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Chapter 143 - Chapter 143: The Heaven-Piercing Flame

The sky burned.

Not metaphorically—literally.

Where once clouds of divinity cloaked the upper realms, now a rift tore through them. The Fourth Abyssal Beacon, lit by the child Yue'er's choice, sent a lance of black flame into the heavens, violating a plane that had remained untouched since the ancient rebellion.

Heaven trembled.

Liu Shen stood beneath the Beacon's ascension, the temple's ruins casting long, twitching shadows as the abyssal light danced across the fractured marble. Around him, his allies knelt or staggered, their cultivation seas shuddering under the weight of the signal.

This wasn't just a flare of power.

It was a declaration of war.

From the skies above, the golden sigils of the Celestial Pact began to unravel like paper touched by fire. Liu Shen saw the effects immediately—suppression arrays that once blanketed the continent began to dim, divine locks on ancient tombs cracked open, and dormant demonic veins beneath the Hollow Empire roared to life.

Kael turned toward him. "They know."

Liu Shen nodded. "They do."

"The Heavens will retaliate."

"They already have."

---

Far above, in the Outer Court of Celestia, the Supreme Arbiter knelt in front of a pool of starlight. From its depths, the image of the Beacon's flame could be seen—warping, tearing, corrupting the sanctity of their plane.

He rose, voice echoing coldly, "He has broken the seal."

Around him, twelve Thrones stirred—divine judges who once condemned Liu Shen in the name of harmony. Their eyes glowed with wrath, but also… fear.

"Dispatch the First Sword," one commanded. "End this before the Abyss infects more of our realm."

The Arbiter did not move.

Instead, he spoke one name.

"Send… Qianyu."

A hush fell across the chamber.

Even the wind within Celestia stilled.

---

Back in the mortal realm, Liu Shen prepared for what was to come.

Yue'er sat silently, eyes closed, meditating with a natural rhythm that seemed alien. Her aura was stabilizing, the Beacon's flame reshaping her meridians—no longer just a child, she had become a vessel.

Not a puppet, not a pawn.

A weapon.

Yu Meixing stood beside Liu Shen as they gazed toward the heavens. "The moment she ignited the flame, the Heavens marked her."

"I know," he said. "They'll send someone soon."

Lei Qing arrived, sword slick with divine blood. "Too late. They've already arrived."

---

The capital's outer barrier shattered like glass.

From the breach stepped a man clad in white.

No armor, no wings, no gaudy divine markings.

Just a simple robe of cloud-silk, and a single jade flute hanging from his waist.

Liu Shen's eyes narrowed.

"…Qianyu."

Yu Meixing inhaled sharply. "You know him?"

"He was once my shadow," Liu Shen said. "One of my personal guards in the old world. A silent killer. A flute-carrier who never sang, but whose melodies drowned empires."

Kael looked confused. "Then why is he…?"

"Because he betrayed me," Liu Shen said flatly.

The man—Qianyu—stepped into view, his gaze calm, not hostile.

"I've come to take the girl," he said softly. "And your head, if you resist."

Liu Shen stepped forward.

"You won't leave with either."

---

Qianyu raised the flute to his lips.

No sound came out.

But the world froze.

Birds dropped mid-flight. Leaves hovered mid-fall. Even time seemed hesitant to move.

Only Liu Shen moved through it, his demonic aura surging as he forced open the layers of frozen air.

Clang.

The Whispering Chain clashed with invisible waves, shattering the silence Qianyu had cast.

Around them, lightning split the air.

The duel began.

---

This was not a battle of brute strength.

It was one of wills.

Qianyu's every step played a note, and each note bent reality. Space bent, rules shifted, and even gravity ceased when he played his eighth measure.

But Liu Shen was not the same man Qianyu had once knelt to.

He fought not only with force—but with memory.

He remembered Qianyu's flaws. The tilt of his blade. The rhythm of his attack. The hesitation he hid when striking down the innocent.

"Your melody," Liu Shen whispered, "was always broken."

With a roar, he released the Third Movement of the Abyssal Chain—Reverberation of the Forsaken, a technique that summoned the echoes of fallen souls into a chorus of defiance.

Qianyu staggered, blood trailing from his ears.

Liu Shen approached, blade drawn.

"I don't want to kill you," he said.

"But I will."

---

In the final clash, Qianyu fell to one knee, coughing blood.

"You've changed," he rasped.

Liu Shen's expression was unreadable. "You haven't."

A pause.

Then, unexpectedly, Qianyu laughed.

"I didn't come to kill you," he said. "I came to test you."

"What?"

"To see if the one returning was the same man… or a hollow echo."

Qianyu lowered his head.

"The heavens will come in force now. I bought you time."

"…Why?"

Qianyu smiled faintly. "Because even in betrayal… I never stopped being your shadow."

He vanished in a streak of wind.

---

Liu Shen stood still.

The sky above them continued to bleed light.

The Heavens had been pierced. Their scouts defeated. Their judgment defied.

But the war… had only just begun.

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