Year 2334 of the Holy Empire's Lunar Calendar, early spring.
3000 Worlds, 99 High Realms, World of the Asgardian, Northern Region, Grey Wasteland.
The Grey Wasteland was a desolate and barren area where not a single crop had grown in the past thousand years.
It was considered the most terrifying place in the 99 High Realms because the entrance to the God Extinction Land would appear randomly in its expanse and dissipate on its own after a while, leaving nothing intact and alive in its wake.
Not a single soul lived here.
On a typical day, it was entirely devoid of life and as silent as the depths of the ocean.
But today, the sound of footsteps rang out in its otherwise empty expanse.
A figure could be seen moving swiftly across the barren landscape of the Grey Wasteland.
This figure was of a tall and lean man whose breath was so weak he seemed like a kite at the end of its flight.
Tattered remnants of what used to be a white robe clung closely to his frame. These remnants were soaked red with his blood and dripped with it too, showcasing he was covered in injuries from head to toe and bleeding. He was bleeding so much that each step he took left behind a bloody footprint!
Despite his injuries and the overwhelming pain assaulting his senses, he didn't stop moving because stopping meant death.
He knew dying would relieve him of his pain. He knew that the chances of him surviving were low.
However, he also knew that he would die with regrets if he didn't give it his all to grasp the slim chance of survival.
Dying with regrets... That was something he would never allow.
Thus, he pushed his body to its limits and continued onward.
Most people would collapse in the state he was in, but he persevered by relying on his willpower alone, which was incomparably greater than the willpower of the average man.
Whoosh!
Winds howled through the jagged rocks spread throughout the Grey Wasteland.
These winds seemed to carry with them the faint sounds of pursuit.
Swoosh!
Countless people flew down the sky and landed outside the boundary of the Grey Wasteland.
"Are you sure we will find him in there?" The Grand Elder of the Nine Divines Sect asked while pointing at the Grey Wasteland.
"That is the result of my latest divination and you know my divinations are never wrong." The Saintess of the Heavenly Sect replied.
The Grand Elder turned around and made an announcement to the army of ranked combatants of the Holy Land that had been pursuing the severely injured man for the past 7 days. "The Saintess has confirmed that Sal is inside the Grey Wasteland."
The Grand Elder continued, "It's a dangerous place, but we must head inside and give chase to not lose the potential culprit of the slaughter of the Jade City. Who is willing to go with me?"
"We all are, Your Eminence!" All the members of the Holy Army shouted in unison.
The Grand Elder's lips hooked up into a pleased smile, "Good, good, good. Let's get moving then!"
"Remember not to fly, or else you won't only be risking your own life but also the lives of your fellows," the Saintess warned while heading inside the Grey Wasteland to capture Sal.
"Yes, Saintess!"
Immediately, the hundreds of thousands of people gave chase, led by two people with exceptional auras.
In the Grey Wasteland, there were unnatural restrictions in place.
No one knew how they came to be, but everyone knew that if even a single restriction was triggered, they would be in a struggle for their life.
Flying in this place could trigger these restrictions.
Knowing this, they didn't dare fly.
They only dared to chase after the severely injured man on foot.
They were fast and soon they caught sight of him.
Immediately, one threat after another flew out of their mouths.
"Hahaha! Scoundrel, I have bad news for you. The world-bridging gates have been closed. Where can you escape to now?" Jack, who had a personal vendetta against Sal, said.
"There's no escape path left for you. Cease your pointless struggle and submit to our will!" The one and only son of the Grand Elder uttered.
"Give up, Sal! You're surrounded and there's no escape. Surrender now or we'll make sure you never see the light of day again!" one of the pursuers shouted, his voice echoing across the desolate landscape.
Their threats rang in Sal's ears like the wails of banshees or the barking of dogs, extremely unpleasant to hear.
Sal's brows drew together. However, it wasn't out of displeasure. It was out of anticipation and excitement.
'Finally, they are here.'
'Unlike what I feared, the surprise I have meticulously prepared for them will not go to waste.'
Sal squinted deeply.
A glint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.
As his back was to his pursuers, no one noticed the change in his expression, still taking him as a man who had been driven to the brink of death and didn't have the strength to fight back.
"Sal, hand over the heavenly secret, and we promise you a chance to get a fair trial. Resist any further, and your suffering will be long and unbearable." The Grand Elder of the Nine Divines Sect said.
Sal snorted in contempt.
He didn't believe a single word of what the Grand Elder said.
After all, he knew what this old man was actually like.
In the eyes of the masses, the Grand Elder was the paragon of righteousness, but it was just a facade he'd meticulously crafted to hide his true self.
In truth, he was a cowardly turtle who would tuck his neck inside his shell once under pressure.
Sal was once part of the Nine Divines Sect. At that time, the Grand Elder was his master, but he was quite an incompetent master.
The number of times he guided Sal could be counted on one hand.
Not to mention, when Sal needed him the most, he turned his back on him and unceremoniously announced that he was cutting all ties with Sal.
He did it to avoid getting into trouble. However, his cowardly action had pushed Sal down a spiral of despair, destroying his innocence and stripping him clean of all his humanity!
