To become a transcendent being is to leap from being bound by rules to taking control of them.

High in the sky, Zhou Huai hovered among the clouds, sensing the changes within his body.

Previously, although he could unleash powerful combat strength, he always relied on the power of his clones to manipulate external laws; power was ultimately an external thing.

Now everything is different. With the Origin World Tree within his body fully taking root, the fundamental laws of all his clones—thunder, flames, space, and merit—have all been forged into his flesh and soul, becoming part of his own origin.

He no longer needs to chant, no longer needs to cast spells, and no longer needs to consume mana.

He himself is the law.

Zhou Huai opened his eyes and looked at Mr. Duan's clone opposite him.

Previously, when facing this clone, he could feel a sense of pressure from a higher dimension, but now it was completely gone.

Within the transcendent vision, the black law patterns flowing across Mr. Duan's clone were crystal clear. Where were the nodes of power circulation, where were the weaknesses in the defense, and even the sluggishness in the flow of energy within the opponent's body were all clearly visible.

Mr. Duan's clone stared intently at Zhou Huai, his usually composed face darkening, his eyes filled with undisguised horror.

"You actually took this step..." Mr. Duan's clone gritted his teeth, his voice seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

He suddenly raised his hand and pulled back the walking stick that had been flung away.

Even if you achieve transcendence, you will die here today!

With a furious roar, Mr. Duan's clone pushed the highest-dimensional laws he could mobilize to their limit.

"boom--!"

Suddenly, it went dark at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

A pitch-black storm of laws swirled around him, swallowing even the light.

He gripped the walking stick with both hands and swung it out!

This strike had no fancy special effects, only pure destructive power, tearing a huge gap thousands of meters long in the sky, intending to grind Zhou Huai and the surrounding space into dust.

Below, in the holy city.

Countless holy knights of the Holy See and elites of the Dawn Guild, controlled by parasites, collapsed to the ground.

They looked up at the sky and felt as if the end of the world had come; even their breathing seemed to stop.

"What...what kind of power is this? Is the sky about to collapse?" A level 70 Holy Knight Commander's legs went weak, and he knelt down, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"This is terrifying! We don't even have the right to look directly at this kind of pressure!" An SS-rank assassin from the Dawn Guild was ashen-faced, his teeth grinding together.

Everyone thought that under such a devastating blow, the young man who had just broken through would be blasted into nothingness.

However, faced with this black storm that tore through the sky.

Zhou Huai simply raised his right hand.

He extended his index finger and pointed it at the destructive blow that was hurtling towards him.

There is no skill collision.

There was also no elemental light rain.

A wisp of the chaotic-colored sacred tree essence emanated from Zhou Huai's fingertips.

"Sizzle—"

An extremely faint sound was heard.

That wisp of primordial chaos pierced straight through the raging black storm.

Without encountering the slightest obstacle, it easily split Mr. Duan's clone's full-force attack in two, completely disintegrating it!

The black storm instantly dispersed into countless points of light.

"What?!"

Mr. Duan's clone's pupils shrank sharply, and the expression on his face froze completely, filled with disbelief.

Before the other party could react.

Zhou Huai had already appeared in front of him.

There was no spatial fluctuation, nor any movement trajectory; it was as if he had always been standing there.

Zhou Huai raised his right hand and pressed his palm directly against the other person's chest.

"boom!"

The devouring power of the Origin Tree erupted from Zhou Huai's palm!

Mr. Duan's clone trembled violently, his eyes flashing with genuine shock, anger, and fear.

He desperately tried to break free by activating the source within his body, but to his despair, he discovered that the faint connection between himself and his original body had been forcibly severed by Zhou Huai.

The black high-dimensional laws surrounding him were defeated and instantly dissolved in the face of the power of the sacred tree.

"impossible--!"

"I am the avatar of the Transcendent One! How could you possibly..."

Mr. Duan's clone's roar abruptly stopped.

A faint light suddenly shone brightly in Zhou Huai's palm.

The clone's body, possessing the strength of a half-step transcendent being, began to twist violently.

Starting with his limbs, his flesh, bones, and clothing all transformed into pure energy of law.

These energies were rapidly compressed in mid-air, eventually coalescing into a fruit that was entirely black and exuded a rich, high-dimensional aura.

The black fruit floated towards Zhou Huai, merged into his body, and hung steadily among the branches of the sacred tree in his dantian.

After subduing the clone, Zhou Huai closed his eyes and sensed it for a moment.

His understanding of the laws that Mr. Duan controlled has deepened.

The crowd in the holy city below was completely dumbfounded.

