Shadows flickered with the low sound of wind chimes. The starry sky was painted overcast with a pale blue color.
The Origin Universe was in a complete state of peace.
However, this moment of peace drifted away like the wind driving off dust particles. Almost as if their luck had run out.
Countless human cultivators looked at the starry sky which was strangely taking the blood red color. The strangeness of this blood red sky was accompanied by an ominous chill which ran up every spine standing underneath its annihilating gaze.
"It's the Eternals!"
Someone shouted from within the crowd.
No one noticed the abnormal figure which had crawled out of the blood red sky until someone had shouted.
Turns out, the blood red sky is simply an interdimensional portal that split two realms making it possible for the people on the other side to invade.
The Eternals had been at war with humanity and that is because, Eternals needed humans to add to their abnormal race while humans needed to fight against them in order to stop their own race from being mutilated and turned into a walking corpse.
More corpses like humans appeared from the sky and descended like an avalanche.
The cultivators screamed, terrified of their descent and a dreadful battle erupted.
At this moment, everyone from the human forces fought a losing battle and that is because of the Eternals terrifying number.
And not just that.
Humanity did not have human cultivators who had reached at least the Divine Realm.
Cultivation has ten important realms and the first six is probably the crudest type.
The Void Realm is the starting point for every cultivator. They can only improve by drifting through it.
We have the void realm, the Aether realm, Space realm, Mindless Realm, Infinity realm, Supreme realm, Divine Realm.
The first six are crude and important in order to achieve the Divine Realm which is considered as the last but of course, cultivation has no end… It is just that humans had no way of finding out what the next step is and how to take it.
Humans had cultivated for so long yet, none of them could achieve the Mindless Realm under ten years…
It simply took many years just to unlock these realms and not just years— cultivation, hard work and patience.
And as for the Eternals, the humans were relieved that no Divine Realm expert had joined the battlefield yet.
However, they were a handful of Mindless Realm experts whose combat power alone is enough to cripple humanity's courage.
Ripples appeared in the starry sky, rending it apart.
For now, it is all about combat power and human power is on the verge of decline.
In the end—
No humans survived.
A single Supreme realm is enough to change the flow of the battlefield. And Eternals had already planned themselves very well and now, there's an army of dead corpses, ready to join them.
The Origin universe remained scarce of human life— except a selected few who were ordinary humans with potentials, ready to take on the path of cultivation.
The Origin universe had simply become one of the branch bases for the Eternals and of course, they did not harm these ordinary people, knowing fully well that they were useless and could not cultivate without the necessary resources.
***
Fourteen years after the invasion and apocalypse…
Two figures were seen fighting seriously on the issue of a single cubic crystal— the very source of human cultivation and combat increment.
Han Daon's eyes flashed dangerously as he stared at Lee Dong. He is just one cubic crystal away from finally entering the Void Realm and this boy wants to stop him?
There's a huge difference between those who had been tempering their bodies with cubic crystals and an ordinary human.
Although these set of cultivators that hadn't seen the first realm are considered as ordinary, they were still very much stronger than those who hadn't cultivated at all and Lee Dong is someone who hadn't tempered his body with this crystal which means, he is in for a very huge surprise.
Han Daon did not dare underestimate him, knowing fully well that there is always a self-preservation method for everyone living in this universe. His double edged sword glistened in the pale moonlight and he moved forward with blinding speed.
To normal humans, this speed is practically blinding.
The blade hissed and thrust forward only to collide with a bony frame that Lee Dong had used as defense.
'Very sturdy.'
Han Daon changed his movement, startling Lee Dong for a split second and then the air vibrated from an abnormal force.
THUD!
The bone frame clattered to the ground making an annoying noise.
Han Daon smiled and slashed downwards, only to be met by a terrifying resistance!
Han Daon's blade could not slide downwards any further which is a complete shock and Lee Dong was horrified by the fact that he had nearly almost died.
"Not so fast!"
The cubic crystal disappeared from its initial position and appeared in mid-air.
Han Daon froze.
He looked up seeing the drifting crystal and then, a man who actually sat on the sky without falling down.
Han Daon tried to make meaning from his comment… 'Not so fast?'
The man seemed to read his mind and smiled, causing chills to crawl down his spine.
"You won't kill him so easily. We control this universe so we decide the fate of the battles around here as long as it suits our taste. And to me, you deserve to die, not him!"
Han Daon's pupils shrank.
"This is supposed to be survival of the fittest! But now I call it survival of the weakest!"
Han Daon could not believe what he was hearing.
'Survival of the weakest, that's a very dumb logic. And what did he mean by they control this universe?'
Han Daon had heard stories of a strange group putting the universe under captivity, but he hadn't believed that this was captivity.
If only he knew that these cubic crystals could be obtained in large numbers and not in a single cubicle.
The thing is— Eternals actually want to stunt humanity's growth in cultivation which is why they made the origin universe as a maze and a battlefield, leaving just a few cubic crystals when in fact, they've hassled like, à billion of these crystals for themselves. And now, fourteen years— Han Daon is yet to step into the Void Realm.
Fourteen years ago if Han Daon had cultivated then, he would have likely been a Space realm expert but at that moment, he had been only but a little child roaming the streets alone.
Han Daon's eyes steeled with strange determination and his blade moved with strange intensity, fueling desperation and the air trembled causing Lee Dong to take two steps back.
"He shouldn't have showed up here to snatch the crystal in the first place if he was so weak! I can't have him take what's already mine." Han Daon snapped.
The man looked down at Han Daon and roared.
"Presumptuous! Now I'll show you how powerful I am and what it means to control your lives and this universe!"
He waved his hands and suddenly, gray lines drifted through the sky, cutting through it and rippling back and forth.
Han Daon was shocked.
At this moment, it seemed as if the roles had reversed and Lee Dong held his double edged sword and slashed downwards at him.
Han Daon could feel Lee Dong's own strength in him— weak, pathetic! While Lee Dong struck down with true power.