Apart from that, the biggest reason he dared to take such a risk was that he was the only person in the world who truly knew the origin of the "Great Xingluo Ring."

The "Great Xingluo Ring" was a divine artifact that did not belong to this era. Successive Emperors referred to the Great Xingluo Ring as a magical treasure, a title passed down by Emperor Ancestor Sullivan.

And the one who brought the "magical treasure" into this cosmic era was none other than the founder of the Sullivan Empire—Emperor Ancestor Sullivan.

These earth-shattering secrets passed down by Emperor Ancestor Sullivan were only revealed by each Emperor to their successor at the very end of their life.

The ancestral teachings of the Emperors echoed in Emperor Ethan's ears, stirring countless thoughts.

"I once roamed the heavens, known as Ethan Sullivan, ruling over the three clans."

"A great calamity over a treasure triggered a reversal of time and space. Helpless, I fled into a temporal rift, drifting for three thousand years before finally escaping the chaotic time-space and arriving here."

"Alas, in this vast expanse of star domains, not a trace of source energy could be gathered. My cultivation was lost, my divine powers hard to wield, and I feared I would never return to my homeland. Fortunately, the Great Xingluo Ring still contained a million units of source energy, enough for me to dominate this realm."

"Now, as my lifespan nears its end, I leave this teaching: any of my Ethan Sullivan descendants may inherit this ring, protect our lands, and wield my great power. If one can find source energy, the entire Great Xingluo Ring shall be theirs. Thus, my Ethan Sullivan descendants may rule the universe for generations to come."

At this thought, a trace of resolve flashed in Emperor Ethan's eyes.

With a turn of his palm, the dim and lusterless "Great Xingluo Ring" fell into the "Tongtian Eye." Suddenly, a deep blue, even darker than the deepest black hole, burst forth, instantly illuminating the vast Hall of the Heavens.

Outside the Hall of the Heavens, the countless billions of subjects of the Sullivan Empire, no matter which corner of their planets they were on, were all shocked by this sky-covering, sun-blocking blue light.

A terrifying energy that filled the heavens and earth erupted in an instant, sweeping over everything. Even the "God King" battleship, said to be eternally indestructible by the Sullivan Empire, was destroyed in this wave of energy.

Facing the sudden outburst of terrifying energy from the "Tongtian Eye," Emperor Ethan's mighty, towering body began to disintegrate. In the final moment of his life, his eyes were filled with horror and unwillingness.

He was horrified that his attempt to prolong his life would cause the entire Sullivan Empire to cease to exist. He was unwilling because he saw the "Great Xingluo Ring" that had fallen into the "Tongtian Eye" once again radiate its former brilliance, and beyond that, he glimpsed countless miniature worlds of different planes.

"Source energy, an immense amount of source energy..."

"If only a little more, I would have succeeded. Not only would the Great Xingluo Ring be filled with source energy, but I could have become a peerless sovereign ruling over countless universes..."

Before Emperor Ethan could finish this thought, the explosion of terrifying source energy had already blasted the entire Sullivan Star into cosmic dust, and the super-civilization empire that ruled eight star systems was utterly annihilated.

And this was only the beginning of the destruction. The source energy continued unabated. In just a few breaths, all the star systems within tens of millions of light-years were struck by devastating blasts, everything reduced to nothingness.

Such terrifying destructive force was merely the aftershock after the "Great Xingluo Ring" absorbed the vast majority of the source energy released by the Tongtian Eye.

A streak of deep blue ignited the pitch-black universe. For some unknown reason, the "Great Xingluo Ring" within the Tongtian Eye began to disintegrate, transforming into six dazzling star fragments, which shot into the ever-flashing extradimensional space deep within the "Tongtian Eye."

What was shocking was that on one of the six star fragments, a strange light flickered, and the phantom of Emperor Ancestor Sullivan flashed by. Though it was extremely brief, the look of wild joy on the Ethan Sullivan phantom was clearly visible.

Chapter Two: The Nine Realms of Martial Refinement

"Don't stop! You want to collapse after only five hundred punches? Don't forget you are descendants of the The Benson Family. Anyone who can't break the wooden stake within a thousand punches gets no dinner!"

A giant man, over two meters tall and clad in half-plate steel armor, shouted at the more than sixty youths on the training ground. From his iron-like muscles and dark red skin, it was clear that he was at least a master of the seventh realm of martial refinement.

Under the giant man's supervision, the vast martial training ground was filled with the sound of whistling fists and flying wood chips.

More than sixty youths were pushing every last bit of strength from their bodies, tirelessly punching the wooden stakes in front of them, each with a diameter of half a meter.

"Bang!"

Half a wooden stake flew several meters and landed on the ground. A youth wiped the slight sweat from his forehead, a proud smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Good, Thomas Benson, you are the first to complete today's training task. Three points for you. Go rest."

"Yes, sir." Thomas Benson bowed in response.

The giant man nodded slightly, signaling the first youth to finish to step aside, but his tiger-like eyes still watched the others who were punching with all their might.

Seeing someone break the stake first, the other youths held their breath and unleashed their strength in a frenzy. Judging by their coordinated movements and powerful stances, this group of youths were all promising talents with solid foundations.

"To punch, you must first gather your strength. Otherwise, even if you punch all day and night, you'll never break this 'yellow ironwood'..."

"Gather your strength like a tiger, punch as swift as the wind. A punch is not just the strength of your fist, but the power of your whole body. I'll demonstrate only once, watch carefully."