[For now, you lack the ability to forge Immortal Artifacts.]

[You are a Heaven-Grade artifact forger, capable of crafting Heaven-Grade Spirit Artifacts.]

[You must first advance your artifact forging skill to the level of an Immortal-Grade Artifact Forger.]

[Fortunately, with the aid of your trait tags, the future holds promise.]

[The twenty-second year, age forty-one.]

[You temporarily halt your studies in other disciplines to focus entirely on the Artifact Dao.]

[You slash a large chunk off Old Shen's resource list, exchanging it for one-on-one instruction from the top ten artifact forgers of the Starry Domains, a ten-to-one teaching arrangement.]

[Given your current level of mastery, these sessions are more like scholarly discussions than lessons.]

[Through exchange, frequent hands-on practice, and directly absorbing others' experiences, you progress much faster than if you'd stubbornly kept your head down and researched alone.]

[At the same time, the Shen Family has begun contacting the Five Regions and the Overseas territories—areas where human martial artists are relatively weak—to discuss joint defense preparations and strategies for comprehensively strengthening all factions' martial artists and developing more fighters.]

[Getting this off the ground is no easy task.]

[Convincing everyone to believe in this threat alone is a monumental project.]

[Fortunately, this time, the Shen Family is the one making concessions.]

[Any power on the ground that is willing to follow the Shen Family and participate in building the human world's defensive line...]

[...will receive better Spirit Artifacts, more pills, more powerful formations, richer knowledge in various paths, and superior martial arts masters.]

[In fact, the Shen Family's cultivation technique masters can even help improve other factions' martial arts methods.]

[So, even if they don't fully believe it, for the sake of the Shen Family's genuine investment of money and resources, all factions are willing to cooperate.]

[What's more, the Sword Lord, a respected senior with considerable influence across the Five Regions, is tirelessly traveling to rally support.]

[With the Sword Lord's reputation backing the cause, most factions, though still unable to fully grasp concepts like "world war" or "Dragon-Man tribe" that exceed their cognitive limits, won't suspect the Shen Family of ulterior motives.]

[Adding to this, the Shen Family, which was always known for keeping to itself and ignoring worldly affairs, is now so actively organizing the human world's forces to fight this so-called Dragon-Man tribe.]

[Such a drastic change must have a reason.]

[The Holy Lands don't need the Shen Family's resources, but they've also received a notification from the Shen Family, informing them of the impending alien race invasion and urging them to prepare.]

[The Three Great Holy Lands, led by the Free and Unfettered Holy Land, are all waiting to see how the Free and Unfettered God will react.]

[Unfortunately, the Free and Unfettered God is currently inside the Time Room and won't emerge until the next generation of Saints and Saintesses from the Free and Unfettered Holy Land are selected.]

[When the time comes, you'll deal with him.]

[The twenty-third year, age forty-two.]

[In between your research on the Artifact Dao, you also train diligently—or rather, you diligently consume pills.]

[Your cultivation level has now reached the Peak of Spirit Condensation.]

[The next breakthrough would be the Martial King Realm.]

[Shen Yang has already completed his fusion with Shen Qingshan.]

[According to their agreement, until Shen Qingshan's immediate family members pass away from old age, the body belongs to Shen Qingshan during the day and to Shen Yang at night.]

[Noticing that you've reached the Peak of Spirit Condensation, Shen Qingshan intends to use the Shen Family's resources to help you break through.]

["No rush. I've made inquiries. The Shen Family also uses the Ten-Person Method and the Thousand-Person Method. Although Old Shen has improved them, their success rate still doesn't match the Holy Lands'."]

["Fourth Brother, since we now need to resist the Dragon-Man tribe and demand universal martial advancement, why not let the Holy Lands use their methods to create more Martial Kings?"]

["The method is controlled by the Free and Unfettered God. We'll have to wait for him to come out before we can negotiate."]

[The twenty-fourth year, age forty-three.]

["BOOM!!"]

[In your first attempt to forge an Immortal Artifact, you nearly blew up half a star.]

