“No need for formalities!” Ye Xuan smiled as he exchanged pleasantries with the grateful adventurers. He saw the admiration in their eyes, and it filled him with a sense of accomplishment.

Throughout his journey, Ye Xuan had saved many lives, and in doing so, earned their loyalty. These people, impressed by his charisma and strength, were eager to ally with him, willing to lay down their lives for his cause.

Ye Xuan knew that if he were to overthrow the Qin family and exact his revenge, relying solely on the remnants of the Ye family would not be enough. 

The Ye family’s remaining forces were certainly formidable, but they had suffered greatly under the Qin family’s suspicion and suppression over the years. Their strength, though substantial, paled in comparison to the Qin family’s overwhelming might.

That’s why he needed to unite as many forces as possible.

The people he saved weren’t from noble families or influential clans—they were commoners or members of small guilds and minor powers. But Ye Xuan firmly believed in the power of unity. 

While these smaller forces seemed insignificant alone, together, they could become a formidable tide of strength. They were the foundation of the nation itself.

The great houses like the Qin family were far removed from the common people. They had forgotten the old adage: The waters that carry the boat can also overturn it.

Ye Xuan turned his attention to the leaderboard, which displayed the progress of each team’s monster kills. Unsurprisingly, Qin Xian was ranked first by a significant margin, with a staggering 70,000 points. 

This meant Qin Xian had slain nearly 10,000 Void monsters. The second-place spot belonged to Chu Junzhuo, but her score was just over 40,000—nearly half of Qin Xian’s. 

The third-ranked team was even further behind, with only 20,000 points. Below that, many guilds and teams were clustered together, all fiercely competing for points in the thousands.

Ye Xuan himself had earned over 6,000 points, which, considering his lone status and the time he spent saving others, was impressive. 

After all, Qin Xian had an entire elite team of level 39 professionals, while Ye Xuan was fighting solo.

Suddenly, the skies above Shattered Heaven lit up with a dazzling light. A crystalline ancient sacred tree shimmered faintly in the heavens.

“The Purification Level has reached 30%!” someone exclaimed.

Moments later, five terrifying beams of light shot into the sky from various parts of Shattered Heaven. The sheer power of these presences was overwhelming.

“The early bosses have spawned!” someone shouted excitedly before dashing toward the nearest knights’ outpost.

Above the outpost, a massive sacred sword descended from the sky, eventually materializing into an imposing knight. The figure was several meters tall, and his armor, once majestic and holy, was now twisted and corrupted by a sinister Void aura.

[Oathbreaker Knight Abel]: Elite Boss  

[Level]: 35  

[HP]: 480,000  

[Skills]: Corrupted Chains, Void Greatsword, Knight’s Justice, Summon Legion…  

[Description]: Abel was once the strongest knight in the empire. During the Void invasion, he bravely led the royal knights in defense. But when faced with the Great Terror of the Void, he renounced his vows before death. 

He willingly succumbed to corruption, becoming an Oathbreaker Knight. Now, he lingers at the outpost, awaiting the return of his Void masters.

Boom!

Teams from all over rushed toward the knights’ outpost. Oathbreaker Knight Abel was one of the five major early bosses in Shattered Heaven. Defeating him not only rewarded teams with Void Crystals, but also rare gear and materials.

The Abel Armor Set, for example, was a level 40 epic purple set, perfect for plate-wearers. It provided massive boosts to strength and constitution, and when the full set was worn, it activated the Abel’s Wrath set bonus.

[Abel’s Wrath]: Each time the wearer is attacked, there is a 25% chance to reflect 16,000 magic damage and reduce the attacker’s attributes by 20% for 20 seconds.

It was a dream for any main tank, an endgame set that could be passed down like a family heirloom.

Seeing Oathbreaker Knight Abel appear, every plate-wearer in the area flocked to the outpost, eager to claim the coveted gear.

Ye Xuan was among them, heading toward the knights’ outpost.

His class, Dragon Apostle, gave him a unique advantage in this dungeon. Aside from finding his sister, one of his primary goals for entering Shattered Heaven was to obtain the Blessing of Transformation, one of the most powerful blessings from the gods.

The Blessing of Transformation could evolve a class, raising the level cap of skills by three tiers. As a Dragon Apostle, Ye Xuan had an unparalleled affinity with divine power. If he could obtain the Blessing of Transformation, he could evolve into an SSS-tier Dragon God.

