"You think... you've already won, Mortal Brat?!"

A roar drenched in rage and humiliation echoed from behind the ruins of the golden throne. Heavenly Emperor Wu Huang pushed himself back up. The golden blood trickling from his lips only fueled the madness burning within his eyes. As the supreme ruler of the nine layers of heavens for thousands of years, being defeated by a human without Qi was an ultimate disgrace he would never forgive.

Wu Huang’s body suddenly levitated into the air. His nine-colored dragon robes tore apart, revealing spiritual veins glowing a deep, furious red against his skin.

"I am the law! I am the heavens themselves!" Wu Huang shrieked, his high-pitched voice shaking the very foundation of the Grand Jade Palace. "At the cost of a thousand years of my cultivation base, I summon the Nine Heavens Universe-Crushing Formation!"

RUMBLE—!

The roof of the Grand Jade Palace collapsed instantly as pitch-black clouds rolled in above them. Nine colossal lightning vortexes—each spanning several kilometers in diameter—formed in the sky, radiating a magical pressure so horrific that the aura radius alone could crush the bones of a Foundation Establishment cultivator to dust. The spiritual energy across the entire Nine Heavens realm was drained dry, converging directly onto Wu Huang's palm pointed toward the sky.

This was no longer low-tier spellcraft. It was the forced, weaponized wrath of the universe itself.

Beneath the raging tempest of energy, Ye Tian’s navy-blue Sect Master robes fluttered wildly, tearing in several places. Yet his feet remained firmly rooted to the marble floor. Rather than faltering, Ye Tian’s dark eyes slowly shifted into pure, solid gold.

The half-bag of mortal rice at his waist vibrated with a warm glow, releasing a sacred white light that wrapped around his body like invisible armor.

This is his final attack, Ye Tian thought, taking a deep breath.

He knew that raw physical strength alone would not be enough to punch through this cosmic destruction. He had to merge every essence of knowledge he had acquired since setting foot in the Immortal Realm.

Ye Tian spread both arms. The remaining Ascension energy from Lady Mei (the essence of heaven) settled in his bones and the pure energy from the Soul-Cleansing Fruit (the essence of earth) fused within his blood were forced to rotate in opposing directions. This was a forbidden technique he had simulated mentally while in the Technique Library—an extreme manipulation no one had ever attempted due to the catastrophic risk of bodily disintegration.

"Synthesis of Earth and Heaven..." Ye Tian whispered, his voice swallowed by the thunder's roar yet echoing within his own soul. "Pure Physical Technique: Universe-Reversing Destiny Punch!"

BOOM!

The muscles across Ye Tian’s entire frame expanded with dense, meticulously balanced power. Golden veins traced from his feet up through his waist, converging at his right fist. The air surrounding his fist distorted instantly, forming a black void of negative pressure that sucked in all ambient light.

"Die, Mortal Pest!"

Heavenly Emperor Wu Huang gestured downward. The nine giant lightning vortexes fused into a single purple-red pillar of catastrophic destruction that shot down from the heavens, ready to vaporize the Jade Palace and Ye Tian along with it.

"I... MUST GO HOME!"

Ye Tian roared with his entire lineage of emotion and profound longing for Xiao Mei. With a single push of his foot that shattered the Jade Palace floor to dust, he launched straight up into the descending pillar of destruction, driving his right fist into the tip of the ancient light spear.

KABOOM—————!!!

The greatest explosion in the history of the lower Immortal Realm erupted at the Peak of the Nine Heavens. A blinding white light swept across the entire expanse, erasing the remnants of the Grand Jade Palace without a trace. The shockwave surged down to the earth below, causing the protective formations of every sect to shudder violently.

Within the vortex of annihilating light, an epic clash unfolded between the supreme magic of the heavens and the pure resolve of a mortal human.

Wu Huang’s lightning blade steadily eroded the golden energy on Ye Tian’s skin, causing fresh blood to seep from his pores once more. The agony felt like thousands of needles scorching his soul. Yet, the memory of Xiao Mei’s pale face enduring hunger on that worn straw mat flashed through his mind, solidifying the defensive walls of his soul.

"Break!" Ye Tian screamed, pushing the absolute limit of his steel muscle fibers.

CRACK!

The first fracture appeared on Wu Huang’s lightning pillar. The next second, the pillar of nine-heavens light was split cleanly in two by the straight path of Ye Tian’s fist. Ye Tian’s golden fist pierced through the lightning storm, bypassed Wu Huang’s final defense, and landed square in the center of the Heavenly Emperor’s chest.

THUD!

The nine-colored aura around Wu Huang’s body extinguished instantly. Every bone in his frame dislocated, and the divine meridian pathways within him collapsed under the raw physical shockwave of Ye Tian’s blow. The Heavenly Emperor plummeted from the sky like a bird with broken wings, crashing violently into the ruined floor below.

Black smoke slowly thinned out. The lightning storm in the sky vanished, replaced by a suffocating silence above the golden clouds.

Ye Tian landed smoothly on the ground. Though covered in light burns and his Sect Master robes were reduced to tattered rags, his golden eyes burned with absolute victory. His breathing was heavy, yet steady.

He walked over to Wu Huang, who now lay helpless on the shattered stone floor. The Heavenly Emperor stared up at Ye Tian, his body trembling with overwhelming terror. Every ounce of divine arrogance within him had been thoroughly crushed along with that final punch.

"You... you won this throne..." Wu Huang whispered hoarsely, golden blood dripping from the corner of his eye. "Take... take over the Nine Heavens..."

Ye Tian stopped before Wu Huang, then reached into his robes to confirm that the Boundary-Piercing Compass and the Astral Dimensional Key were still secure. He also touched his old hemp bag, smiling faintly as he felt the grains of rice inside still intact.

"I told you from the very beginning, Wu Huang," Ye Tian said coldly, his voice carrying across the silent ruins of the palace. "I have no interest in your cold heavenly throne. I only want to go home."

Ye Tian turned away, leaving the collapsed Heavenly Emperor to rot in the ruins of his own ego. With the Dimensional Key in hand, Ye Tian stepped toward the spatial gate coordinates now swirling open before his eyes.

The final chapter of his journey in the Immortal Realm had come to an end, and the road back home was finally wide open.