With Vincent Wen's arrival and subsequent entry into Forgeworld, no one dared to stop Quentin Gong, Cyril Night, or Zachary Yu from entering any longer. Though the three felt uneasy, they naturally chose to enter Forgeworld first.
Although word of the events spread slowly, once Cyril Night, Quentin Gong, and Zachary Yu entered Forgeworld, others soon followed—and everyone quickly grasped what was happening.
Cyril Night and the others were backed by a newly risen cultivator named Joe Di. Many may not have a direct sense of Joe Di's strength, but it's enough to know that when Ezra Hu left Ascendant Gate with Joe Di, his intent was clearly to teach Joe Di a lesson, perhaps even to break into Joe Di's cosmic world. Yet after a while, Ezra Hu did not return, while Joe Di came back to Starhaven City as if nothing had happened.
If Joe Di's casual return to Starhaven City couldn't confirm something had happened to Ezra Hu, then Joe Di's occupation of Ezra Hu's residence and his public closed-door cultivation there made it obvious even to a fool. Clearly, Ezra Hu was in grave danger. Even if he managed to escape, as long as Joe Di remained in Ascendant Gate and hadn't entered the Gate itself, Ezra Hu wouldn't dare return.
The only ones unaware of Joe Di's return to Starhaven City while Ezra Hu did not were likely Cyril Night, Quentin Gong, and Zachary Yu.
No one dared disturb Joe Di's cultivation in his residence; even the area outside was crowded with cultivators seeking to comprehend the Grand Way. Joe Di, undistracted, focused on forging his Chaos Star. Though forging the Chaos Star was technically artifact refinement, the process was entirely different from crafting ordinary flying artifacts.
Joe Di used his own Grand Way to refine Vast Iron Crystal. Even if he couldn't transform it into Ascendant Gold, he at least sought to bring about a qualitative change and fuse it with his Grand Way rules.
Time flowed by slowly; in the blink of an eye, a thousand years passed, yet Joe Di still did not emerge. Outside his residence, the Grand Way rules circulated ever more profoundly, as if a new universe were being born.
Joe Di had finished refining the Vast Iron Crystal's Dao resonance and rule fusion, and formally began forging the Chaos Star. In addition to inscribing countless Grand Way array patterns, he also infused various Grand Way rules beneath the Dao Tree's celestial circuit.
At this point, not only was it possible that Joe Di had killed Ezra Hu, making him even stronger than the three Saintmasters, but even if Joe Di wasn't that powerful, no one would dare disturb his closed-door cultivation.
Han Fan's heart began to race. No wonder so many people were pursuing this Divine Kun—if he could capture it, even if it didn't recognize him as its master, he had countless ways to make the Seven-Clawed Divine Kun take him into the Vast Chaos, allowing him to roam freely. Besides, Han Fan had plenty of ways to make it yield to him.
The reason the three Saintmasters of Ascendant Gate Star City were so powerful was that they had entered the late Sixth Step earlier than anyone else.
After reaching the late Sixth Step, both strength and Grand Way domain would rise to a whole new level, giving a real chance to strive for perfection in the Sixth Step.
Because the Grand Way around Joe Di's residence was so vast, and one could often catch clear traces of Dao rules, the area outside his residence had become incredibly valuable. Nearly every cultivator stuck at a bottleneck or confused about the Grand Way desperately sought a spot outside Joe Di's residence, hoping to comprehend those clear Grand Way rhythms during his closed-door cultivation.
Under the influence of the Grand Way rules outside Joe Di's residence, bullying within Ascendant Gate Star City had greatly diminished. Many cultivators lacking strength no longer even went to the Forgeworld, instead remaining outside Joe Di's residence in hopes of furthering their cultivation.
Logically, as long as Joe Di continued his closed-door cultivation, no one should disturb his residence.
But things rarely go as expected. On this day, as many cultivators were comprehending the cosmic Grand Way rules outside Joe Di's residence, a violent battle erupted and surged in their direction.
