Joe Di was the first to awaken, just one step away from breaking into the Sixth Step—yet at this critical moment, he was startled awake by someone.
The Chaos Star came to a halt; Bolt and Dean Bell had already reached Joe Di's side in the shortest possible time.
The one who forced the Chaos Star to stop was a handsome young man. Deep, mysterious light flickered in his eyes, as if they were bottomless black holes—falling into them meant sinking into an endless abyss.
Seeing Joe Di deactivate the Chaos Star's protective array, the handsome youth immediately extended his own domain. When his domain fully merged with the Chaos Star, even Bolt could no longer sense the outside chaotic aura. Clearly, this youth was a top-tier powerhouse.
“It really is a flying planet forged from Vast Iron Crystal—impressive, truly impressive...” The handsome youth's lips twitched with excitement as he muttered to himself. He had wandered in Chaos for countless years without such luck, never encountering a planet-sized chunk of Vast Iron Crystal.
“Wait, there's also the aura of Chaos Wood...” The handsome youth's voice grew even more excited.
Joe Di said nothing, his divine sense circling the handsome youth, probing his strength. If his guess was right, this youth was the strongest person he'd ever met—definitely at the Seventh Step. Not just his gestures, but even every word he spoke radiated a vast Dao presence.
Joe Di didn't recklessly extend his domain like the other party, but his law array flags had already begun to form. If this were in Chaos, it might be difficult to sketch his law array flags without being detected. But here, at the edge of the Chaos Star, the opponent was brazenly using his own Dao domain to cover all the rules outside.
The handsome youth's excitement faded as quickly as it came. His gaze left the Chaos Star and landed on Joe Di. “My name is Austin Ninefold. I've taken a liking to your flying planet.”
"Well, your Grandpa Bolt has taken a liking to your head!" Bolt had cultivated on the Chaos Star for years, his power growing by leaps and bounds. Hearing Austin Ninefold covet the Chaos Star, his temper flared instantly.
Austin Ninefold snorted coldly, "You may be a mutated seven-clawed Kunpeng divine beast, but in my eyes, you're no different from an ant. When I pioneered the Chaos Universe, you were nothing but a wisp of stray gas."
Joe Di kept his gaze fixed on Austin Ninefold, finally speaking coolly, "My name is Joe Di. Quite the coincidence, we both have 'Nine' in our names."
Joe Di had long suspected Austin Ninefold's origins, sensing the aura of his cultivated Dao. Now, hearing Austin Ninefold announce his name, Joe Di felt even more certain.
Austin Ninefold laughed heartily. "You're just a Fifth Step Paragon, hardly qualified to have 'Nine' in your name. I'll give you a chance to live—hand over the Chaos Star and change your name."
After saying this, his gaze fell on Dean Bell. "You must be a Chaos Spirit Body, right? A Sixth Step Chaos-born Spirit Body, yet you stoop so low as to follow a Fifth Step human ant. Tsk, self-degradation."
Joe Di burst out laughing. The Azure Veil Blade swept up, transforming into a curtain of blades that tore forth. "If you're so mighty, then show me what you've got..."
Austin Ninefold was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected a mere Fifth Step ant like Joe Di to dare attack him. Normally, he had his own code of conduct—otherwise, he wouldn't waste words and would have killed all three and claimed the Chaos Star outright.
"You..." Austin Ninefold hadn't even finished the word before he was engulfed by a raging, terrifying blade momentum, surging at him like a furious tide.
Under this violent blade momentum, his domain shattered inch by inch. Austin Ninefold dared not waste another word and immediately drew his artifact, refining his supreme Dao technique into an ultimate Dao law to strike back.
Austin Ninefold's artifact was a colossal tower—nine layers in all. Once the Ninefold Tower was summoned, his domain, which had been crumbling under Joe Di's blade momentum, instantly stabilized.
The moment Time's Third Loom was unleashed, Austin Ninefold knew Joe Di was no ordinary Fifth Step cultivator.
With the Ninefold Tower summoned, Austin Ninefold now regarded Joe Di as his equal.
