The first clash echoed like a thunderclap across the Li family estate.
Li Yi's figure streaked through the air, his twin-core qi blazing like a comet. Roots of starlight spiraled around his arms, and divine patterns etched themselves across his skin mid-flight. His strike met Va'Kur's abyss-forged blade—and the shockwave split the clouds above.
Boom!
Space itself twisted from the impact. Mountains cracked at their base. The barrier protecting the estate shimmered violently, barely withstanding the surge of chaotic power.
Va'Kur grinned.
"You possess the root of the Primordial Scripture… but you are not yet worthy."
He raised his blade with one hand, the other summoning void serpents from the rift behind him. They screamed as they flew down, their black scales pulsating with demonic energy, heading straight for the cultivators below.
Li Yi's eyes narrowed.
He extended both arms—and activated Heavenroot Cycle to its fullest extent.
The serpents collided into a barrier of starlight roots. Instead of blocking them, the roots swallowed the energy and twisted, glowing brighter, then exploded outward, releasing it tenfold in radiant beams. Screams erupted as the void beasts were incinerated mid-air.
The elders on the ground, initially stunned, began activating their formations.
Li Qingxian stepped forward, drawing an ancestral sword wreathed in lightning. "Guard the central altar! Protect the Spirit Tree!"
From every direction, Li family cultivators responded. War banners rose. Arrays locked into place. Artifacts howled as they were awakened from slumber.
The Li family—top clan of the Xuan Realm—had gone to war.
---
Meanwhile, high above, Li Yi and Va'Kur fought like ancient gods.
Va'Kur's sword could cut the laws of space. Every swing sent rifts through the air, trying to disorient and trap Li Yi in pockets of twisted time. But Li Yi danced through them, his dual qi harmonizing into patterns that defied the void.
Each time Va'Kur struck, Li Yi redirected the blow, absorbed the residual force, and returned it empowered through Heavenroot Echo, a secondary divine technique emerging from the Azure Scripture.
He was learning mid-battle. Evolving.
And Va'Kur noticed.
"You grow faster than anticipated," the demon general snarled. "Your blood is unnatural. What are you?"
Li Yi didn't answer. Instead, he opened his palm—and roots burst from it, forming a colossal spear of divine wood and star-metal. With a roar, he hurled it at the general.
Va'Kur brought his blade to block—
But the spear split into thousands of needles mid-air, bypassing his defense and piercing into his abyssal armor.
Crack!
Black mist burst from the wounds. The general roared in pain, staggered for the first time.
Below, the gate began to pulse.
The rift widened, threatening to collapse the entire eastern peak. Elders tried to hold it back, pouring qi into the sealing array—but cracks spread faster than they could mend.
Li Yi sensed it.
He had no choice.
Clenching his fists, he activated the deepest part of the Azure Scripture—Divine Root Awakening.
His body glowed white-hot. Roots extended from his spine, burrowing into the air itself, linking him to the ley lines of the realm. His qi reservoir exploded in size, his twin cores expanding and merging more completely.
> Twin Core Fusion – Perfected
Heavenroot Cycle – Mastered
Divine Root Awakening – Initiated
Time slowed for a heartbeat.
Li Yi raised both hands, and the sky answered.
A lattice of starlight descended—an ancient formation passed down from the God Realm.
> "Seal the rift," he whispered.
The lattice enveloped the gate, wrapping it in divine roots and celestial fire. Abyssal beasts screamed, trying to flee—but the light consumed them.
Va'Kur lunged in rage, blade raised to kill—
Too late.
Li Yi turned, his gaze shining like suns.
His punch landed square in the demon's chest.
Boom!
The armor shattered.
Va'Kur crashed into the mountain, leaving a crater hundreds of meters wide.
The rift closed.
Silence fell.
Only the whimpering wind remained as Li Yi floated in mid-air, his robes tattered, his breathing heavy—but his eyes firm.
The battle was won.
But the omen remained.
Above, the crimson moon still hung. Watching. Waiting.