As the New Master of the Cloud Sword Sect, every treasury vault and secret chamber within the sect now lay wide open to Ye Tian. However, not a single scripture or magical artifact inside possessed the power to independently breach the thick dimensional wall separating the lower Immortal Realm from the mortal world. The sole true clue resided within the Boundary-Piercing Compass he had retrieved from the Ancient Tomb.

When Ye Tian funneled the physical force of his True Immortal Realm into the compass, a sky-map projection emerged in midair, pointing straight to a single, supreme location far above nine layers of clouds: The Grand Jade Palace.

"To activate this compass and unseal the path home, you require the Astral Dimensional Key," said Mei Ling (Lady Mei), who now stood beside Ye Tian’s throne as his loyal advisor. Concern clouded her breathtaking face. "And that key is embedded within the crown of this realm's supreme ruler—Heavenly Emperor Wu Huang. He is an egotistical tyrant who views the mortal realm as nothing more than a dumping ground. He will never release that key willingly."

Ye Tian rose from his throne. His navy-blue sect master robes fluttered around him, yet bound securely to his waist was the same old hemp bag holding his sister's half-ration of rice.

"If he won't give it up willingly," Ye Tian declared, his eyes flashing with golden glints as his physical pressure caused the very air in the throne hall to creak and fracture, "then I will tear it straight off his head."

The Grand Jade Palace stood majestically atop an endless expanse of golden clouds. Hundreds of silver-armored celestial warriors guarded every corner of the colossal temple gates. This place was the ultimate symbol of absolute power, a realm where natural laws were dictated by a single word from its ruler.

BOOM!

The tranquility of the sacred palace shattered to pieces as the fifty-meter-tall front jade gates exploded into millions of floating specks of dust. Out from the billowing smoke strode Ye Tian, completely alone. Every heavy footfall on the golden marble floor generated a shockwave that launched dozens of celestial warriors into the air before they could even draw their spears.

"Who dares cause such chaos in my palace?!" A voice boomed like pure thunder down from the highest dais at the far end of the hall.

Seated upon the golden dragon throne was Heavenly Emperor Wu Huang. His body was draped in nine-colored dragon robes, and his aura reflected someone who had stood at the peak of the True Immortal Realm for thousands of years. Atop his crown, a sea-blue, star-fragment-shaped gem emanated powerful spatial ripples—the Astral Dimensional Key.

Wu Huang glared down at Ye Tian with absolute disdain. "A wet-behind-the-ears brat from the lower sects... and what is this? Your body lacks even a single drop of pure spiritual energy! How could a filthy mortal creature like you breach my palace guards?"

Ye Tian halted in the middle of the hall, gazing straight at the gem on Wu Huang's crown. "I am not here to challenge your throne, Emperor. I only want the Dimensional Key on your crown to unseal the gate to the mortal realm. Hand it over, and I will leave without spilling blood."

Hearing Ye Tian’s demand, Wu Huang froze in shock before bursting into a roaring laugh drenched in intense mockery.

"Hahaha! Requesting the Dimensional Key? Merely to return to that mortal trash heap?!" Wu Huang stood up, causing the entire Jade Palace to shake violently under the crushing weight of his aura. "The mortal world is nothing more than a mud puddle filled with short-lived, worthless insects! Celestial law strictly forbids opening dimensional gates recklessly. And you... a mere worm who happens to possess strong muscles... dare dictate commands to me?!"

Wu Huang snapped his sleeve, summoning a longsword forged from pure tribulation lightning. "Kneel and accept your execution for your insolence, rat!"

SHRIEK!

The Heavenly Emperor plummeted from his throne as fast as pure lightning. His lightning blade sliced through the spatial air of the hall, carving a vacuum path ready to scorch Ye Tian’s soul and body to ash in an instant.

Facing this lightning-fast strike from the supreme ruler, Ye Tian did not dodge. The battle instincts of his mortal frame—forged on the brink of death in the Forbidden Forest—boiled over with raw excitement. The longing for Xiao Mei, crying in hunger, re-ignited every single cell within his body.

"You gods always view mortal life as trash," Ye Tian spoke, his voice deep and echoing with absolute conviction. "Yet it is this very trash that is going to knock you out of the sky!"

Ye Tian crossed his arms to intercept Wu Huang’s tribulation lightning sword directly with his bare skin.

KABOOM!

An explosion of purple and golden lightning energy obliterated half the pillars inside the Grand Jade Palace. The resulting shockwave swept the golden clouds outside the palace clear for tens of kilometers. Yet when the blinding flash faded, Wu Huang’s eyes bulged in utter horror.

Ye Tian’s bare, jade-clean hands had clamped onto the blade of pure tribulation lightning. His skin radiated an ancient golden sheen that defied destruction by heavenly lightning.

"How is this possible?! Your physical frame... how can it withstand the law of lightning?!" Wu Huang shrieked in panic.

"Because my resolve... is far heavier than your heavenly laws!" Ye Tian roared.

With a single wrench of his bare hands, Ye Tian snapped the ancient lightning sword in two with a deafening CRACK.

Before Wu Huang could retreat, Ye Tian’s clenched right fist launched forward like a falling meteor.

THUD!

Ye Tian’s raw punch struck squarely against the nine-colored Qi shield protecting Wu Huang’s chest. The emperor’s absolute barrier spider-webbed with a thousand cracks in seconds, blasting Wu Huang’s majestic frame back into his golden throne, shattering it into fine splinters. The Heavenly Emperor vomited a fountain of fresh golden blood, his crown slipping off and clattering across the marble floor.

The arrogant Heavenly Emperor now lay sprawled on the ground, staring up at Ye Tian, who approached with measured, oppressive steps that seemed capable of stepping on fate itself.

Ye Tian bent down, picked up the fallen crown, and calmly extracted the Astral Dimensional Key from its setting. He slipped the gem into his robe pocket, right beside the Boundary-Piercing Compass and directly above his sister’s hemp bag.

The weakened Wu Huang gasped for air, staring up at him with what little breath remained. "You... you are a monster... The mortal world could never produce such a terrifying creature..."

Ye Tian paused briefly before turning his back on the disgraced emperor.

"I am no monster," Ye Tian said cold-heartedly, looking out toward the palace sky, where a dimensional vortex began to churn violently in resonance with the key in his hand. "I am simply an older brother who has to go home and deliver rice to his little sister. And not a single emperor in this sky is going to change that."