**CHAPTER 97 — The Multi-Pronged Assault
Cloudsky Sect held its breath.
The crimson tear in the heavens pulsed with abyssal light, casting the mountain in a sickly glow.
The disciples—wounded, exhausted, traumatized—lifted their weapons with shaking hands.
Elders gathered at the barrier edges, faces grim, a collective understanding sinking into every heart:
The next battle was already here.
But beneath the tension…
Lin Xuan felt exhilaration.
Because he could sense it—
More abyssal energy to devour.
More power to harvest.
More fuel to push Shengyuan back toward the Saint Realm.
He gripped his spear.
"We fight."
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1. The Abyssal Portal Fully Opens
The crimson tear expanded with a roar like a dying world.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!
A beam of black-violet light pierced the sky, shaking Cloudsky to its core.
Disciples fell to their knees, clutching their chests as the oppressive aura rolled over them.
Spear-Bai snarled.
Mu flared her qi, resisting with difficulty.
Wen sharpened his daggers, silent but tense.
Dragon-Bai crouched low, wings trembling.
"…Master," he growled, "they're not sending one general."
Lin nodded grimly.
"I know."
Because he could feel them.
Three abyssal generals.
Dozens of elite assassins.
Hundreds of abyssal creatures.
And behind them—
a faint whisper of a presence so vast it made the sky buckle.
The Abyssal Ancestor was watching.
---
2. The Battlefront Splits Into Three
As the portal stabilized, three massive rifts split off from it—each facing a different side of Cloudsky Mountain.
Rift 1 – Northern Wall
A Void Transformation general clad in obsidian armor led an army of corrupted beasts.
Rift 2 – Western Ridge
A general wrapped in abyssal flames commanded dozens of Abyssal Assassins.
Rift 3 – Eastern Valley
A swarm of abyssal aberrations surged behind a general bearing a twisted spear reminiscent of Lin's own.
Cloudsky was being attacked from three fronts simultaneously.
Sect Master Yun Haoyang turned pale.
"We cannot withstand a triple assault…"
Shengyuan stepped forward, aura burning.
"Then we hold two fronts—
Lin will destroy the third."
Every gaze turned to Lin.
He nodded without hesitation.
---
3. Lin Splits His World
He closed his eyes.
The solar system inside him pulsed—
an entire cosmos shaking to his will.
Then—
He split it.
Like splitting an atom.
Cosmic power rippled through his body.
Planets rearranged, their orbits fracturing, forming three distinct sub-systems that hovered behind him like spectral halos.
Elders gasped.
"That's… impossible."
"He split his inner world's laws?"
"He will explode—!"
He didn't.
Because the vine-heart sapling stabilized everything—its roots spreading and wrapping the worlds with life essence.
Lin opened his eyes.
Dragon-Bai whispered in awe.
"Master… you're becoming a universe."
---
4. Assigning the Fronts
Lin analyzed the three enemies.
Northern General – Physical brute strength
Shengyuan said firmly, "I will take this one."
Western General – Assassins, stealth
Wen stepped forward, eyes cold.
"I will handle the assassins."
Lin nodded.
"They'll target the elders. Keep them alive."
Eastern General – Corruption, aberrations
The air quivered with dark rot.
Mu and Bai (spear) stepped forward.
Mu: "My flames can purify corruption."
Bai: "And my spear can pierce their cores."
Lin placed his hands on both their shoulders.
"Don't break formation. I'll join you soon."
Then he turned toward the center.
Because the Abyssal Ancestor's whisper echoed again:
> "Face me… chosen of heaven."
Lin stepped toward the tear—
And the real battle began.
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5. First Clash — Lin vs. the Abyssal Triad
The three generals sensed Lin approaching.
They turned toward him, forming a triangle of death.
General Khaal-Rav (Northern)
A giant hulking brute wielding twin meteor hammers.
General Veshtyr (Western)
A flame-drenched assassin lord whose blades dripped black hellfire.
General Skra-Vul (Eastern)
A spear-wielding monster whose weapon mirrored Lin's Solar Spear—except twisted, corrupted.
Skra-Vul pointed his weapon at Lin.
