"I hear you." The voice was faint, almost unreal, like a whisper carried by the wind—fleeting, ethereal, yet undeniable.
Gu Tianzhu's tear-filled eyes snapped open. Had he imagined it? The words echoed in his mind, weightless yet firm, as though they had never been spoken aloud but simply arrived within him. He thought he had hallucinated. He had heard Xuan Tian's voice, whispering that he had heard his plea.
Xuan Tian stood between Chen Zhaoyun and Tie Yanfang, an unyielding wall shielding his fallen ally. Strong, unyielding, immovable.
Gu Tianzhu choked back a sob. An unimaginable relief flooded through him. A thought surfaced in his exhausted mind—Iron Wall. Ling Yu's ridiculous nickname for Xuan Tian. It fit. More than ever. As the tension drained from his body, so did his strength. He slumped to the floor, breathing easier.
Xuan Tian watched Gu Tianzhu slowly slumping to the floor from the corner of his eye. But his gaze was locked onto Tie Yanfang—the target of all his wrath. Xuan Tian had faced countless enemies on the battlefield, yet Tie Yanfang was the first he truly considered his enemy.
This was personal. He had a score to settle.
"Who are you?" Tie Yanfang asked arrogantly, scrunching his nose as if he had caught an unpleasant stench.
Xuan Tian stood in silence, staring directly at Tie Yanfang. Strangely, he felt calm. Not the boiling rage he had expected—just an unnatural, chilling stillness.
"Ah, forget it! This Saint has no time for this! Just hand over the cores, and this Saint might grant you a painless death. This Saint does not want you running and crying to that Old Mu," Tie Yanfang snapped, his patience already wearing thin.
"And if I don't hand them over?" Xuan Tian's voice was cold, laced with challenge.
Tie Yanfang didn't hide his fury. "Then this Saint will take them!"
Without hesitation, Tie Yanfang unleashed wave after wave of spirit energy, his greed overpowering any concern for Gu Tianzhu or Chen Zhaoyun. He didn't care who got caught in the blast—he just wanted his cores!
Xuan Tian didn't dodge. Instead, he moved with effortless grace, weaving through the air like flowing water. Each step, each flick of his wrist, turned Tie Yanfang's relentless attacks against him. With fluid, masterful precision, he deflected the waves of spirit energy as if they were blades, redirecting their force with seamless, controlled movements back at Tie Yanfang. Not a single ripple of power strayed toward Gu Tianzhu or Chen Zhaoyun.
Tie Yanfang's eyes widened in surprise. This had never happened to him! He was a Saint—unrivaled!
He clumsily dodged his own spirit energy, arms flailing as he stumbled around the stone bed chamber like a headless chicken. Very not Saint-like behavior.
A light chuckle was heard.
Xuan Tian's eyes snapped to the source.
Hiding behind one of the stone shelves was Ling Yu. She gave Xuan Tian a thumbs up, grinning.
She was safe!
Xuan Tian exhaled loudly in relief. Some of his tension washed away.
He made a subtle gesture, signaling her to stay quiet and keep hiding. But then, a flicker of confusion crossed his face—he couldn't sense her presence at all. His head tilted slightly, bewilderment clear in his eyes.
Ling Yu seemed to understand his silent question. She held up the Azure Veil Talisman, showing it to Xuan Tian.
He didn't recognize the talisman, but that was normal. There were hundreds of thousands of different talismans, each with unique variations crafted by cultivators.
Meanwhile, Tie Yanfang finally managed to evade the deflected waves, but not without injury. He stood there panting, his face twisted with rage and humiliation.
"You!"
Xuan Tian's attention swiftly turned to Tie Yanfang.
"How dare you humiliate this Saint like this! You will pay for this!"
Had Tie Yanfang used his brain, he might have realized he wasn't Xuan Tian's opponent. But humiliation clouded his judgment, and patience had long left him. Instead of retreating, he doubled down in blind fury.
But an insane, cruel person was dangerous when enraged. Tie Yanfang circulated his spirit energy.
Xuan Tian did the same, ready.
Ling Yu pressed herself further into hiding, only her eyes peeking out from behind the stone shelf.
What Tie Yanfang did next almost gave Xuan Tian a heart attack!
Tie Yanfang took out a core! It pulsed with volatile energy—he was going to detonate it!
