The silence after Su Chen's fall stretched across the globe.
Avalanches thundered down Himalayan ridges, snowstorms howled, but for mortals watching through cameras and satellites, the sound that deafened them was silence—silence that meant one thing: defeat.
In Delhi, the news anchors stammered, their voices cracking:
"—Su Chen has been hurled across the Himalayas. Our worst fears confirmed: their youths alone wield power beyond our armies."
The streets erupted in chaos. Some screamed that the end had come. Others prayed louder, voices raw. Pilgrims surged toward Kailas in blind devotion, chanting gods' names as soldiers raised rifles to block them.
In Beijing, citizens huddled at temple steps, incense choking the air. A single voice carried above the chants: "The gods are testing us."
In Washington, generals shouted in fury, slamming fists on tables. The President demanded retaliation, but no strategist dared to offer it. Who would order another strike after seeing a single palm reshape mountains?
William trembled in his marble estate, his brandy glass slipping and shattering at his feet. His phone screamed with unanswered calls:
"Do something!""Stop this madness!""Call them, leverage them!"
He collapsed into a chair, pale. "I can't… I can't control this anymore. They'll kill me just to ease their fear."
In Australia, a small café TV flickered. Karma's friends sat pale and silent. Sajid whispered, "That's him, isn't it? That golden one… that's Karma's connection."
Irena hugged herself. "If they can throw someone like that across mountains, what happens to us?"
Kiki said nothing, her eyes fixed on the screen, her thoughts heavy. Karma… where are you?
On Kailas itself, Karma's body shook. His fists clenched white, his lungs burning. He had seen Su Chen vanish like a stone hurled into the void.
Mira… if someone like Su Chen was crushed so easily, what chance do I have?
Mira's voice hissed sharply in his skull. Host, that is the weight of a Dao realm bloodline. You cannot match it—not yet. But do not despair. With Devour, you carry a path even they cannot imagine. In years, not centuries, you could eclipse these so-called prodigies.
Karma's jaw tightened. He hated the word survival. But now it meant something else: survival was not cowardice—it was the seed of vengeance. If it means one more chance to find her, then I'll cling to it.
Moonlight and Gold
Renji lowered his palm, calm, almost bored."That was your champion? Disappointing."
The prodigies behind him laughed, their voices sharp.
"Pathetic.""Golden Core? Not even worth a strike.""Earth is already ours."
Before their mockery could spread further, a voice cut through the storm: cold, sharp, furious.
"Enough."
Su Liana stepped forward. Her silver-white robes stirred with spiritual wind, her aura blooming like moonlight. Snow rose around her, drawn into her qi, painting the battlefield luminous. Her blade shimmered in her hand—Moonveil, forged from frozen starlight, its edge radiant enough to split the heavens.
Renji's golden eyes lit faintly with amusement. "Ah. The sister. I wondered how long you would watch your brother crawl."
Her voice was ice. "You dare. I will make you pay for your arrogance."
Renji smiled faintly. "Good. Show me."
They clashed.
Su Liana's blade carved crescents of silver—Moonlight Severing Veins—each stroke precise, cutting snowflakes into dust.
Renji answered with molten palms—Heavenly Tyrant Palm—every strike collapsing the air itself into thunderous waves.
Moonlight and gold collided. Avalanches tore down slopes. Lightning crackled across the skies. Monks miles away cried out in prayer. To mortals watching live, they were no longer people—they were two rival suns crashing together.
Su Liana's sword pierced Renji's shoulder, drawing blood that hissed as it struck snow.
Renji laughed—an honest, delighted laugh. "Excellent. You're not like your brother. You might even entertain me."
"You underestimate me at your peril," Su Liana hissed.
Her blade rose, runes blazing. Moon-Cutting Horizon. The sky itself split open, a luminous scar of silver.
Renji caught it with both hands, golden qi surging, his bloodline roaring through him. The plateau shuddered, valleys cracked, Yuan's protective aura strained with spiderweb fissures.
Neither yielded. Silver moonlight pressed against golden tyranny for what felt like eternity.
Finally, both staggered back. Su Liana's chest heaved, her sword trembling. Renji's palm bled freely, golden light flickering.
A near standstill.
The Su Clan guards exhaled in relief. Mortals across Earth erupted:
"She cut him!""The Silver One fights for us!""The Moonblade of Kailas!"
But Yuan's gaze stayed cold, unreadable.
Renji… strong, gifted. If he had been born in Astral Vein, he might already stand among the Pavilion's future pillars. But fate has tied him to his world.
His hands folded behind his back, his aura vast yet restrained. Su Liana has not even shown her full strength. As my disciple, she could kill him if she unleashed herself. No—Renji is not my concern.
Through the rift's turbulence, he felt it: the hum of something vaster, deeper. A will older and heavier.
Tianxu. So you are finally moving.
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Renji wiped blood from his palm, smirking faintly. "Better. Much better. When I return, we'll finish this dance."
Su Liana raised her blade, fury blazing, but before she could strike, Yuan's voice fell like a decree:
"Enough."
His qi silenced the mountain. The plateau stilled. The rift flickered, dimming once more.
Renji lingered, his golden gaze amused, before stepping back through the veil. His entourage followed, their laughter echoing like knives.
Snow drifted again. Silence reclaimed Kailas.
Su Chen lay broken across the mountains. Su Liana stood with her blade dim but her spine unbent.
And Yuan gazed at the rift, calm as the mountain itself. To mortals and clan alike, he was their anchor in the storm.
But within, his thoughts whispered cold:Renji is only the blade's edge. Tianxu is the hand that wields it. When Azure Edge Pavilion descends, the otherworld will learn what it means to be crushed beneath a true overlord