In the midst of the pitch black dimension, all Yao Jun could feel was soul tearing pain, his bones creaking and shattering, his flesh straining and tearing. Black droplets continued to rain down onto his body, each droplet striking him like a hammer, as if they were trying to forge a piece of crude ore into a fine blade.

Yao Jun grit his teeth, mentally cursing at Arthurius. He was supposed to focus on resisting the attacks, healing his wounds, and trying to control the energy of his gate? What a joke. Facing pain as horrendous as this, even the simple act of resisting the attacks was tough.

If there was any solace he could find, it was that Arthurius had stayed true to his words. Even when his bones shattered and his flesh tore, the droplets did not cause any permanent or lethal damage to him, vanishing just before any meaningful damage was caused.

After getting injured by the droplets, Yao Jun's body would rapidly heal, growing a little tougher with each repeated cycle. If Arthurius had been here to witness it, he would surely have been surprised at the speed that Yao Jun's body healed, as it was healing far faster than his low cultivation should allow it to.

Arthurius had set up the four orbs in such a way that they would automatically stop their attacks once Yao Jun's body reached its true breaking point, allowing him a short period of rest where he could focus fully on healing. But thanks to the speed of Yao Jun's healing, there was no need for the orbs to ever halt their attacks, resulting in an endless barrage of droplets.

But how could Arthurius expect Yao Jun to have already absorbed four different Divine beasts? As Divine beasts, they were better than normal Demonic beasts in every aspect, including their healing speed. Having gained a bit of their power, Yao Jun had of course also gained their increased healing speed, something that fit perfectly with his violent fighting style.

But his Divine beasts were only part of the reason that he was healing so rapidly right now, the actions of his Demonic beasts and God Gate were also part of the reason. The inside of his God Gate was currently filled with a large number of corpses that came from a myriad of different races, the spoils of the two most recent battles.

And amidst all these corpses, all his Demonic beasts were engaging in a wild feast, devouring the bodies with reckless abandon. The tree at the center of his God Gate was also participating in the feast, roots digging into the corpses and causing them to wither away at a speed visible to the eye. All the energy that came from the devoured corpses was channeled directly into Yao Jun's body, forcibly speeding up the rate of his healing until it was able to match the speed at which his body was destroyed.

Another thing that Arthurius would have been unable to expect was that it was not only Yao Jun's body that was getting strengthened by this baptism. Arthurius made sure that the power of his Supreme Law did not come into contact with Yao Jun's soul or God Gate, as he was worried about any mishaps resulting in the shattering or weakening of Yao Jun's soul or God Gate.

But Yao Jun's God Gate did not care for these preparations in the slightest, willingly drawing upon some of the droplets that were tempering Yao Jun's body. Each drop that hit the God Gate would cause it to tremble slightly, the energy piercing into it and raining down onto not only Yao Jun's Demonic beasts but also onto the piece of his soul that he constantly kept within his God Gate.

Within the pitch black dimension, time passed without notice, Yao Jun's body, soul, and Demonic beasts growing tougher and tougher. His cultivation did not rise, but his strength was undoubtedly increasing at a rate that could only be called terrifying.

--

Located in the headquarters of the World Tree Clan, hidden at the very depths, in one of the most well-defended areas, was a single room. The room was round in shape and several tens of meters across, runic lines covering every inch of the inside of the room. At the very center of the room a round table grew up from the flood, 20 chairs placed neatly around the table.

Arthurius was sitting at the table, his hands entwined beneath his chin, supporting his head as he quietly waited with closed eyes. Contrary to the amused smile he had worn when Yao Jun last saw him, he now wore a serious expression, a solemn atmosphere surrounding his body. His wait ended when he heard the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by rushed footsteps.

He opened his eyes and straightened his body, his gaze landing on the three people that had entered the room, Leylan, Gilberd, and Diana. The three sat down at the table, leaving three open seats between each other. Seeing the serious expression that Arthurius wore, they knew that something very serious had happened, so Gilberd wasted no time.

"Have they gathered up their remaining armies for a final battle?"

To make even the usual jolly Arthurius serious, Gilberd could only assume that their enemies had gathered up their remaining strength for a true final battle. His World Tree Clan might have beaten down the alliance of the five powers in the last battle, but he knew that they had not truly damaged the foundation of any of those five powers. As long as they still had their Godkings and Heavenly Deities, they would never fall. But contrary to what Gilberd expected, Arthurius shook his head, his expression grim.

"Worse. The Myriad Weapon Lord has suffered an assassination attempt. Had it not been for the Undying Ember King, he might have lost his life during the attack. There are also more reports from our more distant spies, the Sebettu are on the move again."

