Silence strangled the Sanctuary.
Not peaceful silence - but the kind that comes when the world realizes something far worse is coming.
Xiao Wang slowly pushed himself up from one knee. His breath trembled as his lungs struggled to contain the remnants of the Sword Ancestor's power. His bones ached with every movement. His veins pulsed painfully where emperor energy and sword intent had collided inside him.
If not for his strengthened physique, his body would've collapsed entirely.
But his expression remained calm.
Cold.
Determined.
"Explain," he said.
Yun Xi closed her eyes briefly, as though gathering courage.
"The Abyssal Hunt is not carried out by one creature. Heaven sends them in tiers. Ten in total."
She raised a trembling finger.
"This one… the one you just barely destroyed… was the first. The weakest. The scout."
The silver-haired girl's eyes widened. "If that was the weakest… then what are the rest?"
Yun Xi turned toward the ruined gate where the first Hunter had emerged.
Her voice dropped, almost a whisper.
"Nightmare weapons. Each one born from extinguished worlds. Each one evolving with every battle. Each one tailored… specifically to counter you."
Xiao Wang's grip tightened around the Devouring Sword.
"So Heaven predicted my awakening."
"No," Yun Xi corrected bitterly. "Heaven feared your awakening."
Her words echoed across the Sanctuary.
The Devouring Sword's spirit added gravely:
"They've been preparing for you since the day you fell."
Xiao Wang remained silent.
Inside him, the Sword Ancestor personality rested—calm, quiet, but present.
"If they want a war, we will give them one."
But Xiao Wang felt the strain.
His body was cracking from within.
He had borrowed too much power too quickly.
And if he used the Sword Ancestor again…
Yun Xi stepped closer.
"You cannot fight the next Hunter the same way. Your body will fail before it arrives."
The silver-haired girl grabbed his sleeve desperately. "You need to rest! You must stabilize your new cultivation. If you don't—"
Xiao Wang shook his head.
"There's no time."
He pointed at the shattered air where the portal had been.
"The next Hunter is already on its way."
A heavy silence fell.
Then—
Yun Xi placed a hand on his arm.
"There is a way to strengthen you before they arrive."
Xiao Wang turned toward her.
"What way?"
Her expression darkened.
"The Immortal Sanctuary has four trials. You passed only one."
She pointed to the glowing symbols along the broken walls.
"This place was created by the ancient clans to prepare the chosen bearers of the Heavenly Crowns. There are three more opportunities for you to drastically increase your strength—physically, spiritually, and in your soul."
The silver-haired girl's eyes lit with hope. "The remaining trials can help him?"
Yun Xi nodded.
"But each trial becomes more dangerous with awakening. The Sanctuary reacts to your soul. Now that two fragments have awakened… the difficulty will be multiplied."
She looked at him seriously.
"Xiao Wang. I need you to understand. If you enter the next trial… you may die."
The Devouring Sword spirit snorted.
"And if he doesn't enter, the Hunters will kill him anyway."
"…Fair," she muttered.
Xiao Wang stepped forward, brushing off the dust on his robe.
"Where is the next trial?"
Yun Xi hesitated.
"The Trial of the Soul."
Xiao Wang frowned.
"What must I do?"
Yun Xi looked away as though ashamed.
"You must face everything you've forgotten. Every sealed memory. Every sin. Every death you caused. Every star you shattered. Every person you failed… and every person you loved."
Her voice lowered.
"And one of them… will try to kill you."
Xiao Wang was silent.
For a long moment.
Then he nodded.
"Fine. How much time before the next Hunter arrives?"
Yun Xi closed her eyes.
"…At best, one day."
Xiao Wang smirked slightly.
"Plenty of time."
The silver-haired girl grabbed his arm tightly.
"Don't joke! You almost died just now!"
Xiao Wang looked at her. Her silver lashes trembled. Her eyes were wet. Her hands shook.
She was terrified for him.
He placed a hand on her head gently.
"I won't die."
She bit her lip. "If you do, I'll—"
She stopped, cheeks flushed, heart racing.
Yun Xi watched them with an unreadable expression.
Xiao Wang turned back toward the center of the Sanctuary.
"Open the next trial."
Yun Xi raised her hand.
Golden runes flared to life around her, swirling like a spell from an ancient era. The Sanctuary responded instantly—stones rearranging, symbols rotating, pillars rising.
A vortex formed at the center of the floor—a portal of glowing blue threads that pulsed like a living heart.
"The Trial of the Soul," Yun Xi said quietly. "Once you enter… you cannot leave until it ends. Whether you live or die, your fate will be decided within."
Xiao Wang approached.
Before he could step inside, Yun Xi grabbed his wrist.
Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper.
"You will see… her."
Xiao Wang paused.
"Her?"
Yun Xi's fingers tightened around his wrist.
"The woman your emperor self loved. The woman he would've destroyed everything for."
Her eyes shook with something painful.
"And the woman… I once was."
The silver-haired girl froze.
Xiao Wang said nothing.
Yun Xi stepped closer, her voice barely audible.
"When you see her… when you see me… remember who you are now. Not who you were then."
Xiao Wang looked at her calmly.
"Yun Xi. Past or not… betrayal or not… I choose my path. Not Heaven. Not memories."
Her breath caught.
Her eyes softened.
"…Then go."
He stepped into the portal.
Light surged.
But before he vanished entirely—
A cold whisper cut through the collapsing air.
"You should not have awakened, Emperor."
A second portal flickered open in the distance.
This one… carried a killing intent far colder than the first.
Yun Xi's face turned white.
"No… not him… not this soon…"
The silver-haired girl trembled violently.
"Who… is that?!"
Yun Xi backed away, horror twisting her expression.
"That aura… that is the Ninth Hunter. The second-most dangerous of them all. The one Heaven created after tearing apart a realm that defied them."
She swallowed hard.
"They call him the Silent Eraser."
The portal pulsed.
A silhouette emerged.
Tall. Slender. Wrapped in obsidian armor. Silent as death.
He didn't step out.
He simply appeared.
As if reality itself had placed him there without motion.
Yun Xi pushed the silver-haired girl behind her.
"Stay back. If he sees you—"
The Hunter lifted his head slowly.
His voice trembled the stone beneath their feet.
"Target Xiao Wang has entered the Trial of Souls."
Yun Xi's heart pounded.
"If you enter that trial—"
But the Hunter finished her sentence.
"I have no need to enter."
He raised his hand.
A needle of darkness formed at his fingertip—thin and almost invisible.
He pointed it at the portal Xiao Wang had entered.
Yun Xi screamed.
"No! If that hits the portal, he'll be erased mid-trial!!!"
The Sanctuary shattered -
And the Silent Eraser released the attack.