Chapter 123: The Pinnacle of the Shackled Realm, Extraterrestrial Beings, Starship

The second great transformation of the Earth has begun, a total resurgence.

Setting aside the shifting situation within this world, the mere arrival of extraterrestrial beings is enough to cause massive chaos. After all, is not a grand era also a time of great upheaval?

Lu Yuan has always been acutely aware of this and has prepared with the utmost gravity. He knows that even with his current strength, he cannot claim to fear nothing. Those capable of descending are essentially the elite of their respective star systems. If one were to compare them to Jiang Ningxian, they would be individuals of extraordinary status and peerless talent, holding high levels of cultivation. After all, other star systems are not like Earth, where evolution has only just begun.

"I must push through with a single effort during this time."

Clearing his thoughts, Lu Yuan stopped dwelling on them. He understood that whatever is meant to come will come. Two years have passed since the first transformation; it is time. His preparations are, in fact, quite thorough. While he cannot claim absolute confidence, his foundation, the talents gained from merging various divine artifacts, and the changes to his bloodline after obtaining the Emperor’s essence blood are all unique—unrivaled in this world, and astonishing even in the deep reaches of space.

For instance, Lu Yuan is now on the verge of reaching the pinnacle of the Shackled Realm. In his memory, not even the prodigies from beyond the stars have achieved this. Returning to his room and calming his mind, he began his seclusion once more.

There were only three genetic shackles left; it should not take long. The key was to break into the Golden Body Realm. Once he possesses the Golden Body Dharma manifestation, his combat power will see a massive surge. With this, Lu Yuan tapped into his internal reserves and began his retreat.

At the same time, after Jiang Ningxian returned, she did not remain idle. Following the second total resurgence of this world, the power suppressing her would gradually lift. She needed to improve; her clansmen would arrive a step later, and before then, there might be many foes. One cannot survive without strength.

Meanwhile, Elder Ji, Elder Yun, and the others, upon returning, focused on accumulating strength. They sent people to Shanghai to investigate the Wuzhou Group and assess the current situation. As Lu Yuan had anticipated, the place was deserted. The core leadership of the Zhou family was gone, seemingly vanished overnight. Despite mobilizing all available forces, they found only scraps of information. No one knew where the Zhou family had gone. Unlike the old era, the world has expanded, and many mysterious regions have emerged; if someone intends to hide, it is nearly impossible to find them.

Elder Ji and the others deduced that the Zhou family had gone into hiding and might emerge later. When exactly, they did not know, but it would likely be after the second global transformation. In short, monitoring or dealing with the Zhou family was no longer possible, and the official authorities decided to abandon the pursuit, focusing entirely on their own preparations.

As time passed, natural disasters across the globe began to subside. Strange beasts went silent, and reports of attacks on human cities ceased. This was true both domestically and abroad, bringing relief to the common populace who had struggled to adapt to the constant crises.

Only the Awakened sensed something was wrong. Recently, the authorities had begun urging citizens to move into the five super-cities with even greater strictness. It left people wondering if something else had happened. However, some remained unconcerned, believing that as long as King Lu was there, any problem could be solved.

The world seemed to quiet down. But soon after, a piece of breaking news emerged, shaking many and causing ripples among the Awakened both at home and abroad. The general public remained unaware, kept in the dark for the time being. In space, human detection equipment at the edge of the solar system captured a scene: brilliant, dazzling rays of light emerging and approaching at high speed. Simultaneously, meteors of terrifying size, like mountains, entered the system.

With current human technology, capturing clearer images should have been easy, but the energy fluctuations were so intense that they interfered with the sensors. They only knew that at the edge of the solar system, a light so brilliant it resembled a second sun had appeared. The images circulated among the Awakened, leaving them in shock.

It was not until someone leaked the news that this was part of the global transformation—that extraterrestrial beings were coming to Earth, bringing potential danger from alien civilizations. Some were skeptical, believing that Earth, now possessing extraordinary powers, had nothing to fear from alien civilizations. But they were soon informed that these extraterrestrial beings likely evolved to a much higher level—the fifth or even sixth stage of evolution. Should they harbor hostility, it would be catastrophic for the current world.

