The colossal war phantom moved.
And the miniature cosmos shook.
Its emperor halberd dragged across the void like a fallen mountain, carving black fractures through space itself. Ancient runes burned across its armor, each one pulsing with battle laws Lin Shuan could barely comprehend.
Yet he grinned.
Fear existed—
but excitement burned brighter.
Lightning crackled around his feet.
Absolute White Frost spiraled around his arms.
Golden dragon force roared in his blood.
Three powers.
One body.
One battlefield.
And before him—
a mountain-sized enemy.
The war phantom lifted its halberd.
Then—
swung.
BOOOOM.
The strike descended like a collapsing heaven.
Lin Shuan vanished in thunder.
Lightning Immortal Path—
Flash Crossing.
A thunder burst exploded where he had stood as the halberd smashed the floating world apart.
Rock islands shattered.
Meteor fragments burst into dust.
Lin Shuan reappeared above the phantom's shoulder.
"Sky Dragon Smash!"
A white dragon soul erupted behind him.
His fist smashed downward.
ROAR—
Dragon force collided against the phantom's neck.
The impact rippled through the battlefield.
But—
the phantom did not move.
Lin Shuan's pupils contracted.
Its defense was monstrous.
Then—
the phantom backhanded him.
BOOM.
He shot across space like a meteor.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
He crashed through frozen ruins.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
Yet before he even rose—
the giant was already there.
Fast.
Too fast.
Halberd descending again.
Lin Shuan roared.
Golden Dragon Smash.
A massive golden dragon shadow burst behind him.
His fist collided with the halberd.
The void exploded.
Shockwaves split the battlefield.
For a breath—
they held.
Then—
CRACK.
Lin Shuan's arm screamed.
He was forced back.
Sweat covered his face.
"…Monster…"
From afar Tian Wuchen watched silently.
No interference.
Only observation.
As always.
The phantom attacked again.
This time Lin Shuan drew his sword.
Steel flashed.
A familiar weapon.
The sword he had carried since Da Cang Empire.
The sword that had survived every battle with him.
He poured frost into its edge.
Its blade whitened.
Dragon force wrapped around it.
Lightning surged through the hilt.
He stepped.
Vanished.
Appeared before the giant.
And struck.
Thousands of sword arcs.
Like frozen lightning.
Like dragon claws.
Like a storm.
The war phantom blocked with halberd—
but Lin Shuan kept attacking.
Again.
Again.
Again.
His eyes burned.
He was learning battle through instinct now.
Not thought.
Combat had become breath.
Then—
the giant's eyes lit.
Ancient red fire.
Tian Wuchen's gaze sharpened slightly.
The phantom raised its halberd with both hands.
A killing strike.
Lin Shuan sensed danger.
Too late.
The halberd came down.
He raised his sword to block—
BOOOOOOM—
The impact split heaven.
Silence.
Then—
CRACK.
Lin Shuan froze.
Looked down.
His sword…
was broken.
The blade shattered in his hands.
Fragments drifted in space.
His heart shook.
No.
Not this.
That sword had been with him through humiliation…
through survival…
through awakening.
And now—
gone.
For one moment—
his spirit faltered.
And that moment—
the phantom struck.
Its fist smashed into his chest.
He was blasted into a mountain.
Bones screamed.
Blood flooded his mouth.
He fell to one knee.
Breathing ragged.
Swordless.
Empty-handed.
For the first time—
he looked vulnerable.
The giant approached.
Each step like judgment.
Lin Shuan clenched broken hilt.
Worthless now.
The phantom raised its halberd.
Execution.
And still—
his forehead seal remained silent.
No activation.
Because though brutal—
this was not true murder.
Only trial.
Only the edge before death.
Tian Wuchen's voice echoed.
"Why are you holding dead steel?"
Lin Shuan coughed blood.
"…It was my weapon."
"No."
The reply was cold.
"It was a crutch."
The giant attacked.
Lin Shuan dodged barely.
Another strike.
Another.
Driven backward.
Helpless.
Anger rose.
Frustration.
Humiliation.
He shouted—
"Then what do I fight with?!"
And Tian Wuchen answered—
"With what emperors use."
