The spiraling darkness swallowed the last echoes of the ruined chamber.
Where the guardian once stood shattered, the very air now knelt in fear.
A pressure descended—Ancient.
Regal.
Absolute.
The Heavenly Executioner General stepped fully from the rift, his boots touching the fractured ground with a sound that echoed like a divine decree. His robe shimmered with constellations that shifted each time he moved, as if entire galaxies bowed beneath his stride.
His eyes—Twin suns forged from judgment—Locked onto Xiao Wang.
"Reincarnation of the Forbidden One…" he said, voice cold enough to freeze worlds.
"Your existence mocks Heaven."
Xiao Wang lifted his chin slowly.
His aura coiled like black-gold storms around him, the lingering echoes of the Ruins' revelations still throbbing inside his blood.
"Funny," Xiao Wang said calmly."
I feel the same way about Heaven."
His mischievous personality snorted inside his mind.
"Oooh, spicy! Keep provoking the cosmic boss! What's the worst that could happen? Oh right—instant annihilation."
Xiao Wang mentally pushed him aside.
Then—
The System chimed:
[WARNING: Entity Detected]
[Designation: Heavenly Executioner General — Rank: Beyond Celestial]
[Threat Level: Extreme — 0.1% survival rate]
His other personality whistled loudly.
"See? Totally fine odds."
The Devouring Sword vibrated.
"Boy," the sword spirit murmured, "this is no ordinary opponent. Even your past selves treated Executioner Generals seriously."
Xiao Wang's grip tightened.
"Good. I needed a warm-up."
The Executioner raised his hand.
The Sanctuary trembled.
The First Strike — Heavenly Law Descends
"Kneel."
The single word became the world's law.
An invisible force crashed down on Xiao Wang like the collapsing heavens themselves.
Ground cracked.
Runes shattered.
Space itself bent.
The Executioner's power over laws was absolute—A weight meant to flatten gods.
The silver-haired girl hiding behind the ancient pillar gasped as her knees nearly buckled from the shockwave alone.
But Xiao Wang—
He didn't kneel.
He growled through clenched teeth, muscles bulging with black-gold light.
The Devouring Sword roared:
"RESIST!"
His aura detonated outward, blasting the collapsing pressure into shards of broken divine will.
A single step forward.
A second.
A third.
The Executioner's eyes narrowed.
"You resist the Law of Submission? In your state? Impossible."
"Your Law," Xiao Wang muttered, "is boring."
His other personality cackled.
"HAHA! Tell him! This pretty star-robed nerd has never been insulted before!"
The Executioner's face finally twisted with disdain.
"You insolent—"
Xiao Wang vanished.
Clash One — Mortal Devil vs. Heavenly General
He reappeared behind the Executioner, Devouring Sword slicing down in an arc of devouring light.
SHAAAAAAA!!!
The strike tore through the Sanctuary's dimension, ripping a black wound across the sky.
The Executioner responded with equal speed—two fingers raised, glowing with divine law.
TINK.
A single tap met the sword.
A universe-shattering explosion erupted.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Xiao Wang flew backward like a meteor crashing through pillars and walls.
Stone mountains collapsed as he slammed through them.
Smoke and dust exploded outward.
The silver-haired girl covered her mouth, eyes trembling—not with fear for herself, but him.
Inside the settling smoke—
Xiao Wang stood.
Bruised.
Blood on his lip.
But grinning.
"Well," he wiped his mouth, "you're not weak."
His other personality grinned wider.
"And I like his robes. Let's steal them after he dies."
The Executioner blinked in disbelief.
"You survived that impact? A mortal in the Foundation Realm?"
Xiao Wang cracked his neck.
"I'm not mortal."
The Devouring Sword whispered in satisfaction:
"Correct. You are the beginning… and the end."
The Executioner's aura spiked.
"So be it."
Clash Two — Emperor vs. Heaven
The Executioner spread his arms—And the heavens listened.
Lightning shaped like ancient runes spiraled around him.
Each spark held enough force to obliterate continents.
"Witness," he declared, "the Law of Final Judgment."
Thousands of divine blades formed behind him—Forged from starlight, each carrying heavenly decree.
They shot forward like a rain meant to kill gods.
Xiao Wang's blood ignited with gold.