The authorities reacted immediately, mobilizing all means to send more probes into space to determine if these visitors were friends or foes.

During this process, Lu Yuan remained in seclusion. In his room at the Mount Tai Training Institute, he sat cross-legged, his body radiating immense power, surrounded by golden blood energy.

*Crack!*

Inside him, the 108th shackle—the final one—was shattered. Lu Yuan was transformed. A more intense aura, like a storm, erupted from him, though he carefully contained it to his skin to prevent destroying the entire building.

"The pinnacle of the Shackled Realm—finally achieved. Not bad." He felt the power within and was pleasantly surprised. This was the limit of the third stage of evolution; few in the starry sky could claim to have reached it. Now, Lu Yuan had accomplished this feat, though only he knew it.

He did not continue to cultivate and instead left his room, needing to understand the situation outside. Elder Ji and Elder Yun arrived and briefed him on the light and the meteors discovered at the edge of the solar system.

"So, they have finally come?" Lu Yuan’s expression turned solemn. "Contract our forces as much as possible. Aside from the famous mountains and rivers we control, pull everyone back to the super-cities. From now on, let Mount Tai be the center."

He provided his advice, knowing what would follow and deploying accordingly. The current authorities lacked the foundation to resist, so they had to lay low for now. He also gave instructions on other necessary matters. Elder Ji and Elder Yun nodded; they knew they were facing unknown entities.

After giving his orders, Lu Yuan realized he needed to enter the Golden Body Realm as quickly as possible. These extraterrestrial beings were not the small fry he had faced before. Without another word, he returned to his seclusion.

He knew that reaching the fourth stage, the Golden Body Realm, would take time, even with his foundation, but he was not worried. The second total resurgence would help him solve this; everything would fall into place naturally.

Soon, under the orders of Elder Ji and Elder Yun, all parties began to move. Personnel were withdrawn from all lines, leaving only small teams to monitor the outside. They reinforced the defenses of the five super-cities, secretly activated thermonuclear weapons, and began the formation of the "Heavenly Court."

Zhu Qingyu, Fairy Bing, the Pure Yang Little Celestial Master, and even Shura all applied to join. However, there was a strict requirement: one had to reach the Shackled Realm. Thus, they all began to focus on their cultivation. Guided by the masters of the Three Immortal Islands and bolstered by their own innate talents and bloodlines, their progress was rapid. Zhu Qingyu was the first to reach this realm.

For some reason, during this period, the evolution speed of many Awakened increased, not because of divine artifacts, but as if some cosmic restriction on the world had been broken, making humans and beasts better suited for evolution. Many benefited, especially those with powerful bloodlines, who progressed rapidly.

Furthermore, after some time, more sophisticated probes were sent into space, allowing for more specific observations. All the Awakened kept watch, and even the general public began to hear rumors, leading to widespread anxiety.

A few days later, the probes finally captured clearer footage. The light at the edge of the solar system had retracted, revealing a massive gateway, comparable in size to a small planet. From within this gateway emerged dense swarms of meteors, and more terrifyingly, several iron warships shining with a cold, metallic luster.

They appeared in the dark, empty universe and entered the solar system. Each warship was over ten thousand meters long. Any meteor they touched was instantly pulverized. When small comets blocked their path, the warships fired terrifying beams of light, blasting them to pieces.

When the footage reached the high-level officials, everyone was stunned. Nations across the globe trembled, their faces turning pale. This power was beyond imagination. Even though everyone on Earth had embarked on the path of evolution, they were still shaken; even nuclear bombs could not destroy a comet so easily.

As time passed, the warships bypassed Jupiter. Everyone realized they were headed straight for Earth. No one could remain calm. Elder Ji and Elder Yun were deeply unsettled, especially after detecting signs of many terrifying life forms within the warships.

Powerful extraterrestrial beings were about to descend. They realized that soon, as the world transitioned from its first transformation through its second resurgence, it would open a new chapter and enter an entirely new era.

(The first volume of this book is coming to an end. A larger worldview will unfold in the second volume. Also, a new week has started—please cast your votes to give me more motivation. Thank you!)

(PS: Extraordinary powers should not be explained by modern reality-based technology.)