Lightning cracked.
The world held its breath as the two stood across the broken sky — mirror images, brothers bound by fate yet cleaved by betrayal.
Van Thien Phong raised his sword. Across from him, the masked twin — Van Huyết Minh — summoned a spear forged from obsidian laws. Its very tip distorted the laws of reality.
"I see you still cling to that broken sword," Huyết Minh smirked. "The same blade that failed to protect our clan."
"And you're still hiding behind masks and excuses," Phong growled, stepping forward.
Below them, the earth wept. Mountains bled rivers of molten qi. The sky glitched, flickering between night and day.
The war of Sovereigns had begun.
---
First Clash: Soul Against Soul
Their weapons met with a soundless crash — not heard but felt in the bones of every cultivator across the continent.
BOOM.
The impact shattered the Divine Vault above. Stars rained down in golden shards. At the center of it all, two men fought — one with rage, the other with prophecy.
Phong's every move burned with wrath and truth.
Minh's every counterstrike twisted with prophecy and law.
"You were always stronger," Minh admitted mid-swing, "but strength without vision is wasted."
"And vision without heart is corruption," Phong snarled, his blade igniting with black lightning. "Let me show you what a heart that remembers betrayal can do!"
Their souls collided — Sovereign Soul vs. Sovereign Soul.
A clash of destiny not written, but forged.
---
The Past Resurfaces
Mid-battle, memories spilled from their soul-connection.
A younger Phong laughing under the plum trees with Minh.
The Divine Clan's massacre.
Their mother burning in starlight fire, screaming their names.
The final moment — when Phong was sealed, his body chained in heaven's prison…
…and Minh, standing beside the Celestial Tribunal, not shedding a single tear.
"You let them take everything!" Phong roared.
"I survived so we could win!" Minh shouted back. "One of us had to play the villain to the heavens."
"And you chose me!"
---
Celestial Interference
Just as Phong's blade pierced Minh's barrier, a pulse echoed from above — the Heavenly Decree Orb.
An artificial law.
A voice spoke from it — genderless, emotionless, ancient:
> "Sovereign Van Thien Phong: Your existence exceeds the maximum parameters of karma. Prepare for disintegration."
Chains of divine judgment shot down — twelve of them, made of Heaven's own essence.
Minh leapt back. "They fear both of us now."
"Then they should've killed us when they had the chance," Phong muttered.
He opened both arms — revealing his chest, where a broken rune pulsed. A mark older than the heavens themselves.
The Sovereign Glyph.
And from it, his true power awoke.
---
Awakening of the Sovereign Soul
His body erupted in swirling chaos. Black fire danced with silver mist. The ground beneath his feet sank, forming a crater that devoured all light.
Above him, the sky folded.
The twelve divine chains shattered against his awakening.
"Van Thien Phong has activated... the Forbidden Phase," the Heavenly Orb quivered.
Minh's eyes widened. "You broke the limit."
"No," Phong said.
"I am the limit."
---
The Soul Breaker Clash
Phong's body blurred, becoming streaks of lightning. Minh countered with shadows that flickered in and out of reality.
Then came the moment—
Minh lifted his hand. A chilling, cruel silence followed.
"Đoạn Luân Chi Thương – Spear of Severed Cycle."
He threw it.
The spear didn't fly.
It skipped time.
One blink — it was in front of Phong's heart.
But Phong smiled.
"Too slow."
His blade rose—
"Thiên Tội Trảm – Heaven's Sin Slayer!"
A single slash.
Not through the spear — but through cause and effect itself.
The spear shattered before it was thrown.
Minh staggered. "You… cut the moment before I attacked?"
"That's the difference between rage... and conviction," Phong whispered.
---
Emotions Beneath the Steel
Between clashes, silence.
Minh's voice cracked.
"I never hated you. I hated the world that broke us. I chose the gods because they gave me a chance to change it."
"They didn't give you a chance," Phong replied, "they gave you a leash."
Minh looked down, breathing ragged. "Then let me show you what a beast off its leash looks like."
---
Fracture of the World
Their next clash tore through space.
The sky shattered like glass.
Time fractured, moments replayed in loops, qi storms formed miniature galaxies around them.
All sects across the world — righteous or demonic — knelt unconsciously.
The heavens issued no decree.
Only silence.
---
A Choice Offered
As the storm of Sovereign power shook the planes, Minh dropped his weapon.
"You've proven your strength. Now listen: Heaven will not stop until we are both erased. I have a way out."
He summoned a black seed — pulsing with void.
"The Root of Genesis. It can reboot fate. We plant it together… and we create our own law."
Phong hesitated.
"And what happens to this world?"
Minh didn't answer.
Phong's voice was cold.
"You're not saving us. You're replacing them."
Minh's smile faded. "Then we fight until the end."
---
Final Blow... or Not?
They clashed again. This time, the realm split.
Not just in space — but in truth.
Every sword strike rewrote a rule. Every move reshaped fate.
Then—
A silent blade pierced Phong's shoulder.
Not Minh's.
A third presence stood behind him — her hair like flowing midnight, eyes glowing violet.
Bạch Tiêu Nhiên.
"Stop," she whispered. "You're both wrong."
Phong froze.
Minh flinched.
And the Heavenly Decree Orb cracked.
---
[End of Chapter 26]