The Hall of Inheritance shook as though the heavens themselves trembled. Three colossal pillars rose from the shattered ground, each radiating a different force—blinding light, devouring darkness, and the raw essence of destruction. Their auras collided violently, splitting the air, creating a storm that could tear even the soul apart.
At the center of that storm stood Li Shen. His robes were drenched in blood, his breathing ragged, but his back remained straight, his gaze sharp like a blade forged by countless tempests. Around him, light and shadow spiraled madly, colliding, repelling, then clashing again as if both refused to submit. But Li Shen no longer tried to reject them—he forced them into coexistence within his trembling body.
From the other side stood Mei Lin, her sword glowing with pure radiance. A soft yet unyielding aura enveloped her, pushing away the storm of destruction. Yet deep within her eyes, anxiety burned. She knew the pure light she had inherited was not gentle—it was absolute, and if she failed to control it, the light would consume her entirely.
And before them stood Zhao Wei. His laughter echoed through the ruined hall like the roar of a beast drunk on madness. Black and crimson flames engulfed him, coiling and twisting into the form of a colossal shadow dragon. Every time the dragon roared, the altar cracked, the air tore, and the world itself seemed to recoil.
"Li Shen!" Zhao Wei roared, his crimson eyes blazing like blood moons. "You think you can balance light and darkness? You're nothing but a pawn of fate! Today, I'll prove that only destruction has the right to exist!"
The dragon surged forward, spitting molten darkness laced with destruction. The radiant glow of the altar dimmed instantly, and the chamber became a twisted abyss.
Li Shen leapt forward, his left hand burning with holy brilliance, his right hand wrapped in endless shadow. He slammed them together, weaving a spiraling barrier of light and darkness to meet the oncoming torrent.
BOOM!
The impact split the hall apart. Light exploded, shadows devoured, and Li Shen was hurled backward, his boots grinding across the floor and leaving deep scars upon the stone. His chest tightened, blood rising in his throat, but he held firm.
Mei Lin dashed beside him, sword blazing, her aura of light pushing back the mist of destruction.
"Li Shen! Don't fight him alone! If you force yourself, you'll be torn apart!"
Li Shen glanced at her, lips bloodied but eyes fierce.
"If I fall, then let it be by my own choice—not fate's."
Zhao Wei snarled, his laughter spiraling into hysteria. The black-crimson dragon coiled around him, then shattered into thousands of spears of fire and shadow, each vibrating with the energy of annihilation.
"Die together!"
The spears screamed through the air like the wrath of a vengeful god.
Mei Lin's eyes flashed. She raised her sword and unleashed a radiant barrier, an ocean of light that surged outward to shield both herself and Li Shen.
The rain of destruction spears struck relentlessly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each impact cracked the air, clashing against her barrier in a storm of sparks and fury.
Seizing the moment, Li Shen clenched his fists, forcing light and darkness together once more. Two serpentine figures burst forth—one a dragon of blazing gold, the other a shadowy serpent with crimson eyes. They shot forward, roaring in unison, charging at Zhao Wei.
"Dual Fang Strike!" Li Shen roared.
The twin dragons tore into Zhao Wei's black wyrm.
The collision was cataclysmic. Light and darkness twisted together, fangs clashing, wings ripping apart as the dragons shredded the air. The explosion shattered the floor into fragments, and the hall shook with the sound of a thousand thunders.
Mei Lin clenched her teeth, then raised her sword high.
"If you two intend to destroy each other, then I will not stand idle! Light does not exist to watch—it exists to protect!"
Her blade crashed into the ground. Radiance erupted outward, flooding the hall, stabilizing the chaos for a brief moment. Li Shen felt his raging energies calm, as though Mei Lin's light tethered the storm within him.
Zhao Wei screamed in rage, black blood dripping from his eyes.
"Your pitiful light will not stop me! Mei Lin, you're just as filthy as him!"
His body ignited, becoming a towering shadow dragon of crimson-black fire. Its maw opened wide, unleashing a beam of destruction so dense that even space around it shattered.
Li Shen staggered, voices clawing inside his head once more.
"Destroy him with our power!"
"Use me! Protect them, do not yield!"
Li Shen roared, veins bulging, his body trembling.
"Silence! I am not your puppet! This path is mine!"
With a primal scream, he forced light and darkness together, his body straining, cracks appearing along his arms. A swirling orb formed in his hands—unstable, violent, terrifying. Yet within Li Shen's eyes burned unwavering determination.
"Fusion Art—Twilight Devourer!"
He thrust his hands forward, unleashing a vortex of swirling brilliance and shadow. It wasn't two powers colliding—it was unity, raw and incomprehensible.
The Twilight Devourer clashed with Zhao Wei's destructive breath.
BOOOOOOOM!
The hall detonated. Waves of energy carved through the stone, pillars crumbled, the very sky above cracked as though the heavens themselves were splitting apart.
Zhao Wei's dragon screamed, torn apart by the devouring twilight. He was hurled back, his body bleeding rivers of black, cracks spreading across his skin. But instead of despair, he laughed, hysterical and wild.
"Hahaha! Good! Good, Li Shen! You've awakened something magnificent! Now, I will surpass even this—if it costs my very soul!"
His aura exploded, destruction runes crawling across his body. His skin split, his bones glowed crimson, but his power surged higher than ever before, like a beast breaking its final chains.
Mei Lin's face paled.
"If he burns his soul, the entire altar will collapse!"
Li Shen's breathing grew heavy, yet his gaze remained steady.
"Then we stop him—here and now."
He stepped beside Mei Lin. For the first time, their auras touched—not clashing, but weaving together. Mei Lin's pure light stabilized the storm inside him, calming the raging fusion of shadow and brilliance.
Together, they rose. Light and darkness twined, forming a colossal blade of twilight in their hands.
Zhao Wei bellowed, his entire form twisting into a dragon of annihilation, eyes blazing with crimson fury.
"You cannot stop me! I am destruction itself!"
They charged.
The twilight blade cleaved the air, descending with unstoppable force. Zhao Wei's annihilation dragon lunged, jaws wide, the roar of ruin shaking the world.
Light, darkness, and destruction collided.
The explosion that followed was beyond comprehension. It was not just power—it was destiny itself crashing together, a storm that could end or remake the world.
The Trial Ground screamed. Space fractured, the sky turned white and black, and the very concept of silence was shattered by the roar of clashing fates.
And within that blinding storm, the outcome of the three paths would be decided.