Chapter 2088: Divine Light

"Excellent!"

Meng Zangji gestured with his arm. Immediately, a jade stele, roughly nine meters long and wide, descended from the sky. It landed directly in front of Yun Che, at the center of everyone's gaze.

For Meng Zangji and others, publicly re-displaying the divine core was a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the "tier" difference between Meng Jianxi and Meng Jianyuan's divine cores in the most direct and intuitive way. It was exactly what they wanted.

Yun Che glanced at the jade stele. It was dull in color, perfectly square, and its most striking feature was the irregular arrangement of ten star imprints on its surface.

The arrangement of these ten star imprints precisely corresponded to the ten great divine cores within a person's profound veins.

"Place your hand on it, and the extent of your divine core will be revealed," Meng Zangji said. "A century has passed, Meng Jianyuan. I, an old man, wish more than anyone that Jianxi's miracle could manifest in you again... perhaps."

If anyone else had spoken those words, there might have been a hint of sincerity, but coming from Meng Zangji—the current Weaving Dream God Son's maternal grandfather—it could only be construed as passive-aggressive mockery.

"Very well," Meng Kongchan nodded slightly. "Most of those present have never witnessed how brilliantly the stars can shine when illuminated by the power of a divine core. Jianxi, you go first."

"Yes, Father God."

Regarding the divine core, Meng Jianxi, who had previously felt utterly humiliated, seemed to have undergone a complete change in demeanor. He walked towards the Star Jade Stele, and as he approached, the pride befitting a God Son gradually re-emerged in his brows.

Yes... no matter what, with a nine-point divine core, I am the undisputed Weaving Dream God Son in the eyes of the world! Nothing else matters!

His father's favor, the Sword Immortal's protection, his profound way talent... for a God Son of a divine kingdom, none of these could erase the gap in divine core quality!

Standing before the Star Jade Stele, Meng Jianxi's posture was straight, and a divine light seemed to emanate from his re-hardened features. He extended his hand, fingers splayed, and calmly pressed it onto the stele.

The dull jade stele immediately glowed with brilliant light. The first star lit up, followed by the second, third, and fourth... It wasn't until the seventh star that the speed of illumination began to slow.

The starlight continued to spread, gradually illuminating the eighth star. Its pace noticeably decelerated, yet it never stopped, slowly reaching the ninth star under everyone's unwavering gaze.

No one spoke; everyone held their breath. The divine core was far too important to a divine kingdom, imbued with an almost sacred aura... for, as the literal meaning of "divine core" suggested, it represented the qualification to become a true god!

The starlight faintly shimmered from the bottom of the ninth star, then slowly, arduously, yet persistently, spread upwards... one breath, two breaths, three breaths... ten breaths.

Finally, under the reverent gaze of the Weaving Dream profound practitioners, the ninth star fully illuminated.

The starlight ceased spreading. Nine illuminated, jade-colored stars were deeply imprinted in everyone's eyes, showcasing Weaving Dream God Son Meng Jianxi's nine-point divine core—a transcendence of the mortal body, enough to command the world's respect.

"Hahahaha," Meng Xuanji laughed. "I recall that for ten thousand years, our Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom failed to produce a single divine heir, and I often wondered how much we were secretly ridiculed by other divine kingdoms. Later, Jianyuan was born but soon met with calamity, causing widespread lament. Fortunately, we had Jianxi... Seeing these nine stars again now, I am still deeply grateful for how fortunate our Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom is to have Jianxi."

Immediately, the surrounding area filled with sounds of agreement and exclamations of admiration.

Meng Jianxi removed his hand from the Star Jade Stele and spoke calmly, "My divine core, like my life, was bestowed by Father God and born for the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom. This nine-point divine core belongs not only to me but, even more so, to the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom."

"Hahaha, well said," Meng Zangji praised with a hearty laugh, all his previous vexation and resentment gone.

Meng Kongchan spoke directly, "Yuan'er, your turn."

As the Divine Venerable spoke, all sounds of echoing praise instantly ceased. Yun Che stepped forward as instructed, passing by Meng Jianxi's side, and stood before the Star Jade Stele.

Meng Jianxi cast a slight sidelong glance, his face devoid of worry.

An awakened divine core acquired later in life? A joke. If acquiring a divine core later were that easy, the six great divine kingdoms in every era wouldn't have exhausted themselves searching for a divine heir.

Yun Che had no divine core.

The essence of a divine core was merely an additional profound opening.

However, ever since he retrieved the last Heretic God seed from the Qilin God Realm and completed his Heretic God profound veins, his profound vein world had undergone earth-shattering changes. It transformed from a finite profound energy space into an endless starry sky.

