deeper.
Forests denser, glowing faintly with accumulated energy.
Each tribulation released more power into the world than an entire sect could produce in a lifetime.
The land absorbed it greedily, expanding and refining itself, slowly approaching true maturity.
Arin's expression flickered between pride and caution.
> "Seventeen Nascent Souls… in such a short time."
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The heavens calmed, but the world had changed forever.
The age of Nascent Souls had begun.