He raised one hand.
The battlefield froze.
The giant halted.
Everything stopped.
Even time felt still.
Golden light filled the void.
And before Lin Shuan—
a scripture appeared.
Ancient.
Heavy.
Majestic.
Covered in imperial runes.
Its pressure alone made mountains bow.
Tian Wuchen spoke quietly—
"Golden Emperor Fist Technique."
The words shook his soul.
Lin Shuan stared.
"…Another technique?"
Tian Wuchen nodded.
"My own creation."
There was no pride in his tone.
Only truth.
"Emperor Rank."
Lin Shuan nearly forgot breathing.
Emperor Rank.
Above Heaven Rank.
Above everything he had touched.
Tian Wuchen continued,
"This…"
"…is not a martial art."
"It is domination."
He stepped closer.
"Fists are older than swords."
"Before weapons…"
there were hands.
Before techniques…
there was force.
Before kings…
there were emperors."
His eyes burned.
"The fist that rules."
Lin Shuan whispered—
"…Teach me."
Tian Wuchen looked almost amused.
"You are not ready."
Lin Shuan frowned.
"Then why show me?"
"Because desperation opens doors talent cannot."
He pointed.
"Sit."
Lin Shuan obeyed.
Consciousness entered scripture.
And—
reality vanished.
He stood in a golden imperial hall.
Infinite.
Ancient pillars held stars.
Dragon emperors carved into heaven.
At center—
a lone figure.
Tian Wuchen.
But younger.
Radiant.
Terrifying.
The Dragon Emperor himself.
He raised one fist.
And punched.
Nothing flashy.
No spectacle.
Just—
one punch.
Yet galaxies folded.
Stars exploded.
Space bent.
Lin Shuan stood frozen.
The voice of the technique echoed:
Golden Emperor Fist.
Three Forms.
First Form—
Mountain Breaking Emperor Fist.
Second Form—
Solar Dragon Collapse.
Third Form—
Heaven Suppressing Imperial Strike.
Each word became golden scripture.
Burning into his mind.
Then—
pain.
Runes entered his soul.
Like molten law.
Days passed.
Weeks.
Months.
Lin Shuan did not move.
His consciousness fought to understand one single fist principle.
Power through compression.
Not explosion.
Condense.
Suppress.
Release.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Sometimes he failed.
Was blasted out.
Returned.
Failed again.
His body trembled in meditation.
Blood seeped from lips.
Yet his aura deepened.
And cultivation surged.
Body Refiner—
Nine-Star.
Peak.
His power condensed monstrously.
One day—
eyes opened.
Gold burned within them.
Tian Wuchen asked,
"What did you see?"
Lin Shuan answered softly—
"…A fist…"
"…that can crush mountains."
Tian Wuchen smiled.
"Show me."
Training resumed.
But this was unlike dragon techniques.
No elegance.
Only brutality.
Lin Shuan punched.
Wrong.
Again.
Wrong.
Again.
Each mistake sent recoil through bones.
His knuckles split.
Arms shook.
Shoulders dislocated.
Still—
Again.
"Compress more."
Again.
"Not strength."
Again.
"Authority."
Again.
"What does that even mean?!" Lin Shuan snapped.
Tian Wuchen smirked.
"Good question."
He stepped forward.
Raised fist.
No flourish.
Punch.
BOOM.
A floating mountain disappeared.
Gone.
Not broken.
Erased.
Lin Shuan stared speechless.
"That…"
"That is authority."
After that—
obsession.
Lin Shuan trained like madness.
Punching cosmic stone.
Punching meteor fragments.
Punching under waterfalls of frozen force.
Sometimes thousands daily.
His fists bled.
Bones cracked.
He healed.
Repeated.
The Frost Divine Heart reinforced him.
Dragon blood sustained him.
Lightning sharpened movement.
Months passed.
Then—
the war phantom returned.
The same giant.
Same halberd.
Same mountain pressure.
Only now—
Lin Shuan stood empty-handed.
No sword.
No weapon.
Just fists.
The giant roared.
Charged.
Lin Shuan stepped with lightning.
Dodged.
Moved inside reach.
His fist drew back.
