It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Chapter 527: Kneel, and Submit to Me

Mu Zhian had always considered the Heavenly Dao a potential ‘enemy’.

At least, judging by its past actions, the lofty Heavenly Dao wouldn’t tolerate an ‘anomaly’ like him.

However, even so, Mu Zhian didn’t expect that after the rules of heaven and earth malfunctioned, the Heavenly Dao would send down a wisp of its will to correct them.

And it was this will of the Heavenly Dao that just dispelled the last two tribulation clouds.

Mu Zhian quietly opened his personal interface and pressed the ‘save’ option.

Although he seemed to be in good condition, after withstanding seven lightning strikes, the Spiritual Energy in his cauldron was almost depleted.

If the Heavenly Dao’s will interfered now, or even attacked him… the consequences would be dire.

However, unexpectedly, the woman didn’t say a word to Mu Zhian, not even after landing before him.

And at this moment, Mu Zhian suddenly saw his personal interface appear, a countdown timer of 【00:30:00】displayed on it.

The countdown box was a deep black, a strange black mist faintly emanating from it, incredibly eerie.

If he remembered correctly, the previous save function only triggered upon death, but this time, the 【Primordial Witch】’s ability was directly displayed as a countdown timer.

What would happen after the countdown ended?

At this moment, Mu Zhian’s mind raced. Then, the emotionless woman finally spoke.

“Disrupting the order of heaven and earth shall be punished with a nine-lifetime tribulation.”

For a moment, the crescent moon formed by the Heavenly Dao’s will behind the woman emitted a bone-chilling light, like cold flames burning.

The heavy tribulation clouds in the sky condensed, the destructive aura within far surpassing any he had seen before.

The woman’s figure vanished like an illusion. Then, before Mu Zhian could understand what was happening, he saw countless tribulation clouds gathering in the sky.

Instantly, Mu Zhian was surrounded by a boundless sea of lightning.

Just as Mu Zhian had guessed before, the Heavenly Dao couldn’t violate the rules of heaven and earth itself, but Mu Zhian had violated them first. Now, the Heavenly Dao could use the power of the rules to kill him with a Heavenly Tribulation.

And this seemingly endless sea of lightning was the Heavenly Dao’s doing.

Mu Zhian could sense that any one of these tribulation lightning strikes was far more terrifying than the previous nine levels, enough to kill other Soul Transformation cultivators of the same realm.

Just then, a green light flashed past his eyes.

In mid-air, a green lotus bloomed silently. Mu Zhian instantly recognized it.

The World-Purifying Green Lotus!

Was it Yao Meng? But how could she be in the Heavenly Tribulation?

Boom!

Just as this thought flashed through Mu Zhian’s mind, the World-Purifying Green Lotus attacked him, emitting a soft halo. But almost at that instant, Mu Zhian found that his cauldron was completely disabled.

Within the distant Heavenly Tribulation, a faint, green, and slender figure seemed to appear. She was like a goddess, ethereal and immortal, the World-Purifying Green Lotus blooming behind her, her long dress fluttering.

“There’s no mistaking it, it’s definitely the World-Purifying Green Lotus!”

Mu Zhian was shocked. He didn’t expect Yao Meng’s phantom to appear in the Heavenly Tribulation.

Or rather, this was Yao Meng’s ‘Dao’, copied by the Heavenly Tribulation when she was transcending. A trace of Yao Meng’s Dao Rhyme, transformed into a phantom by the Heavenly Tribulation, had descended as part of Mu Zhian’s trial.

“I didn’t expect there would be a day I would actually fight against Yao Meng…”

Mu Zhian’s heart was filled with a strange feeling and inexplicable pressure. Although he had ‘dueled’ with Yao Meng countless times in the past, those duels weren’t exactly serious.

But this duel… was completely different.

Fortunately, this was just a trace copied by the Heavenly Tribulation, not the real her. Otherwise, there would be no point in even trying, he could just surrender directly.

Although his cauldron was sealed, the technique left by the First Demon Emperor reactivated it, and the depleted Spiritual Energy within his body instantly surged.

Mu Zhian gritted his teeth, summoned the Measuring Ruler, and clashed against the World-Purifying Green Lotus, a powerful aura echoing through the Forbidden Zone.

This was the first time Mu Zhian truly fought against Yao Meng. Although he had seen her suppress enemies before, he had never truly experienced her strength.

And this time, just a trace left behind from her tribulation was enough to make Mu Zhian realize the huge gap between Transcendence Realm and Nascent Soul Realm.

Weng!

