The earth crumbled beneath their feet as Rui and the Heavenly Commander clashed. Their auras collided like two storms merging into one, creating a whirlpool of Qi that bent the very air. Shockwaves rippled outward, flattening nearby structures and forcing enemy disciples to retreat in terror.
Rui's sword met the Commander's radiant palm, sparks of divine and mortal Qi exploding in arcs that lacerated the ground. The sheer pressure forced weaker cultivators to shield their eyes, many coughing blood just from being too close.
But Rui did not falter.
His arm trembled under the force, but every vibration was met with a surge of will.
The Commander snarled. "You dare challenge a divine envoy?! Do you know how many sects would grovel for the honor of kneeling before me?"
Rui pushed forward, teeth clenched, blade humming.
"Good thing I'm not one of them."
With a sudden burst, Rui twisted his wrist and redirected the Commander's force upward. The divine energy shot into the sky, splitting clouds and sending a boom echoing across the mountains.
Rui seized the moment.
He pivoted, slashing the blade across the Commander's chest. A thin arc of shadow-infused Qi tore through the divine aura, making contact with the man's robes. Instead of slicing cleanly, the strike skated across the golden fabric but left a faint scorch.
A mark.
A wound.
Small, but undeniable.
The battlefield gasped. Divine beings weren't supposed to be wounded—certainly not by mortals.
The Commander's face twisted with rage. "Impudent brat!"
He vanished.
Rui felt danger prick his spine and raised his sword just in time as the Commander reappeared behind him, delivering a palm strike laced with killing intent. The blow connected with Rui's blade, but the force pushed him several meters across the ground, his heels digging trenches into the earth.
The Commander didn't let up.
He appeared above, striking downward.
Rui rolled aside.
The landing strike detonated like a meteor, sending dirt and stone flying in all directions. Rui shielded his face, gritting his teeth as fragments pelted him.
Elder Lin screamed from the distance. "Rui! Fall back! He's too strong!"
Rui ignored him.
Backing down wasn't in his nature.
He sprang forward again, blade flickering like a streak of moonlight. The Commander deflected one strike, then another, but Rui's movements remained fluid—each attack chaining seamlessly into the next.
Slash.
Thrust.
Spin.
Step.
The Commander frowned deeper with each contact. "Your technique… adaptable. And this power—where does it come from?"
Rui smirked despite his bruises. "Grow a little more desperate, and maybe I'll tell you."
Enraged, the Commander slammed his palms together. A golden sphere of divine energy formed between them, thrumming violently. The air around it warped, pulling in dust and debris.
Rui's expression hardened.
This wasn't an attack to pressure him.
This was an attack to erase him.
"HEAVENLY ANNIHILATION!"
The sphere shot toward Rui at blistering speed. Everything it touched—earth, stone, even the lingering Qi—disintegrated into particles.
Rui's muscles tightened. Dodging wouldn't be enough; the blast radius was too wide. He had to counter it.
He inhaled sharply, drawing upon every shred of Qi in his core. His blade vibrated violently as shadow energy wrapped around it, forming a dark vortex.
He stepped forward.
His meridians screamed in protest.
His bones rattled.
But he didn't stop.
Because stopping meant death.
He swung.
"SIXTH FORM — SHADOW-SPLITTING HEAVEN!"
His dark arc collided with the divine sphere.
For a brief moment, the world became white.
Then—
BOOOOOM!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted, creating a crater so deep the ground seemed to collapse inward. The shockwave blasted everyone backward. Sect disciples tumbled like leaves in a hurricane. Even elders were forced to embed their weapons into the ground to anchor themselves.
And in the center of that crater—
Dust swirled.
Two figures stood.
Rui.
And the Heavenly Commander.
Both battered.
Both bleeding.
But neither dead.
The Commander wiped blood from the corner of his lips—the first time in years he had felt the warmth of his own mortality. "Impossible… this power… you're a mortal, yet your body withstands divine techniques."
Rui spat blood onto the ground. His breath was shaky, but his eyes were sharp.
"I don't need a divine body."
He lifted his sword.
"As long as I have my will… I can cut anything."
The Commander's hands twisted, forming complex seals. The sky above darkened again—not with clouds, but with cracks. Reality split open, revealing a swirling vortex of stellar light.
A dimensional rift.
A direct channel to heavenly punishment.
Even Rui felt cold sweat form.
The Commander pointed at Rui, voice echoing both in the air and in the depths of one's soul.
"I will show you the power difference between mortals and the heavens."
A spear made of starfire emerged from the rift—its mere presence distorted the battlefield, causing the ground to crumble into dust.
Rui clenched his grip.
He knew one thing:
If that spear touched the Evergreen Moon Sect grounds, there wouldn't be survivors.
It wasn't aimed at him.
It was aimed at everyone behind him.
He couldn't dodge.
He couldn't redirect.
He couldn't split the sky like before.
So he did the only thing he could.
He moved.
Faster than wind.
Faster than thought.
Rui launched himself into the air, intercepting the descending spear with every ounce of Qi he possessed. His body screamed. His vision blurred. His heart pounded like a war drum threatening to burst.
He swung upward, meeting the spear mid-fall.
A thunderous boom erupted.
The impact sent Rui spiraling backward, crashing through three rocky outcrops and collapsing into the fourth. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he struck the final boulder.
Everything went dark for a moment.
He couldn't breathe.
He couldn't move.
He could barely think.
But somewhere inside him…
Warmth flickered.
A whisper.
A memory.
Stand. You do not kneel.
His vision cleared.
The Commander, floating in the air, stared down at him with a cold, victorious expression.
Rui pushed one knee into the ground.
Then the other.
Then he stood.
Slowly.
Defiantly.
His sword scraped the ground as he raised it.
"You're not done with me yet."
Shock flashed in the Commander's eyes.
"How…?!"
Rui didn't answer.
Because if he opened his mouth now, blood would pour out.
Instead, he stepped forward, aura rising again.
Shadows wrapped around him like armor.
And even the clouds seemed to recoil.
The Commander's scalp tingled.
Rui wasn't weakening.
He was evolving.