Golden force compressed.
Compressed—
Compressed—
His arm trembled.
Then—
release.
"Golden Emperor Fist!"
BOOOOM—
Impact.
The giant staggered.
For the first time.
It moved.
Lin Shuan's eyes widened.
It worked.
The giant attacked wildly.
Halberd sweeping.
Lin Shuan moved through thunder.
Used frost.
Used dragon force.
Then—
combined.
Sky Dragon Smash.
Golden Emperor Fist.
Together.
A dragon wrapped around imperial force.
He struck.
The phantom's chest armor cracked.
CRACK.
Silence.
Then—
Tian Wuchen's brows lifted.
Rare surprise.
Lin Shuan grinned.
He had merged them instinctively again.
Dangerously creative.
Naturally reckless.
Very Lin Shuan.
But battle wasn't over.
The giant roared.
Its halberd burned.
Final attack.
Heaven splitting.
Lin Shuan breathed deeply.
Everything slowed.
Void silence.
Frost heartbeat.
Dragon blood.
Lightning rhythm.
All aligned.
For the first time—
perfectly.
He moved.
Flash Crossing.
Inside halberd arc.
One fist.
Golden Emperor Fist—
Mountain Breaking Form.
BOOOOM.
His fist struck the weapon itself.
The emperor halberd—
shattered.
Exploded into light.
The giant froze.
Stared.
Then Lin Shuan leaped—
second punch.
Chest.
Third punch.
Head.
Dragon-frost-lightning spiraled around imperial fist.
Final strike—
ROAR.
The giant exploded into ancient fragments.
The battlefield fell silent.
Lin Shuan stood breathing hard.
Knuckles bleeding.
Body trembling.
But smiling.
He had done it.
Without a sword.
Using only himself.
Tian Wuchen approached.
Long silence.
Then—
"You understand now."
Lin Shuan looked at broken fists.
"…A weapon can be taken."
Tian Wuchen nodded.
"But you…"
"…must never be."
Those words carved deep.
Then unexpectedly—
Tian Wuchen handed him broken sword fragments.
Lin Shuan looked confused.
"Master?"
"Keep them."
"Why?"
"One day…"
"They may become something greater."
A future seed planted.
Then—
as always—
peace lasted little.
Tian Wuchen turned toward distant stars.
Expression unreadable.
"Training changes."
Lin Shuan groaned.
"Again?"
"Yes."
Naturally.
He should have expected.
Tian Wuchen raised a hand.
The battlefield dissolved.
Void opened.
And from cosmic darkness—
nine colossal stone dragons emerged.
Each larger than mountains.
Each chained.
Sleeping.
Ancient.
Their pressure made even Lin Shuan's Frost Divine Heart pulse heavier.
He whispered—
"…What are those?"
Tian Wuchen answered,
"The Dragon Trials."
Lin Shuan immediately disliked the name.
"What do they do?"
Tian Wuchen smiled.
That dangerous smile.
"They beat you nearly to death."
Lin Shuan sighed.
"Of course."
Tian Wuchen continued—
"You have learned survival."
"Technique."
"Combat."
"Fist law."
Now—
you temper body."
He pointed at nine dragons.
"One dragon…"
for each star of Body Refiner."
Lin Shuan stared.
"…I'm fighting nine?"
"No."
Pause.
Then—
"At once."
Lin Shuan nearly died on the spot.
Tian Wuchen seemed pleased.
"Good."
"Terror is proper."
One dragon's eye opened.
Then another.
Ancient golden fire burned.
Chains trembled.
The void shook.
Lin Shuan slowly smiled.
Because absurdly—
he was excited.
Again.
Always.
He rolled shoulders.
Lightning flickered.
Frost rose.
Golden fist aura formed.
"Master…"
"If I survive this…"
Tian Wuchen answered,
"You begin becoming worthy."
And the chains—
broke.
ROOOOAR.
Nine dragon titans awakened.
The next trial began.
And somewhere deep inside his chest—
the Frost Divine Heart beat steadily.
No longer a burden.
No longer a threat.
But a power growing beside his own will.
As if waiting—
for the day Lin Shuan would rise not as disciple—
but as emperor.