The battlefield above the Jin Clan roared with the fury of the heavens. Rubble and dust spiraled into the air, the once-grand courtyards now nothing more than scorched ruins. Alex hovered midair, his black robes fluttering in the gale created by the explosive clash of energy. Below, the clan burned; above, titans prepared to destroy one another.
Without warning, Alex moved. A streak of black and blue light flashed as he shot forward—his Spatial-Ice Blade gleaming cold and merciless. He aimed straight for the Jin Ancestor, the weakest of the three Sage Realm experts.
But the Ancestor's instincts, sharpened by centuries of battle, screamed danger. His eyes widened as he twisted his body aside, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. Golden light erupted from his skin as his Golden Titan Body activated, qi reinforcing every muscle and bone. The blade still grazed him, sending shockwaves through his frame and making his blood churn violently. He barely caught his breath before the taste of iron filled his mouth.
Before Alex could follow up, the other two Sages—Old Wu and Old Hu—burst out of their stupor.
Old Wu's eyes glowed with deep silver light. "Gravity Domain!" he roared.
At once, the air thickened around Alex, crushing down on him like an invisible mountain. His body felt several times heavier; even breathing became a struggle.
Old Hu took the opportunity, qi surging violently through his veins. "Let's end this!" he barked as he lunged forward, his sword wrapped in blazing white energy. The two Sages coordinated perfectly, forcing Alex into a pincer.
Alex's expression darkened. "Enough!" he roared.
Power exploded from him. He ignored the weight crushing his bones and lunged straight at the Jin Ancestor again, aiming to finish at least one of them before the others could strike. But in that instant—his senses screamed. Danger.
He twisted his body sharply, instincts overriding thought. A blinding arc of qi tore through the air where he had just stood. Old Hu's attack grazed his side, the impact hurling him backward. In that same motion, Alex redirected his strike, his Spatial-Ice Blade flashing in an unpredictable arc.
The Jin Ancestor had no time to react.
The blade sliced clean through his left arm. A spray of golden blood scattered through the air.
The Ancestor screamed, clutching the wound, his once-majestic aura flickering. Alex retreated several paces midair, hovering as he assessed the three.
Old Wu's gravity… he's the real problem, Alex thought grimly.
He clenched his fists. His spatial energy rippled violently before he disappeared, reappearing just behind Old Wu in a blur.
"Too predictable!" Old Hu shouted. He had already anticipated it. His qi flared, and he swung his sword downward with crushing force.
Alex crossed his arms to block, the impact detonating the air. The explosion flung him backward, his body crashing through a floating debris field. His breath hitched, pain flashing across his ribs, but he steadied himself quickly.
The Jin Ancestor, still clutching his severed arm, recovered enough to gather qi into his remaining hand. "Die, boy!" he howled.
He surged forward, his golden aura blazing—but before his attack could land, Old Hu's warning cry cut through the chaos.
"Old Jin! Watch out!"
The Ancestor froze for a fraction of a second—just enough for his doom to arrive.
He looked down, disbelief filling his fading eyes.
An ice blade protruded clean through his abdomen, shimmering with ethereal frost. The weapon pulsed once, freezing his qi pathways solid. His lips parted, a trickle of blood staining them crimson.
When he looked up, Alex was there—calm, emotionless, unblinking.
To Alex, this was not vengeance. It was simply inevitable.
The Jin Ancestor's golden light dimmed. His body slackened. For a moment, he hung suspended in the air like a broken statue, then plummeted, crashing lifelessly to the ruined courtyards below.
Silence followed.
Even the raging flames seemed to falter.
Old Hu and Old Wu hovered midair, their faces pale as ash. The young man below them—no, the monster—stared at them without a flicker of emotion.
Alex exhaled softly. "One."
And then he vanished.
A spatial ripple tore through the sky as he reappeared before Old Hu, his blade ready. But before it could land, the gravity around him multiplied—tenfold, then twentyfold. His limbs felt like lead. The world seemed to drag him downward.
Old Wu was snarling, sweat beading on his forehead as he forced every ounce of his energy into the technique. "You won't get close to him!"
Alex clicked his tongue, retreating just as Old Hu's sword grazed his shoulder. He landed lightly, eyes narrowing.
This won't be easy… not without my weapon.
He raised his hand, summoning it—a Peak King-Tier Staff, gleaming with inscriptions of space, ice, and wind. Energy swirled around him like a storm.
Even from a distance, Old Hu and Old Wu felt it—a killing intent so thick it made the air hum.
Alex's expression didn't change as he fused his three elements, compressing them into the staff. The surrounding space distorted. Ice and wind intertwined into a spiraling vortex of destruction, and even he felt the raw, dangerous power pulsing from his weapon.
"Let's see you withstand this," he murmured.
He hurled the staff.
The moment it left his hand, the very heavens roared. The weapon streaked through the air like a comet, its tail of energy splitting the clouds.
Old Wu's face drained of color. His instincts screamed death. "Old Hu! HELP ME!"
Old Hu cursed under his breath. He knew what that attack meant—if they didn't stop it together, Old Wu would die. But if they did, both of them would be left wide open.
Still, there was no time to hesitate. "Fine! Together!" he bellowed.
Both men poured every ounce of their power into their defenses. Old Wu's gravity condensed around him like a barrier of steel, while Old Hu slashed forward with his strongest technique—Wind Tear, a strike capable of cutting through the sky itself.
The collision was cataclysmic.
The blast tore through the Jin Clan's grounds, leveling what remained of the manor. The shockwave flattened buildings miles away. Screams echoed, then vanished beneath the roar of destruction.
When the smoke began to clear, the world was unrecognizable—craters, ash, and silence.
Old Hu staggered, his breathing ragged, his body trembling. He turned slowly toward Old Wu, ready to speak—ready to curse, or perhaps to laugh at their survival.
But the words froze in his throat.
Old Wu stood motionless, his eyes wide in disbelief. From his chest jutted an ice blade, still glowing faintly blue, its edge dripping frost.
He turned his gaze downward slowly, as if unable to comprehend it.
Behind him, Alex stood—expression calm, eyes cold as the void.
Old Hu's heart stopped. For the first time in centuries, he felt fear.
The blade twisted.
Old Wu's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He slumped forward, falling from the sky, his blood scattering like crimson snowflakes.
Alex raised his eyes to meet Old Hu's trembling ones.
"You're next."
---
The sky rumbled.
Old Hu's grip tightened on his sword.
And as the wind howled through the ruins of the Jin Clan, the final battle between survival and annihilation began.