Ye Xuan also had a strange feeling, as though he was being watched by some unseen presence. He didn’t sense any malice, only an inexplicable sense of expectation.

In the Temple of the Gods, the gods watched Ye Xuan through the mirror. The battle against Oathbreaker Knight Abel had already begun.

The battlefield was chaotic, and though Oathbreaker Knight Abel had been reduced to a mindless monster due to the Apocalypse’s dataization, he remained a formidable foe. Each of his attacks carried the force of destruction.

However, this battle was different from what the gods had seen in the past. In previous attempts, human professionals suffered heavy casualties. But this time, the human losses were minimal.

The reason for this was Ye Xuan.

He hovered in the air, leading the charge, practically soloing Oathbreaker Knight Abel. The rest of the human professionals stood behind him, following his commands and launching coordinated attacks.

Under Ye Xuan’s leadership, Oathbreaker Knight Abel’s health steadily dropped until, with a final roar, Abel fell, his body disintegrating into stardust and leaving behind a pile of loot.

“This human… is extraordinary,” one of the gods remarked, visibly impressed.

In the early stages of the battle, the human teams had been overwhelmed and on the verge of defeat. But when Ye Xuan took control, he not only held Abel’s attention but also orchestrated the entire strategy. 

Most astonishingly, the other human professionals, despite their initial hesitation, quickly fell in line and followed his lead. Under his direction, they successfully defeated Oathbreaker Knight Abel with minimal losses.

“Marika, is he the Prophesied One?” a god asked.

Marika shook her head. “I don’t know. The world’s core hasn’t reacted yet, but I have a feeling… he might be the one.”

—

The name Ye Xuan was quickly spreading throughout the dungeon. No one knew where he had come from, nor did they know what his class was. But more and more teams were choosing to follow his lead.

Under Ye Xuan’s command, multiple guilds and factions defeated the bosses Oathbreaker Knight Abel, Void’s Eye, Twin Saints, and Baron of the North Wind, all with minimal casualties.

Thanks to Ye Xuan’s fair distribution of rewards, no one felt any discontent. In fact, this was perhaps the first time the human professionals in the dungeon had worked together so harmoniously.

—

In a desolate abyss, surrounded by the corpses of countless Void monsters, Qin Xian stood tall. After three days of continuous grinding, he had reached level 25, and Qin Li had leveled up to 19.

Qin Xian had also hunted down over 100 Void Elite monsters. With the boost from the Arcane Source, he had gained an additional 2,250 attribute points!

[Name]: Qin Xian  

[Class]: Oracle Knight  

[HP]: 63,100 / MP: 62,600  

[Level]: LV25  

[Strength]: 1,145  

[Agility]: 720  

[Constitution]: 831  

[Spirit]: 732  

[Intelligence]: 826

Qin Xian’s strength attribute alone had exceeded 1,000 points! For comparison, many level 50 professionals didn’t even have 1,000 strength. 

At level 25, Qin Xian had already surpassed them with 1,145 strength. It was like playing with cheat codes.

Of course, his Godslayer Growth skill was essentially a loophole in the system.

“I think I’ve reached my limit,” Qin Xian mused. Over the past few days, he had maximized his passive abilities, practically clearing out all the Void monsters in the dungeon. After all, not every creature in Shattered Heaven was Void-type, and those that weren’t held little value for him. It was time to start hunting bosses.

Qin Xian glanced at the leaderboard. Although he hadn’t participated in any boss fights, and most of the leaderboard points were awarded for defeating bosses, he still ranked second.

“Ye Xuan…” Qin Xian’s gaze lingered on the name ranked first.

The name stirred a memory. Years ago, the scion of the Ye family who had escaped—wasn’t his name also Ye Xuan?

Although the name was common—there were likely a thousand people named Ye Xuan in the empire alone—Qin Xian couldn’t shake a feeling. This Ye Xuan could very well be that same Ye Xuan.

Qin Xian glanced at his sister, Qin Li as he knew the truth. Qin Li’s original name was Ye Li. 

His expression remained calm as he gazed at her, but he wasn’t concerned. If this Ye Xuan wasn’t the Ye family’s heir, it wouldn’t matter. And even if he was, there was nothing he could do to challenge the Qin family.

Qin Xian gazed at his right hand. With more than 200 passive buffs stacked, he felt invincible. Even the gods would have to kneel before him.

After all, the Qin family’s bloodline was destined to rule this world.