Many things happened in the period of one year, but not many of them were in the Human Domain.
The Divine and Infernal Realm Infected Source World raids were completed at the loss of over a hundred million troops, including several million 4th class beings and a not much smaller number of extreme peak masters.
The raids were successful overall. In the grand scheme of things, the loss wasn't much.
However, there was still much confusion surrounding the operation. The strange movements of the Nox were unexplained. The three greatest Infected Source Worlds became refuges for the countless Nox who fled from their original worlds, but what was the point if they were going to die either way?
The control division in Luxurion was still working overtime to figure out their motives, while the main armies took time to rest now that their job was over.
The fate of Grand Heavens Boundary now lay in the hands of a single man.
Not long ago, the Saint Emperor appeared at the border of Eien and declared the time and place of his son's fated duel.
It would take place three days later, in the center of the Divine Realm.
It was a spectacle that would be broadcast across the universe for all eyes to see.
Whether it would be a moment of triumph or shame could only be hypothesized now.
Both Damien and the Saint King hadn't been seen since the Grand Assembly ended. The improvements in their strength couldn't be measured.
However, compared to a genius of the universe who was forcefully isolated from its proceedings for the past two years, wouldn't the son of a Nox Emperor see more fortune?
Such a realization made it hard to sit still these days. Whether it be common soldiers or the leaders of peak influences, they all moved for a single purpose:
To prepare for what came next.
***
In the depths of the Abyss, far, far away from Grand Heavens Boundary, a certain meeting was taking place.
"Has it been completed?"
The question was asked by a being wrapped in darkness whose figure could not be properly seen.
As for the one it was directed to, he knelt on the floor before that being in reverence.
"All of the souls and essence have been absorbed into the corrupted products. We are prepared to act on the Lord's command."
The shadowed being smiled. The darkness around him wriggled and curved into the figure of a great demon grinning in madness, reflecting the expression of the man it concealed.
"Very well. Leave now and be prepared. We shall not waste any more time."
The subordinate prostrated himself respectfully before standing up and leaving the area.
Left alone, the being's eyes turned cold.
'The source's death was an unexpected event, however, it is not harmful for us to deal more damage to the enemy.'
Hassan, who controlled the laws of every Infected Source World, died 2 years ago upon the failure of the team sent to retrieve him. That team disappeared without a trace, and the information of their encounter before death vanished with them.
There was a need to investigate this event, but due to the Saint Emperor's interference, the Nox weren't able to approach Grand Heavens Boundary at all without risking the extermination of their species!
However, it was fine.
Hassan's death was an undeniable truth regardless of the cause.
And without Hassan to maintain the Infected Source Worlds in such a way that they were useful to the Nox, they lost meaning altogether.
As did the forces left on them.
The subordinate's report made the situation clear. The Corrupted World Cores in the universe collected the souls and essence of all who died in their dominion, all for the sake of a single move.
An opening move that would show Grand Heavens Boundary how hopeless their situation was.
The man stood up from his throne and stepped out of the darkness.
He had long midnight black hair and eyes that were hollow without a soul. His figure was lean yet muscular in a strange way that made him look inhuman.
There were four Nox Emperors, each with their own uniqueness.
The Saint Emperor was an existence of his own whose authority could not be questioned or compared with the rest.
The Inhuman Emperor was a cruel and shadowy being who reveled in the
pleasures of evil.
The Karmic Emperor could deal with the mind better than anyone, twisting truth and illusion into a picture of his own creation.
And the Soul Emperor was a hidden figure only known to have power over the ethereal that surpassed anyone in existence.
The Soul Emperor didn't interfere directly with any conflict, but his hand was said to be the cause of many tragedies within the universe.
In this moment, he was in the midst of doing so once again.
He looked up into the void.
There was no such thing as a sky in the Abyss.
His dull, lifeless eyes didn't carry a hint of emotion, yet the rest of his body was filled with it, making it disconcerting to even be in his presence.
"By the will of the Lord…"
A sentence one would never expect from a being at the peak of the universe rang out.
A slight glimpse into his true intentions.
A man who had never faced defeat due to his thorough planning had now set his eyes on Grand Heavens Boundary once again.
Yet…
This time, there was a glaring variable in his plan that he wasn't aware of.
A glaring variable who called himself Damien Void.
***
The Nox Emperors all had their own plans.
The Saint Emperor was moving in the light, directly attacking the universe, and the Soul Emperor was currently planning his own advent from the shadows.
The Inhuman Emperor never moved with such deep thoughts. As a manifestation of evil, he was a being of free thought who only acted when he felt like it, with an air of chaos and disorder surrounding his actions.
And finally, the Karmic Emperor was in cahoots with Immortal Blood Asura, his goals unknown yet his actions clear.
Blood Asura Holy Land had entered an era of rapid recruitment recently.
It wasn't that strange considering that many influences were taking the same routes to increase the number of grunt forces they could use in the coming war, but unbeknownst to the rest of the universe, the atmosphere in the Holy Land was strange.
The Blood Asura Holy Land star cluster had over a hundred worlds in its influence. Of these, only around twenty had defined purpose, while the rest were mainly used for residence by the common people.
However, this changed recently.
On a few hidden worlds within the cluster, devious operations were taking place.
Hidden below the surface were the tortured screams of millions.
The Nox had never succeeded in artificially manufacturing members of their race. Nox Worshippers who held their power would eventually get corrupted by their power, and the results of forceful experimentation usually ended in abominations that were only useful a single time.
The concept of Nox Worshippers only reached maturity, where said worshippers could, for the most part, blend in with the regular populace around a hundred thousand years ago.
But the Universal Law antagonized the Nox to the fullest. A hundred thousand years of research barely got them anywhere.
Immortal Blood Asura was the key.
With his proficiency in Blood Laws, his understanding of the physical body surpassed even Nox Emperors.
When he and the Karmic Emperor solidified their cooperation, a method was formulated.
A method to create an army of mass-produced soldiers with the stability of true existences and the loyalty of puppets.
And…
This was only the first step of their cooperation.
The uncountable hundreds of millions who suffered through brutal torture and had their egos erased to become a part of this army were only the first sacrifice.
The other actions these two beings were taking together…
If anyone were ever to find out, even the worst of punishments wouldn't be enough to assuage the souls of their victims.
