The air was thick with tension. Every gaze in the grand arena was locked onto the arena's center stage. On one side stood Lin Hai, the underdog, a disciple from the once-forgotten Celestial Sect. On the other, Yun Tian, a 3rd-stage Duke Realm cultivator from the Heaven Fire Pavilion, renowned for his brutality.
The battle was seen by many as a cruel joke. How could a mere Qi Gathering disciple match up to a veteran Duke? Yet, Lin Hai stepped forward without hesitation, his expression calm, his posture firm.
The bell rang.
Yun Tian struck first, a burst of crimson flame surrounding his fists. The air shimmered as his attack sliced toward Lin Hai's chest. But the younger cultivator moved like a leaf in wind, narrowly dodging.
Strike after strike came. Fire arced across the stage, and stone cracked underfoot. But Lin Hai never retaliated. He moved, evaded, blocked — always just enough to survive.
To the untrained eye, it looked like cowardice. But Yuan Qian, watching from the edge of the arena with furrowed brows, recognized the strategy. "He's stalling," she whispered. "He's forcing him to burn spiritual energy."
Yuan Xian, the Celestial Sect leader, remained silent, but a faint nod betrayed his understanding.
Minutes passed. Then an hour.
Yun Tian began to slow, his flames dimmer, his breath ragged. And just when it seemed the Duke would press once more, Lin Hai moved. A single palm strike — swift and sharp — slammed into Yun Tian's sternum. With a groan, the Heaven Fire Pavilion disciple flew backward and crashed into the arena wall.
The silence was deafening.
"Celestial Sect… wins," the judge finally declared.
The crowd erupted into noise. Shock. Confusion. Admiration. But the Celestial Sect disciples remained still. They knew this was just the beginning.
The next battles came like a storm. Kings fought Dukes, Qi Gathering disciples fought above their rank. Sparks of qi, shouts of battle, the crackling of blades and bodies — the arena became a cauldron of fury.
Both sects bled victories. Round after round, the scoreboard shifted like a pendulum.
By the ninth match, each sect had secured four wins. Only one remained.
The final match.
And the name called forth once again was… Lin Hai.
Murmurs spread. "Again?"
"Why would they risk it?"
"This is suicidal."
His opponent stepped into the arena — Xie Fen, a late-stage Duke Realm disciple, and the personal student of Sect Leader Huo Liang. His cruelty was legendary.
Yuan Qian's heart sank. Even she could not believe Lin Hai could win this. She clenched her fists, looking to Yuan Xian.
The old man's face was unreadable. "Sometimes," he muttered, "a single moment decides the fate of a thousand years."
The bell rang.
Xie Fen didn't wait. He struck with the speed of lightning, his sword wrapped in demonic flame. Lin Hai parried, but his strength was clearly outmatched. A kick slammed into his chest, sending him tumbling.
Pain shot through Lin Hai's body. But it wasn't just physical. Inside his dantian, the celestial circuit chip — a mysterious implant he never fully understood — began to pulse violently.
Each wound echoed tenfold within him. His body screamed with every blow.
The crowd watched in silence. Lin Hai was beaten, bloodied, barely standing.
Yuan Xian rose from his seat. "He's going to die," he said.
He stepped forward, hand raised to concede the match. But then—
Lin Hai screamed.
Not out of pain, but something else. A sound ancient and guttural filled the air, not from his throat but from deep within his core.
Everyone froze.
The air grew thick, as if reality itself had slowed.
A strange light — silvery, starlit — began to emanate from Lin Hai's body. The arena's stones cracked beneath him. The wind stopped. Qi swirled unnaturally.
Then — boom.
A surge of power exploded outward. Lin Hai's body lifted into the air, glowing with divine light. His eyes were closed, his body limp, but his aura shifted.
"Qi Gathering to Duke Realm…" an elder whispered in disbelief.
Then — "Second stage… third… fourth!?"
Lin Hai had not just broken through. He had ascended, each stage tearing through the barriers of cultivation like paper.
But it wasn't qi. It wasn't even spiritual energy.
It was celestial power.
From the Sky Serpent Palace platform, Envoy Yan Ji narrowed his eyes. "He's… absorbing the power of celestial beings. This is not mortal energy."
Even Yuan Xian's face betrayed surprise.
Lin Hai's body landed softly. His eyes remained closed.
Then — he moved.
With dreamlike grace, he advanced on Xie Fen. The Duke Realm cultivator hesitated, his sword trembling.
Lin Hai struck.
A blur of fists and kicks followed. The arena blurred with motion. Xie Fen tried to fight back, but his attacks passed through Lin Hai like wind.
Then came the final blow.
A single palm. Silent. Swift.
Xie Fen's chest caved in. His eyes widened in terror — and then glazed over. He crumpled to the floor. Dead.
Silence.
The crowd could not believe what they'd seen.
Yuan Xian rushed to Lin Hai's side, catching his body as he collapsed, unconscious. The boy was breathing, but barely. His aura fluctuated wildly, pulsing with celestial rhythms.
Then came the outcry.
"He killed him!" Huo Liang roared. "This is murder! This boy is a danger to all sects!"
Yan Ji stepped forward. "I agree. He cannot be allowed to live."
The Pavilion and the Sky Serpent Palace surged with killing intent.
Yuan Qian stepped forward, blade drawn. "You'll have to go through me."
Yuan Xian stood tall, energy rising around him. "Do you think I fear you?"
Then — he released his cultivation.
The earth shook.
Half-God Realm.
The pressure silenced all arguments.
"Half-God…? How—?"
"Celestial Sect was hiding this…"
But the danger was not over.
A new pressure descended — far heavier, far older.
No figure emerged. No words were spoken.
But everyone knew: something far more ancient than the Half-God had awakened.
The air became dense. The light dimmed. Every cultivator in the arena, from Qi Gathering to Duke to King, fell to one knee.
Even Yan Ji's face turned pale. "This is…"
"…celestial authority," Yuan Xian whispered.
The pressure emanated from within the Celestial Sect's platform — a place none had entered for centuries.
No one could explain it.
But all understood.
Lin Hai was no ordinary disciple.
He was something else.
And no one would touch him now.
The judges, trembling, declared the final verdict:
"Celestial Sect wins."
The Heaven Fire Pavilion burned in fury, but they could not act. The Sky Serpent Palace envoy turned and vanished.
The marriage was canceled.
Lin Hai remained unconscious for three days.
When he awoke, he could remember nothing after the moment he passed out.
"What happened?" he asked Yuan Qian.
She looked at him, both awe and caution in her eyes. "You… saved us all."
In the days that followed, word spread like wildfire. Stories of the boy who broke through four stages in a single match. Of celestial power. Of a Half-God sect leader. Of death and salvation.
The Celestial Sect, long scorned, was no longer ignored. Low-tier sects bowed in respect. Mid-tier sects whispered in fear. High-tier sects began to plot.
But none dared act yet.
Not until they understood what Lin Hai really was.
For even Yuan Xian, watching the stars from the highest tower of the Celestial Sect, was not sure.
Was Lin Hai blessed… or cursed?
A weapon… or a warning?
Somewhere deep in the mountains, in a forgotten cave lined with ancient murals, an old hermit opened his eyes after a thousand years.
"The celestial pulse has returned…"
He stood.
"The balance is about to break."