The Ocean of Nothingness.
An area of space, once the center of power in the universe, has now been destroyed, shattered, the result of total war and annihilation.
The glory of an era is now at stake.
Civilization is now on the brink.
The cosmic vortex has been torn apart.
Stars of all sizes are now pockmarked by the impact of this massive destruction.
Even spatial fissures have emerged from the aftermath of this war.
Amidst this chaos, the war continues.
Corpses float in space, corpses pile up, body parts are scattered, and blood has become an endless ocean.
At the heart of the war, the feud continues between the two sides.
Swords clash, and the booms and explosions of each side clash. Although this war could be concluded by everyone as a stalemate, they don't care. They each realize that it's pointless to protect their principles and pride for the future; they will all die anyway.
And this war, while seemingly evenly matched, was the complete opposite of what it seemed. It was more like a siege.
The world's major factions were united against a middle-aged man, the man that they assume is the main cause of all of this chaotic mess.
Beside the middle-aged man, or beside him, sat a woman, the empress of one of the dynasties in the universe, listlessly.
Her peerlessly beautiful face was now covered in abrasions, and blood flowed from the corners of her lips and nostrils. Her left hand still supported her from below, while the other rested on the sword stuck nearby.
Her clothing, which represented the majesty of a dynasty and her grace as an empress, was torn everywhere, revealing jade-white skin and contrasting red wounds. This was the result of her participation in the war.
Behind the two of them stood nine incredibly hard ice blocks, their deep color making their inner contents obscure.
As for the middle-aged man, he was as calm as the ocean, standing steadfast before his enemies like a mountain.
"Emperor Wuming!" shouted a voice from the enemy. "Your rapid rise truly defies the order of the Great Dao!"
"That's right!" someone chimed in. "Not only does your greed reflect your grave sin, even the heavenly path rejects your existence!"
"That's right!"
"Bring him to justice!"
"Just kill him!"
Everyone on the opposing side shouted at each other, simultaneously wanting to take down this man called Wuming.
"Moreover..." a powerful voice rang out, silencing the crowd.
Everyone turned their heads to see a man in his twilight years stepping forward. His aura carried a dignity unfettered by the times. Carrying a star diagram in his hand, this demonstrated the profound intellect of this elderly man.
"...When I calculate the fate of your existence, all I can see is endless darkness."
At that comment, everyone there began to speak loudly, unsure of where they were headed.
But, what was clear was that Wuming simply shook his head.
Then, he turned to the old man resolutely.
"I quite admire you for calculating my chain of destiny and the threads of karma I possess without having to pay. I also commend you for not receiving any backlash after what you did, old man."
Then, he glanced at each of the other faces in their camp.
"As for your opinion of me earlier, I don't really care. After all, I already know the consequences of my actions that led to this point, because I'm simply 'learning to know and understand.' But still, every living creature is dust in a corner of the world, with an equal opportunity to move forward and rise. It's truly a pity, 'dust returns to dust,' and 'above the sky there is always another sky.'"
After finishing his words, the man named Wuming suddenly brought his palms together. The clap was like a powerful shockwave, startling the enemy, scattering those who had gathered.
The enemy, caught off guard, scrambled to their feet. However, the sight before them shattered their cognitions.
They watched as the middle-aged man began to split apart, his form now resembling a spirit. What remained was a handsome, immortal young man who exuded power, masculinity, and an aura of authority.
At the same time, countless spirit manifestations began to emerge from the young man's body.
Two, fifty, three hundred, five hundred and eleven, and so on, up to one thousand and eighty.
They saw that these spirits had different features, ages, clothing styles, and temperaments, but they still shared the same facial features. And the middle-aged man they had previously known as Wuming was now standing among them.
"That..."
"How could this be?!"
"Even Wuming also there too!"
"If all of them is Wuming too, then..."
"WHO ARE YOU?"
That was all they could say, overwhelmed by the enormity of the scene before them.
Even the empress, who witnessed this unexpected change firsthand, could no longer think clearly.
While they were distracted, the young man closed his eyes and muttered,
"As you know, the Great Dao is inviolable. Truth pertains to the essence of all things.
However, I also see that the Great Dao is still like a speck of dust in the sky. And each eye has a different assessment of a matter.
Therefore, think bigger and see things from various perspectives, and don't be fanatical about one thing like a frog in a well."
With that muttering, the young man began to wave his hand as a signal, and all the spirits above began to charge at the enemy.
Various techniques, methods, and unknown powers began to destroy them and the surrounding landscape.
The destruction had been exaggerated, and even the word "apocalypse" was a trivial word compared to what had happened to the enemy, who had been wiped out.
Now, everything that had just happened was over.
All the enemies had fallen, leaving nothing left. The landscape as far as the eye could see was completely destroyed.
"Sigh... it's finally over..." the young man sighed, seemingly exhausted from dealing with everything.
The empress, who was being carried, was still frozen by what she had just witnessed. However, she heard the young man mutter as if what he had just done was a waste of time.
"Um... sir... are you okay?" the woman said nervously.
Hearing the melodious, stuttering voice, the young man turned with a faint smile to the woman below him.
"Nothing, just tired and... want to go home."
"Home?" the empress asked, confused. "Weren't all the places and people here destroyed by your fight earlier, sir?"
"It's true. This place, no, this universe, is destroyed. This also applies to you, who was betrayed by your ancestors and sold as a furnace long before what just happened," the young man confirmed. "In other words, you are now homeless. And also, this place is no longer fit for you to live in."
"You even know that..." The empress couldn't quite put into words the young man's revelation of her past. Furthermore, being homeless still didn't adequately describe the empress's situation. Since she was now alone in this universe, "Lonely" suited her better.
"By the way, before I go, I want your honest answer," the young man changed the subject.
"What makes you so steadfastly stand by my side even though this civilization rejects me?"
The empress was silent for a moment. Then, he replied, "When I first heard about you—I mean your other identity, as Wuming—you were ambitious and unpredictable. Initially, I wanted to invite you into my faction to stabilize my newly established power. Even before I knew you, the war broke out so suddenly. When things just happened, including your revelation earlier, I felt you were too mysterious, and I wanted to get to know you."
Hearing the empress's opinion, the young man merely smirked faintly and looked away.
"Sigh, mysterious, huh?"
The young man then turned and crouched in front of the empress. His right hand reached forward, lightly pinching and lifting the woman's delicate chin until their faces were close together, looking into each other's eyes.
This sudden movement made the empress nervous, and her face flushed.
"Since you want to get to know me, even calling me sir several times, wouldn't it be more fitting for you to become my woman?" the young man said directly.
Hearing the young man's words made her flinch. Her soft eye trembled and her pupil on the corner, as she so shy and too shock from his words and his dominated eyes stare at her.
"How is it? prove it with your own heart."
As the time goes off of her heartbeat's limit, she couldn't hold herself back and loudly said "Yes! I am your woman! I, Liu Caixi, am your woman from now on!"
"Good girl!" with that confirmation, the young man kiss her forehead gently.
"Because you are my woman, I can't let you not knowing things about your husband."
With that words, he then swing his right hand and a strange portal appear behind his back.
"Let me introduce my self. I am Wei Yan, I'm not from this world."