Rui staggered forward, each step sending tremors through his body. His ribs felt cracked, his arms heavy as iron, and blood pooled beneath his tongue. Yet his aura—impossibly—continued to rise. The shadows around him thickened, swirling with an almost sentient will. They didn't just cling to him; they responded to him.
As if recognizing their true master.
The Heavenly Commander floated above, golden robes fluttering in the wind. His composure remained, but his eyes betrayed something he had never expected to feel in the mortal world:
Fear.
Rui raised his sword, the blade quivering under the influx of demonic and celestial energies fusing into it. It glowed with an unstable brilliance—darkness swirling within silver light, like two worlds locked in harmony.
The Commander's voice trembled despite his best effort.
"This power… it should not exist in a mortal. Who—no, what are you?"
Rui's voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.
"A man who refuses to kneel."
The Commander grit his teeth, his calm facade fracturing. "You think resolve can defeat heaven?! You think your petty defiance can overcome divine authority?!"
Rui dragged his sword along the ground, sparks trailing behind. "Authority means nothing if you can't enforce it."
That single sentence struck harder than any attack.
The Commander's aura exploded in fury. "You ignorant wretch! You dare mock heaven?!"
His golden aura condensed violently, forming swirling halos around him. They spun faster and faster until they merged into a colossal wheel of divine energy—the Heavenly Judgement Wheel.
A weapon capable of wiping out entire sects.
The battlefield shook. Even distant mountains groaned under its pressure. Countless disciples on both sides collapsed in terror.
Elder Shaya screamed, "Rui!! Retreat! You can't block that!"
But Rui didn't move.
His fingers tightened around the sword hilt.
"I won't let you hurt them."
The Commander thrust his arms forward.
"BE ERASED!"
The Heavenly Judgement Wheel surged toward Rui, tearing the air apart. The sky dimmed as if the sun itself feared being near the attack.
Rui inhaled.
His injuries burned like molten fire.
But his will burned hotter.
He stepped forward—not away, but into the attack.
His sword rose.
His Qi spiraled.
And from the depths of his soul, something awoke.
A pulse.
A heartbeat.
A whisper.
You walk between shadow and light…
Walk without fear.
A ring of dual-colored energy erupted around Rui, swirling like a yin-yang of violence and serenity. The ground beneath him shattered. His clothes whipped wildly. His hair turned weightless.
He slashed upward.
"SIXTH FORM — ASCENDANT SHADOW BREAK!"
The blade cleaved through the enormous wheel.
A blinding shockwave rippled across the battlefield. Light and darkness collided, battling for dominance in a chaotic explosion that swallowed everything.
For a moment, there was only white.
And then—
BOOOOOOMMM!
A pillar of light shot into the heavens, splitting clouds for miles. A ring-shaped shockwave expanded outward, flattening trees and sending shattered boulders flying.
When the light finally faded…
Rui stood trembling, his sword lodged in the ground for support.
The Heavenly Judgement Wheel was severed in half.
The Commander hovered in stunned disbelief, golden eyes wide. "Impossible. That technique—its strength exceeds heavenly tier. No mortal sect contains such a skill. WHERE did you learn it?!"
Rui didn't answer. He simply yanked his sword free, blood dripping from his fingers.
The Commander's shock turned to rage. "Enough! I will end you myself!"
He shot down like a golden meteor.
Rui met him head-on.
Their fists collided first.
Rui's knuckles cracked.
The Commander's wrist bent unnaturally.
A second clash.
Their legs crashed together.
Rui's shin split open.
The Commander's knee shattered.
A third clash.
Their foreheads collided.
Both saw stars.
But neither gave ground.
The battlefield watched in breathless terror as mortal and divine exchanged blows with no regard for their bodies. Dust, blood, and Qi spilled across the crater. Every impact shook the air, sending rippling distortions outward.
The Commander roared, "Why won't you break?!"
Rui hurled him backward with a brutal shoulder slam. "Because breaking means losing."
The divine warrior coughed blood, shock etched across his features. Rui—this wounded, battered mortal—was overpowering him through sheer brutality.
The Commander raised his palm, trying to gather more energy—but his divine aura flickered.
Rui tilted his head.
"You're weakening."
"Nonsense!" the Commander barked, but the tremble in his voice betrayed him.
Rui stepped closer. "You've been away from the celestial realm too long. Your divine connection is thinning. Your power is draining."
The Commander looked horrified. "No… impossible… Heaven never withdraws—"
Rui cut him off. "Heaven withdraws from losers."
Rage twisted the divine warrior's face.
With a howl, the Commander summoned one last surge of golden Qi, forming a spear of condensed celestial wrath. It pulsed with unstable power, light leaking from fractures in its shaft.
Rui steadied his stance.
He gripped his sword with both hands.
Black and silver Qi spiraled upward around him like a rising tornado.
The Commander screamed, "DIE, MORTALLLLLL!"
Rui whispered,
"Bring it."
The spear descended at blinding speed.
Rui raised his sword and swung with every ounce of will he possessed.
Their attacks collided.
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted powerful enough to level a mountain. The explosion swallowed both combatants, hurling debris thousands of meters away.
Silence consumed the battlefield.
Dust covered everything.
For a long moment, no one dared breathe.
Then…
A silhouette emerged from the smoke.
Tall.
Steady.
Holding a sword.
Rui.
His clothes shredded, his body bleeding, but his gaze locked forward with an unbending flame.
Across from him lay the Heavenly Commander—knees shattered, aura flickering, coughing divine blood.
Rui lifted his sword.
The divine warrior trembled.
"You… you cannot kill me. I am a messenger of heaven—"
Rui's blade pointed at him.
"I don't care who you serve."
He stepped closer.
"You came to my world."
Another step.
"You threatened my people."
Another step.
"You attacked my home."
Rui stood over the divine warrior.
"And for that… heaven can bleed."
He raised his sword high.
The battlefield held its breath.
The Commander screamed, "STOOOOP—!"
Rui brought the blade down.