The Ten Great Families and the Ancestral Court were all waiting for the battle reports from the Grotto Heaven.

The senior members of the Gong Family looked at the cracks in the sky, and although they said nothing, their anxious expressions were evident.

No one had expected that Season North Zhu, with his individual strength, could crack the barrier between the Secret Realm and the Divine Land.

Once the barrier between the Secret Realm and the Divine Land were to break, there would be no more obstacles between them, and anyone could freely enter and exit the Secret Realm regions. The resources of the Secret Realms, controlled by the major families, would no longer be as unreachable as before.

However, for the major families, whether this development was good or bad remained uncertain.

Although the entrances to the Secret Realms would be hard to control, some resource points within the Secret Realms would still remain under the control of the major families, maintaining their advantage.

Moreover, once the barrier is shattered, the level restrictions would vanish, allowing Ninth Awakening cultivators to enter the original Grotto Heaven or Blessed Region. This might be beneficial for the major families.

Thus, they couldn’t yet determine whether this situation was more advantageous or disadvantageous for them.

But the developments that followed surprised them somewhat. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The cracked barriers neither broke apart nor returned to their former state.

Instead, they maintained a strange equilibrium of being full of cracks yet unbroken.

This made the major families uncomfortable, as many cracks appeared in the Secret Realms across the Divine Land, making it nearly impossible for the major families to seal off all entrances to the Secret Realms.

Dominating the Secret Realms in the future might become increasingly difficult.

Still, with the barriers intact, the level restrictions remained, preventing the major families’ high-level cultivators from entering the lower-level Secret Realms, which was unfavorable for them.

"Why did it get stuck at this point?" Gong Yunjian’s expression turned grim, believing this to be the worst scenario for the major families.

He suspected that Season North Zhu wanted this outcome, but how could one person achieve such a feat?

Now, Gong Yunjian could only hope for a great victory for the Gong Family in the coming battle, reclaiming their resources and territory. Otherwise, the situation in the Secret Realms would become increasingly chaotic, making it even harder to seize more territory and resources.

"What a Season North Zhu." Upon the Lone Peak, the King of Du sighed.

He knew this was what Season North Zhu wanted—a cracked but unbroken result, possibly the best outcome for ordinary human cultivators.

It opened a door for them without tearing the house down, allowing ordinary people to at least have a broken house to shelter from the wind and rain.

"Season... North... Zhu... Who is that?" Purple Robe frowned in thought, feeling the name was familiar yet unable to recall who it was.

Gu Shan felt the same, pondering deeply but unable to remember who the familiar-sounding name belonged to.

Not just them, almost everyone was losing all memories related to Season North Zhu.

Although North Zhu’s removal would cause many problems in this world, the world itself has a self-consistency, and the cause and effect that once belonged to North Zhu would automatically correct itself. Most people wouldn’t find it problematic.

In a Blessed Secret Realm, Ji Nanhong, exploring the unknown regions of the Secret Realm, suddenly had tears streaming uncontrollably.

She didn’t know why she was crying but felt as if something important was slipping away, inexplicably sad.

"What’s happening?" Ji Nanhong wiped her tears while pondering, yet she couldn’t figure out the source of the feeling of loss.

Chief Judge stood up slowly, blankly returning to the Ancestral Court, sitting in his rightful place, gazing at the empty hall.

He lost the most important support in his life. Originally, they supported each other along the way, just like a person having two legs.

Now, he had lost another leg.

"Season North Zhu... you can erase yourself from this world... but you can’t erase the memories that belong to me... I will remember you... I will fulfill our dreams for you... I will let you know you were wrong..." Chief Judge murmured through gritted teeth.

Only now did he understand that Season North Zhu had never changed; he was still the same person as before, with the dreams they once shared.

He was merely disappointed in himself, disagreeing with the path he was taking, and thus chose to part ways and walk another path.

Season North Zhu would rather erase himself completely from this world than walk the same path with him.

Chief Judge couldn’t accept this. He could accept North Zhu’s death, but not this way.

"Time will prove he is wrong." A beautiful woman walked in, came to Chief Judge’s side, and gently held his hand, saying softly, "North Zhu is someone too idealistic. The real world needs you, not him. You are the one who can truly save this world."

Chief Judge squeezed the beautiful woman’s hand but remained silent, his gaze somewhat dazed.

"A general’s success is built upon the bones of countless lives. North Zhu’s death is just a stepping stone on your path to success. Now, he has cracked the barriers between the Divine Land and the Secret Realms for you. The Ten Great Families can no longer fully control the Secret Realms; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your fate. Now, the timing, location, and people are all on your side. You are destined to go down in history..." The beautiful woman tightened her grip on Chief Judge’s hand as she spoke.

Chief Judge still said nothing. He always thought Feng Wuci was his greatest love.

But with Season North Zhu’s departure, he suddenly realized something.

Perhaps, Feng Wuci wasn’t his greatest love; it was just that Feng Wuci was important to North Zhu that made him feel Feng Wuci was important.

Now, he felt that Feng Wuci wasn’t that important anymore because the person who made Feng Wuci important was gone.

"You always said I had better talent than you, that you envied and were jealous of me... It turns out... I’m the one who envied and was jealous..." Chief Judge’s eyes flickered, his heart inexplicably dissatisfied.

He thought he had always been winning, but now he felt he had never won.

"Yes, only I can change this world. I will make this world into what I want, starting from the Southern Heavenly Kingdom." Chief Judge’s gaze gradually became steely as he let go of Feng Wuci’s hand.

He seemed to be speaking to Feng Wuci but also as if speaking to himself.

"This is how a Chief Judge should be." Feng Wuci nodded with a smile, about to say something when the secretary knocked and entered, prompting Feng Wuci to switch topics: "It must be news from the Southern Heavenly Kingdom, the first real step to changing this world."

Chief Judge also looked towards the secretary, but upon seeing the secretary’s expression, he couldn’t help but frown.

"Chief Judge... the alliance attacking the Southern Heavenly Kingdom... has been completely defeated..." The secretary’s words changed both Chief Judge’s and Feng Wuci’s expressions.