Wait! He took out another one. And another!
Three immortal cores, primed for destruction, rested in his grasp. If he succeeded, the entire mountain would be reduced to rubble.
Tie Yanfang laughed like a true madman and hurled the cores into the air.
Everything moved as if in slow motion.
Xuan Tian leaped, catching the cores mid-air. He wouldn't be able to stop the detonation, but he could contain the explosion. His spirit energy surged wildly, forming a desperate barrier around them.
Tie Yanfang was still laughing, and a shield of spirit energy flickered to life around him.
But before the shield could fully enclose him, Ling Yu sprang onto his back. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, her left arm locking around his neck in a chokehold, while her right hand flung a handful of sand into his eyes.
Tie Yanfang froze in shock. He hadn't sensed her at all.
He instinctively covered his eyes with both hands, trying to clear the sand. He thrashed wildly, attempting to throw Ling Yu off his back.
Boom!
The sound of the cores' explosion was muffled by Xuan Tian's hastily formed barrier, but the makeshift shield could only contain the destructive force—not the shockwave.
A powerful vibration tore through the air, sending a deafening sound wave that slammed into everything in its path before crashing against the cavern walls.
The entire chamber trembled, loose rocks breaking free and cascading down in a dangerous rain of debris.
At the chamber entrance, Xu Yun stood frozen beside Zhao Zhi, her jaw dropping at the chaotic scene before her. She could barely see anything—sand, dirt, and shattered stones filled the air like a storm.
They had rushed over after hearing the commotion, but they hadn't expected to find the stone bed chamber on the brink of collapse.
If they looked up, they wouldn't see a cavern ceiling anymore.
They would see the moon.
"Ling Yu!" Xu Yun called out.
"Ling Yu!" Zhao Zhi echoed, his voice strained with worry.
Then, they felt a surge of spirit energy rip through the air, pulling in the swirling sand, dirt, and shattered stone. Within seconds, the dust-filled chamber cleared completely.
Standing amidst the wreckage of destroyed stone beds was Tie Yanfang—relatively unharmed.
In his right hand, he held an orb of condensed spirit energy, trapping all the dirt and debris within it. He had cleared the air himself.
His left hand was extended, fingers locked in an iron grip around Ling Yu's throat, lifting her off the ground.
Ling Yu struggled to breathe, her legs kicking helplessly as her hands clawed at his arm, trying to pry herself free.
"Ling Yu!" Xu Yun gasped, horror freezing her in place.
Xuan Tian was down on one knee. His left hand pressed against his chest, his face pale. A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He looked up and saw Ling Yu dangling helplessly. Her breaths were growing weaker, but her eyes remained sharp. She was still fighting. She refused to back down.
Xuan Tian's breaths slowly steadied. No longer ragged. His eyes never left Ling Yu's face.
Ling Yu's fighting spirit seemed to seep into him. He was waiting for the right moment.
Then Ling Yu's gaze turned to him. Their eyes locked.
Ling Yu smiled. Despite her condition, she smiled at him—assuring him. Him, Xuan Tian. Him, the Great General. Him, the God of War. Him, their protector.
Something inside him snapped. Like a taut string that finally broke.
Xuan Tian's world came to a complete stop. No sound, no movement. Only Ling Yu's labored breaths filled the void. Then, a thin trickle of blood escaped the corner of her mouth.
His consciousness shifted.
The God of War took over.
Power crackled across his body. The sound was deafening, sharp like lightning tearing through the air, snapping everyone's attention to him.
Xuan Tian was still on one knee, left arm pressed against his chest. But something had changed.
Purple light overtook his dark brown eyes. His jet-black hair grew shinier, thicker. His already towering frame seemed to stretch, looming over Tie Yanfang, an overwhelming force pressing against the space around him.
Spirit energies of different colors began swirling around Xuan Tian. It was the spirit energy of nature itself, as if the Human Realm recognized that a god was about to descend.
Xu Yun and Zhao Zhi understood what was happening. The seal on Celestials—Xuan Tian was breaking it. If he continued, the backlash he would suffer would be insurmountable. But how could they stop him?
Tie Yanfang instantly realized that his chances of survival were dwindling. The power before him was beyond anything he had ever witnessed. But as he stared at that massive surge of energy, another thought took root in his mind—this was destiny. This power was meant for him. The heavens had finally acknowledged him, gifting him the opportunity to rise above all. If he could just absorb that power and make it his own, he would become invincible.