Austin Ninefold's Ninefold Tower was his personal Dao artifact. In terms of true potential, it was not inferior to Joe Di's Azure Veil Blade—perhaps even stronger. Of course, that strength was measured by Austin Ninefold's own cultivation.
Each time Austin Ninefold advanced a step in cultivation, his Ninefold Tower perfected another layer—much like Joe Di's Dao Tree.
At this moment, Austin Ninefold was at the Seventh Step of Divinity, his Ninefold Tower having perfected seven layers: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Thunder. He had planned to complete the eighth layer, Ice, but had been stuck at the Seventh Step for countless millennia, unable to progress. Thus, for tens of millions of years, only seven layers of the Ninefold Tower were active.
Though he now treated Joe Di as an equal, it was because Austin Ninefold never underestimated his opponents. Even if he misjudged at first, he would immediately correct himself upon realizing it.
It was precisely this cautious nature that kept Austin Ninefold from ever setting foot on Joe Di's Chaos Star, preferring instead to extend his Dao domain over it.
Even in Chaos, when Joe Di's blade curtain tore through, it transformed the very chaos into a realm of blade law. The endless curtain of blades swept down, truly embodying: "Wind and sand obscure the sea below, waves surge and innocence floats above. Blade light stretches ninety thousand miles, not a speck of dust in sight."
The fierce, overwhelming blade intent made Austin Ninefold shudder. He knew he'd misjudged—Joe Di's torrential blade momentum marked him as a peerless powerhouse. Unfortunately, today he had met Austin Ninefold.
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Austin Ninefold let out a long howl as the Ninefold Tower expanded without limit, its tip already piercing deep into the vast chaos, beyond the reach of divine sense.
The first five layers—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—each unfurled like independent, boundless worlds of elemental law, surging toward Joe Di. Even chaos was torn apart by these worlds, colliding head-on with Joe Di's endless waves of blade momentum.
Chaos was split open, and the battlefield had become a universe of chaotic rules.
Worlds of Gold, vast and unending; Wood, solemn and infinite; Water, a sea of surging waves; Fire, blazing with heavenly flames; and Earth, so dense and oppressive it seemed to steal one's breath...
For an ordinary Fifth Step cultivator, there was no need for these five elemental worlds to crush them; the pressure of law alone would be enough to leave them helpless.
But Austin Ninefold was facing Joe Di. As Austin's worlds of law crashed down, Joe Di's endless waves of blade momentum surged to meet them, each carrying a killing intent with no retreat.
Wave after wave of blade momentum clashed with Austin Ninefold's Five Elemental Universe, rendering the chaos even more chaotic. Everywhere, shattered laws, broken rules, fragments of divine essence, and torn Dao technique shards filled the void.
Far off, Dean Bell gaped at the endless, colossal waves of blade momentum colliding with Austin Ninefold's worlds of law, unable to utter a single word.
He had witnessed many powerhouses, but never anything like Joe Di and Austin Ninefold. Thankfully, they battled only in chaos—had they fought in a universe, any world would have been shattered by such a clash.
Now, the Ninefold Tower's first five layers unleashed terrifying worlds of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Joe Di's blade momentum was in no way inferior, but Austin still had four more layers—how could Joe Di withstand them?
Dean Bell wanted to help, but in a battle at the level of Dao law, there was nothing he could do except brag.
Instinctively, Dean Bell glanced at Bolt. Aside from excitement, Bolt's eyes showed that he too was unqualified to intervene.
Joe Di was deeply shaken. Since forging his Dao Tree in Chaos, Austin Ninefold was the first who could withstand the first five waves of Time's Third Loom blade momentum without falling behind.
Even so, Joe Di's sixth wave of blade momentum surged forth. This wave swept out nearly fifty million zhang, seemingly ready to envelop all of chaos in blade force.
Austin Ninefold's eyes grew solemn. Sure enough, Joe Di had a sixth wave of blade momentum—an absolute rival. But if Joe Di knew that Austin still had the Wind and Thunder layers of his tower yet to unleash, he might not be so calm.
He was certain Joe Di could manage, at most, a seventh wave of blade momentum. With Joe Di's current blade law aura, an eighth wave was impossible. If he tried, either he would collapse and die, or his blade momentum would be destroyed.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)