Even all his profound openings had completely vanished, replaced by an infinite expanse of stars.

In other words, Yun Che's current profound veins had completely transcended everyone's understanding of profound veins... including his own previous understanding.

So, would the stars on this jade stele respond to his profound veins...?

Oh no, no, the question should be... were these stars even *qualified* to respond!

Unlike Meng Jianxi's solemnity, Yun Che's palm simply and casually slapped onto the Star Jade Stele.

A profound silence fell. On the Star Jade Stele, not a single star lit up.

Everyone froze, exchanging bewildered glances.

It was well-known that Meng Jianyuan possessed an innate eight-point divine core. And it wasn't just Meng Jianyuan; even the most ordinary profound practitioner could typically awaken several stars on the stele.

"What's going on? Is this Star Jade Stele broken?"

"It shouldn't be. Didn't it just fully display God Son Jianxi's nine-point divine core?"

"It seems there's never been... huh? Wait, is the Star Jade Stele... is it...?"

Meng Kongchan, who had been frowning in confusion, suddenly narrowed his eyes and instinctively took a step forward... because he suddenly noticed that the Star Jade Stele seemed to be... trembling?

What was happening?

The trembling of the Star Jade Stele gradually intensified from subtle to violent, making it impossible to ignore.

The confusion on everyone's faces quickly morphed into astonishment. But before they could inquire about or investigate the source of this abnormal tremor, an incredibly dazzling star-light burst forth into their vision.

Buzz—

On the Star Jade Stele, all ten stars illuminated simultaneously... There was no process of starlight overflowing, no gradual progression between stars; it happened entirely in one single flash, one single instant!

Not only that, but the star-light emanating from each star was intensely brilliant... every single one far surpassed all the stars illuminated by Meng Jianxi!

"Ah...!?" A cacophony of uncontrolled gasps and exclamations erupted from every corner of the space.

"This... this is... oh..." The overwhelming shock left everyone who tried to speak utterly incoherent.

"...!!" The overwhelming intensity of the starlight even made Meng Kongchan, a Divine Venerable, unable to look directly at it for several moments.

His eyes and pupils widened together as he gazed ahead, almost in a daze... In his lifetime, he had touched the Star Jade Stele countless times and witnessed its brilliance many times over.

Yet, he had never known that the stars on it could release such scorching, sky-filling starlight.

"Perfect... divine core..."

He whispered the mere two words, his eyes instantly blurring.

Hua Qingying had already turned completely, gazing fixedly at the overwhelmingly radiant Star Jade Stele, just like Meng Kongchan.

She had personally witnessed the miracle of Hua Caili's perfect divine core, but...

The Star Jade Stele at that time had certainly not shone to this extent.

Yun Che...

This man, to whom Caili had completely entrusted herself, abandoning her father's arrangements to choose him... what was he, truly...?

Could this be the mutual attraction between two children of contemporary miracles?

"..." Meng Jianxi stood there, dumbfounded, his pupils completely unfocused.

Apart from Yun Che, he was closest to the Star Jade Stele. The intensely brilliant, sky-filling starlight completely enveloped him... and almost extinguished all the starlight in his eyes.

Yun Che removed his hand from the Star Jade Stele.

Instantly, the starlight completely vanished, and the entire world seemed to dim by several shades.

He looked up, silently observing the fine cracks slowly spreading across the Star Jade Stele... Had he withdrawn his hand even a moment later, the stele would have surely shattered.

The abruptly extinguished starlight also seemed to instantly silence all sounds. Gaze after gaze struggled to shift, finally landing on Yun Che.

But at this moment, their gazes towards Yun Che had undergone a complete and utter transformation.

Dian Jiuzhi turned his gaze back and sighed loudly, "All ten stars illuminated, a perfect divine core! Congratulations, Divine Venerable Wumeng! Congratulations to the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom, for such a miracle has been born!"

Dian Jiuzhi's words instantly woke everyone as if from an absurd dream, triggering an endless wave of chatter.

"All ten stars illuminated... a perfect divine core... I'm truly... not dreaming..."

"It seems a perfect divine core has never appeared in the history of the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom... This is... an unprecedented miracle!"

"No wonder, no wonder the Divine Venerable valued Meng Jianyuan... oh no, God Son Yuan so highly! So that's it, so that's it!"

"A perfect divine core... doesn't this mean that the next era of the Abyss belongs to our Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom!"

"To witness the birth of such a miracle with my own eyes... I can die without regret..."

Endless excitement erupted like an uncontrolled tide at what should have been a solemn ceremony. Meng Kongchan, however, showed no annoyance, nor did he try to suppress the crowd. With one hand behind his back, a faint smile graced his face, and the boundless joy and contentment made him feel as if he were floating on clouds.

