The smoke of the Pavilion's ruins still curled into the dawn sky, dark against the paling stars. The mountain once filled with chants and bells now lay silent, broken stones and ash littering its sacred steps.
Feng Xieyun stood at the summit, his chest rising and falling, the crimson flame of the Demon Bone still smoldering around him. At his side, Lian Zhi's violet eyes glowed faintly, her silver hair flowing like moonlight caught in the wind.
The world itself seemed to pause, watching.
Then came the voice.
It was not sound, not thunder, not human tongue. It was vibration in the marrow, a weight in the blood, a decree that bent the very sky.
—Blasphemy.
The heavens darkened. Clouds gathered, spiraling above the ruined Pavilion. Lightning coiled like serpents, golden and merciless. The mountain groaned beneath the weight of the gaze now fixed upon it.
Disciples who had survived the inferno screamed, pressing their foreheads into the ash. Elders who still clung to life spat blood, their souls shivering.
"The Will… the Will of Heaven!" one shrieked, eyes wide with terror.
Lian Zhi's expression hardened. She took a step forward, silver light unfurling like a shield. "So soon? They move this quickly against him…"
Xieyun's fists tightened. "What is this force?"
Her eyes flicked to him, sharp. "The law that binds this world. The weight that even sects and clans kneel to. Heaven itself has seen your flame, and it calls it heresy."
The Demon Bone inside him pulsed in defiance, whispering venom.
Heresy? No. We are truth. Burn the law. Burn the sky. Burn everything.
The System chimed, cutting through the whispers.
> [Alert: Will of Heaven Detected.]
[Heavenly Tribulation Approaches.]
[Objective: Survive.]
Xieyun's teeth clenched. Survive? Against heaven itself?
---
The first bolt of lightning fell. Golden, wide as a river, it struck the ruins with a roar that shattered stone into dust. Disciples within a hundred paces were vaporized, their screams cut short.
Xieyun raised his arm on instinct, crimson flame surging upward. The flame clashed with the lightning, sparks scattering into the sky. The ground beneath his feet split open, stone bleeding molten fire.
He staggered, his breath ragged. His skin seared, his blood boiled, but he remained standing.
Heaven's voice resounded again.
—Child of Demon. Breaker of Law. Fall.
Another bolt. Stronger.
Lian Zhi stepped forward this time, chains of starlight weaving from her fingers. They wrapped the bolt, dragging it aside, shattering a mountainside instead of the boy beside her.
She spat blood, but smiled faintly. "Do you feel it, Feng Xieyun? This is the law your world bows to. The law that will hunt you until you kneel."
His eyes blazed crimson. "Then I will never kneel."
Her smile widened. "Good. Then you might live."
---
The tribulation grew. Lightning multiplied, weaving into a net that spanned the heavens, preparing to fall as one strike. Even the mountains trembled as though preparing to collapse.
Survivors screamed prayers, begging for mercy. None came.
Xieyun's Demon Bone burned, a furnace of hatred and hunger. His crimson flame writhed, screaming to be unleashed. The whispers became a chorus.
Burn it. Burn the law. Burn the heavens themselves.
The System's voice cut through again, calm, sharp, inhuman.
> [Emergency Authority Unlocked.]
[Skill Granted: Demon Flame — Crimson Lotus Bloom.]
[Warning: Once used, cannot be restrained.]
Xieyun's body shook. The flame coiled in his palms, twisting, blooming like a lotus of blood and fire. Each petal hissed with power, a promise of destruction.
He looked at the storm above him, at the golden lightning prepared to annihilate him, and for the first time, he laughed.
A laugh sharp, raw, filled with defiance.
"If Heaven itself hates me…" he roared, raising the lotus high, "then I will hate it more!"
The lotus burst upward, a flower of crimson fire that tore through the golden lightning. The sky screamed, the clouds ripped apart, the mountain shattered at its roots.
When the light cleared, the heavens were broken—if only for a breath. The tribulation clouds scattered, the lightning gone.
The Will of Heaven's voice trembled with fury.
—Blasphemy. Demon. You shall not escape fate.
The clouds withdrew, leaving silence. But the message lingered.
---
Smoke curled around the ruins. Ash fell like snow. The survivors stared at Feng Xieyun, horror etched into their faces.
He stood upon the cracked summit, flames still flickering around him, his robes torn, his eyes burning crimson.
Not disciple. Not sect brother. Not human.
Monster.
Demon.
He felt their gazes pierce him like blades. Felt the heavens' hatred still smoldering above.
Yet at his side, Lian Zhi stepped closer, her silver hair brushing his shoulder. Her voice was low, only for him.
"You've declared war against Heaven itself."
He looked at her, blood still dripping down his arm, lips curling into a fierce, broken smile.
"Then Heaven should prepare to lose."
---
✨ End of Chapter Seventeen ✨
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