Gilberd and the three others turned pale after hearing the words of Arthurius. Not only did they have a high cultivation, but they also came from one of the strongest powers in this universe, there was no way they could not know about the Sebettu.

The Sebettu were much like the Heaven Devouring race that had appeared during the previous battle, they were a race that came from a different universe. But the Sebettu were far stronger than the Heaven Devouring race. The universe they came from was known as the Rahu universe, and it was fully ruled by the Sebettu, the ruler of the universe being the king of the Sebettu.

The most terrifying part of the Sebettu was how they did things. They invaded other universes to plunder all their resources, using them to increase the strength of their own race. Once they had plundered all the resources, they would either devour the universe itself or take it over, creating another base for the Sebettu race. Arthurius looked at his siblings, waiting for them to take a few breaths before he continued to talk.

"They don't dare enter the universes of the Void King, the Divine Emperor, or the Storm Monarch, but they have started to attack some of the weaker universes. The universe of the Graveborn King and the universe of the Martial Lord have both suffered rather heavy attacks, both forced to retreat and surrender some of their territories."

Most universes were ruled by someone supremely powerful, the name or title of that person becoming the name of the universe. Their own universe, for example, was supposedly ruled by someone only known as the Nine Heavens Soul Emperor, so among the other universes, theirs was known as the Nine Heavens universe.

But even these supremely powerful people have different levels of strength, with some being so strong that the Sebettu don't even dare get close to their universes. Gilberd expression sank further after hearing about the two universes that were attacked, as they were ruled by people who were even stronger than Godkings. With both of those universes attacked and forced to retreat, Gilberd could only think of one reason behind it.

"Erra has recovered from the wounds inflicted on him?"

Erra was the current name of the Sebettu king, the sixth ruler of the race. His strength was so massive that it was unfathomable, but he had gotten arrogant after inheriting the title of king, leading to him getting injured. Arthurius shook his head after a short moment of silence, shooting down Gilberd's suggestion.

"No. No matter how strong he is, the wounds that the Void King inflicts are not something that can be healed by spending only a few hundred thousand years recovering. It is more likely that one of his subordinates has greatly increased their strength, so they are trying to invade a few universes to plunder more resources that can speed up Erra's healing."

The Void King was the ruler of the Void universe, and the thing that had given him his title was the results of his battles. One attack and all that would remain was an empty void. His wounds were known to be almost uncurable, growing worse and worse as time passed. Even spending millions of years trying to cure them was not uncommon. Of course, one first had to survive the battle against him. A short silence fell over the room, Gilberd and the others quietly digesting the information. In the end, it was Leylan who broke the silence.

"Have they set their eyes on our universe as well?"

Leylan's voice was a bit low and contained a tinge of worry. The Nine Heavens Soul Emperor had not been seen four countless years already, if the Sebettu were to launch an attack on their universe, it would be up to the Godkings and the Heavenly Deities to resist them. Arthurius's expression was grim, but he did not affirm or deny.

"Maybe. The attack on Myriad Weapon Lord was most likely only a scouting attack, testing some of our strength before they decide on what to do. I had received reports that some of them had been spotted recently, but I didn't expect them to have already snuck in people strong enough to threaten the Myriad Weapon Lord."

Arthurius felt like hitting himself. A few months ago he had received a report that some of the Sebettu were going to take part in the competition that would take place soon. At the time he had merely snickered at the thought, looking forward to the chaos it would cause. But now, now that the rest of the Sebettu might be coming for them, he wished that he had killed them the moment he received the report. While Arthurius felt like beating himself, Diana spoke up.

"Have you discussed this with the other powers?"

The World Tree Clan alone was not enough to handle any possible attack from the Sebettu, they would require the cooperation of the other great powers as well. Arthurius gave a nod of his head, but his expression was somewhat nasty.

"I have. Aside from the five powers we are currently at war with, the rest have agreed to pool our strengths should the need arise. I have also talked with Father and Mother, they have agreed to halt their cultivation for the time being. If the Sebettu truly do start their attack, we need all the battle-ready Godkings that we can get our hands on."

He had expected the Final Fire Clan and the four other powers that had allied with them to agree to a temporary truce now that they might be facing the Sebettu, but his suggestion had been immediately denied by them. Diana gave a slight nod of her head, fondling her chin as her thoughts moved.

"What do you want us to do?"

Diana was the general of the army, but the situation that they might be facing went far beyond the army, so before she decided on a course of action, she found it best to ask Arthurius what he thought. Arthurius had already planned out what they would need to do, so he immediately responded.

"Calm down the battles against our enemies. If they attack us, we fight back with everything we have, but we cannot start any battles of our own. Focus on increasing and maintaining our strength. Chaos is coming, and we need to be prepared."