Darkness rolled across the sky faster than storm clouds had any right to move.
One moment, the Clear Sky Sect was bathed in golden evening light.
The next, the world dimmed—
colors fading,
wind stopping,
sound dying.
The sky above the sect turned black at the edges, swirling toward the center like an enormous eye opening slowly.
A heavy pressure spilled downward.
A pressure that had no shape, no sound, no voice—
but all cultivators felt it.
Heaven was watching.
Wuya stood in the center of the courtyard.
Xueyi at his left, grasping his sleeve tightly.
Elder Yun slightly ahead, shielding them both with her sleeve raised.
Disciples and elders gathered in fear.
Thunder rumbled without lightning.
Lady Linghai stepped beside Elder Yun, divine robe fluttering, her golden eyes narrowing.
"…This is no ordinary omen.
This is a suppression.
A heavenly suppression."
Elder Yun nodded grimly.
"This pressure… it exceeds mortal world limits."
Xueyi trembled violently.
"Wuya… something's wrong…
VERY wrong…"
Wuya felt it too.
His breath thickened.
His blood flow slowed.
His bones felt heavier.
The Void-Breath Physique inside him reacted—
not rejecting the pressure,
but vibrating restlessly.
The Codex whispered inside him:
[Warning: Forbidden Heaven Suppression Approaching]
[This attack targets the host specifically]
[Survival chances: Low]
Wuya exhaled calmly.
"…I see."
---
THE SKY CRACKS OPEN
A voice thundered from the heavens—
But not a voice anyone could hear with ears.
A voice that only souls could feel.
—Forbidden one.
The crowd froze.
A disciple fell to his knees, screaming:
"S-S-Sect Master—!!
T-The sky… talks…!!"
Another fainted immediately.
Elder Yun stood firm, sleeve fluttering wildly.
Lady Linghai clenched her staff.
Xueyi's nails dug into Wuya's sleeve.
The heavenly voice boomed again:
—You should not exist.
Wuya looked up.
"…Heaven disagrees with my birth."
Lightning flashed purple, swirling in twisting runes across the dark cloud.
—You defy order.
You pollute fate.
You reject the laws.
Xueyi screamed toward the sky:
"SHUT UP—!!!
WUYA DID NOTHING WRONG—!!"
A tremor shook the mountain.
Elder Yun grabbed Xueyi immediately.
"Xueyi, don't provoke it!"
Xueyi sobbed.
"IT'S LYING—!!
HE DID NOTHING—!!"
Wuya put a hand on her head.
"…I'm alright."
"NO YOU'RE NOT!!"
---
THE PRESSURE DESCENDS
The clouds condensed.
A beam of pale, merciless heavenly pressure fell straight down—
Toward Wuya.
Elder Yun stepped forward instantly.
"Clear Sky Barrier—!"
She thrust her palm forward—
A glowing sky-blue shield formed above them.
Lady Linghai layered a golden barrier beside it.
"Celestial Boundary Seal!"
Both shields rose together—
The beam struck them—
CRAAACK—!!
Both barriers shattered instantly.
The elders gasped.
"Two masters together… and Heaven still broke it instantly?!"
Xueyi's Moonveil Seal flared violently.
Her body shook with agony.
"Wuya—!!
Wuya—!!
THE SKY IS CRUSHING YOU—!!"
Because the pressure wasn't aimed at Elder Yun, or Linghai, or anyone else—
Only Wuya.
Always Wuya.
He knelt as the pressure hit his shoulders.
His bones creaked.
The stone beneath him cracked.
Blood seeped down his lips.
Xueyi screamed and tried to rush toward him—
Elder Yun grabbed her.
"Xueyi—NO—!!
If you step into that force—
you will die instantly!"
Xueyi struggled, tears spraying.
"LET ME GO—!!
LET ME GO—!!
I CAN'T WATCH HIM—!!
I CAN'T—!!"
---
WUYA'S STRUGGLE
Wuya planted one hand on the ground.
His arm trembled.
His shoulder burned.
Every breath felt like pulling liquid metal into his lungs.
Yet he stood.
Slowly.
Pain carving lines across his back.
Pressure crushing his bones.
But he stood.
Elder Yun's breath caught.
"He's… resisting it…"
Lady Linghai whispered with trembling awe:
"…You shouldn't be able to stand under that level of pressure. Not even I could."
Xueyi sobbed harder.
"WUYA—!!
STOP STANDING—!!
YOU'RE BREAKING—!!"
Wuya smiled weakly at her through the agony.
"…I made a promise."
---
THE FOURTH MOONVEIL AWAKENS
Xueyi's seal exploded with power.
Silver light burst from her chest and eyes.
Her scream shook the courtyard.
Her hair lifted by invisible wind.
Elder Yun gasped.
"…Her fourth awareness… awakened?!"
Lady Linghai flinched back.
"What… what kind of seal is that girl carrying?!"
Xueyi reached one trembling hand toward Wuya.
"Wuya…
I can't…
I can't lose you…"
The silver aura wrapped around Wuya like threads—
not blocking Heaven—
but strengthening his resolve.