Just then, a brilliant golden sword light descended from the sky, the golden light burning like a raging fire. A Bronze Sword fell from mid-air. Although its figure was incredibly illusory, the elegant aura of the woman wielding it was undeniable.

A breathtakingly beautiful woman floated above the Bronze Sword, countless halos appearing behind her, illusory sword shadows flickering within.

“The Bronze Sword… Gong Lianyue is here too!”

Mu Zhian was shocked. He knew this Heavenly Tribulation of his was destined to be extraordinary, but he didn’t expect it to involve suppressing these great powers who had once transcended, instead of just withstanding lightning strikes.

Even if they were just traces left behind from their tribulations, recreated by the Heavenly Tribulation, they couldn’t be underestimated.

Gong Lianyue raised her fingertip slightly, and almost at that instant, all the swords in the Forbidden Zone hummed in unison. Then, a magnificent scene unfolded.

Those swords flew towards Mu Zhian from all directions, their tips pointed at him, each coated in a golden light.

Mu Zhian barely avoided being suppressed by the World-Purifying Green Lotus, but countless sword blades pierced through his body at that moment. If it weren’t for the Heavenly Phoenix technique rapidly healing his wounds, this attack would have been enough to cripple him.

At this moment, he finally understood the consequences of violating the rules of heaven and earth, even causing a ‘bug’ within them.

The Heavenly Dao would correct the rules and eliminate any unstable factors.

And Mu Zhian was that unstable factor!

The Heavenly Dao’s will dispelling the last two tribulation clouds earlier wasn’t to help Mu Zhian, but to prevent him from easily passing the nine-level tribulation and reaching Soul Transformation!

A battle erupted. Although Mu Zhian rarely fought against others, he knew Bai Ruoxi and the others too well, even their techniques.

However, even so, the techniques unleashed by the two Human Emperors were devastatingly powerful, terrifyingly despair-inducing, almost shattering Mu Zhian’s body.

Only the Heavenly Phoenix technique kept healing him.

Just then, the sound of chains colliding in the void echoed. The Desolate Time Lock instantly bound Mu Zhian.

Time froze. A tall woman in an elegant purple dress walked out.

She was the true Reincarnated Empress, also Ye Lingxuan’s future self. A trace of her, imprinted by the Heavenly Tribulation during her past tribulation, had now become an obstacle in Mu Zhian’s path to Soul Transformation.

The Desolate Time Lock loosened, and time resumed its flow.

A giant cauldron smashed into Mu Zhian, sending him flying. Countless bones in his body broke, even the Heavenly Phoenix technique couldn’t heal his wounds fast enough.

A woman in a magnificent white dress gracefully walked out; it was the Pill Emperor of Yu State.

“How the f*ck am I supposed to play this?!”

Even the usually calm and collected Mu Zhian couldn’t help but curse inwardly, his expression grim as he looked at the four women appearing before him.

He was starting to lose it.

Normally, if only one great power appeared in the Heavenly Tribulation, Mu Zhian was confident in suppressing that ‘trace’.

But now, four great powers had appeared!

And they were all his wives!

Mu Zhian never dreamed there would be a day he would be beaten up by his wives.

This Heavenly Tribulation was a dead end, perhaps doomed to fail from the moment the endless thunderclaps began.

The Heavenly Dao didn’t want Mu Zhian to reach Soul Transformation from the very beginning.

He was too much of a threat. Although a Soul Transformation Mu Zhian posed no direct threat to the Heavenly Dao, the potential of the Innate Celestial Furnace was too terrifying. Once Mu Zhian reached Soul Transformation, the Innate Celestial Furnace would evolve to the Transcendence Realm.

Who knew if he could then help a third, or even a fourth, great power transcend the rules of heaven and earth?

The existence of Transcendence Realm experts was an unstable factor in the Nine Provinces, but the most unstable factor was Mu Zhian, who could create these unstable factors.

Boom!

A deafening rumble echoed through the sky. For a moment, the entire world seemed to be lit up by a brilliant, sun-like golden light.

Within that grand light, three more great powers appeared.

They were the Ancient Dragon Emperor of the Demon Realm, the Underworld Lord of the Underworld, and Xue Yi, the Space God of the Southern Wilderness.

Even the Heavenly Dao couldn’t directly erase someone, as it would incur the backlash of the Earth Dao and the Human Dao. All its actions had to follow the logic of the rules of heaven and earth.

Correcting the rules and eliminating unstable factors through the Heavenly Tribulation, this was a logical action.

However, this was a dead end, without a glimmer of hope.

Bang!

