The sky darkened until the morning sun vanished entirely behind swirling storm clouds. Divine lightning crackled across the heavens, illuminating the three Celestial Enforcers hovering above with terrifying majesty.
Yue Shuang stood firm, her silver blade drawn, her moonlit aura blazing like a shield between Lin Tian and the Tribunal.
The lead Enforcer's eyes blazed with holy fury.
"Yue Shuang of the Ninth Star Palace—
By interfering with a Tribunal decree, you declare rebellion against heaven itself!"
She didn't flinch.
"If heaven has become blind… then yes. I stand against it."
A suffocating silence fell.
Even the wind dared not blow.
Lin Tian, still weak from the Second Gate backlash, managed to rise to his feet beside her.
"Yue Shuang… you didn't have to—"
"I did," she said, voice soft yet unwavering. "They abandoned righteousness. I will not."
The Crimson Watcher grinned with bloody fangs.
"Ha! So even the heavens have traitors now."
The lead Enforcer lowered his spear, killing intent radiating from every pore.
"Very well. Then both of you die."
He gestured, and the two Enforcers behind him spread out, forming a divine triangle in the air. Brilliant runes ignited under their feet.
Lin Tian's face paled.
"That formation—
Heaven's Judgment Array! They intend to erase us entirely!"
Yue Shuang grabbed his arm.
"Prepare yourself. They won't hold back."
The Judgment Begins
Light exploded from the Enforcers' formation—
A colossal spear of pure divine energy formed above them, larger than the forest, humming with the power to tear worlds apart.
The leader spoke coldly:
"Judgment Spear — Descend."
The sky itself split as the spear plunged downward.
Trees bent. Rocks shattered.
The air turned to lead.
Lin Tian gritted his teeth, raising what little Nexus power he could channel.
Yue Shuang raised her sword high.
Moonlit energy erupted around her, forming a shimmering crescent barrier.
The spear struck.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The earth quaked violently.
A ring of destruction spiraled outward.
The forest split apart as though cut by a god's blade.
Yue Shuang's barrier trembled.
Cracks spiderwebbed across it.
Blood trickled from her lips.
Lin Tian threw up his arms, golden energy swirling—but his strength faltered, his knees buckling.
The barrier shattered.
The spear thundered forward—
—and a massive clawed hand slammed into it from the side.
CRASH!
The Crimson Watcher, burning with crimson fire, pushed against the divine spear with all his might.
The impact tore his arm off instantly.
But he did not fall.
With a roar shaking heaven and earth, he screamed:
"RUN… IMMORTAL!!"
Blood rained from the sky.
His body began to disintegrate under the divine force.
Yue Shuang's eyes widened.
"No!"
Lin Tian gritted his teeth, fury exploding inside him.
"NO MORE SACRIFICES!"
His Nexus flared violently—unstable, chaotic, yet explosive—
And a golden shockwave blasted outward, pushing back the Judgment Spear long enough to breathe.
The Price of Rebellion
The Enforcers stabilized themselves in the sky, clearly disturbed.
The leader glared down.
"The Fallen Immortal grows more dangerous by the moment.
Full annihilation is authorized."
The two subordinate Enforcers began chanting in ancient celestial tongue.
Rings of divine light circled them.
A second, deadlier spear began forming.
This one… pulsed with absolute erasure.
Lin Tian knew instantly:
If it landed, he, Yue Shuang, and the entire Silent Forest would be obliterated.
He turned to her.
"Yue Shuang… take the Watcher's body and flee."
She stared at him, horrified.
"No. I won't leave you."
"You must!" Lin Tian shouted. "I don't know if I can unleash the Second Gate again. I might die—"
"Then I stay with you," she said firmly. "Life or death."
Lin Tian fell silent.
Her expression was calm.
Determined.
Fearless.
Then the sky rumbled again.
The new spear was ready—
And its aura felt like the end of existence itself.
The Enforcer raised his arm.
"Heavenly Judgment — Total Erasure!"
They unleashed it.
The spear fell like an unstoppable star of extinction.
Lin Tian roared, forcing the battered Nexus to answer.
Light burst from his body—
But this time, something was different.
The Nexus didn't merely release energy—
It opened.
A glowing symbol appeared beneath Lin Tian's feet.
A symbol older than the Celestial Palace.
A symbol of the First Heavenly Emperor.
Yue Shuang gasped.
"That's—
The Third Gate… awakening?!"
The forest exploded with divine wind.
Lin Tian's eyes went blank white, as if the universe itself stared through him.
"Not yet…" he whispered, trembling.
"I can't control it…"
But the Third Gate didn't care.
The air cracked.
Reality trembled.
The Judgment Spear collided with the forming Gate—
And the entire world went white.
A colossal shockwave tore through miles of forest.
The sky split open, revealing a star-like void behind the clouds.
The Enforcers staggered back, armor cracking.
The lead Enforcer stared in horror.
"Impossible…
That power…
Only the First Emperor possessed such a Gate!"
The other two Enforcers screamed as their auras destabilized.
The lead Enforcer shouted:
"RETREAT!
DO NOT ENGAGE THE THIRD GATE!"
They vanished instantly in beams of golden light—
fleeing like prey from a predator.
Aftermath
The blinding light faded.
The forest was gone.
Replaced by a vast crater that glowed faintly, humming with celestial remnants.
Lin Tian lay unconscious at the center.
Yue Shuang rushed to him, kneeling at his side.
His pulse was weak.
His aura unstable.
His life flickering like a dying flame.
But he was alive.
Barely.
She held him gently, tears dripping onto his face.
"You reckless fool… don't you dare die."
Far above, hidden in the clouds,
A pair of colossal eyes opened—
Eyes belonging to an ancient being watching the mortal world with interest.
A voice echoed across the heavens:
"The Nexus has awakened the Third Gate…
The old era is returning."
The storm clouds vanished.
A new threat had begun watching Lin Tian.