How could anyone believe the words of such a man who not only didn't have the courage to defend his own disciple against false accusations but also took actions that turned doubts into truth and sealed his fate?
Sal didn't know about the others, but he definitely couldn't trust him. He didn't even bother considering his offer.
With his head lowered and his teeth gritted, he kept running in silence.
His silence was perceived as an unwillingness to cooperate out of guilt.
An arrogant voice echoed in the air.
"This bastard's silence means he's refusing to accept his guilt. Why would he do that if he's not guilty? He is the one behind the slaughter of the Jade City. Today, I'll do the world justice and slay him!" The Saintess of the Heavenly Sect announced as she sped up and pulled out a sword from seemingly thin air. It was a narrow but very long sword, and it looked ready to draw blood.
"Bullshit!" Sal retorted at the top of his lungs while running away without looking back at his pursuers, "You, the Grand Elder, and the entire army of the Holy Land are after me because of the heavenly secret in my possession. You don't give a damn about what happens in the lesser worlds. If you cared, you wouldn't be pursuing an innocent man for a crime he didn't commit based on mere suspicions. Rather, you would be investigating the crime properly to catch the true culprit before he can commit another mass slaughter. So stop with the hypocrisy and come at me with all you've got if you want my heavenly secret. But I must warn you. You must be prepared to lose your head if you dare!"
Recently, a palace had burst out of the emerald ocean.
It was a vast ocean that stretched tens of thousands of miles.
The palace flew west at a rapid speed, attracting the attention of many.
Countless spiritual combatants, enlightened or not, went to explore it.
Sal was one among the many.
However, he was the only one who obtained the most important treasure known to the spiritual combatants in that place.
It was a heavenly secret.
Heavenly secrets were pieces of the Book of Order & Chaos.
It was a book written by the Overseer of Worlds.
He was a mythical figure who was spoken in the stuff of legends.
It's said that he had laid his eyes on all the wonders the universe had to offer, and he had written them all down in his book.
Before his disappearance, the book was broken down into pieces and spread throughout the 3000 worlds.
Each piece held a heavenly secret.
A heavenly secret provided great insight into heavenly secrets and the workings of the universe.
So, they were highly valuable.
As one had ended in his hand and the news was somehow leaked, he was schemed against. Three different forces pinned him with a crime he didn't commit. They were using it as a justification to hunt him down and steal his treasures.
Sal sighed internally.
He had even killed every eyewitness when he obtained the Heavenly Secret as he feared something like this might happen, but it looked like a rat had managed to escape and reported his findings. That's why he was being hunted down for the past 7 days by the entire world!
"Sal, it's always better to die with an intact corpse than to be flayed alive for a millennium. You've experienced it once. Do you want to experience it again? If you stop now, I can promise you a fair trial and a swift end if you're judged guilty," the Grand Elder said.
"You want me to grovel before your feet and thank you for such a ridiculous offer?" Sal scoffed. "I have only five words for bastards like you: Go and rot in hell!"
The Grand Elder's face turned red in embarrassment.
Sal's humiliating words were like a slap to his face. He had made him lose his face. However, face was something that must be saved at all costs. He had to save it no matter what. Thus, he commanded, "Attack that bastard. No need to hold back. The heavenly secret can't be destroyed. It transfers over to whoever kills the previous possessor!"
This was a secret only a handful of people knew. This included himself and the Saintess, but the Grand Elder believed that revealing such a closely guarded secret like this would be worth it if the person who humiliated him was killed. That's why he didn't hesitate to share it.
The pursuers had been holding back since the start of the war against the infamous Grandmaster Sal because they were afraid of destroying the heavenly secret with him, but now that they knew it couldn't be destroyed, they had no reason to hold back.
"Attack!"
Countless spiritual weapons, ranging from swords and iron hammers to formation crowns and seals, were released simultaneously.
All of them flew towards Sal with the same intent to eradicate him!
'I will be the one to get his head,' the Saintess of the Heavenly Sect thought to herself as she released her inner world.
Countless interconnected mountain ranges appeared overhead and came crashing down. Almost simultaneously, down below, a massive ocean flooded the Grey Wasteland.
The mountain ranges and the massive ocean threatened to end the life of one man and that man alone.
If anyone was in his place, they would tremble in their boots.
The situation was just that dangerous.
But he smirked and thought,
"All the conditions have been met."
"I can finally turn the tides of this unfair battle!"
Sal's figure suddenly came to a halt.
"He has given up!"
"Victory is ours
The pursuers cheered.
However, their joy vanished as he turned around and they got a clear look at his face.
Besieged from all sides by deadly attacks he was, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
It was an oddly familiar smile.
A chill went down the Saintess and the Grand Elder's spine.
The others felt equally terrified.
The infamous Grandmaster Sal doesn't smile easily.
But when he does, it could only mean one thing.
A great slaughter was about to unfold.
"R-Retreat!"
No one knew who gave that order.
But everyone scrambled to be the first one to escape the Grey Wasteland.
"Too late. Your burial will take place here, right now!" Sal laughed wildly as a round mirror appeared in his hand.