A perfect divine core?

Yun Che, however, felt no ripple of emotion from those two words.

A so-called divine core was merely a qualification to wield the power of a true god.

But his profound veins originated from a Creation God, a being beyond the level of true gods.

The perfect divine core, hailed by the world as a "miracle," was barely worthy of a cursory glance from him when compared to his profound veins.

His profound veins were beyond the comprehension of all beings in the world. His potential was beyond the reach of all beings.

Even in this Abyss world... if not for the overly short fifty-year limit, he wouldn't need any schemes or stratagems. He would simply need to seclude himself in the Sea of Mists, cultivate wholeheartedly, and after sufficient time, he could overturn the entire Abyss by himself.

"Congratulations, Your Venerable!"

A loud roar echoed as Meng Chaoyang, Lord of the Second Dream Hall, stood up. He, who had remained silent until now, shook the four directions with his voice: "Your Venerable has not only recovered your beloved son but also brought a truly unprecedented miracle to our Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom!"

"Chaoyang was previously bewildered as to why Your Venerable was so eager to hold today's ceremony. It turns out, Your Venerable had prepared such a magnificent surprise for us and for the Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom... Amidst this boundless excitement, Chaoyang is also utterly ashamed of his previous doubts."

Meng Chaofeng, Lord of the Fifth Dream Hall, promptly added, "God Son Yuan was adrift for a century, yet not only was he untainted by the mortal world, but he returned bearing a miracle! This is a tremendous gift and blessing from heaven! As a citizen of the Weaving Dream Kingdom, Chaofeng is immensely honored."

Meng Jianxi's neck rotated with extreme difficulty, taking quite a while to turn his gaze towards Meng Chaoyang and Meng Chaofeng.

Meng Chaoyang and Meng Chaofeng belonged to the same lineage and were full siblings. That both could be Lords of Dream Halls demonstrated the power of their bloodline.

Yet, even though Meng Jianxi had firmly established himself as the God Son, no matter how much he hinted or indicated, these two Dream Lords had been unwilling to align themselves with him too early.

Now, however, they had actively stood up, praising Meng Jianyuan enthusiastically and even directly addressing him as "God Son Yuan."

At this moment, Meng Naihe, Valley Master of the Sunken Dream Valley, spoke with a noticeably trembling voice: "Five thousand years ago, the Divine Maiden Hua Caili of the Heavenfolding Divine Kingdom illuminated ten stars, shaking the entire Abyss world. I, an old man... never dared to dream that such a miracle would descend upon our Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom... My lifespan is nearing its end, yet to witness this phenomenon, I have no regrets in this life."

"Hahahaha!" Meng Kongchan burst into laughter. After his laughter, his expression was utterly confident, as if saying, "I knew you would react this way." "Valley Master Naihe is still hale and hearty; your lifespan is far from its end."

He slightly raised his gaze and scanned the entire hall: "Given this, does anyone still have objections to establishing Meng Jianyuan as the Weaving Dream God Son?"

When Meng Kongchan posed the same question now, the reaction it elicited was vastly different from before.

Objections?

That was a perfect divine core! It was the "miracle" that kept bursting from their lips. Who would object? Who would dare to object? Who was even worthy of objecting?

With a perfect divine core standing before them, they now looked at Meng Jianxi... The words "God Son" that had once shone brightly upon him now held not a shred of light.

Meng Zangji stood rooted to the spot. From the moment all ten stars illuminated, his expression had not changed; he showed no reaction to Meng Kongchan's words, as if he had completely lost his soul.

Compared to the endless excitement and awe around them, Meng Xuanji, Meng Kongdu, Meng Jinghai, and others had faces contorted with conflicting emotions. Their hands and feet alternated between coldness and numbness, and their seats felt as though they had sprouted a thousand thorns, making them restless.

Meng Jianxi suddenly lowered his head, then gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Recalling everything that had just transpired... his posture, his certainty, his arrogance, his words, the methods he secretly employed, his deep-seated disdain for Meng Jianyuan... everything seemed so utterly farcical and ridiculous.

He was supposedly the glorious Weaving Dream God Son, yet today, everything about him had pathetically become a mere backdrop to Meng Jianyuan's sky-filling divine light...

...and a stepping stone.

"I have an objection."

In this situation, there were no four words more ill-timed or ungrateful than these.

Yet, no one angrily rebuked him, for the person who spoke was none other than Yun Che.

Everyone was stunned once more, utterly bewildered... It seemed that from beginning to end, Yun Che's every word and action completely defied their expectations.