The Heavenly Court blazed around Li Yichen, a kaleidoscope of righteous fury and hateful glares.
His crimson robes, once pristine, were now tattered, clinging to him like the last shreds of his shattered honor.
He coughed, the taste of iron bitter on his tongue. Betrayal. The word echoed in the hollow chambers of his heart.
He looked across the swirling chaos of celestial warriors, finally fixing his gaze on two figures.
Hua Mei, his Dao Partner, her eyes shimmering with what looked almost like…pity?
Beside her stood Zhang Wei, his brother in arms, his best friend since childhood.
His face was a mask of grim determination.
"Yichen," Hua Mei's voice, once like music, now cut through him like a shard of ice.
"You have strayed too far. Your ambition has blinded you."
Zhang Wei stepped forward, his own legendary sword, Sky Piercer, drawn and pointed at Li Yichen.
"We did what was necessary, brother. For the greater good."
Necessary? Greater good?
Li Yichen wanted to laugh, but all that came out was a ragged wheeze.
He had dedicated his life to protecting the realms, pushing the boundaries of Sword Cultivation, all in pursuit of true immortality, true power. And now?
He was a heretic, a traitor, an enemy of the heavens.
The immortals surged forward, a tsunami of divine power crashing against his weakening defenses.
He unleashed one final, desperate strike, a blinding flash of sword qi meant to break the encirclement.
But Hua Mei anticipated him, her own celestial artifact, the Lotus Mirror, deflecting his strike, leaving him vulnerable.
Zhang Wei seized the opportunity. Sky Piercer pierced Li Yichen's chest, his lifeblood staining the immaculate jade tiles of the Heavenly Court.
As darkness encroached, a strange warmth enveloped him, not of pain, but of…acceptance?
Then, nothing.
He awoke, not to the pearly gates of the afterlife, but to a swirling vortex of energy, an impossible, cosmic consciousness enveloping him.
"Interesting," a voice echoed, a voice that transcended sound itself.
"A soul consumed by ambition and betrayal. A perfect candidate."
Before he could comprehend, a wave of data, raw and overwhelming, flooded his mind.
[System Initiated. Host: Li Yichen]
Linking...
1%...
25%...
50%...
75%...
100%...
[Celestial Cultivation System successfully linked.]
W-what?
His consciousness started fading.
He can see their gleeful faces as if mocking him.
'I will make you pay for this betrayal'
He whispered to himself.
His body started disintegrating as he embrace death itself.
News of what happened spread like wildfire in the Immortal Realm and other worlds.
Li Yichen, the strongest Sword Cultivator of his era, was dead.
The pinnacle of swordmanship has met its end.
But from the ashes of his fallen glory, a new legend was about to be forged.
He would climb, he would conquer, and he would make them all pay.
The Heavens would tremble before his wrath.