As another great power summoned their ancestral artifact, the Measuring Ruler could no longer protect its master. The faint protective barrier around Mu Zhian shattered bit by bit. The Spiritual Energy in his cauldron was already depleted, and even the Heavenly Phoenix technique had stopped functioning.

A sense of helplessness washed over him. Even during dual cultivation, he wasn’t confident in suppressing so many wives at the same time, let alone in battle.

These great powers appearing in the Heavenly Tribulation, each the most brilliant existence of their era, now joined forces to suppress him. This was a dead end.

Other cultivators’ Soul Transformation Heavenly Tribulations were just lightning strikes, while he had to fight against several great powers simultaneously, not just defend, but kill them to pass this trial.

“If you want to cheat, then cheat openly, why be so roundabout?!”

Mu Zhian was furious. His body had shattered and reformed several times, his spiritual sense incredibly weak.

Although he had just used six of the Heavenly Court’s character runes, it was still difficult to withstand the combined attack of these great powers.

As he fell from the sky, Mu Zhian seemed to sense something and abruptly looked up. He saw a woman in a white dress, her expression indifferent, like a deity, looking down at the beings below from high above the dark and oppressive tribulation clouds.

Her long hair cascaded down, her dress shimmering with the captivating light of special spirit stones, her jade-white feet bare, her face devoid of emotion.

“What do you want?” Mu Zhian transmitted his voice.

The ‘Heavenly Dao’s will’ didn’t speak, her cold face expressionless, gazing silently. She was like a goddess from the ancient times, not emitting the slightest aura, but from the moment she descended, the rules of the entire world revolved around her, as if a myriad of stars were behind her.

Like a true Immortal Ascension Realm immortal, otherworldly and aloof.

Just then, Mu Zhian suddenly heard a mechanical, emotionless voice: “Kneel.”

“Then, submit to me.”

Mu Zhian was stunned for a moment, staring at the tribulation clouds above. He wasn’t sure if the voice came from this woman, because her expression remained lifeless, like a lofty god looking down upon all beings, not caring about any life in this world.

“Was that you speaking just now?” Mu Zhian transmitted his voice again tentatively, because he noticed that the phantoms of the great powers in the distance hadn’t attacked, something seemed off.

The woman looked at Mu Zhian coldly, her beauty peerless. This time, Mu Zhian clearly saw her red lips part slightly, and she said, “Submit to me.”

“Do you have self-awareness?” Mu Zhian transmitted his voice again.

But she didn’t respond, just repeated mechanically after a while, “Sub—”

“Can you shut the f*ck up?!” Before she could finish, Mu Zhian’s voice rang out.

This Heavenly Dao’s will seemed to have some screws loose, like a broken record, repeating the same sentence over and over.

Mu Zhian’s outburst stunned the Heavenly Dao’s will manifested in the Nine Provinces.

All beings in this world, more or less, held reverence for the Heavenly Dao.

But Mu Zhian didn’t.

He didn’t believe in gods and wouldn’t respect such a Heavenly Dao.

Boom…

This time, the Heavenly Dao’s will didn’t speak again. The phantoms of the great powers in the Heavenly Tribulation suddenly moved, pressing towards Mu Zhian together, their ancestral artifacts intertwining in mid-air, creating an overwhelming pressure.

But Mu Zhian didn’t react, just staring at the countdown timer appearing before his eyes.

He didn’t know why this countdown appeared after he ‘saved’, but judging from the black mist surrounding it, this ability definitely belonged to the Primordial Witch.

This was something she left for him.

Countdown: 00:00:15

In the last fifteen seconds, Mu Zhian put away the Measuring Ruler. He used his remaining energy to look at the Heavenly Dao’s will in the tribulation clouds, that lofty, goddess-like figure.

Then, he looked at the great powers not far ahead, those who had left their ‘traces’ in past Heavenly Tribulations.

Thanks to the Heavenly Dao, he finally realized how troublesome his wives would be if they became his enemies.

Like the calm before a storm, at this moment, the entire world seemed to fall silent.

Mu Zhian stood in a world of intertwined light and shadow, fleeting images flashing through his mind.

Then, a faint voice seemed to echo through the world:

【World rebooting…】

Followed by the countdown:

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

【World reboot successful.】

For a moment, Mu Zhian felt his consciousness fade, his entire being plunged into darkness.

In the darkness, the world shattered like glass, then quickly reformed, piecing together a brand new world.

Mu Zhian slowly opened his eyes.

What appeared in his vision was the woman who had just descended from the soft white light… the will of the Heavenly Dao.