The entire Silent Forest quaked as Lin Tian floated above the shattered ground, the radiant patterns beneath him forming a glowing mandala of celestial runes. His hair swayed as though underwater, drawn upward by the wild surge of power bursting from within the Nexus.
Below, the Crimson Watcher stared in awe.
"The Second Nexus Gate… he unlocked it in incomplete form? Impossible."
The Executioner, unaffected by fear or logic, slammed its fists together. Black lightning crackled around its massive arms as it roared toward Lin Tian.
The Red Tear assassins retreated instantly—this battle was beyond their level.
Lin Tian lifted his palm.
A sphere of golden-white light appeared, swirling with violent star-like fragments. His voice echoed with a harmony of mortal and divine tones.
"Celestial Art — Stellar Collapse."
The sphere shot forward.
BOOOOM!
It collided with the Executioner, engulfing it in a miniature explosion of starlight. Trees vaporized. The ground cratered. Shockwaves blew the assassins back like leaves.
But when the light faded…
…The Executioner still stood.
Armor cracked.
Black ichor dripping.
Aura burning hotter than before.
Lin Tian's eyes narrowed.
"So even the Second Gate isn't enough…"
The Executioner blurred forward with terrifying speed. Lin Tian barely shifted aside as its fist tore a hole through the sky, shattering the air with a thunderclap.
Lin Tian retaliated with a palm strike infused with divine energy, sending golden ripples across the battlefield—but the monster simply tanked the blow and slammed him into the earth.
CRASH!
Dust exploded. A crater formed.
Lin Tian struggled to rise, pain stabbing through his ribs.
Above him, the Executioner raised both fists, ready to crush him into ash.
The Crimson Watcher roared—
"NO!"
He hurled himself between them, absorbing the blow meant for Lin Tian. The impact drove the giant beast into the earth, blood splattering across the shattered forest floor.
Lin Tian's eyes widened.
"You'll die!"
The Watcher grinned through broken fangs.
"My fate was sealed long ago. But you… you must survive."
The Executioner kicked the Watcher aside like a ragdoll, cracking his ribs.
Lin Tian clenched his fists.
He couldn't let this continue.
He closed his eyes.
His breathing slowed.
The Nexus inside him stabilized—only slightly, but enough.
A new voice whispered within him, deeper and older than before.
"Use the Gate's true power."
Lin Tian's eyes snapped open—now glowing with a blinding gold and silver duality.
He brought his hands together in a seal.
The air warped.
Space twisted.
"Second Gate Technique… Celestial Reversal."
The world inverted for a heartbeat.
The Executioner froze mid-motion as a strange force wrapped around its body—an unfamiliar, divine pressure that bent reality itself.
The Crimson Watcher gasped.
"He's altering the laws of force… reversing impact!"
Lin Tian thrust both palms forward.
All the kinetic energy the Executioner had unleashed in the entire battle—every strike, every step, every shockwave—reversed and slammed back into the monster at once.
BAAAANG!
The Executioner was sent flying into the air, its body folding, armor shattering like fragile glass. It crashed through boulders and trees before tumbling into a massive ravine.
Silence.
Then the ravine erupted in a pillar of black flame.
The Executioner wasn't dead—
But it was badly wounded.
Lin Tian collapsed to one knee, chest heaving.
The Second Gate's power faded, leaving his aura unstable.
The Crimson Watcher limped over.
"You reckless immortal… you nearly killed yourself."
Lin Tian wiped blood from his lip.
"I had no choice."
The remaining Red Tear assassins looked at their fallen weapon… then at Lin Tian.
Their leader gave a single bow—not of respect, but of grim acknowledgment.
"Retreat. The target cannot be taken today."
One by one, they vanished into black portals.
The Watcher spat blood.
"They'll return. With more. Stronger."
Lin Tian stared at the burning ravine where the Executioner lay dormant.
"I know."
The forest was silent again.
But far away, deep within the ravine, the Executioner slowly rose—eyes burning brighter than before, fueled by a hatred programmed into its very being.
The next time…
It would not come alone.