I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then his gaze fell on the three hesitant newcomers at the very back of the crowd.

"And you?" he asked casually.

Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian exchanged a glance, both seeing fear and struggle in each other's eyes. They had only just arrived in the Celestial World, and hadn't even fully adapted to life here yet. Now they were being asked to face terrifying natural disasters that even S-level powerhouses were helpless against? To be honest, they were afraid.

However, just as they were still hesitating, the dark-skinned, thin boy, Wu Gu, who had been keeping his head down, slowly raised his head. His cold, venomous eyes looked calmly at Lu Yuan, and he spoke in a hoarse voice: "You gave me my life, and you can take it back whenever you want."

When Wu Gu uttered those hoarse yet calm words, "You gave me my life," everyone present was shocked. They hadn't expected that this seemingly most somber and unassuming boy would be the first newcomer to speak out, and in such a resolute way at that.

Liu Wuhen and Chi Lian looked at Wu Gu's thin yet incredibly determined back, their faces filled with shame. Yes, what were they still hesitating about? What were they still afraid of? The reason they were standing here, the reason they had everything they had, wasn't it all because this young man had given them a chance to start over? Without him, they would probably have been eliminated long ago, or died in some unknown corner. Their lives, too, were given to them by him.

"Master Lu... Master Lu!" Liu Wuhen took a deep breath and took a sudden step forward. For the first time, a hint of masculine ferocity and bravery appeared on his usually somewhat effeminate face. "Although I, Liu Wuhen, am afraid of death, I also know what it means to repay kindness! You gave me a new life, and from today onwards, this life belongs to you! If you want me to die, I will not live another second alone!"

"That's right!" Chi Lian also stepped forward, her voluptuous figure standing ramrod straight, her alluring face filled with unprecedented determination. "I, Chi Lian, may be a woman, but I am not a coward who fears death! So what if they're Abyssal Moss? So what if they're Spore People? I'll burn them all to ashes with a single fire!"

Looking at these three newcomers, who were also burning with fighting spirit, Lu Yuan finally showed a relieved smile on his cold face: "Very good. Since you are all prepared to die, then as your 'captain,' I naturally cannot let you go to your deaths empty-handed."

He slowly turned around and stretched out his right hand towards the enormous [Heaven and Earth Creation Furnace] behind him.

"Buzz—!"

The entire "Divine Craftsman's Palace" trembled violently at that moment, and the enormous furnace, which had been silent for a month, once again emitted a deafening roar. The furnace door slowly opened, and eleven holy lights of different colors, each exuding a terrifying aura, shot into the sky from the furnace, intertwining and reflecting each other in mid-air, forming a magnificent picture that would make even the gods and demons of the heavens pale in comparison!

There were eleven ultimate weapons, each with a unique design, yet all brimming with power and beauty: there was a giant axe as heavy as a mountain, twin blades as nimble as a ghost, an ancient zither as pure as ice crystals, and a demonic blade as deep as a black hole... Each one exuded a terrifying pressure that could make even an S-class powerhouse tremble, and each one contained a unique and powerful "rule" force.

This is the result of Lu Yuan's month-long seclusion; this is the sharpest fang he has forged for this team and for the future of China!

"Holy crap..." Gu Tianye stared at the [Thousand Transformations Beast Soul Axe - Complete Form] in mid-air, which was even more domineering and perfect than before, his mouth practically watering. He could clearly feel that the axe calling to him, as if it were a part of his own body!

"My...my [Opening Heaven]..." Xiang Batian's eyes were also bloodshot, and his breathing became rapid. He felt the Titan bloodline in his body boiling like never before!

"So...so beautiful..." Mu Bingli stared at the [Nine Heavens Jade Pendant - Ice Soul - Complete Form], which was made entirely of "Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice Soul" and "Starry Mithril". She felt that her soul was about to be attracted and devoured by its extreme beauty and extreme cold!

Ye Cang remained silent, simply gazing at the [Asura Final Form] sword, suspended in the very center, its entire body jet black and seemingly capable of devouring all light. He could feel the "Asura Sword Heart" within him resonating with that sword with an unprecedented intensity, as if by simply grasping that sword, he could sever everything in this world!

