Chapter 1 The Descent
In the dim skies of the First Heaven, a great rift appeared, casting a beam of light into the darkness, bringing a sliver of illumination to the shrouded realm.
The myriad beings gazed up at the source of light in the heavens, hoping for a divine descent to bring them hope.
However, they could never have imagined that the Seven Star Pillars descending from that rift would become the very origin of darkness for this world.
Upon entering the First Heaven, the First Star Pillar calmly surveyed the world enveloped in darkness and murmured to himself, "Pure dark energy, this cannot be simulated with runes. It seems Ye Ling has indeed become the Eighth Star Pillar... but what is he doing now?"
As he spoke, the First Star Pillar began to search for Ye Ling's location, attempting to pinpoint the powerful aura he had initially sensed in the First Heaven.
Yet, the First Heaven was pitch black and utterly silent at this moment, permeated by dark energy. The First Star Pillar searched the entire realm but found nothing out of the ordinary.
The Third Star Pillar, positioned at the very end of the Seven Star Pillars, looked around with unease, harboring a vague premonition that something was about to happen.
The Second Star Pillar, on the other hand, appeared fearless. He also swept his divine sense across the environment of the First Heaven and grumbled, "The entire place is pitch black. I think this Ye Ling has gotten arrogant after becoming the Eighth Star Pillar. Now that we seniors have arrived, he doesn't even bother to greet us."
"Since that's the case, I must teach that presumptuous brat a lesson!"
With that, the Second Star Pillar conjured a ball of black energy in his palm and hurled it towards the ground.
The black energy ball compressed the very space around it and plummeted towards the earth at an incredible speed.
Although the black energy ball appeared no larger than a fist, if it were to make contact with the ground, an entire continent would likely be annihilated!
However, just as the black energy ball was about to touch the earth, a small black hole suddenly appeared around it, directly swallowing the energy ball!
"Everyone, you forcefully intrude upon my territory and disturb my cultivation, which I can overlook. Now, you intend to destroy my world. Can we even continue to be colleagues?"
Ye Ling's voice echoed through the air. Immediately, the space in front of the Seven Star Pillars distorted, and Ye Ling emerged, capturing the attention of all the Seven Star Pillars.
As they looked, they saw the black energy ball conjured by the Second Star Pillar still hovering in Ye Ling's palm.
Ye Ling weighed the black energy ball in his hand, swept his gaze across the Seven Star Pillars, and asked, "Who created this thing?"
The Second Star Pillar was extremely displeased with Ye Ling's arrogant demeanor. He stepped forward to confront him, "So what if I did? As the newly appointed Eighth Star Pillar, you have the lowest status among us. We kindly answered your summons and descended to the First Heaven, and you're putting on airs here? Don't you know how to respect your seniors?"
"It was you..."
Ye Ling smiled as he looked at the Second Star Pillar who had stepped forward to confront him, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. The next moment, Ye Ling vanished from his spot, instantly appearing before the Second Star Pillar. He grasped the Second Star Pillar's chin with one hand and forcibly shoved the black energy ball into his mouth, forcing him to swallow it!
*Boom!!!*
The black energy ball exploded directly inside the Second Star Pillar's abdomen, blasting a large hole through his stomach, splattering blood everywhere!
Except for the Third Star Pillar, the other five Seven Star Pillars were stunned by Ye Ling's sudden, ruthless action. They had never expected Ye Ling to be so brutal and decisive!
Furthermore, the strength Ye Ling had displayed was clearly a notch above the Second Star Pillar's!
"You, you..."
The Second Star Pillar felt the searing pain in his abdomen and glared at Ye Ling with eyes blazing with fury, as if they were about to spew fire!
Although Ye Ling's action hadn't caused him significant harm, it had inflicted upon him the ultimate humiliation!
Ye Ling calmly looked at the enraged Second Star Pillar and said indifferently, "This is just a small lesson for you. If there's a next time, you won't see tomorrow."
"You dare, brat! I'll see what you're capable of!" The Second Star Pillar was thoroughly provoked by Ye Ling. He roared at Ye Ling and was about to make a move when he was stopped by the First Star Pillar.
"The Eighth Star Pillar is our new companion. Second Star Pillar, restrain yourself."
"Yes..."
When the First Star Pillar spoke, the Second Star Pillar could only suppress his anger and retreated to the side, allowing the bloody hole in his abdomen to heal.
However, the Second Star Pillar's gaze towards Ye Ling remained filled with malice and resentment.
It was clear that the Second Star Pillar had not let this insult slide.
After stopping the Second Star Pillar, the First Star Pillar asked Ye Ling, "Eighth Star Pillar, you were the one who asked the Third Star Pillar to notify us to convene the Eight Star Pillar meeting, weren't you?"
Ye Ling replied, "It was indeed I who asked the Third Star Pillar to notify you. However, I don't recall asking you to forcibly break into my territory, do I?"
The Second Star Pillar angrily retorted, "Brat, we came out of respect for you. Don't think you're something special just because the Lord of the Upper Realm values you!"
"Second Star Pillar."
The First Star Pillar gently called out, signaling the Second Star Pillar to calm down. He then said to Ye Ling, "I apologize for my rash actions. If you are truly displeased, we can withdraw immediately and visit again when you are ready."
