Although national fate is an aggregation of the destinies of all living beings, it is fundamentally different from an individual’s personal destiny.

Personal destiny belongs exclusively to one person and is nearly impossible to take away. Of course, this isn’t absolute. An expert deeply versed in the study of fate might be able to tamper with an ordinary person’s destiny if they planned meticulously and invested enough time, but it would be useless against a Person of Celestial Fate.

National fate, however, is a single, unified entity. Only a leader recognized by the people can wield it, and the officials serving under them can also receive its protection.

This is why an ordinary person would suffer misfortune if they confronted someone with a great destiny, whereas these officials have no such fear.

Now, after obtaining three-fifths of the national fate, Ji Wuxing discovered that the Xia Federation’s national fate seemed to be incomplete.

"It is with the other Speaker, of course. However, that person is rather... special. Your Majesty will need to go see him in person."

Xuanqing’s face was a blur, making it impossible to see his expression as he spoke.

Hearing this, Wang Jing, Lei Bao, and Meng Ke exchanged strange looks. They, of course, knew who Xuanqing was talking about.

They hadn’t seen Hu Qi since their last encounter, only hearing that he was busy capturing the Black Blood Species, rounding up illegal Secret Martial Artists, and collecting Exotic Beasts.

It was said that once those... things... were sent to him, they vanished without a trace, never to be seen again, dead or alive.

’Perhaps he’s cultivating some special Secret Technique. Some special Secret Martial Arts or Secret Techniques do require certain prerequisites for cultivation.’

Such situations weren’t unheard of.

They were curious about Hu Qi’s reasons, but the memory of his power and ferocity—casually slaying a Refining God Venerable—stopped them.

They didn’t dare to investigate or provoke him.

’As long as he isn’t massacring humans, it’s none of our business.’

"If there is another, then why not summon him?"

Ji Wuxing’s expression turned cold.

"Because he is very powerful. Even I am no match for him. And I hear he’s currently in seclusion!"

Xuanqing shook his head.

"Oh? Then where is he? If he can’t be summoned, then I shall go see him myself!"

Ji Wuxing declared.

"Your Majesty, perhaps it’s best to let it be. You may not be his match!"

Xuanqing said calmly.

"Heh, interesting. Now that you’ve said that, I’m even more intrigued to see just who this person is!"

As a former Saint Emperor whose strength had once reached the limit of the Divine Image Realm, Ji Wuxing was also incredibly cunning. He had seen every trick in the book and could naturally tell that Xuanqing was deliberately trying to instigate a conflict between him and this man.

However, he had no intention of backing down.

The man held a portion of the Xia Federation’s national fate. If Ji Wuxing wanted to increase his power further, he had to make this person submit.

Of course, more importantly, he didn’t believe he could lose.

Perhaps he might have lost before, but not now. His strength had reached the Refining God Limit, and he was further augmented by the powerful Inheritance Secret Martial Arts, the Emperor’s Fusion Map, as well as a great concentration of national fate.

At this moment, his power had already surpassed what it was at his absolute peak. He didn’t believe this person could possibly be his opponent.

Even against someone in the Void Realm, he was confident he could put up a fight.

...

「Anshan City.」

In the pitch-black silence of a secret chamber, Hu Qi opened his eyes.

Within his body, more than ten thousand points of light—his Life Acupoints—twinkled like a field of stars.

He was still over two thousand short of reaching the total of 14,800 Life Acupoints.

As his power grew, so did the speed at which he could find Life Acupoints. But even at his current pace, locating the remaining two thousand would take about a month.

However, Mother Earth was due to awaken in the next two or three days. There was no time to continue cultivating step-by-step.

Fortunately, he had other options.

With a thought, he summoned his panel and looked at the skills section.

[Skill: Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture (Void Realm Chapter: Entry-Level) △ Life Map: Taiyin, Cloud Kun...]

...

[Modification Points: 7681 (96%)]

Over the past year, thanks to his increased authority, he had captured and collected Black Blood Species and farmed Exotic Beasts on a massive scale throughout the Xia Federation, allowing his Modification Points to reach a staggering total of over seven thousand.

"Crimson! Complete the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture! Find and light up the remaining Life Acupoints!"

The instant he gave the command.

One by one, points of light representing previously hidden Life Acupoints emerged from deep within Hu Qi’s body, their dim glow rapidly brightening.

Before long, all of the remaining two thousand-plus Life Acupoints had been found and lit.

One after another, Life Maps rapidly took shape.

The next moment.

The instant all three hundred and sixty-five subsidiary Life Maps were fully formed within him...

...all the Life Maps flared with light.

Silver threads connected all the Life Maps, weaving them together into one enormous, unique Life Map.

It depicted a boundless, vast cosmos, and within it, a giant serpent of pure dark gold.

The serpent’s body seemed to stretch on endlessly, spanning the entire cosmos and coiling into a ring.

As soon as this Life Map appeared.

Endless Void Power began to surge.

It flooded madly into Hu Qi’s body.

Under this near-endless infusion of Void Power, his body...

...seemed to reach a limit and simply disintegrated.

Bones, flesh, and skin all vanished without a trace, as if Hu Qi had been erased from the world.

The next second, pale silver points of light converged, forming a humanoid silhouette in his place.

A body began to form from nothing, assembling itself piece by piece.

