The underground chamber pulsed with a faint silver glow long after Lin Tian and Yi Qing had ascended the stone steps. The air above the bamboo forest was thick with mist, swirling with remnants of the earlier battle.
Yi Qing walked behind Lin Tian, her heart still heavy with the knowledge retrieved from the Nexus.
His aura was sharper now—alive, electric, almost dangerous.
"With one fragment restored," she asked softly, "how much of your original strength has returned?"
Lin Tian paused on the forest path.
A faint silver crackle rippled across his fingers.
"Enough," he said, "to kill any divine messenger Heaven dares to throw at me."
Yi Qing swallowed.
His confidence was not arrogance—it was memory. He had once stood atop the heavens themselves.
But before she could say anything more…
The forest froze.
Wind stopped.
Insects fell silent.
The world went still.
Yi Qing felt an icy chill crawl down her spine.
"Something's coming."
Lin Tian stepped forward, his eyes narrowing.
"No. It's already here."
The silence shattered.
A Slash That Cut Reality
A thin line of light appeared in the air—like someone had sliced through the dimension with a razor. Slowly… painfully… reality peeled open.
A man stepped out.
No armor.
No divine robes.
Just a simple black coat.
But his presence was terrifying.
The air distorted around him, bending space itself. His hair was silver-white, his eyes glowing with a cold golden light.
He looked at Lin Tian and smiled faintly.
"It's been a long time… Tianxu."
Yi Qing's face drained of color.
"No… it can't be…!"
Lin Tian's expression finally changed.
Not fear.
Not shock.
Wariness.
"So Heaven finally sent him."
The Celestial Saboteur
The man placed his hands casually in his pockets.
"You remember me. I'm touched."
He tilted his head. "Though the mortal world seems a bit small for someone like you."
Yi Qing trembled.
"S-Saboteur Jin Yue… Heaven's Silent Executioner!"
She turned to Lin Tian in panic.
"He killed five immortal lords by himself! He can nullify any technique below divine rank!"
Jin Yue smiled politely at her.
"Flattered by the introduction."
He then shifted his gaze back to Lin Tian.
"My orders are simple—cripple you before the Trial. They don't want you dying too quickly. They want a show."
Lin Tian didn't respond.
He simply raised one hand.
The Nexus fragment glowed faintly under his skin.
Jin Yue's smile faded slightly.
"Still relying on the Nexus? Dangerous choice. You're incomplete."
He took a step.
WHOOM.
The world blurred.
Yi Qing gasped—
"He vanished!"
Before she could blink, Jin Yue was standing behind Lin Tian, a fingertip pressed to his spine—
A killing point.
Yi Qing screamed:
"Lin Tian—!"
But Lin Tian didn't move.
Instead…
He smiled.
"Too predictable."
His body dissolved into silver dust.
Jin Yue's eyes widened.
"An afterimage—?"
BOOM!
Lin Tian appeared above him, palm glowing with swirling cosmic symbols.
"Nexus Art — Dimensional Break."
He struck downward.
Jin Yue crossed his arms to block—
CRACK!
The impact shattered the ground for miles.
Jin Yue was blasted backward, skidding through the bamboo forest, breaking hundreds of trees.
Yi Qing's jaw dropped.
"He… he actually pushed Jin Yue back!"
But Lin Tian's expression remained cold.
"Don't be impressed. That was one percent of what he can do."
Dust rose as Jin Yue stepped out of the crater he had created.
His coat was torn at the sleeve.
His arm was bleeding slightly.
He looked at the wound… and smiled.
"Ah. You still have that tone.
Like you're scolding a child."
He wiped the blood with the back of his hand.
"Then allow me to return the favor."
The Saboteur's Forbidden Technique
Jin Yue clapped softly.
A shockwave rippled out—silent, invisible, deadly.
Lin Tian's body froze for a fraction of a second.
Yi Qing felt her heart drop.
"He's using Heaven's Anti-Essence Seal!"
Jin Yue explained calmly:
"This technique cuts your access to external energy. No qi, no spiritual force… no Nexus."
Lin Tian's eyes narrowed.
He tried to summon the Nexus energy—
Nothing responded.
Yi Qing's face turned pale.
"Lin Tian… your energy is sealed!"
Jin Yue stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.
"Now… let's see you fight like a mortal."
He launched a punch so fast Yi Qing couldn't even see the motion.
BOOM!
The blow landed square on Lin Tian's chest, sending him flying through several trees.
Jin Yue blurred forward again—
A knee to the ribs.
A strike to the jaw.
A palm to the stomach.
The world shook with every hit.
Yi Qing screamed:
"Stop! You'll kill him!"
Jin Yue didn't listen.
Lin Tian's body crashed into a massive boulder, cracking it in half.
Blood dripped from his lip.
Jin Yue approached slowly, unhurried.
"You're strong, Tianxu. But without energy… you're nothing."
Lin Tian looked up, wiping the blood from his mouth.
He smirked.
"Who said I needed energy?"
He stood up.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The air started vibrating.
Jin Yue frowned.
"Impossible. I sealed your energy—"
Lin Tian's eyes glowed faintly with silver light.
"You sealed qi.
You sealed spiritual power.
But the Nexus is not external."
He pressed a hand to his chest.
"It's not energy…
It's law."
The Anti-Essence Seal shattered.
BOOOOOOM!
A pillar of silver light erupted from Lin Tian's body, ripping through the sky.
The entire forest trembled.
Yi Qing shielded her face from the blinding glow.
Jin Yue staggered back, eyes wide.
"What—!? This isn't possible—! Your Nexus shouldn't be stable!"
Lin Tian stepped out of the light.
No aura.
No qi.
Just pure, unfiltered law rippling from his existence.
He pointed at Jin Yue.
"Now it's my turn."
Jin Yue braced himself.
"Come, Tianxu! Show me the power Heaven fears!"
Lin Tian vanished.
The true battle was about to begin.