“I understand,” Xu Zimo said as he rose. “Then I’ll take a trip into the Great Beyond. I’ve always been curious about it.”

“Fellow Daoist, why don’t I accompany you?” the Radiant Progenitor said as he stood. He was worried about Xu Zimo, after all, the Great Beyond was truly mysterious. No one knew what lay within.

“No need. I can go alone,” Xu Zimo replied, shaking his head. He was used to walking his path by himself. Companionship wasn’t something he sought.

“Let me send you part of the way,” the True Martial Progenitor said. “The spatial wall of the Great Beyond is extremely thick. Even if you enter it on your own, you’ll only reach the outer region. I’ll open a passage through the wall and send you deeper inside. Where you finally end up will depend on your own fortune.”

Xu Zimo did not refuse, no one knew how vast the Great Beyond truly was, and he didn’t want to waste unnecessary time.

The True Martial Progenitor raised his hand. A powerful force surged around him. Thunderous rumbling echoed as if a river of power were overflowing, threatening to drown the heavens themselves. It struck the spatial wall leading to the Great Beyond and shattered it. That force continued to extend forward, its destination within the Great Beyond unknown.

“It’s time,” the True Martial Progenitor said. “I hope you find the Desolate Tree.”

Xu Zimo nodded firmly. He stepped forward, tore through space, and entered the Great Beyond. As his figure disappeared, the pathway to the Great Beyond slowly dissolved, until the void returned to silence.

“All we can do now is wait,” the True Martial Progenitor said.

“Progenitor…” the Radiant Progenitor began, hesitating.

“Speak,” the True Martial Progenitor said.

“If Xu Zimo’s strength advances further before we launch the Heaven-Defying Crusade… he’d be fully qualified to join us,” the Radiant Progenitor suggested.

“Why bring him?” the True Martial Progenitor asked.

“Another person means more strength,” the Radiant Progenitor said with a smile.

“So you have no confidence in our assault on the heavens,” the True Martial Progenitor said. Then he nodded slightly. “Understandable. Throughout history, how many who tried to defy the heavens ever returned? None. Countless prodigies, endless ancient powerhouses, but who dares claim absolute certainty?”

He continued, “Even so, I will not bring him. And he may not follow us anyway.”

“Why not?” the Radiant Progenitor asked. “Does he not wish to defy the heavens?”

“He does. His desire burns even hotter than mine,” the Progenitor said with a faint smile. “But the time has not yet come.”

“We still have a few hundred years,” the Radiant Progenitor reminded him.

“You’re wrong,” the True Martial Progenitor said, shaking his head. “If he is to defy the heavens, it will not be by following me. He will open a new war against the heavens, one of his own.”

“A new Heaven-Defying Crusade?” the Radiant Progenitor was stunned, nearly biting his own tongue. He understood what that meant. To initiate a war against the heavens required reaching the Progenitor’s level, perhaps even surpassing it. If the True Martial Progenitor failed in his own attempt, any later challenger would need to be stronger than him to even dare.

To most people, an Infinite Dao cultivator was already the peak of the world. But in truth, he himself had no qualification to initiate such a war; he could only follow behind the Progenitor.

For Xu Zimo to start his own Heaven-Defying Crusade, his future achievements would have to exceed those of the True Martial Progenitor. But that seemed impossibly difficult. The Progenitor could contend with the Holy Progenitor. Across countless eras, how many Holy Progenitors had ever appeared?

“Can he really do it?” the Radiant Progenitor asked, doubtful. Xu Zimo seemed strong now, but only after stepping into Infinite Dao did one realize how endless this realm truly was. Spending an entire lifetime just to open the Three Blossoms was already extraordinary, splitting the Three Selves, severing the present self, and the realms beyond were all distant dreams.

“He can,” the True Martial Progenitor said with certainty. “His future will surpass mine.”

“Why are you so sure?” the Radiant Progenitor asked.

“There are some people in this world whose fate is decided from the moment they’re born,” the Progenitor said. “They bear the sky on their shoulders, tread on the Nine Hells, carry sun and moon in their hearts, and possess fortune that shakes the heavens. When they hide themselves, none under heaven can match them. If they contend against the heavens and do not fall, their achievements will be immeasurable.”

“And you believe Xu Zimo is such a person?” the Radiant Progenitor asked.

“If he does not oppose the heavens, fate itself would gladly crown him first beneath the sky. Holy Progenitors, Immortal Lords, none could compare,” the Progenitor said plainly. “But his personality determines his path. Either he dies beneath heaven, or he slays heaven and ushers in a new era.”

Hearing this, the Radiant Progenitor trembled. He finally understood why the Progenitor held Xu Zimo in such high regard.

“In that case, why not wait for him to grow stronger and defy the heavens together?” he asked. “Our chances of victory would be far greater.”

“That may be true,” the Progenitor murmured. Then his gaze sharpened, and endless True Martial principles erupted around him. Standing atop the mountain, he looked levelly at heaven and earth and said calmly, “Perhaps the odds would be better. But I, Zhen Wu, have never been inferior to anyone. I rose in the Desolate Era. I opened the Imperial Era and shone like the sun of the primordial center. Even after coming to the Nine Heavens, I cultivated for millions of years and still stand at its peak, facing the Heavenly Court without yielding an inch. If I, Zhen Wu, am to defy the heavens, why should I depend on anyone?”

His voice roared like a dragon soaring across the nine skies. Rivers churned as if heaven and earth were echoing him. His words were unbreakable, his conviction immovable.

He was Zhen Wu.

If he wished to defy the heavens, then he would defy the heavens.

Why wait for another?

Holy Progenitors, Immortal Lords, had he not already stood against them?

Xu Zimo’s path of defying the heavens would be his own sky to break. Zhen Wu would follow his own Dao, challenge his own heavens, and create a new era.

Life or death mattered little, what mattered was walking the path in his heart without ever wavering or fearing.

“Radiant, are you afraid of death?” the True Martial Progenitor suddenly asked.

“Progenitor, why say that?” the Radiant Progenitor replied quickly. “If I feared death, how would I dare defy the heavens? When I formed my Dao Fruit, I could have submitted to the Heavenly Dao Fruit, yet I chose to forge the Radiant Buddha Dao Fruit. To hear the Dao at dawn and die at dusk, so be it!”

“You all will defy the heavens with me. If we fail, we were born of this world and will die in this world, in accordance with the law of life and death. If we succeed, we create a new world. And from this day forth, for ten million years, this era shall be called True Martial.” The True Martial Progenitor laughed atop the mountain. “Let the world chant my name. Slaying saints will be as easy as slaughtering dogs. The end of the Martial Dao, that is who I am!”