"Ah, revisiting the old place only to discover something extraordinary," Kongming released Xingjian's hand, and the latter took a couple of steps back in confusion.

Who is this fellow? Where did he come from? Since the incident in the capital city of Milanía where Yuan stopped Xingjian from capturing Brad, Xingjian felt like his ability to observe causality had somehow failed him. Things always seemed to develop beyond his expectations.

"Kongming...?" Xingjian repeated the name and used the Starry Eyes to search once more, but besides finding a group of irrelevant individuals with the same name, there was no clue at all.

"Who... are you?"

The fact that he could infiltrate The Realm of Stars without being noticed by Xingjian at least indicated that the strange guy in front of him, who called himself Kongming, should have a strength no lower than his own... at The Realm level?

"Mm-hmm, spot on, The Realm level it is for yours truly," Kongming said, "So, you better know your place and step aside. Don't blame me if you end up getting **. I warned you."

Xingjian hesitated for a moment but instead of giving in, he took a step forward to stand in front of Kongming. The starry sky of The Realm twisted and shifted under his will, focusing the starlight at that spot.

"He's actually coming towards me. Not running away but willingly coming closer to meet his end? HOHO, then why not come a bit closer... hey hey hey, why are you pulling me?"

Xingjian looked perplexed as Kongming, with a complex expression, reached over and pulled out something from the invisible air, holding it up in front of him.

"Brother Dragon, we have an agreement between us. You help me when needed, and I provide you with the energy you need to maintain your form. That's how you honor the pact, right?"

In mid-air, the transparent object in Kongming's hand finally took shape. It was a small dragon hatchling with scales that resembled dark purple crystals. Its size was similar to that of a lizard, and its tail end was being held by Kongming, flapping its wings frantically.

Upon hearing Kongming's words, the body of the magic dragon trembled slightly, and its struggling ceased obediently, "I was just trying to mimic some interesting lines from a manga I read recently..."

Seeing the pitiful look in the eyes of the small dragon staring at him, Kongming suddenly regretted making his soul form appear so small. Wasn't that a bit unfair? Well, in the millennia spent in the swamp, you weren't like this at all, losing all the majesty of an Abyssal Dragon!

Noticing Xingjian's gaze becoming more peculiar, Kongming quickly threw the lizard-shaped magic dragon behind him and coughed twice to regain his composure.

"Sorry about that... I actually don't know him well." Kongming scratched his cheek slightly embarrassed, "But, our intentions are similar. I need to go underground in this tower, and if the lady insists on blocking my way, then I'm afraid I have to be rude."

"Polaris, Alkaid, Alcor, Mizar, return to your positions," Xingjian, without hesitation, directed the changes in the star map in the sky. Each star left by the original Xingjian in the Starry Realm actually governed a law in The Realm, and the four shining stars of the Big Dipper instantly locked onto Kongming, applying Hellfire, Ice Prison, Gale, and Heavy Pressure simultaneously. Any of these effects would crush an ordinary person into bits instantly, Holy Rank included.

But Kongming took a step under the fourfold rules, which was no different from taking a casual stroll for any healthy individual.

"How is this possible...?"

"It seems that even though the young lady can control The Realm, she doesn't truly understand it."

Kongming took another step towards Xingjian, "The power of The Realm lies in the fact that its owner can control everything within The Realm, creating and erasing rules effortlessly."

"But only within their own The Realm."

"The person who left this starry sky behind is also an exceptional powerhouse, but it's a pity that the young lady did not fully inherit the legacy she left behind."

"It's also a shame for this beautiful starry sky," Kongming said with regret.

The sky, like a shattered glass curtain wall, suddenly fragmented and disintegrated, revealing bright sunlight above, illuminating a new world with vast skies, magnificent mountains, and rivers.

"The Realm of Nine Provinces, my apologies."

Xingjian suddenly understood why his attacks, powered by his rule manipulation, had no effect on Kongming. If each The Realm could be likened to a small world, then the master of The Realm would be the deity of that world, but the deity's power only existed within their own small world.

When Kongming enveloped himself in his own The Realm, he naturally would not be affected by the starry sky's The Realm, as one cannot use the sword of a past dynasty to fight the officials of the present.

Moreover, this original The Realm, with its intensity and scope, far surpassed the starry sky's The Realm solidified on the Star Tower, to the point where just fully expanding it could shatter the latter.

The changes in the surrounding environment were also noticed by the two still engaged in a fierce battle, causing them to simultaneously stop and turn their gazes in Kongming's direction. When they saw Kongming smiling and waving at them, the expression on the Holy Spirits' faces suddenly turned peculiar.

"Long time no see, Ural."

"So, you're still alive, Silvis the VI."