"Go." Lu Yuan smiled faintly as he looked at the longing and fervor in everyone's eyes. "Go and take up the 'destiny' that belongs to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eleven divine artifacts that were floating in mid-air seemed to hear their master's call, and transformed into eleven dazzling streams of light, instantly flying into the hands of their respective destined masters!

"boom--!!"

When Gu Tianye grasped the fully-formed [Thousand Transformations Beast Soul Axe], a power of ten thousand beasts, a hundred times stronger than before, surged into his body. The dozens of beast soul phantoms behind him reappeared, but this time they were no longer phantoms, but rather tangible energy entities, each radiating a terrifying aura comparable to a level 50 lord! He felt that with a single thought, he could summon an army of beast kings capable of flattening a city!

"boom--!!"

When Xiang Batian grasped the fully-formed [Titan Axe of Creation], he felt as if he had completely merged with the boundless earth beneath his feet. A continuous, immense power surged from the depths of the earth, making him feel like an unshakeable ancient divine mountain; as long as he stood there, no force could defeat him!

"Zheng—!!"

When Mu Bingli held the fully-formed [Nine Heavens Jade Pendant - Ice Soul] in her arms, the temperature in the entire "Divine Craftsman Palace" instantly plummeted to freezing. Countless icy blue snowflakes appeared out of thin air, slowly drifting down around her. She exuded a noble, holy, and yet deadly aura of absolute zero, as if she were the only ice and snow goddess in the world!

"Clang—!!"

When Ye Cang grasped the final form of the [Asura] sword once more, the entire sky of the Celestial World darkened, as if even the sunlight was being swallowed up by the supreme demonic power emanating from the blade. An icy, pure killing intent surged from Ye Cang, making everyone present feel as if their souls were being torn apart!

The biggest changes were among the three newcomers.

When Liu Wuhen grasped the epic-level dagger, Shadow Fang, which was custom-made for him and made primarily of Void Shadow Crystal, his entire body slowly merged into the shadows behind him and disappeared completely, as if he had never existed!

When Chi Lian obtained the epic whip, the Kiss of Inferno, forged from the Lava Dragon Heart, the hideous phantom of the Flame Demon behind her became incredibly solid, as if a real ancient Flame Demon had descended from the abyss to the mortal realm!

What Wu Gu received was not a weapon, but a bizarre doll carved from an unknown black wood, which looked exactly like him. When he dripped a drop of his blood essence onto the doll, it came to life and transformed into a black light that merged into his body.

The next second, the witch's body suddenly exploded, transforming into billions of jet-black soul-devouring beetles, forming a black swarm that blotted out the sky. The scene was both extremely bizarre and extremely terrifying!

"Now," Lu Yuan looked at the eleven "monsters" before him, who had undergone a complete transformation and whose strength had increased more than tenfold, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face, "are you still afraid?"

"I'm not afraid!!"

The eleven people roared in unison, their voices converging into a terrifying torrent that could shake the heavens and the earth, as if it would overturn the entire celestial world!

"Very good." Lu Yuan nodded, slowly turning around to look at the spatial portal leading to the Northern Territory. For the first time, his usually lazy eyes blazed with a fierce, sun-like battle rage. "Then, let's go! Let those scum from the abyss witness the 'welcome ceremony' we humans have prepared for them!"

As Lu Yuan uttered the cold and resolute word "Depart," the massive spatial portal leading to the Northern Territory instantly shone brightly. Eleven young figures, transformed and possessing terrifying auras capable of making even gods tremble, vanished without hesitation from the teleportation array, transforming into eleven dazzling streaks of light.

This time, they are no longer "new recruits" going to be tested, but "gods" going to carry out judgment and revenge!

Zhao Qingxuan stood quietly beside the teleportation array, watching the spatial gate slowly close. His face, always bearing a gentle smile, was now filled with excitement and anticipation. He knew that from this day forward, an epic storm, capable of overturning the entire war's course, was about to officially begin on that frigid northern land! And the one who would unleash this storm was none other than that seemingly lazy, indifferent young man, that unique "Divine Craftsman" who, despite his F-rank status, performed divine deeds!

