Keeping a secret was very difficult in the universe. While the build up to the attack on the Angels had somehow been kept a secret, the moment the attack happened all the major organisations of the universe learned about it.

The Humanoid Alliance, especially, took note of it and declared a state of emergency as they mobilised all their forces. A Sage race, the Laoer race, had attacked the Angels alongside many Elder races, and even more Noble Races - races with Dao Lords beneath who placed beneath the top one hundred on the Cosmic Ascendance list.

An action taken by a Sage race was very alarming, not just for the Humanoid Alliance, but all races, which is why they immediately contacted the Primals.

The Primals, who for so long proclaimed themselves as the highest ranked race in the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum, also considered themselves arbitrators and peacekeepers of the universe. It was under their enlightened rule that the universe had seen so many years of relative peace and stability.

They were also the ones who brokered the deal so long ago after which the Sage races reduced their presence universe-wide. Although everyone suspected that the Primals always did deals in the dark, and that they had their own reasons for doing all of this, their achievements couldn’t be denied.

Thus, for any sort of diplomacy, they needed to be contacted first. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

But that was far from all. The Humanoid Alliance normally avoided provoking others too strongly because their very structure meant that they were made up of many individual races all of whom had their own interests at heart. That did not mean that the alliance was weak, or that they dared not retaliate.

When the order came from Avalon, all the races among the alliance obeyed even if they did so begrudgingly. This time, however, they all acted with decisive swiftness. Such a bold attack was not just an attack on Angels - it was an attack against the whole alliance!

Though they were not among the Sage races, there was not a single Celestial alive who was afraid of them!

An army of Celestial Dao Lords emerged from High Solarium, and where they went nobody could tell just yet, but their very existence, alongside the swiftness of their actions, scared everyone.

Such bold and swift action was enough to startle many, but it seemed that this would be an age of turmoil, for in an unexpected move, the Phoenix’s attacked the Dragons, sparking an Age old war that was supposed to have been resolved long ago.

The Path of Chaos took full advantage of this opportunity, and managed to cover a Major realm with a formation that hid the whole realm from inspection. Whatever was happening inside, no one could tell. Everyone began to suspect that soon, a Major realm would be changing hands.

Many acted, and many more observed. Fear and uncertainty began to spread through the universe.

Origin realm

On the surface, it seemed like the Origin realm was focused on the war with the Fuegan. Much had happened lately, and all eyes were on Hiran Kokan, watching his every move. Though the Henali had immense power, they were not without competitors in the universe.

None who approached the zenith were to be trifled with. At the same time, they were the ones who knew best how to target each other!

Though the Henali wanted the Origin realm to mature, simply because they wanted it, there were many who would oppose it. There was no need to delve deeper into things, that’s just how things were.

Even their recent apparent victories merely remained within the limits of what was tolerable for their enemies. Everyone knew that letting the realm mature was not something that could happen without sacrifice.

Thus, openly and in secret, all the Henali were being watched.

Within the Origin realm, however, there was a region called the Trial of Eternity - the very place where Lex underwent his first tribulation, and reached the realm of Earth Immortal.

It was a unique region in the Origin realm, and it had been sealed off so that whatever caused the strange influence could not spread to the rest of the realm. It was a place so unnatural, so uncontrollable, so dangerous, that no one ventured there once the seal had been strengthened - something Lex himself had taken part in doing.

As it happened, back then, when Lex underwent his tribulation, he had woken up something ancient.

That very same entity watched as Vaelgorith, the golden Dragon King of the Origin realm, completed his ritual for the second time.

In front of him, the captured, suppressed Dao Lord died, his body and soul turning into mist that was quickly contained within a special vessel that had long been prepared by Asho.

Without taking a break, Vaelgorith turned his attention to the third Dao Lord who chained to the ground, bleeding from his stomach where a single blade of hair had pierced his stomach.

"Three billion more years for the Origin realm to mature," Vaelgorith muttered as he slowly stepped up in front of the Dao Lord bound Dao Lord, looking down on him. "How about three dead Dao Lords instead?"

The Dao Lord glared at the golden dragon with unquestionable, unspeakable anger. How dare he? How dare he!?! A mere Demi-Dao Lord, a pathetic little lizard... how dare he look down on a strong and noble Dao Lord like that?

"This Age has lasted too long. You Dao Lords have really started to believe that you’re all that," Vaelgorith said with a snort. "But you’re predictable, and even easily controllable in the right circumstances. Do you want to know how it was that we found you? It’s easy. From the very start, the Fuegan have never worked for you. The very purpose of their existence is to lure you out."

Shock suddenly filled the Dao Lords’ eyes as he heard Vaelgoriths words. How was that possible?

He had been working under Lord Death, which is why he knew that their victory was certain. How could something like that have been hidden from the eyes of the Lord?

That was a question the Dao Lord would never get an answer to, for the golden dragon began the ritual taught to him by Asho, the Divine Ruler of the Henali.

Everything had been so peaceful for so long, yet when the change came, the true face of the universe was revealed faster than anyone expected. More and more, it was looking like this would be an age of bloodshed. If that was the case, then Vaelgorith did not mind acting as the instrument to spill first blood. Well, technically, he’d already done that twice already.

Although he himself was nowhere near strong enough to actually even harm, let alone kill a Dao Lord, all he needed to do was unleash the power that was already condensed inside the hair piercing their bodies.

The ancient being watched silently, and waited, for soon its time would come.