Judging by the intensity of the spatial fluctuations, once the fighting reached this area, it would inevitably affect Joe Di's closed-door cultivation.
At that moment, nearly all the cultivators comprehending the Grand Way rules outside Joe Di's residence stood up. Led by several late Sixth Step experts, the rest formed a barrier at the edge of Joe Di's residence. They could not allow anyone to disturb Joe Di's cultivation—if he emerged, they'd lose their chance to comprehend the mysteries of the Grand Way they had yet to understand.
"Fighting is not allowed here. Stop immediately—" Han Fan was the first to summon his artifact and shout sternly, having just advanced to the late Sixth Step.
Upon reaching the late Sixth Step, Han Fan had comprehended the Grand Way rules he desperately needed from the flow of Dao outside Joe Di's residence. If he could continue comprehending for a while, he might break through to the Sixth Step Peak, or even reach perfection. Achieving perfection in the Sixth Step would make him a Saintmaster-level existence.
With such an opportunity right before him, how could he let anyone ruin it? Besides, he had witnessed the Dao rhythm of the three Saintmasters—the ones causing this fight were definitely unrelated to them.
But Han Fan didn't finish his sentence—he suddenly froze.
What did he see? A Seven-Clawed Divine Kun! If he weren’t certain he hadn’t misseen, he’d be rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
This Seven-Clawed Divine Kun was apparently lingering at the Fourth Step, while at least three Sixth Step experts were chasing it.
Han Fan didn't recognize any of the three Sixth Step experts. Unless they had only recently arrived at Ascendant Gate Star City, there was no way he wouldn't know them.
None of that mattered; what mattered was the Seven-Clawed Divine Kun. Even after countless years of cultivation, Han Fan had never seen such a divine beast at the Fourth Step.
Though hunted by three experts, the Seven-Clawed Divine Kun still carried a regal aura. With a bold, clear lightning mark on its forehead, its presence was even more imposing. This beast was surely the supreme existence of the Kun Realm, perhaps even a unique mutated Divine Kun.
Rumor has it that a Divine Kun at the Fourth Step possesses a natural divine ability—to roam freely in the vast chaos, completely unhindered by it. And right now, before them was a Fourth Step Divine Kun, possibly even a mutated one.
If only he could obtain this Divine Kun...
Han Fan's heart began to race. No wonder so many people were chasing this Divine Kun—if he could capture it, even if it didn't recognize him as its master, he had countless ways to make the Seven-Clawed Divine Kun take him into the vast chaos, allowing him to roam freely. Besides, Han Fan had plenty of ways to make it yield to him.
The Seven-Clawed Divine Kun was blocked by Han Fan and the others, with more pursuers behind and the entire space sealed. Despair flashed in its eyes.
It couldn't understand—by its instincts, charging into Star City and escaping to this side should have been a path to survival. Why had it turned into a dead end instead?
The Seven-Clawed Divine Kun stopped fleeing, now blocked by many experts, while the three pursuers also halted. At the front stood a purple-haired man, who looked Han Fan up and down and said coldly, "You want to stop me from catching my beast pet?"
"Your beast pet? If I'm not mistaken, this Seven-Clawed Divine Kun is a masterless beast, only being chased by you three." Han Fan chuckled, certain these three were newcomers to the Grand Way. For them to act arrogant before him—did they think everyone was as strong as Joe Di?
The purple-haired man paid no attention to the nearly thousand cultivators on Han Fan's side. He laughed, "The three of us have chased this Seven-Clawed Divine Kun along the Grand Way for thousands of years. How is it suddenly a masterless beast now that we've arrived here? I've heard about this place—if anyone tries to stop us from taking our beast pet, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Han Fan laughed, "I'd like to see just how ruthless you can be."
If it were anything else, Han Fan might have let it go. But he would never give up the Seven-Clawed Divine Kun—abandoning it meant giving up his chance to leave this place, and his opportunity to reach a higher realm.