The First Star Pillar had forcibly broken through the barrier and entered precisely to ascertain what Ye Ling was doing in the First Heaven. The moment he entered, he had extended his divine sense to cover the entire First Heaven and discovered that all the beings in the First Heaven had been corrupted by Ye Ling's dark power and had lost their consciousness.
From these observations, it was evident that Ye Ling was indeed developing his own dark forces, using the corruption of the First Heaven's inhabitants to strengthen himself.
Seeing the dire situation in the First Heaven, the First Star Pillar temporarily set aside his doubts, acknowledged Ye Ling as the Eighth Star Pillar, and apologized for his mistake.
In the First Star Pillar's view, they were all working for the Lord of the Upper Realm, and there was no need for internal strife over trivial matters.
Seeing that the First Star Pillar readily admitted his fault, Ye Ling immediately became more vigilant. He then said, "There's no need. Since everyone is here, let's settle things now to save you another trip and the trouble of me finding you."
The First Star Pillar replied, "Very well. Now that we Eight Star Pillars are gathered, we can take this opportunity to plan and seize the origin of the Nine Heavens Realm, presenting a great gift to the Lord of the Upper Realm."
"Eighth Star Pillar, you go first with your opinion."
"Since the First Star Pillar has brought it up, I shall respectfully comply." Ye Ling smiled faintly. "In my opinion, our Seven Star Pillars have been updated to Eight Star Pillars, and our strengths are uneven. Continuing with the old ranking is no longer reasonable. Therefore, we need to reorder our positions."
"Reorder our positions?"
A flicker of confusion crossed the First Star Pillar's eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
Ye Ling feigned surprise. "Didn't the Third Star Pillar tell you my purpose when he contacted you? I thought you all knew."
The Second Star Pillar chimed in again, "Know what? And what does this reordering of positions mean?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "It means exactly what it says. You can ask the Third Star Pillar for specifics."
After Ye Ling said this, the Second Star Pillar turned to the Third Star Pillar, who was lingering at the back, and questioned, "Third Star Pillar, what is going on? Why didn't you tell us about this?"
Feeling the gazes of everyone upon him, the Third Star Pillar became uncomfortable. He could only brace himself and try to explain, "This matter concerns everyone's vital interests. I originally intended to explain it after everyone met the Eighth Star Pillar. I didn't expect things to turn out this way, and I didn't have time to explain..."
It was a joke. If he had told the other Seven Star Pillars about Ye Ling's purpose for convening the meeting, none of them would have paid him any mind, and he would have completely lost his power for failing to fulfill Ye Ling's request.
Therefore, he had no choice but to conceal Ye Ling's intentions and concoct a lie to lure the others to meet with Ye Ling first.
As for the anger of the others once they discovered the truth, it would be directed at Ye Ling, who demanded the reordering of positions, and it would have nothing to do with him.
Ever since he had been "educated" by Ye Ling once, the Third Star Pillar no longer cared about such superficial titles. What he wanted most now was to reclaim the power that Ye Ling had taken.
As for whether the First Star Pillar and the others would be defeated by Ye Ling after the internal conflict among the Eight Star Pillars, or if Ye Ling would be dealt with by the First Star Pillar and the others, the Third Star Pillar was completely indifferent.
Just as the Third Star Pillar had anticipated, after his explanation, everyone's attention shifted entirely to Ye Ling.
The First Star Pillar said to Ye Ling, "Eighth Star Pillar... our positions are rankings bestowed upon us by the Lord of the Upper Realm. They are akin to our names and do not represent our strength relative to each other. I believe reordering our positions is completely unnecessary."
The Fourth Star Pillar, who had remained silent until now, also chimed in, "Indeed, I agree with the First Star Pillar. Positions are merely designations and do not represent strength. Arbitrarily changing them is meaningless and goes against the will of the Lord of the Upper Realm. I also feel it is unnecessary."
Ye Ling stated, "But I think it is necessary."
Ye Ling's single sentence completely killed the conversation, causing the atmosphere to become extremely stiff.
The Seventh Star Pillar chuckled at this moment, "Actually, I think reordering our positions is quite interesting. I'm ranked last, and outsiders have always considered me the weakest. This has almost become a stereotype about me. I agree with the Eighth Star Pillar."
Seeing the Seventh Star Pillar siding with Ye Ling, a coldness appeared in the First Star Pillar's eyes for the first time, but it quickly dissipated.
The First Star Pillar then asked Ye Ling calmly, "If that is the case, Eighth Star Pillar, you go first. How should we rank ourselves?"
Ye Ling smiled, "It's simple. I am the First Star Pillar. As for the other rankings, I don't know your strengths, so you can decide amongst yourselves."
The First Star Pillar's expression instantly darkened. He stared at Ye Ling and said, "Are you implying that your strength surpasses all of ours?"
"Of course." Ye Ling narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Forgive my bluntness, but all of you present... are trash."
*Boom!*
As soon as Ye Ling uttered these words, all six of the Seven Star Pillars, with the exception of the Third Star Pillar, unleashed their astonishing auras, causing the entire First Heaven to tremble violently.