Yao Jun had made up his mind and passed down his orders, time continuing to pass without pause as he focused on increasing both his own strength and the strength of Little Gray and the others.

Half a year after Yao Jun passed down his orders, people noticed that the number of Demonic beasts on Stonelord Peak had drastically decreased, to the point where only the weakest were left. Half a year later, people noticed that the same happened to Firedance Peak, and half a year after that, the same happened to Thundercrest Peak.

Just when people were wondering if the same would happen on Windheart peak, the sounds of battle resounded out from the top of Windheart Peak. The sounds continued for a little over a day before they finally died down, Four-Peaks planet descending into silence.

But the silence didn't last long, only a single month, before it was broken. Dark clouds gathered over Windheart peak, three bolts of azure lightning and several pillars of azure flames descending from the clouds and battering the mountain.

Everyone understood what these clouds meant, someone, or something, had just experienced one of their heavenly tribulations. And from the looks of it, it wasn't a normal Three-Fold Lightning Tribulation that had descended.

But sadly, no one managed to learn exactly who or what had undergone their tribulation. Every group that tried to climb the mountain either never came back, or came back with dull eyes and a simple message, 'the mountain has acquired a new king.'

There was even a group of people at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm who tried to ascend the mountain and see exactly what this new king was. But after the sounds of battle finally came to a halt, only one of the original five managed to leave the mountain, his eyes vacant and his mind confused as he repeated the same message from earlier.

Four-Peaks planet wasn't terribly large, and the commotion wasn't large enough to attract any Earthly Deities, so the top Windheart Peak quickly became a forbidden area, people not daring to climb higher than the midway point.

But what was happening on Four-Peaks planet was quickly overshadowed by another piece of information that caught the attention of every single organization in the universe. And that piece of information was the death of Michelle Zathris, the 6th Lord of Attack, a fragment lord who held a piece of the Supreme Law of Attack.

Just how rare were fragment lords? Not counting the unknown God Gates, there could only be 71 fragment lords in existence at the same time. The death of each fragment lord was a grand occurrence, as it meant that a new fragment lord would soon be born.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

But strangely enough, there were no news or signs of any new fragment lords being born after Michelle died, it was as if the fragment vanished into thin air. People tried to search around to see if the fragment might have flown off and created a new hidden realm, but nothing was found, causing widespread confusion.

Yao Jun, who was currently residing on Four-Peaks planet, of course also received this news thanks to Ba-Shei, who was still living in Four Elements city and gathering as much information as he could. But Yao Jun merely took quick note of it before throwing it to the back of his mind, returning his focus to increasing the strength of his group.

If there was anything that could give him some peace of mind, it was that the Merged Heaven clan hadn't made any moves after Yao Jun killed Vanora, instead choosing to recall most of their disciples that were currently adventuring through the universe, allowing them to focus on the competition that was right around the corner.

The last bit of time quickly passed, the date of the grand competition getting closer and closer. When the grand competition was only a month away, nine people clad in robes of various colors gathered in front of a cave located close to the top of Windheart Peak, respectfully standing in the air in front of the cave, the ferocious winds around them unable to move their bodies.

Shortly after they arrived outside the cave, the sound of slow footsteps echoed out from the cave. Before long, the man they were waiting for, their lord, Yao Jun, appeared at the entrance of the cave.

Compared to two years ago, Yao Jun's appearance hadn't changed too much, his cultivation slowing his aging. He had cut his dark-violet hair shorter, making it so that it only reached his ears. His eyes were still a ghastly gray in color, but they seemed much calmer and deeper, his thoughts and emotions impossible to read.

He was clad in a black robe that looked like it was made of silk, but there were faint markings that resembled closely stacked scales covering the entire robe. The entire back of the robe was covered with the image of a large black gate that depicted eight different Demonic beasts.

There was no longer a point in Yao Jun hiding his identity, Peyton had already seen that he could disguise himself, as well as seen the two different types of armors Yao Jun had. Because of that, Yao Jun didn't see a reason to not just constantly wear the robe-like armor that his God Gate had created for him.

Yao Jun looked at Sirius and the others, who had all reached the middle stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm after two years and therefore could now take human shape. He gave a slight nod, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out the deep yellow jade tablet that was engraved with the image of a tall mountain with a massive black cave dug into its side.

The entire tablet was releasing a faint light and vibrating gently, letting its bearer know that the time of the competition's entrance test had arrived. Yao Jun put in a bit of his Qi into the tablet to let it know that he was ready, resulting in the tablet unleashing a strong burst of energy, a spatial tunnel appearing in front of him.

While Yao Jun stepped into the spatial tunnel, Sirius and the others all entered the God Gate, brimming with excitement at the thought that it was finally time for Yao Jun to spread his name through the universe and let everyone know of his might.