The Northern Territory, the former site of forward position T-03. This place has been completely transformed into a purplish-black wasteland, the ground covered with a thick, still-writhing carpet of fleshy fungus. The fungus seems to possess a life of its own, constantly spreading and expanding in all directions, assimilating and devouring everything in its path, making it part of its body.

The enormous void rift in the sky was now completely covered by a purplish-black fungal carpet. Emerging from it were no longer void creatures, but streams of abyssal spores filled with decay and evil. These spores, like purplish-black snowflakes, fell from the sky, transforming this icy plain into a living hell.

In the center of the creep, a colossal "mountain of flesh," constructed from the corpses of countless assimilated human soldiers and void creatures, was slowly pulsating. Each pulsation caused the entire land to tremble, as if it were a gigantic, utterly vile and filthy entity.

At the top of the "mountain of flesh," a middle-aged man in a tattered Chinese general's uniform stood silently. His body was mostly corroded by the purplish-black fungal carpet, his face covered in eerie purple markings, and his eyes had turned a pure, emotionless purplish-black. He was the supreme commander of the T-03 forward position, the once ruthless B+-rank Star Envoy—Iceblade. But now, he was no longer himself; infected by the spiritual spores of the [Abyssal Moss], he had become the "core" and "representative" of this fungal carpet.

"Su... Lie..." Ice Blade uttered a hoarse, metallic sound, his purplish-black eyes fixed on the fragile defensive line hastily erected by the Chinese army in the distance. "You... have you come? Can you smell it? The fragrance of death... Soon... soon... this icy plain... this entire world... will become my lord's garden..."

Just as he was still muttering to himself in that blasphemous and insane tone, the purplish-black sky above his head suddenly twisted violently. Eleven dazzling streams of light, seemingly capable of tearing the heavens apart, crashed down without warning from the spatial rift!

"boom--!!"

Eleven figures, like eleven meteorites from outer space, slammed heavily onto the still rampant, spreading carpet of flesh and blood. The violent energy shockwave instantly ripped away the carpet within a radius of several thousand meters, revealing the black permafrost beneath, riddled with corrosion and holes!

"Who is it?! How dare you disturb my lord's feast!" "Ice Blade's" purplish-black eyes suddenly turned to the center of the billowing smoke and dust, and an even more terrifying half-step A-level pressure suddenly erupted!

Before he could even see who it was, a roar filled with boundless arrogance and domineering fury erupted from the dust: "Who the hell are you?! How dare you touch my territory! Die!!"

With a deafening roar, a dark golden storm of destruction, carrying terrifying power capable of splitting the heavens and earth, shot into the sky from the dust and crashed fiercely into the enormous "mountain of flesh"! It was Xiang Batian, who couldn't help but make a move after obtaining the complete [Heaven-Opening]!

"Foolish mortal!" Ice Blade looked at the aggressive Xiang Batian with a disdainful sneer. He slowly raised his right hand, and the arm that had been completely assimilated by the fungal carpet suddenly expanded, transforming into an enormous, purplish-black fleshy tentacle. With terrifying power capable of shattering mountains, it lashed out fiercely at Xiang Batian!

"boom--!!"

The dark golden storm of destruction collided violently with the purplish-black fleshy tentacles, but this time, it was Xiang Batian who was sent flying! He flew backward like a tattered sack, crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his face filled with disbelief!

"How...how is this possible?!" After being "overclocked" by Master Lu, his strength had clearly increased more than tenfold, so why couldn't he even withstand a single move from his opponent?

"Heh... Foolish insects." "Ice Blade" slowly retracted its tentacles, its purplish-black eyes filled with a cat-and-mouse mockery. "Within this realm of [Abyssal Moss], my lord is the only god! And I, as my lord's representative, also possess divine power! You lowly mortals will gain nothing but despair and death!"

After he finished speaking, the enormous "mountain of flesh" began to throb violently once more. Countless purplish-black fleshy tentacles, identical to those on his arms, grew wildly from all sides of the "mountain of flesh," forming a deathly forest of tentacles that swept over the eleven people who had just arrived!