The pressure fluctuated.
Wuya's spine steadied.
His breathing cleared.
The celestial observer above roared:
—UNACCEPTABLE.
THE GIRL INTERFERES.
THE BOY RESISTS.
Lightning shot across the sky.
Heaven's rage spread.
---
ELDER YUN PUSHES BACK
Elder Yun stepped forward again.
Her aura flared.
"ENOUGH."
She thrust her palm toward the heavens—
"Clear Sky Mountain-Splitting Seal!"
A wave of sky-blue energy surged upward.
It clashed against the heavenly pressure—
A shockwave blasted across the sect.
Stone shattered.
Trees bent.
Disciples were thrown to the ground.
But the pressure weakened slightly.
Only slightly.
Wuya breathed easier for a moment.
Xueyi's Moonveil glow stabilized around him.
He rose straight again.
Still bleeding.
Still shaking.
Still in agony.
But rising.
Again.
Lady Linghai stared at him with wide eyes.
"…What are you… Hao Wuya…?"
---
THE CODEX SCREAMS
Inside him, the Codex pulsed violently.
Symbols burned across his consciousness.
[Warning: Host Body Near Collapse]
[Forbidden Heaven Suppression Surpassing Limits]
[Activating Emergency Protocol]
Wuya's breath tightened.
A golden screen flashed behind his eyes:
[Unlocking Hidden Bloodline Fragment]
Wuya's heart thumped violently.
His vision blurred—
But not from pain.
From awakening.
Something ancient inside him stirred.
Something deep in his bones.
Something older than the sect.
Older than the mortal world.
A fragment of his true self.
The Codex whispered:
[…Fragment: Eternal Void Pulse]
Wuya's knees buckled.
But he remained standing.
Barely.
---
ELDER QIONG LUO LOSES HIS MIND
In his hall, Elder Qiong Luo watched the sky's suppression descend.
He smiled at first.
"Yes… yes… crush him…"
But then Wuya stood through it.
And his smile vanished.
"He… he's… resisting Heaven…?!"
His body shook uncontrollably.
"No…
No…
This child…
He'll kill us all…"
His disciple ran inside.
"E-Elder, what do we do?!"
Qiong Luo grabbed him by the collar.
"What do we do?
WHAT DO WE DO?!
WE RUN!"
He shoved the disciple aside, trembling.
"This boy will be the end of us…"
---
HEAVEN DOUBLES DOWN
The sky flashed with blinding white.
A second surge of heavenly suppression materialized.
Much heavier.
Much sharper.
Far more deadly.
Elder Yun's eyes widened.
"No—!!
Not a second wave—!!"
Lady Linghai clenched her teeth.
"The Forbidden Heaven Suppression Method has three stages.
This is stage two.
If stage three descends—
the mountain will collapse."
Xueyi screamed.
"WUYA—!!
MOVE—!!
PLEASE—!!
MOVE—!!"
Wuya didn't move.
He couldn't.
He placed one hand on his chest.
He closed his eyes.
And whispered:
"…I don't run."
The heavenly pressure descended.
Stone shattered under him.
The earth cracked.
Wind died.
His bones screamed.
His breath failed.
His heart stuttered.
He began to collapse—
"NO—!!" Xueyi shrieked.
But—
He did not fall.
A faint ripple of void energy surged from his spine.
The Void-Breath Physique reacted.
Space itself bent slightly—
and the pressure slid off his body like water running over stone.
Elder Yun gasped.
Lady Linghai's jaw dropped.
The disciples fainted.
The elders collapsed on their knees.
Even Xueyi froze in shock.
Wuya stood.
His body shaking.
Blood dripping.
Barely conscious.
But standing.
Alive.
---
THE HEAVENLY OBSERVER PANICS
In the celestial realm, the observer stumbled backward.
"N-No…
No…
This cannot be…!"
He slammed his staff against the divine floor.
"He bent space…
He redirected heavenly suppression…
He—
HE—!!!"
Lightning cracked the heavens.
The observer shouted in fear:
"WHAT BLOODLINE IS THIS CHILD—?!!"
---
THE REVELATION
Back in the mortal world—
Wuya inhaled.
Air returned to his lungs.
His heartbeat stabilized.
His posture straightened.
He looked at the sky calmly.
For the first time—
Heaven trembled.
The clouds flickered like a frightened animal.
The pressure wavered.
Thunder rolled.
And the heavenly voice whispered—
—Impossible…
Impossible…
Eternal…
Eternal…?
The pressure suddenly dissipated.
The sky cleared.
The storm vanished.
The heavens retreated.
The world went silent.
Completely silent.
Everyone stared at Wuya.
Xueyi collapsed to her knees, sobbing in relief.
Elder Yun pressed a hand to her heart, breath trembling.
Lady Linghai whispered:
"…Eternal Void…
Your bloodline…
It's… forbidden even to Heaven."
Wuya stood in the center of the courtyard—
his robes torn,
chest rising and falling slowly,
silver and black-gold light flickering faintly beneath his skin.
Alive.
Standing.
Defying Heaven.