Tens of thousands of high-level professionals were completely silent, a deathly stillness.

"Instant kill?!"

"That monster that could tear the sky apart was slapped into a fruit by him?!"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their gazes fixed on the figure high in the sky as if looking up to a creator god.

Just then, his mother's voice suddenly rang in Zhou Huai's mind.

"Zhou Huai, there's no time!"

"I can clearly sense that Mr. Duan is about to completely take control of my body. We must go to the far north immediately to stop him!"

Hearing his mother's urging, Zhou Huai frowned slightly, a hint of hesitation rising in his heart.

He turned his head and looked towards the far north.

Although he has now entered the realm of transcendence, he is still only at the initial stage.

Mr. Duan, that old monster, has been accumulating power in the Transcendent Realm for countless epochs, devouring the origins of countless top-tier experts. Now, he occupies his mother's original body and can mobilize the complete power of the Origin Sacred Tree.

"Mom, even though I've become a transcendent being, I'm afraid I'm still no match for Mr. Duan," Zhou Huai calmly analyzed in his mind.

"Moreover, he possesses your original body, so his power is only greater than mine. If I go there now, my chances of winning are slim."

The mother's voice softened, carrying a resolute strength:

"That's not necessarily true."

"Huai'er, do you know what your biggest trump card is right now?"

Zhou Huai was taken aback: "What trump card?"

"It's neither the Heavenly Dao nor your god-level clone system."

"It's your identity as the third fruit of the Origin Tree!"

Zhou Huai was greatly shocked.

"Mr. Duan actually knew nothing about this matter from beginning to end."

The mother's voice continued, "Back then, I split off from my original consciousness and secretly escaped with a wisp of my essence. He only thought I was defecting to save my life, but he had no idea what my ultimate purpose was."

"I gave birth to you in human form so that I could wait for you to grow up and then reclaim my original form!"

"Therefore, not only Mr. Duan can use the power of my true form, but you can too!"

"With my consciousness assisting you, you can even unlock more fundamental authority than he can!"

Hearing these words, Zhou Huai suddenly felt enlightened.

So this was his mother's real reason for insisting that he come to find himself.

She had laid out her plan long ago, providing him with the key to victory.

At this moment, Chun, who had been silent all along, also spoke in Zhou Huai's sea of consciousness.

"Now you should understand, right?"

"I have never lied to you from beginning to end."

Zhou Huai remained silent.

“My power is growing weaker and weaker, and I no longer pose any threat to you or Mr. Duan.”

Chun's tone calmed down, as if she were giving her last instructions.

"I'll give you this last bit of primal power."

"I wish you... to defeat Mr. Duan and give this world a different ending."

Before the words were even finished!

"Boom—!"

A loud bang suddenly came from the sky.

The once clear sky instantly turned into chaos, and then a huge bolt of deep purple lightning struck down from the heavens!

The lightning bolt struck Zhou Huai steadily.

But it has no destructive power.

The moment they made contact, they transformed into a vast source of the Heavenly Dao!

The power surged through Zhou Huai's meridians, flowing wildly into his dantian like a river.

The newly fused Origin World Tree within his body was nourished and burst forth with dazzling light.

The sacred tree began to sprout branches and leaves wildly.

The enormous canopy stretches out the chaos, and the thick roots pierce through the laws.

Zhou Huai felt the power within his body rising steadily, pushing his foundation, which had just entered the Transcendent Realm, to another level.

Zhou Huai looked down at his hands.

Purple-gold lightning arcs swirled around his fingertips, and every gesture he made carried the weighty majesty of the laws of heaven.

As the last bit of power flowed into his body.

The scent of the camellia completely dissipated into the world.

No trace could be found.

At the same time.

"Snap—!"

The whole world began to tremble violently.

Zhou Huai looked down and saw that in the holy city beneath his feet, the walls of countless buildings made of gold and marble were cracking and collapsing.

Deep pits were torn open in the distant wilderness, and lava gushed out from the ground.

The defensive shields of human city-states shattered one after another.

The mournful howls of strange beasts echoed through the mountains and forests.

Look up again.

Dense black cracks appeared in the sky, making the entire sky seem about to collapse.

The Heavenly Dao of the Ninth World completely dissipated.

Having lost the core rules that keep the world running, the entire era is irreversibly heading towards destruction!

Zhou Huai hovered between the collapsing heavens and earth, looking down at the world below, which was plunged into panic and wailing.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Damn it, Heaven's will is truly ruthless. You're using the entire world as bait to force me to fight Mr. Duan to the death."