Bam-!

  A huge firework appeared inside the imaginary space. The fming dragon entered a portal created by Sirin. It was redirected to one of the rocks behind her.

  Shi Tian did not use his [Five Elements Dao Sutra] much. His sheer sword intent could not damage Sirin’s void constructs. His spells would end up the same. Using Foundation Establishment to hit her Herrscher Authority is akin to throwing egg to a rock.

  In terms of authority, he is far outcssed by Sirin.

  Shi Tian’s eyes gazed upon her intangible line.

  Sirin. Separate entity. Remnant will. One soul (?). Herrscher of the Void. Dao authority above Purple Mansion Realm. Severely injured will, suspected to be in Purple Mansion Realm. Transcendent being connected to the Herrscher Core. Unknown realm…

  Bits of information appeared in his mind.

  Swoosh-!

  Bang-!

  Shi Tian’s will moved the surrounding honkai energy. It coalesced into an arc of white light.

  Everywhere it went, it caused destruction.

  Sirin’s physical body moved through spatial dispcement. The distance between the two became farther.

  In gaming terms, Shi Tian is being kited.

  ‘Purple Mansion Realm mental strength… No wonder my mental attack only destabilized her.’

  He bid his time. The more his [Encompassing Eyes] analyze things, the greater his information.

  It will serve as his guide towards the decisive strike!

  Bam-!

  Shatter-!

  Shi Tian’s body was sent to another rock. Two cubes came together and attempted to smash him to death. A sense of danger rang on his ears.

  Without any choice, he used [Bde Eminence] for the second time.

  Boom-!

  Just as he crushed these building-sized cubes, he saw several spiral helixes behind Sirin. Their impending target is obvious.

  His spiritual consciousness quickly locked onto a nearby rock. He was about to perform [Taiji Inversion] when his body got pressed down.

  Looking from afar, Shi Tian’s eyes met the pair of golden pupils. She is wearing the outfit belonging to the Herrscher of the Void.

  The world in his eyes slowed down. His mental capacity worked to a maximum.

  “Huff…”

  Two strikes of [Bde Eminence] left.

  That’s all he could do. The mental burden it brings is insane. Fu Hua could only unleash its power once during the second eruption. He can do four.

  Shi Tian did it two times already. Each one of them could inflict untold damage to Sirin, but he chose not to do so. He wanted to make sure that the attack is a sure-win, even if it is overkill. His two remaining quotas will be merged into a single powerful attack.

  Siegfried managed to awaken Kiana and only lost an arm. Shi Tian wanted to replicate his victory and deal with Sirin properly!

  ‘One strike to break it down. The final one…’

  It will judge his life and death.

  He did not fear it.

  ‘She thinks distance is enough. She hasn’t seen this yet.’

  [Bde Eminence] is the ultimate attack of [Bde Mantra]’s [Eminence] mental state. Correspondingly, [True Form] also has an ultimate attack. Shi Tian did not think a name for it yet.

  [Bde Eminence] uses honkai energy and mixes it with one’s will, turning it into a destructive attack that leaves nothing. [True Form]’s ultimate attack bears the same aspects as it, but far stronger.

  Its impact can be controlled, something absent from [Bde Eminence]. It can be used to strike purely at the mind and leave the physical body intact. This level of control is what differentiated [True Form] from [Eminence]. The sword is under Shi Tian's absolute control.

  Its shortcoming is its consumption. The said ultimate attack is the equivalent of two [Bde Eminence].

  In his current state, it can only be used once.

  ‘I’m going all in!’

  The same white light fshed in his sight. Honkai energy began to gather into his bde, staining it with pure white light.

  Hum-!

  His bde vibrated. The pure white light mixed with the hazy silver light it emitted. The [Sword Nurturing Pagoda] responded to his will. A technique followed next. Spiritual qi disappeared from his dantian. In return, it embued a mysterious aura into the sword.

  All sorts of perception is fed into the [Daluo Sword Art]. Its mysterious attribute that enabled him to cut an emperor-css in half began to emerge.

  Buzz-!

  Bright red fmes emerged from his body. The forbidden technique of burning lifespan, [Nine Lives Burning Samsara Art], is activated!

  Shi Tian’s realm did not rise. The power it produced is all sent to the bde—to the [Daluo Sword Art].

  Soon, its mysterious attribute surpassed the [Sword Nurturing Pagoda] and [Bde Mantra]. It began to encompass these two powers to form a higher-leveled power. The honkai energy was resistant at first.

  Under his [True Form]'s fine control, however, it soon complied. It began to merge with spiritual qi, something Shi Tian hasn't seen before. It easily broke through the next level of sword cultivation, [Thunder-Like Sword]. It did not stop increasing.

  Just then...

  Swoosh-!

  Swooosh-!

  Psshk-!

  The helixes from before arrived at their target. It did not wait for him to finish his technique.

  One of them nailed his left hand to the rock. The other one went straight through Shi Tian’s chest.

  Blood trickled down his mouth. The light on his jian began to disappear. The sword’s humming dissipated. The intangible fmes died down.

  Psshk-!