Xuan Tian stood up slowly, his eyes locked onto Ling Yu.
Tie Yanfang's grip on her loosened slightly.
Ling Yu had been staring back at Xuan Tian, her mind hazy with confusion. She didn't fully understand what was happening, but she felt that Iron Wall was somehow... even more good-looking?
She blinked, dazed. Why was he glowing? Why were his eyes turning purple?
What's going on?
Then she felt herself falling. Her body instinctively tensed, a startled yelp escaping her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact.
But it didn't come.
She never hit the ground.
Ling Yu was floating.
Xuan Tian took slow, deliberate steps toward Tie Yanfang.
At the same time, Tie Yanfang stepped forward as well, arms outstretched—grasping, reaching.
Xuan Tian seized one of those arms and twisted.
A sickening crack echoed through the ruined chamber.
It took Tie Yanfang a moment before he dropped to his knees. If he hadn't, Xuan Tian would have ripped his arm clean off.
"Wait! Why? You belong to this Saint!" Tie Yanfang's voice was filled with something beyond desperation—delusion. His twisted mind didn't function like a normal person's anymore.
Ling Yu landed gently on her feet. Still confused, her thoughts spun wildly. I didn't see wrong. His eyes are purple. His hair… shinier and thicker than mine? Is this some kind of Charm Technique? She blinked rapidly. Why would Iron Wall be trying to charm Tie Yanfang?
Then it was Tie Yanfang who was floating. Suspended mid-air, his body twisted unnaturally.
Xuan Tian broke eye contact with Ling Yu, his gaze shifting toward Tie Yanfang.
Without hesitation, Xuan Tian raised his right arm above Tie Yanfang's abdomen.
Then—
"Aaaaarrghhh!"
Tie Yanfang's scream tore through the ruins.
Xuan Tian was extracting his core.
By the time Tie Yanfang realized he was doomed, it was already too late. He struggled in vain, thrashing wildly, but an invisible force kept him restrained. His mind couldn't wrap around the fact that a Saint—a Saint!—was utterly helpless against Xuan Tian.
The core extraction was slow. Painfully slow.
Tie Yanfang's arrogance cracked alongside his body. At first, he thrashed in rage, cursing Xuan Tian with every breath. But as the pain grew, so did his terror.
"No! No, this isn't—this isn't how it's supposed to be!" His voice turned shrill, desperate. His eyes darted wildly, searching for salvation that would never come. "This power was meant for me! ME!"
His vision blurred as he struggled harder, his screams turning into raw, guttural cries. His very essence—his foundation—was being ripped from him, inch by agonizing inch.
Ling Yu stood frozen. The raw force of Xuan Tian's power pressed against her skin, like a crushing wave of invisible weight. It wasn't just spirit energy—it was something different. Something overwhelming. She had never felt anything like it before.
Was this really Xuan Tian?
Xu Yun and Zhao Zhi barely breathed, watching in a horrified trance. The cavern trembled, resisting the unnatural shift of power. The air itself seemed to fight against what was happening, as if the world wasn't ready to witness this level of destruction.
And yet, it continued.
Tie Yanfang's once-mighty aura flickered and dimmed, his core being pried from him like a star ripped from the sky. The moment stretched unbearably, his body convulsing, every nerve burning in unspeakable agony. His eyes widened, as if realizing this was payback for Chen Wei.
The Immortal Core floated out of Tie Yanfang's abdomen. It pulsed with energy, overflowing with spirit power—its pure white color a stark contrast to its owner's dark heart.
It drifted into Xuan Tian's awaiting hand.
He smirked. It was done.
Then—the world seemed to implode.
Everything collapsed at once.
Before, time had stretched unbearably. Now, it rushed forward all at once.
The core slipped from Xuan Tian's grasp, clinking as it hit the cavern floor.
Tie Yanfang's body collapsed with a sickening thud.
Xuan Tian staggered, clutching his chest with both hands. His eyes flickered—purple bleeding back into deep brown. His hair dulled, losing its divine sheen. His face turned deathly pale.
Then—he spewed blood. A lot of it.
His body buckled. His breath hitching. His vision darkening.
With one final breath—
Xuan Tian fell.
Unconscious.