In that brief moment when their gazes met, it was as if sparks of intense hostility flashed, but that strong animosity lasted only briefly. Kongming paid no further attention to Xingjian and instead walked towards the Holy Spirits.

Even after the shattering of the starry sky's The Realm, Xingjian's strength remained at the Holy Rank, but the level of Holy Rank could no longer cause ripples in the hands of a true The Realm Tier powerhouse—even with abilities as overpowered as Xiang Ling's, the final outcome would not change.

Compared to completely defeating Xingjian, Kongming was more interested in having a chat with an old friend.

Ural was also an old acquaintance. Although ten thousand years ago, due to opposing factions, their relationship was extremely bad to the point that they would confront each other upon meeting, after ten thousand years, among those who still existed from that era, besides the deities, there were only a few left, and meeting again felt different.

"You've grown much stronger, and over there... the Abyssal Dragon?"

"It is I, good sir!"

After finally managing to regain balance in mid-air and unsteadily flapping its wings back to rest on Kongming's shoulder, the Abyssal Dragon raised its head proudly.

"You've become quite lovely, much better than before."

"What!" Two crosses popped up on the dragon's forehead, and after spitting out a small flame from its mouth, it chuckled twice and calmed down, "But still better than you, Ural, sneaking into a female junior's body of the same clan, right? Upon closer inspection, it's the one who almost ** in my territory and is quite beautiful."

"...As always, you are still not very likable." The Holy Spirit, or rather the great Angel Ural who was currently leading the Trinity Spirit consciousness, raised the corner of his mouth, forcing a smile as he spoke.

"The feeling is mutual." The demon dragon squinted his eyes.

A strong gust of wind came from the side, Ural flapped his wings to avoid it, then raised his sword to parry a strike and followed up with a heavy blow. "Our battle can come to an end. Since that person has appeared here, it's pointless for us to continue fighting. We can only see how that person will respond."

Item Feather fell silent and retracted the long halberd aimed at Ural, instead going directly to check on Tiran who had been knocked down by Xingjian.

She had also witnessed the changes in The Realm, a scene enough to illustrate Kongming's sudden appearance and strength, with the fortunate fact that he seemed to be heading towards the new god being born beneath the Star Tower.

Let's observe how the situation unfolds for now.

Thud.

A clear and heavy vibration came from beneath their feet, sounding like a strong and healthy heartbeat.

"It seems I need to hurry up." Kongming waved his hand, dispersing the landscape of the Nine Provinces Mountain and River. The surroundings once again changed back to the original interior of the Star Tower, a tower constructed of deep black stone, with an open structure on the ground floor allowing sunlight to filter in, giving the impression of returning to the real world.

In the center of the ground floor hall, there was an abyssal hole covered by a seal.

At that moment, the Holy Spirit Ural stood silent above the seal with a raised sword, while behind him, the Angel's Arsenal gate opened wide, revealing an array of weapons poised and ready.

"Does this mean you intend to stop me?"

"I have no choice." Ural was also helpless; the command given by Yuan through the Book of Original Sin was something he could not disobey, and he had to defend the entrance no matter who the enemy was.

"Very well, it's been a while since we last fought."

With a flick of his sleeve, Kongming floated a deep red ancient qin in front of him, with the strings plucked, shaping the laws into form.

...

"Damn it, I haven't finished my lines yet!"

The princess suddenly sat up, but her forehead unexpectedly collided with something, causing her to wince in pain. She fell back, her head spinning, and when she opened her eyes again, she saw Item Feather gently touching his forehead just like her.

"I must have crossed into a different parallel world, where Item Feather is a gentle and cute girl who would even lay her head in someone's lap..."

"Silver War Maiden, did you hit your head too hard?"

Well, the tone is fine, confirming that we are still on the original world line.

Feeling relieved, the princess immediately regained her senses. "What about Xingjian and that Holy Spirit? And Yuan and Aya..."

"You don't need to worry about the former. A ridiculously strong person suddenly appeared. Lord Xingjian is sitting next to you. As for the other Holy Spirit..."

Item Feather helped Tiran up, and as soon as Tiran sat up, she saw a small area above the seal on the ground splitting from the surroundings, where everything inside seemed frozen, including the lifelike wax figure holding two swords and maintaining a combat stance.

"What a lifelike wax figure... Huh? Is that Zhuge Qin Devil?"

"Do you know him?"

"Just a passing acquaintance... I guess," Tiran smirked, mainly because he knew the Qin demon from another parallel world.

But his appearance here was definitely unexpected. His last-minute appearance at Milt was already a surprise, and now this.

"Could it be that he's been tailing this lady because he has a crush on her..."

Smack.

His head received a light tap.

"Prince Tiran, please watch your words a bit."

Xingjian, sitting beside him, withdrew his hand and sighed. From his expression, his mood seemed rather unimpressed.