You simply released the restraints on Yan Zhixue and the others, then drew your Soul Awakening Blade in reverse grip.

Yan Zhixue and her companions understood you meant them no harm, so they refrained from any rash movements.

Moreover, they had witnessed how your Source Power was blocked and were equally curious.

The starlight swirled around the Soul Awakening Blade in your hand as you delivered a fierce slash toward Sea Snake Island.

The massive blade light carved a brilliant trajectory through the air, heading straight for Sea Snake Island.

BOOM—

The blade light shattered violently against the transparent barrier, countless sparkling points of light dissipating into the air.

The seawater around Sea Snake Island was thrown into massive waves over ten meters high, yet the hemispherical transparent barrier remained completely unmoved.

That Earth Source swayed gracefully within the transparent barrier, as if emitting cheerful mocking laughter.

Your single slash made Yan Zhixue's heart tremble, her beautiful eyes filled with utter astonishment.

She knew she would have to exert her full strength to block such an attack from you, yet she could see you hadn't expended much effort at all.

Yan Zhixue's rosy lips parted slightly as she unconsciously turned her gaze toward you.

You turned to look at Yan Zhixue and asked: "Leader Yan, do you know what's going on here?"

Although you were the world's number one at twenty-one years old, you might not know as much as an established Ultimate Grandmaster like Yan Zhixue.

After all, Yan Zhixue had eaten more salt than you had walked roads.

Yan Zhixue recovered from her shock, her eyes slowly sweeping over you before turning toward Sea Snake Island.

Yan Zhixue also sent several powerful surges of Source Force toward the island, but the transparent barrier only vibrated slightly before returning to calm.

Yan Zhixue also looked puzzled: "I don't know what this is either."

You nodded, your expression turning solemn: "I understand now, Leader Yan. All of you, move further away!"

The aura around you suddenly began to intensify, instantly surpassing that of a peak Ultimate Grandmaster.

The relaxed smile vanished from Yan Zhixue's face as she frowned and asked: "Palace Leader Shangguan, what do you mean by this?"

You didn't answer, instead raising the Soul Awakening Blade high with both hands.

You were no longer holding back, preparing to unleash your Life and Death Slash.

As the only martial artist who had fused with two Earth Sources, using your most powerful blade technique, this strike represented the strongest known attack in the current world.

If the transparent barrier could withstand even this, then things would get truly interesting—there would definitely be some explanation needed.

Your robes began flapping violently, your black hair flowing without any wind.

The calm sea surface suddenly stirred with turbulence, colossal waves crashing against the water one after another with thunderous roars.

All your Source Power converged onto the Soul Awakening Blade, causing it to vibrate wildly while emitting blinding light.

You roared fiercely: "This strike will be enormous!!"

BOOM—!!

The sky-obscuring phantom of the Soul Awakening Blade pressed down violently toward the transparent light barrier over Sea Snake Island.

An earth-shaking roar pierced through the eardrums of everyone present.

Yan Zhixue and her three companions were blasted back dozens of meters by the shockwave.

After a moment, the wind and waves gradually subsided.

Seawater began raining from the sky, mixed with various seafood like seaweed and other marine life.

Yan Zhixue also looked puzzled: "I don't know what this is either."

That transparent light barrier actually remained completely unmoved.

As your words faded, your body went limp and you began falling straight toward the sea below.

The Source Power within your body was completely depleted—truly not a single drop remained.

At that moment, a gentle surge of Source Power extended out, catching you steadily.

You turned to look—as expected of your reliable guardian, she had protected you once again.

"Thanks, Leader Yan!"

Yan Zhixue recovered from her shock, looking at you with increasingly brilliant eyes.

You immediately pulled out elixirs and stuffed your mouth full, crunching and chewing wildly before swallowing them down.

Your Source Power rapidly recovered, immediately restoring your flight capability.

Simultaneously, Yan Zhixue and her three companions floated over with solemn expressions.

They no longer dared to harbor any thoughts of challenging you.

Yan Zhixue and her group now understood where your confidence and boldness came from—you were genuinely ruthless.

The power of your Life and Death Slash completely exceeded their understanding; when that strike collided with the transparent light screen, they felt like they were seeing a second sun.

But the absurd thing was that the light screen still hadn't broken.

A relaxed expression reappeared on Yan Zhixue's softly contoured cheeks as she examined you for a long time: "Palace Leader Shangguan, are you truly just a peak Ultimate Grandmaster?"

"More or less," you answered casually, currently more concerned about what the light screen over Sea Snake Island actually was.

You stroked your chin, silently pondering.

Your previous attack represented the strongest strike in this current world, yet it still couldn't break through the light screen.

The form of this light screen clearly wasn't naturally formed.

Your eyes flickered with insight as you reached a bold conclusion.

That there still existed power in this world that surpassed the second-stage Ultimate Grandmaster!

The light barrier before you served as proof, and this wasn't even a direct manifestation of their power.

Merely a defensive barrier they created could withstand the power of a second-stage extreme path warrior like yourself.

One could only imagine how immeasurable the power they themselves possessed must be.

But you didn't understand why you had never encountered them before. Were they deliberately hiding?

Yet the Ultimate Grandmasters in this world already acted like kings and tyrants, dominating the world without restraint, so why would these stronger individuals need to hide?

What were they hiding from? What were they afraid of?

If they truly wanted to conceal themselves, why would they create a light barrier and leave it here? Wouldn't this actually make them more likely to be exposed?

If these people weren't hiding, had they perhaps disappeared? Died?

But in that case, there should at least be traces of their existence in the world, along with relevant records and legends.

Yet now there was nothing.

What lay beneath this light barrier?

Was some heaven-defying treasure hidden there? Was it an entrance to another world?

Could breaking through the light barrier lead to another world?

Was this the only light barrier in this world?

Why did the Earth Source happen to appear within the light barrier? Was it coincidence?

Why, why...

The more you thought, the more questions arose, the information in your mind becoming increasingly chaotic.

After a long while, you somewhat organized the complex information.

You felt that regardless of circumstances, as long as you could break through the light barrier, you could at least learn some things.

Which meant you absolutely had to fuse more Earth Sources—three, four, five or six, seven or eight...

Perhaps you might even need to fuse ten Earth Sources to reach a higher level.

But as long as you fused enough yourself, you would eventually break through the light barrier and get answers.

You also weren't particularly worried about the existence of people with higher power levels still in this world.

Because from previous simulations, even if they truly still existed, they hadn't emerged to interfere with this world.

Even if they did appear, the worst you could do was die, and you could return the next second—death posed no threat to you.

You knew overthinking was useless; your main mission remained collecting Earth Sources. Strengthening your power was never wrong.

You turned to Yan Zhixue and said: "Leader Yan, I'm withdrawing. Do as you please."

You weren't the least bit worried about the light barrier being broken by Yan Zhixue and the others.

During your attack on the light barrier, you discovered that every point of the barrier had the same defensive strength.

Meaning, they would need a single individual's power to reach the threshold required to break the light barrier's defense—coordinated attacks would be useless.

Yan Zhixue lifted her beautiful eyes: "Palace Leader Shangguan, are you not concerned about this Earth Source?"

You laughed heartily: "Leader Yan, I gift it to you!"

After speaking, you immediately flew away, heading toward the capital direction.

You planned to find Li Anlong and catch up.

Continuous rumbling sounds immediately came from behind you—you knew Yan Zhixue and her four companions were diligently attacking the light barrier.

You chuckled lightly, unconcerned.

You transformed into a stream of light, plummeting straight toward the capital direction.