["Fellow Daoist Chen Yi, don't rush too much! Your ability to progress so quickly is already that of a world-shaking genius. Just take your time to settle down and delve deeper, and you'll surely become an Immortal-Grade Artifact Forger like us in this lifetime!"]

[Your artifact forging teachers urge you patiently.]

[Watching you blow up a large pile of precious Immortal Artifact materials, their hearts genuinely ache.]

[Having an Immortal-Grade Artifact Forger doesn't mean a huge surplus of Immortal Artifacts.]

[The forging process for Immortal Artifacts is extremely complex, and the materials required are incredibly demanding. Even for the Shen Family, Immortal Artifacts can't be churned out like common goods.]

[These Immortal-Grade Artifact Forgers are usually employed to forge Heaven-Grade Spirit Artifacts, ensuring a high success rate and avoiding resource waste.]

[Of course you're anxious.]

[You can't stay in the Starry Domains researching forever; there are still many things waiting for you to do.]

[The twenty-fifth year, age forty-four.]

[Your artifact forging skill hits a bottleneck.]

[You heed your teachers' advice, settle down, and stop obsessively studying day and night.]

[With nothing to do, you accompany the Shen Family's "Martial Arts Dissemination Corps" on a trip to the Five Regions.]

[This corps is a specialized organization established by the Shen Family to unite all factions, integrate resources, and support the weaker powers.]

[You know that the Five Regions is the most fragmented place in terms of unity. Convincing them to believe in the Shen Family's spiel about "an alien race is coming, we must fight together" is extremely difficult.]

[So, you simply pull out your cheat ability.]

["Fellow Daoists! The human world is our only home! When friends come, we have fine wine. When enemies come, what do we have?!]

["FISTS!!!"]

["The Dragon-Man tribe claims to be the strongest race among the myriad races of the Void Realm! Well, I say that our human race only fights the strongest bastards there are!"]

["THE HUMAN RACE IS THE STRONGEST!!!"]

["As the ancients said, with greater ability comes greater responsibility! We martial artists possess formidable power; aren't we just waiting for such a moment to unleash our strength?"]

["WE MARTIAL ARTISTS FEAR NO BATTLE!!!"]

[The members of the Dissemination Corps are stunned, watching the thousands below chanting in unison.]

[The Shen Family knows full well that the martial artists of the Five Regions tend to take resources but don't take things seriously.]

[But after your impassioned speech, they all seem to truly believe it!]

[It's a belief that comes from the depths of their hearts!]

[The battle intent blazing in their eyes is so fierce they look like they can't wait to lock bayonets with the Dragon-Man tribe right now!]

["Sir Shen, you are truly a divine being!"]

[You fix your gaze firmly on the corps leader.]

["It's all for the future of the human world!"]

[The leader immediately straightens his spine, meeting your gaze with the same unyielding determination.]

["I swear to follow you to the death, to protect the human world!"]

[The "Chinese-Style Succubus" trait is still way too overpowered.]

[During your tour, you also take the opportunity to check on the progress of three important figures.]

[Your elder brother, Chen Jing, is in the Northern Frontier, surviving the "poison zone."]

[Starting with over two hundred competitors, the battle royale is now in its final circle. Big Brother is still lying low solidly, frantically building his network. The final power play is just around the corner.]

[Your beloved wife, Li Lingyue, is in the Southern Borderlands, rising with overwhelming force.]

[With a Guardian as her teacher and the Faith Sacred Physique as her foundation, Li Lingyue is growing rapidly, using the chaotic lands of the Southern Borderlands to develop her own followers.]

[Your old friend, Li Chengqian, is in the Great Qian imperial palace, playing the fool and feigning madness.]

[He seizes the Li family's resources for his own cultivation in secret, while above ground, he pulls the wool over the eyes of the treacherous Qin Rong clique.]

["Not a single one of them is a simple light in the lamp."]

[You feel they don't need your help at all.]

[If you stuck your nose in, it might even backfire.]