Soon, a figure with a human silhouette stood in his place, radiating a silver glow.

’The power of the Void Realm is too immense for a mere physical body to contain. It seems only a new body, condensed and constructed from Void Power, can fully handle it. But this explosive increase in power is too much... I need some time to adapt.’

Hu Qi opened his eyes.

A strange light flickered in his eyes as he observed the unusual state of his new body.

He could clearly feel the power contained within him.

This world suddenly seemed fragile before him, as if he could obliterate the entire Earth Star with a wave of his hand.

This wasn’t an illusion; he knew he could actually do it.

Another thing was that because his body had been reconstructed...

...the super-brain he had previously constructed was now gone.

Hu Qi wasn’t too concerned about it.

He had only built it to help find Life Acupoints. Now that he no longer needed it, there was no reason to keep it around.

He looked at his panel.

[Host: Hu Qi]

[Status: Normal]

[Age: 24]

[Bloodline: Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent (Mutation 9%) △]

[Talent: Spirit Devouring, Twisted Light, Primordial Eye]

[Divine Techniques: Water Control, Intention Sword, Celestial Silk, Ten Thousand Thunders, Buddha Realm, Heart Inference]

[Skill: Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture (Void Realm Chapter: First Layer) △ Main Life Map: Taiyu Serpent Life Map]

[Taiqing Immortal Slaying Sword Technique (Energy Storage: 741 days) △]

...

[Modification Points: 1471 (66%)]

The panel hadn’t changed much. Reaching the Void Realm with the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture had cost him over six thousand Modification Points, nearly wiping out his savings from the last six months.

Still, when he did the math, he had found and lit over two thousand Life Acupoints.

This meant each Life Acupoint had only cost about three Modification Points, a huge reduction from the dozens it used to take just to find and light a single one.

Another thing that caught Hu Qi’s attention was the Mutation percentage under his Three-Eyed Primordial Snake Bloodline. After he broke through to the Void Realm, it had increased from one percent to nine percent.

His current body had no connection to his former one of flesh and blood. It was purely constructed from Void Power combined with his own power, and that power naturally included his Bloodline.

’I wonder what’ll happen when this Mutation is maxed out?’

A glint appeared in Hu Qi’s eyes, but he abandoned the idea of spending his Modification Points on his Bloodline.

’It would be better to use them to upgrade the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture.’

With that, his gaze shifted down to the entry for the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture.

Now that he had successfully entered the Void Realm, he could use his Modification Points to advance it further.

The Void Realm Chapter of the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture also had nine layers.

Each set of three layers formed a greater stage: Void Transformation, Manifestation of the Saint, and Grotto Heaven.

Void Transformation: Shed the mortal body and condense the True Body.

Manifestation of the Saint: The Power of the Heart undergoes a transformation, combining with Void Power to form a true Domain.

Grotto Heaven: Evolve and open a true Pocket World Blessed Land.

"Crimson! Modify! Upgrade the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture to the Second Layer of the Void Realm Chapter!"

The words had barely left his lips.

The line of text for the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture began to twist.

At the same time, a faint silver light washed over the surface of his body, and the surrounding void began to ripple.

After a moment, the phenomenon vanished.

——

[Skill: Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture (Void Realm Chapter: Second Layer) △ Main Life Map: Taiyu Serpent Life Map]

...

[Modification Points: 471 (66%)]

Seeing this, Hu Qi’s expression shifted.

’Upgrading one layer of the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture costs one thousand Modification Points.’

’That’s more than three times what it cost during the Refining God realm.’

’But it’s worth it. For a Secret Martial Artist, the stronger you become, the more difficult it is to advance.’

’Of course, advancing a single minor realm at this level is a far greater leap in power than advancing through several major realms at lower levels.’

With that thought, he spared a glance for his Bloodline entry.

The Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent’s Mutation was still at nine percent.

It hadn’t increased with the upgrade to his cultivation technique.

’The change before must have been a one-time thing from reaching the First Layer and my body being reconstructed.’

He didn’t dwell on it.

He dismissed the panel.

Hu Qi tilted his head, looking off to one side.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, seeing several figures hundreds of kilometers away.

He watched them for only a moment before retracting his gaze.

He closed his eyes and began to circulate the Taiyu Serpent Cosmos Ring Scripture, acclimating to his newfound power.

’Glowing all over is impressive, I guess, but it’s far too conspicuous.’

...

「A moment later.」

Outside, high in the sky.

As the group, appearing as streaks of Flowing Light, neared Anshan City, a humanoid figure radiating a faint glow suddenly materialized directly in their path.

"Master Xuanqing, what brings you here today?"

Hu Qi’s voice rang out.

"Young friend, it is not I who has come seeking you, but another."

Xuanqing said, giving Hu Qi a peculiar look.

He then briefly explained the situation.

"So, you’re Hu Qi?"

Ji Wuxing’s gaze fell upon Hu Qi as he spoke, his tone dismissive.

"Submit to me now. Hand over the portion of the national fate you carry.

Doing so will bring nothing but benefits to you and the entire Human Race. Otherwise, once Mother Earth awakens, we will all face a reckoning.

I am the only one who can save the Human Race now. I trust you understand!"

Ji Wuxing said coolly, his expression impassive.