[CULTIVATION BOOST: Past-Life Residue Triggered]
[Bloodline Resonance: 12%]
A phantom throne appeared briefly behind him—A throne made of galaxies, flickering like half-remembered authority.
The heavenly blades struck it—
and shattered.
The Executioner staggered.
"Celestial Emperor Authority…?! In this early realm!?"
Xiao Wang smirked.
"Don't get distracted."
He moved—
Faster than the Executioner could read.
CRACK—
His knee slammed into the man's ribs, launching him upward.
Then Xiao Wang appeared above him—And slammed a palm down, infused with Devourer energy.
BOOOOOM!!!
The Executioner crashed into the ground, forming a crater burning with celestial law.
The silver-haired girl trembled, whispering:
"He's… he's fighting evenly with a Heavenly Executioner…"
Clash Three — The Devourer Emerges
Inside the smoke, the Executioner rose.
Angry.
Unstable.
Cracks of celestial light crawling across his armor.
"You are an abomination."
Xiao Wang chuckled.
"You said that already."
"No—"
The Executioner lifted his hand, forming a vortex of divine judgment that made the sky scream—"YOU ARE THE abomination!"
The vortex descended.
The system screamed warnings.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[HEAVENLY EXECUTION SKILL DETECTED]
[RUN—]
Xiao Wang didn't run.
Instead—His eyes narrowed.
A voidlike aura wrapped around him.
"Devour," he whispered.
The Devouring Sword shrieked with hunger.
A black hole formed behind Xiao Wang, growing into a swirling abyss of runes and cosmic hunger.
It met the Executioner's vortex—
And consumed it.
The Executioner's jaw dropped.
"That technique… No mortal should be able to—"
Xiao Wang teleported.
The Executioner felt the cold touch of the Devourer at his throat.
"Say goodnight," Xiao Wang whispered.
"No—NO! WAIT—"
SHIIING—
A streak of black-gold shot through the air.
A single clean slash tore across his celestial armor.
The Executioner stumbled backward, golden blood spilling.
"You… actually cut—"
Xiao Wang lifted the sword.
"It's been a while since I killed Heaven's dogs."
His other personality hummed innocently:
"WOOF WOOF."
The Executioner's eyes burned with hatred.
"You… will destroy the heavens again."
"Probably," Xiao Wang said.
"Absolutely," his other personality added.
The Executioner pointed a shaking finger at him.
"Then I die knowing the heavens will tremble once more."
He dissolved into fading motes of starlight.
The Sanctuary sighed in relief.
Silent Tremor
The chamber fell silent.
Dust settled.
Xiao Wang's chest rose and fell; golden-black blood dripped from his arm, his robes torn.
The System chimed:
[HOST HAS DEFEATED A CELESTIAL ENTITY]
[PROCESSING THE IMPOSSIBLE]
[UPDATING RANK…]
[UPDATING PHYSICAL LIMITS…]
[CULTIVATION BREAKTHROUGH!]
[Foundation Building Realm → Peak Foundation Building (Perfection Stage)]
[Physique: Minor Divine Reinforcement]
Xiao Wang exhaled slowly.
Then—
From behind a shattered column came soft footsteps.
The silver-haired girl finally revealed herself.
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears—fear, awe, admiration, and something softer.
"You…" she whispered.
"You just killed a Heavenly Executioner General. Do you realize what that means?"
Xiao Wang looked at her, sweat sliding down his jaw.
"Yeah," he muttered. "It means Heaven is probably pissed."
His other personality added cheerfully:
"And it means we're famous. Wanted. Hunted. Sexy."
Xiao Wang: "Shut up."
She approached him cautiously.
"You… shouldn't be alive."
"I get that a lot."
She stared at him with trembling breath.
"You… are the one my fate warned me about."
Xiao Wang frowned.
"Your fate?"
But before she could answer—
The Sanctuary roared.
The ground cracked.
The sky tore open.
A colossal eye—The size of mountains—Opened in the heavens above.
A voice that shook existence bellowed:
"YOU KILLED MY GENERAL."
Xiao Wang froze.
The silver-haired girl gasped and grabbed his arm.
The Devouring Sword hissed in anger.
His other personality whispered:
"…Oh crap."
A beam of celestial punishment descended like the wrath of creation—
Straight toward Xiao Wang.