This ruler naturally wasn't a normal ruler. It was Academic Heaven Song Fei's famed weapon: Measuring… It wasn't actually called the Measuring Heaven Ruler; its name was just Ruler.
Song Fei started cultivating in a private school in a small plane, and the ruler he used back then was none other than this one, so this ruler didn't really have a name.
Later on, a disciple asked Song Fei for the name of this ruler—his most famous weapon—and Song Fei said exactly these four words: "Its name is Ruler."
At the most critical moment when Zi Luo Elder was about to break through to Unified Dao, Song Fei finally struck brazenly, using his own weapon to attack from a distance and forcibly piercing the dimensional wall.
"Song Fei…" Xue Ren looked in that direction with a somewhat cold and dark gaze.
He wasn't surprised that Song Fei would make a move; it was obvious. On the contrary, if the other party did nothing, Xue Ren would instead have to wonder if there was some kind of conspiracy behind it.
What really made Xue Ren's heart sink was the fact that Rolensia didn't try to stop it.
This was her Divine Kingdom. It was impossible that she didn't sense Ruler's arrival. Of course, it was also unlikely that she had betrayed the organization.
If she truly betrayed the organization, she could simply kill everyone here; there was no need to go to all this trouble.
So there was only one possibility.
...
"Daphne." Rolensia glared coldly at the graceful noblewoman in front of her, having fallen into a field of verdant green.
Even though this was her Divine Kingdom and she could break through her opponent's restriction in an instant, she already missed the most crucial moment.
The other party appeared at the exact instant the ruler appeared.
Goddess of Nature, Daphne.
There ought to be no communication between the highest levels of the Myriad Heavens and the World of Gods.
That was why Rolensia had completely failed to anticipate that someone would collude with the Myriad Heavens and join forces to prevent Zi Luo Elder's ascension to Unified Dao.
"Why?" Rolensia asked coldly.
A sea of blood immediately destroyed the emerald green barrier, but it was meaningless. The ruler had long since disappeared without a trace, while the influence it left behind festered.
"It's quite simple," Daphne, a mature woman with a dignified aura, answered softly.
"No one wants to see you all rise peacefully and form a behemoth that not even greater gods can restrain."
The existence of the Heaven-God Alliance was something that had never existed before, or at least, it was the first time something like this entered the sights of the greater gods.
It had jumped from a small, obscure organization to a super organization with a greater god at its helm, and now a second Unified Dao member would appear.
As long as the greater gods weren't blind, they wouldn't just sit back and watch the Heaven-God Alliance grow stronger.
Of course, there were also interests entangled between the greater gods, and wanting them to join forces was likewise a joke. At best, they'd just agree on having someone make a move.
And now, Daphne made that move. The reason she was the one making that move was also simple—she wasn't afraid of offending Rolensia at all.
Back when Rolensia was still the God of Luxuriant Blossoms, this Goddess of Nature was an obstacle blocking her path.
Conversely, Daphne also regarded the former as a strong pursuer and made frequent attempts to suppress her both openly and secretly, so the relationship between the two had never been good.
Since there was never any friendship, there was no fear of offending the other party.
"Your power is very interesting." The Goddess of Nature waved with a smile before her figure slowly disappeared.
...
"Song Fei is still the same Song Fei." Lu Wen gently took a sip of the clear wine as a trace of realization appeared on his face.
Lu Wen's generation was relatively new, so he never witnessed the conflict between Song Fei and Zi Luo Elder back then, but he had seen Song Fei's decisive style.
This sage-level figure, who was known as the "Teacher of All Worlds," struck like a genius swordsman, breaking through all illusions and hitting the opponent's vital point with a single blow.
"Whether it's the Heaven-God Alliance or that greater god they have, they're ultimately just external strength." Duan Wenqi also sighed softly. "As long as Zi Luo Elder doesn't enter Unified Dao, Song Fei's position will be as stable as Mt. Tai."
His earlier silence was all for today's fatal strike—this was Song Fei.
"Others only saw the strength of the Heaven-God Alliance, but he saw its fragility." Lu Wen shook his head with a smile. "But then, won't your arrangements have been in vain?"
Duan Wenqi shrugged. "That's even better."
...
Of course, while the Myriad Heavens marveled at Song Fei's acumen, the atmosphere inside the Luxuriant Blossoms Divine Kingdom was incomparably heavier.
Daoist Lingyang had long since reunited with the crowd, but even Mad Fist no longer had a casual look on his face, his expression grim.
When he first followed Zi Luo Elder to this side, it was to avoid the slim chance of unexpected events happening, but he hadn't expected for an even slimmer possibility to occur.
Gu Nan was likewise present, although he was a bit more composed than the others.
Or perhaps he had already been through countless battles and was experienced as hell. It wasn't like he hadn't encountered situations in the game where his Divine Kingdom was destroyed—it was just a matter of starting from scratch again.
There were even players who felt underprepared and believed their identities would be easily exposed after reaching Tier 10, so they actually destroyed their own Divine Kingdoms to start over.
"We still have a chance," Zi Luo Elder's voice finally rang out and gave the crowd hope as it did so.
This old man slowly walked out from the void, his appearance not much different from earlier, except that there was a bit more flamboyance in his demeanor.
"Elder, you succeeded?" Daoist Lingyang couldn't help blurting out.
Rolensia also appeared, but she didn't say much, only frowning slightly as she looked at Zi Luo Elder.
"I succeeded, and also failed." Zi Luo Elder greeted the crowd and sat down before answering, "Ten years."
He looked at Xue Ren. "I only have ten years. In these ten years, I can protect you from Song Fei and Zou Jiming. You must ascend to Unified Dao within ten years."
"Ten years?" Xue Ren's gaze flickered slightly as he repeated Zi Luo Elder's words in a low voice.
Adding a time limit to the words "Unified Dao" was a matter of immense pressure for anyone, even Xue Ren, who was known to be the closest to Unified Dao Realm.
Zi Luo Elder nodded gently. "I will place the headquarters of the Heaven-God Alliance in Zi Luo Heaven. If you can successfully ascend to Unified Dao, I will also obtain a chance of survival, otherwise, everything will be over."
Xue Ren lowered his head wordlessly at those words, and Zi Luo Elder looked at Gu Nan and the other three again.
"At that time, if things don't go as planned, I'm afraid it'll be difficult for you all to leave the Myriad Heavens again. If you are unwilling to take this risk, you can simply stay on this side."
If they stayed in the World of Gods, at least they already had Rolensia as a powerful backer. The natural organizational relationship between the two sides gave them a basis for an alliance.
Without much hesitation, Mad Fist directly said, "I've fought everywhere on this side. It's time to go back and see my old friends."
He came over at first because he didn't want to take any chances, and as a result, he was faced with an even more difficult choice, so this time, he didn't want to be cautious.
Instead, Daoist Lingyang was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll stay."
Xue Ren looked up in surprise, seemingly not understanding why his old friend would make that decision.
Daoist Lingyang explained with a laugh, "I fear death."
Xue Ren could only shake his head slightly in response, clearly not believing him.
"What about you?" Zi Luo Elder finally turned his gaze towards Gu Nan.
"Can we set off now?" Gu Nan asked. "Ten years—that's cutting it a little close."