  Shi Tian’s right hand got nailed to the rock. A faint light flickered onto his bde before he lost grasp of it. It swiftly fell downwards—to nothingness.

  Tap.

  Tap.

  …

  The sound of clear footsteps ensued.

  Sirin, who watched him from afar, came close. The strike to his chest sealed the deal. She can kill him anytime.

  A subspace ce pointed towards his forehead. The moment he attacks will spell his doom.

  Sirin felt the struggling ego inside her become desperate. It did not bring Kiana strength, but rather, more fws. Sirin regained more control of her body.

  Seeing Shi Tian's miserable state is enough to destroy Kiana's morale... and Sirin wanted to see just that.

  “No braids… is better.”

  Sirin heard his words. His bloody face looked menacing. She merely sent a contemptuous gaze.

  “Is that your final words?”

  To that, Shi Tian’s response is brief.

  “You didn’t learn.”

  “..!”

  The sword is not merely a weapon; for the heart is the sword.

  The moment she met his eyes, Sirin’s vision changed. She could not even use the subspace nce when she was brought to a bnk white space. A five-colored light appeared above. It is akin to an aurora…

  One filled with the world’s truth.

  What could a genius’ twenty years of lifespan bring?

  It may be different to others, but to Shi Tian, it is the fourth realm of sword cultivation:

  Sword Light Refraction.

  The rainbow sword light soon filled her vision.

  This time…

  There is no God to save her.

  *****

  Sirin and Kiana…

  They are two sides of the same coin. I can still vividly recall that revetion prior to Kiana’s awakening as the Herrscher of Fmescion. They are two personalities in one person.

  Sirin is the evil side who wanted nothing but revenge on humanity.

  Kiana is the good side who longed for a human experience—to feel the love given to her by Cecilia.

  In a sense, Sirin cannot be killed without killing Kiana... at least with my current means.

  What could be done, however, is to damage the “Sirin” personality. That way, Kiana’s “shares” over her physical body and Second Herrscher Core surpasses Sirin’s—thus gaining complete control over it.

  She will no longer have to worry even if Sirin is awake.

  The subspace nce pointed at my forehead dissipated. The gamble succeeded.

  The moment Kiana lost consciousness, I tried to catch her. I failed. My arms did not respond to my will.

  Oh.

  That’s right.

  My body…

  The two of us began falling down. Her braids were undone for quite some time. Her long white hair touched my fingertips.

  A sense of weakness and hollowness emerged from my body. The forbidden art, [Nine Lives Burning Samsara Art], consumed my lifespan. The power it brought is a huge burden to my current realm. My body, qi, and mind are negatively impacted.

  I started to lose consciousness.

  Kiana…

  Rumble-!

  The sound of thunder tried to keep me awake.

  The [Sword Nurturing Pagoda]...

  No.

  It's a higher realm now. I could feel my sword cultivation dropping from fourth level to the third level, the [Thunder-Like Sword]. It did not drop further, signifying my attainment.

  At the st moment, my will connected to something.

  Swoosh-!

  It is my jian. It flew straight in my direction. It is shining with dazzling five-colored light. I separated a bit of [Sword Light Refraction] for this exact scenario.

  Hum-!

  Its entire body shook when it came to my right hand. I sent my thoughts to it before it responded with another vibration.

  With its help, I managed to barely catch onto Kiana’s colr. The sword in my right hand flew upwards until we reached a floating rock.

  “Huff… Thanks.”

  Hum-!

  The sword vibrated before stabbing itself on the ground. As soon as it lost its five-colored brilliance, it stopped vibrating. My sword returned to its usual form with no intelligence. The influence of [Sword Light Refraction] disappeared.

  While I am still awake, I used the st bit of my strength to access my storage ring. I took out the gss bottle. I uncapped it with my fingers and drank the remaining spiritual milk in one go.

  Like a nd of drought experiencing rain, my dantian turned active. The sluggish flow of spiritual qi began to return to its previous smoothness.

  I did not use the forbidden technique to raise my realm, else I would have been far more injured than now. Two months of recovery is enough for this.

  It did not take long before I could cast a spell. The [Life Extending Heavy Water] covered the bloody hole on my chest. The clear blue water soaked the blood coming out of my chest.

  My entire body feels like it’s burning. My barely awake consciousness began to fall asleep. I tried my best to fend it off… but to no avail.

  Just then, something tried to form a connection with me. My entire body shook. My breathing turned uneven. A strong pressure descended upon me. The recovering spiritual qi circution turned stagnant once more.

  The sense of foreboding clicked. The disaster I am wary of came at this exact moment.

  I did my best to look upwards.

  It is nothing but the same grayish-pink sky.

  But…

  I can feel it.

  Something is looking at me.

  My consciousness…

  …

  The surroundings began to change. From the familiar university I attended down to the room I lived on, it shifted like a rewound casette tape.

  A high-dimensional will burst something inside me open. It could not cause harm to me, but the something it cracked open did.

  Grand Void.

  Taixuan.

  Nothingness.

  Right after my death...

  Before I entered this world...

  I entered the space of nothingness.

  Then I...

  I forgot to breathe as the truth soon came to light.

  The disaster...

  It caught up to me.