"HEAVEN'S CHILD… YOU DIE TODAY."
Lin smirked.
"We'll see."
The generals attacked simultaneously.
---
6. Lin Activates His Split Domains
Three solar systems ignited around him.
Solar Domain: Strength Aspect
Golden rings hardened into armor.
Meteor hammers bounced off harmlessly.
Solar Domain: Purification Aspect
White-blue fire burned through Veshtyr's hellflames.
Solar Domain: Spear Aspect
Planetary orbits forged a spear trajectory that intercepted Skra-Vul.
The sky shattered.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!
Even Shengyuan paused mid-battle, mesmerized.
"He split his domains…
and each is strong enough to fight a general alone!"
Sect Master Yun Haoyang whispered:
"He's no longer a cultivator.
He's becoming… an existence of law."
---
7. Lin Devours Abyssal Power in Combat
Skra-Vul's spear pierced Lin's shoulder—
—but the attack did not spread corruption.
Instead—
The corruption flowed into Lin's body—
—and was purified instantly.
Lin's aura surged.
Mid Core Perfection → Peak Core Perfection → Half Step Nascent Soul.
Shengyuan's eyes widened.
"He's absorbing power mid-battle—this is unheard of!"
Dragon-Bai roared proudly.
"Of course! He is my master!"
---
8. The Vine-Heart Awakens a New Ability
The vine-heart sapling inside Lin's inner world began to glow.
Its leaves sprouted rapidly, absorbing abyssal qi and releasing pure life essence.
Aurora gasped in Lin's consciousness.
"Lin!
The vine-heart is evolving again!
It's developing a new law—Life Devourer."
"Meaning…?"
"You now absorb vitality from abyssal beings automatically.
Even if they don't attack you."
Lin grinned.
"So the more they send… the faster I grow."
He leapt into the air.
"Good."
---
9. Lin vs. Three Generals — One Man, One Universe
The generals attacked in perfect sync.
Lin activated all three Domains.
Solar Domain – First Sphere: Planetary Orbit
Deflected meteor hammers.
Solar Domain – Second Sphere: Solar Purification
Dispelled hellflames.
Solar Domain – Third Sphere: Orbit Shift Spear Art
Countered spear strikes with cosmic trajectories.
He moved like a star exploding.
Every clash sent golden shockwaves across the battlefield.
Mu and Bai (spear) saw Lin's aura expanding, felt the battlefield shifting.
Mu whispered:
"He's… everywhere."
Bai tightened his grip on his weapon.
"We better hurry. He'll finish the entire war before we get our turn."
---
10. Shengyuan's Decision
Watching Lin absorb abyssal energy faster than the generals could generate it, Shengyuan clenched his jaw.
"I must recover my Saint Realm cultivation… immediately."
If Lin kept rising like this…
he would soon draw the wrath of entities beyond the Abyssal Ancestor.
Shengyuan retreated into the inner world, where time ran faster, ready to push toward Void Rupturing, Ascension, and eventually—
Saint Realm
again.
Lin needed a Saint.
The world needed a Saint.
And Shengyuan refused to let Lin fight the Abyssal Ancestor alone.
---
11. Lin's First Kill — One General Down
Lin vanished—
—and reappeared behind Veshtyr (Western).
He whispered:
"Solar Spear Art—
Fourth Revelation…
STELLAR LANCE!"
A single thrust pierced the assassin general's core.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!
Veshtyr collapsed, dissolving into abyssal energy.
Lin inhaled—
And the energy surged into him—
Half Step Nascent Soul → Early Nascent Soul Realm.
Lightning crackled around him.
Dragon-Bai shouted triumphantly:
"MASTER! ONE DOWN!"
The other two generals roared.
Lin narrowed his eyes.
"One at a time."
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12. Ending of Chapter 97 — And the Real Threat Arrives
As Lin prepared to charge the second general—
The world froze.
The abyssal portal twisted violently.
A colossal shadow pressed close to the tear.
A voice rumbled through every mountain, every valley, every soul.
> "Lin Xuan."
> "Enough playing."
> "I will handle you myself."
The Abyssal Ancestor began to manifest.
And Lin's solar system trembled—for the first time.
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