NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1068: One Month
Lady Divine's voice was calm, but the weight of her words pressed down heavily. "The reason that the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain is called the strongest is because there are seven lords who reside within it. They are not mere guardians or ancient remnants. They are beings from the Divine Realm itself, lords who even there are said to command power beyond comprehension. For countless generations they have slumbered in that place, waiting for the right geniuses to arrive."
Max's gaze shifted toward her, his eyes narrowing slightly. She continued, unshaken by his silence. "If you perform well in the trials of the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain, you may be chosen by one of them. To be chosen means more than receiving treasures or inheritance. It means being acknowledged, guided, and trained directly by someone who stands at the peak of the Divine Realm. Even among the immortals, their names carry weight."
The faint glow of runes shimmered along Lady Divine's hand as she gestured toward the distant east, where the secret domain would soon reveal itself. "Imagine what that means for us. In a war where the demons have their own ancient lords, where even the Ascendants and the Nulls carry legacies of unfathomable power, to have you or one of our geniuses taken under the wing of a Divine Lord would tilt the scales. It is the kind of opportunity that can change the fate of a world."
She paused, her voice dropping lower, as if confiding something not meant for others to hear. "That is why we placed so much emphasis on your entry into the domain. With your talent, if you are acknowledged, the hope of our entire race will rise with you. This is not about prestige or honor. This is survival. This is why, Max, we cannot afford to lose this chance. Not now, when the balance between humans and demons is hanging by a thread."
Max said nothing at first, but his fists tightened at his sides as he took in every word. His silence was not ignorance. It was the silence of a storm gathering within.
Blob's calm, measured voice slipped into Max's mind, carrying its usual weight of certainty. "I have heard about the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain too. That place is indeed a good place for you to go right now. The treasures you might obtain and the opportunities you might get there would be beyond anything this world can offer. Even the Lotus of Clear Serenity, the one that can erase Lenavira's curse, could be found there."
Max's chest tightened as those words settled inside him. His eyes flickered for a moment, recalling Lenavira's pale face, her body trembling under the burden of the curse. The thought of freeing her, of finally lifting that weight, burned in him like a vow carved into stone.
"I know," Max said, nodding slowly, his gaze fixed ahead. "I will do my best there." His voice carried no hesitation, no wavering. It was a quiet promise, but one forged in the same fire as his resolve to slaughter the demons and to one day end Mark's existence.
Lady Divine glanced at him, her sharp eyes narrowing as if she had caught a glimpse of his determination. She said nothing, but in her heart she knew that the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain would not just be another trial for Max. It would be a battlefield where his path as either a savior or a calamity would be written.
"Let's go. I will take you to rest for now." Lady Divine said leading Max deep into the Four God Nation. Max nodded and followed behind her.
He finally allowed himself a moment to breathe. The chaos of battles, betrayals, and revelations had weighed on him like mountains, but now with a month before the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain opened, he had time. Time to recover. Time to grow.
Max secluded himself in a quiet palace granted to him by the Four God Nation. It was heavily guarded, its grounds lined with divine formations, and no one dared to approach without permission. Max spent most of his days in silence, but it was not rest in idleness. His body and mind were consumed by training.
He stepped into his Dimension of Time, where one hour outside equaled one year within. A month in the real world gave him the equivalent of a thousand years inside his domain. It was within this solitude that he confronted every technique he had and pushed them to the edge of perfection.
His Storm King's Inheritance of Extreme Speed became sharper. His body blurred into streaks of light, each movement fast enough to tear through sound and space. His sword concepts grew heavier with intent, the Severing Sword now capable of cutting not just matter but even emotions and willpower if he poured enough of himself into it.
But what made this month different were the gifts of the Four God Nation. Each god nation had offered him a single legacy technique, the kind they would never normally share with an outsider, but Max was no ordinary genius. They saw him as the one who could decide the war.
From the Phoenix God Nation, he obtained the Nine Heavens Phoenix Rebirth Flame, a technique that wove together destruction and rebirth. Flames burned not only flesh but spirit, reducing enemies to ash while restoring his own vitality in the process. Max practiced until the flames became pure crimson-gold, dancing across his hands like living birds of fire.
From the Dragon God Nation, he was entrusted with the Sky-Devouring Dragon Roar. The roar was not merely sound but a force that bent space itself, a shockwave that crushed defenses and shattered the wills of weaker opponents. In his Dimension of Time, Max roared again and again until the echoes of his voice shook even the artificial skies of his inner world.
From the Tortoise God Nation, he learned the Heavenly Tortoise Eternal Shell, a defensive art said to withstand even divine punishment. At first, his attempts were clumsy, his aura forming only thin fragments of the shell around him. But with persistence, the shell grew thicker, more complete, until it covered him in a translucent barrier that could endure even his own sword strikes.
From the White Tiger God Nation, he mastered the White Tiger Soul Rend Claw, a vicious technique that harnessed killing intent as a weapon. His hands became claws of pure energy, each strike leaving trails of white light that howled like tigers. In his Dimension of Time, he practiced until the claw marks themselves vibrated with soul-rending power, able to tear apart body and spirit in one motion.
Day after day, year after year in his artificial solitude, Max cycled through these techniques, binding them to his body until they were no longer borrowed powers but extensions of himself. The flames of rebirth, the roar of dragons, the eternal shell, and the tiger's soul-rending claws merged with his existing arsenal of lightning, sword, and spatial mastery.
When he finally stepped out of the Dimension of Time, only a month had passed in the real world. Yet Max's eyes carried the weight of centuries. His aura had settled into terrifying calm, like a storm hidden behind still skies. He was ready for the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain.