[In the 279th year of the Great Journey, your foundation increased by 254%, and your aptitude was boosted by 4.4 times. During the bloodbath on the snowfield, you completed the Marrow Forging of Strength, transforming your crimson energy into a powerful force of countless times greater quality, resulting in a surge in your strength.]

You're currently stuck at the "complete integration" stage, which is a step you must achieve on your own; it cannot be rushed.

The main difference in strength between grandmasters lies in the progress of their internal energy cultivation. Therefore, now that you've just completed internal energy cultivation, even a grandmaster below the level of a great grandmaster, or a top-tier grandmaster with manifested divine will, wouldn't dare take a single normal attack from you.

Even someone with the "Dragon Elephant Mighty Body" talent, who could take on two or three opponents at the Grandmaster level, would be as weak as a child in front of you now.

[In the 280th year of the Daqing era, a strange-looking person arrived from the direction of the capital city of this country, Shenjing. His arms and legs were slender, half the thickness of a normal person, but also significantly longer, making him 1.7 meters tall, only a head shorter than you.]

[Your body has now reached its peak development, standing at 1.85 meters tall with well-proportioned muscles, unlike that skinny guy over there.]

The bamboo-pole-like man had an arrogant expression, but his behavior was somewhat awkward because of his astonishing height. Normally, he would look up at people with his head tilted to the side and look down with his eyes slanted, but when facing you, he had no choice but to look up completely.

A chilling, sinister aura, befitting a grandmaster, emanated from the bamboo-skinned monster, but it was instantly shattered by your crimson aura.

[A martial artist, having concentrated their martial will and achieved the unity of essence, energy, and spirit, breaks through to the Grandmaster level. At this point, they can unleash something called "pressure." Some forms of pressure can break through the mental defenses of weaker martial artists, instilling fear and extinguishing their will to pursue martial arts.]

The lanky-looking man arrogantly tells you, "You are not the Great Destroyer of Heaven; you are an imposter, because the true Great Destroyer of Heaven has not yet been born!"

You paused for a moment, thinking to yourself, "I never said I was one of them; it's just been you guys spreading the rumor, hasn't it?"

Seeing your stunned expression, the bamboo-pole-like figure thought he had struck a nerve, shattered your facade, and had you firmly in his grasp: "Because the true Great Demon God of Annihilation will only be born two hundred years from now, following the orders of 'those great ones'!"

"However, those 'adults' appreciate you, so they can give you a chance: they'll let you bear the name of the Great Destroyer of Heaven and appoint you as the legitimate successor!"

The lanky, bamboo-pole-like man said arrogantly, "You charlatan, your good fortune has arrived."

[You shattered his arrogance with a single strike, and the bamboo-pole monster retreated in terror, barely dodging the attack: "What are you doing? How dare you attack me, you ignorant reptile!"]

With another slash, a loud thud, his wrist was severed, leaving only a thin layer of flesh, exposing the bone, which was also cracked. By this time, he was terrified and filled with disbelief.

"Whose offer do you think you rejected? It was the offer of a god among gods!"

The bamboo-pole-like man never expected anyone to attack him, let alone that someone disguised as a fake would be so powerful. His survival instinct overwhelmed everything, and he turned and fled.

Finally, you pierced his chest with a single blow, pinning him to the ground. The bamboo-pole monster was still alive, crawling on all fours. The long sword that pierced his chest carved a furrow in the earth, but he was so terrified that he forgot to get up.

[With a knife in his chest, he crawled, bleeding profusely, like a rotting maggot, pus everywhere. You only watched for a dozen minutes, and seeing that he couldn't crawl any longer, your heart softened, and you killed him.]

You draw your sword. This strange, bamboo-skinned man, merely a sent messenger, has already converted more than a third of his internal energy, making him not much weaker than the Ice Goddess. You can't help but wonder, does a Grandmaster exist in the capital?

You slowed your approach to the capital, instead lingering around it.

Although you are now incredibly bloodthirsty, you still can't resist the instinct to survive.

[Farm the jungle and develop your resources first, then push the crystal.]

Based on the words of the bamboo-pole-like man and your experiences over the years, you deduced that the origin of everything lies in the capital city, and that various claims about gods and other deities seem to have originated from the royal family of the capital.

[This includes the previous "Ice Goddess," who was also declared by the royal family to be a reincarnation of a deity.]

Public opinion regarding the gods is determined by the royal family. Even if the Ice Goddess, who was raised (brainwashed) from childhood, reaches the Grandmaster level of Qi Refining, she is not qualified to know the truth!

[Perhaps she is merely a weapon, or perhaps there are even more powerful warriors within the royal family.]

[In the 281st year of the Daqing era, you began to experience assassination attempts in your sleep. There had been previous attacks, but never as frequent as in the past year.]

A group of masked, black-clad, agile second- or third-rate martial artists, wielding light weapons such as short swords, daggers, and throwing knives, called themselves ninja warriors.

[Lower to upper-middle level ninja warriors correspond to third-rate to first-rate, while master-level ninja warriors are martial artists. Most of those who assassinate you are upper-middle level ninja warriors, unable to even scratch you; one comes and you die, two come and you die together.]

In the 282nd year of the Great Glory, you heard news from the capital: the Great God of Heaven has been born!

[The Great God of Heaven is among the top three most powerful deities in Chinese mythology, ranking him among the top three!]

[He is the mortal enemy of the Great Destroyer Demon God. Every six hundred years, he will be born alongside the Great Destroyer Demon God to determine the next world ruler for the next six hundred years.]

On the day of the six-hundred-year cycle, the Great Heavenly God will open his eyes in the capital, under the protection of the royal family, while the Great Demon God will step onto land from the ocean at the world's border.

The two sides will clash, each using a different color to depict their territory on the map. The demise of one will determine the ruler of the era: will it be the previous generation's royalty, or the current generation's demon god?

You're finding it more and more interesting.

[In the 283rd year of the Great Glory, blood stained the land. You traversed this vast country, committing crimes on the move. Each time you slaughtered someone, you traveled thousands of miles away. Areas that ordinary people could hardly traverse in a lifetime were merely a matter of traveling for a few hours.]

[You have heard that the Great God of Heaven is growing stronger. He has severed the wings of the great demon firebird and beheaded the twelve-armed demon king. His holy light shines like the sun.]

[In the 285th year of the Great Glory, the Great Emperor Ming Shen had already vanquished 3,300 demons, and you encountered him on the White-Crowned Mountain.]

[A boy with snow-white hair and silver eyes, somewhat androgynous, so he could also be a girl.]

[Appearance: Approximately fourteen years old.]

In that battle, the thick snow layer that had accumulated on White Peak Mountain for four hundred years collapsed, a red and silver light curtain was cleaved in the sky, the howling wind was sharp and piercing, rocks collapsed, the battlefield stretched for dozens of miles, and a clearing was cleared from the snow forest below the mountain.

Ultimately, the Great God of Heaven, realizing he was no match for you and that continuing the fight would only result in mutual destruction, departed first. As you pursued him, several martial artists and a grandmaster suddenly appeared, sacrificing their lives to stop you.

"Fourteen years old, and his combat power is only slightly weaker than mine in the simulation, which means he's a top-tier grandmaster?" Yun Shou couldn't hold back any longer.

"How is this possible?! Bei Chenguang only became a Grandmaster at fifteen and a Great Grandmaster at twenty. You were a top-tier Grandmaster at fourteen. You're even more amazing than Bei Chenguang?!"

"Whether you're pretending to be young or have actually done it, you know the answer yourself!"