CHAPTER 71 — Lin Xuan's Gamble
The world stood still.
Or maybe Lin Xuan was the only one who felt it—the eerie, fragile calm that came right before everything shattered. Around him, an ocean of demonic cultivators roared, snarled, and charged, but their voices seemed muted. Distant. Unimportant.
Because deep inside his chest…
His star core pulsed.
Again.
And again.
Each pulse brighter.
Hotter.
More violent.
---
Cloudsky Sect Vanishes
The battlefield had fallen silent in one regard:
there were no more Cloudsky disciples.
Not one.
Lin had pulled every last person into his Inner Earth, including the Sect Master and the severely wounded elders. Inside his world, time slowed, qi thickened, and safety reigned.
Outside?
Hell.
The demonic commander stared at the empty flank and snarled.
"Where did they go!? WHERE ARE THE CLOUDSKY RATS!?"
He looked around, eyes burning.
He found only Lin.
Only Lin.
A single figure standing on a pile of corpses, bleeding from dozens of wounds, clothes torn, spear blazing with starfire.
A lone defiant sun against a collapsing sky.
"Impossible," the commander whispered.
---
A One-Man Extermination Force
The demonic cultivators didn't pause for long.
They surged forward, hungry for blood.
Lin inhaled deeply.
His qi roared like a young sun.
He stepped forward.
BOOM—!!!
A shockwave flung hundreds of demonic soldiers off their feet like ragdolls, smashing them into trees, boulders, and each other.
Lin spun his spear, its edge glowing like molten iron, and swept it across the battlefield.
A crescent of solar fire carved through dozens at a time.
He ducked a claw swipe—sidestepped a sword strike—kicked a demonic beast so hard its skull exploded like fruit.
He moved like a god of destruction.
His spear thrust—
Stellar Collapse.
His fist strike—
Solar Cannonburst.
His footwork—
Orbiting Steps.
Every technique was invented by him.
Every technique broke the logic of the world.
Every technique killed.
But even a star grows dim.
Even a sun bleeds.
Even Lin Xuan couldn't fight forever.
---
The Enemy Grows Stronger
A demonic elder lunged with a blade of shrieking souls.
Lin blocked it—but the impact sent blood dripping from his mouth.
A puppet general slammed a fist into his side, cracking his ribs.
Lin shattered its core but staggered backward, chest heaving.
Three Nascent Soul demonic cultivators attacked at once.
Lin parried two. The third cut into his shoulder, deep enough to expose bone.
Lin grit his teeth and blasted them away with a solar pulse—
—but the damage stayed.
Breath grew ragged.
Vision blurred.
Limbs shook.
And still they surrounded him.
A black tide.
So many.
Too many.
---
The Sea of Enemies
The demonic commander raised his hand.
"ENCIRCLE HIM! ALL OF YOU!
HE ALONE STOLE MY ARMY'S PREY!"
Beasts charged.
Cultivators leapt.
Puppets lumbered.
Elders floated overhead.
Lin Xuan stood at the center of a spiraling vortex of death.
His legs trembled.
His arm shook.
His spear dripped both red and black blood.
He was drowning in corpses.
In wounds.
In exhaustion.
And yet…
His gaze remained calm.
Almost serene.
Because this moment—this pressure—this circle of enemies closing in—
this was exactly what he needed.
He wiped blood from his chin.
And smiled.
A bloody, terrifying, confident smile.
---
A Madman's Smile
That smile—the commander froze.
Elders hesitated.
Beasts whimpered.
That smile did not belong to someone who believed he was dying.
That was the smile of someone who had been waiting for this.
Lin whispered:
> "You saved me the trouble of gathering you all."
The demonic commander's eyes widened—
"What…?"
Lin pressed his palm against his chest.
And the solar system inside him began to change.
---
The Inner Earth Trembles
Inside his inner world:
Cloudsky disciples stumbled.
Wind roared.
Rivers shook.
The sky flickered like a fading lantern.
Bai grabbed a railing. "What the hell is he doing now!?"
Wen's face whitened. "Don't tell me—he's—HE'S NOT—"
Mu's voice cracked with panic. "He's evolving the solar system while we're INSIDE!?!"
Disciples screamed as the world shook.
Mountains rose and fell.
The sun inside the sky blazed a hundred times brighter.
Inside and outside—
everything trembled.
---
The Upgrade Begins
Lin Xuan straightened.
He lifted his spear.
And channeled every ounce of qi he had left into his star core.
Golden veins lit up across his body.
Lightning swirled around him.
His eyes glowed white with power.
His voice echoed like thunder:
> "Heaven.
Earth.
My path—
evolves."
The air split open behind him.
A miniature sun appeared over his shoulder—
Not illusion.
Not technique.
A manifestation of the star inside him.
It spun.
It vibrated.
It cracked.
And then—
It began to collapse inward.
The demonic commander's pupils shrank.
"No.
NO.
KILL HIM NOW!!!"
Every demonic cultivator rushed him.
Lin didn't move.
He only whispered:
> "Too late."
---
The collapsing star behind Lin reaching critical mass.
Light swallowing the battlefield.
Demonic cultivators screaming.
The demonic commander trying to flee—
And Lin Xuan standing calmly in the center of it all.
His solar system upgrading.
His gamble succeeding.
The next instant would change the continent.
---