The Lord of Heaven: A Road to Eternity

Chapter 05: A Blessing from the Brink of Death

Bang!

A muffled explosion shook the space within Han Nian’s body. The veins in his arms tightened, his bones trembling as if struck by a giant hammer from the inside.

“W-What is this…?!” he muttered through gritted teeth.

His cultivation surged from Bronze Level One Star to Four Stars in an instant.

Bang! Bang!

Another explosion came without mercy, giving him no time to breathe. Energy rushed through his meridians like an uncontrollable flood.

“Wait… stop…!” Han Nian tried to control the flow with the breathing technique he had mastered, but it was useless.

Bronze Level Five Stars…

Six Stars…

Seven Stars…

Eight Stars…

Nine Stars!

Bang!

In an instant, the barrier that had once felt solid shattered like thin glass.

His body jolted.

“Silver… Level?!” His voice trembled.

Bang! Bang!

The energy continued to soar.

Silver Level One Star…

Two Stars…

Three Stars…

“This is impossible…” His breathing quickened, yet there was no pain like that of a forced breakthrough. Instead, there was only immense pressure mixed with a strange warmth enveloping his internal organs.

Four Stars…

Five Stars…

Six Stars…

Seven Stars…

Eight Stars…

And finally—

Nine Stars.

Everything stopped abruptly.

Silence.

Only the sound of his own heartbeat echoed clearly in his ears.

Han Nian stood frozen for a long time. “I… jumped dozens of stars in one go?”

He recalled the moments before— a life-and-death battle, blood nearly dried up, consciousness on the verge of fading. It was from that brink of death that this power had emerged.

“Has something like this ever happened?” he murmured softly.

What is a genius? What is a super genius?

No term could describe this situation. If anyone else had witnessed it, perhaps only one word would be fitting: monster.

Han Nian slowly directed his awareness inward.

He was stunned.

His dantian… was no longer the size of a grape as before. Now the energy space had expanded drastically— the size of a watermelon, dense, stable, and emitting a soft golden light mixed with seven faint glimmers.

“This… is my dantian?” he whispered in disbelief.

The energy inside was incredibly pure. Not merely stronger, but cleaner— as though it had been filtered by the very laws of heaven.

“No impurities… no residual energy toxins…” Han Nian frowned in awe.

Suddenly, he realized something.

The sphere that had been slowly rotating at the center of his dantian… stopped.

Its movement became steady. Calm. Majestic.

Han Nian held his breath.

The sphere trembled.

Not a wild tremor— but a rhythmic vibration, like the heartbeat of the universe.

An invisible wave spread from it, shooting up toward his head.

Han Nian staggered half a step.

“What now—”

Instantly, his vision was filled with light.

Visual images emerged in his mind. Not illusions, but pure knowledge directly imprinted into his consciousness.

He saw high-level martial arts techniques— hand movements that split the sky, footwork that shattered the earth.

He saw cultivation methods never recorded in the mortal world— energy pathways that merged with the laws of nature.

He saw ways to refine god-tier pills, intricate formation arrays capable of trapping an army in an instant, and forging techniques that could give birth to legendary artifacts.

Han Nian clutched his head.

“Knowledge… this is all Heavenly knowledge…”

The knowledge did not feel foreign. It was as if he were merely remembering something that had always belonged to him.

And within that ocean of information, one name appeared clearly in his mind.

“Heavenly Orb…” he spoke slowly.

The strange sphere possessed seven different colors— red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet— shimmering softly within his dantian.

An awareness surfaced along with it.

The Heavenly Orb was created by the Great God millions of years ago, during the Era of the Gods, to annihilate the Demons who invaded the Heavenly Kingdom.

Han Nian fell silent for a long time.

“So… this object is a relic of the Era of the Gods?”

His chest trembled, not from pressure, but from awe. He examined his cultivation foundation again. There was no instability. No cracks.

On the contrary, his foundation felt even more solid than when he had been at Bronze Level One Star.

A new understanding emerged.

“I… don’t need to consolidate my cultivation?” The answer came as absolute certainty.

Every time he advanced, his foundation would automatically be consolidated by the Heavenly Orb.

Han Nian slowly clenched his fist. Silver Level Nine Star energy pulsed strongly, yet tamely.

“If this is only the beginning…” His gaze sharpened. “How far can I go?”

Han Nian closed his eyes once more.

His divine consciousness spread, flowing to every corner of his body— meridians, bones, blood, even into his dantian which had now expanded like a giant watermelon.

But what he saw made his breath catch.

The seven-colored sphere… was no longer a sphere.

It had shattered.

Not destroyed— but transformed.

The seven-colored light fused into a vast flame that burned without painful heat. The fire flowed along his blood vessels, merging with his flesh and bones, even seeping into his marrow.

“What… is this?” he whispered softly.

The flame was not wild. It did not burn. Instead, it felt warm and obedient, like a part of himself.

Han Nian observed more closely. The flame pulsed gently within every cell of his body, as though he was no longer an ordinary human— but a living vessel for heavenly fire.

After a few moments, he slowly withdrew his consciousness.

His eyes opened.

The cave remained silent, only the occasional sound of dripping water echoing against the stone walls.

Han Nian slowly raised his hand.

“If this isn’t a dream…”

He focused his intent.

Whoosh!

A flame ignited in his palm.

The flame was not large, but its color was beautiful— layered with seven faint glimmers continuously swirling within its core.

Han Nian stared at it without blinking.

The flame moved according to his thoughts.

“Bigger.” The flame grew.

“Smaller.” The flame shrank.

“Extinguish.” The flame vanished instantly.

Han Nian swallowed. He raised his hand again.

Whoosh!

The flame appeared once more, this time more stable. He sent it back into his body.

It appeared again. Entered again.

He repeated the process multiple times, ensuring that the flame was truly under his control.

After several attempts, he chuckled softly. “This… is truly mine.”

There was no resistance. No excessive energy consumption. It was as if the flame were an extension of his will.

Han Nian slowly stood, then swept his gaze across the cave. Only now did he truly observe his surroundings.

At the center of the cave lay a natural pool, formed from a large stone depression. Its diameter was about five meters, and its water was pale white like dissolved chalk.

But what made him freeze was not its color.

Energy.

Pure energy emanated from the surface of the pool like thin mist. Every breath taken near it felt fresher and heavier at the same time.

Han Nian stepped closer.

“This energy… is purer than a high-grade spirit vein.” He felt his meridians react subtly, as if thirsty. “Is this what triggered the awakening of the Heavenly Orb?” he murmured.

He crouched at the edge of the pool, extending his divine consciousness into the water. The energy was not violent— instead, it was stable, yet extremely dense.

“If an ordinary person entered without preparation… their body could explode,” he said quietly.

His gaze then shifted to the right side of the cave.

There, fragments of ice jade were scattered. Their color was pale bluish, with remnants of a cold aura still lingering even though most had cracked and lost their luster.

Han Nian picked up one fragment.

A piercing chill touched his skin, but it was quickly neutralized by the seven-colored flame within his body.

“High-grade ice jade…” he said softly. “With this much quantity… there must have once been a massive core here.”

He turned back to the pool.

His eyes narrowed.

“Ice jade to stabilize the energy… and a pool of pure energy as its source…”

A suspicion arose in his mind.

“This place is no ordinary cave.”

Han Nian stood straight, his breathing gradually calming.

“Perhaps this is an ancient purification site… or even a place where something was sealed.”