Nian Shi coughed, silver blood staining his chin. "...You actually hurt me." His voice was hoarse, but his lips twisted into a grin. "I haven’t felt pain since... well, since I killed the Creator."
Yun Lintian wiped blood from his mouth, his golden-black eyes burning. "You talk too much."
Nian Shi laughed—a broken, wheezing sound. "Maybe. But tell me, Yun Lintian..." He gestured to their ruined bodies. "Was it worth it? Do you know that your display of power today will expose to my other selves?"
Yun Lintian didn’t answer.
The God Slaying Sword in his grip pulsed, its dark edge humming with renewed hunger.
Nian Shi exhaled, silver blood dripping from his fingertips as he steadied himself. Despite his injuries, his smile remained razor-sharp.
"Although I have underestimated you, even now, after all this... you must feel it, don’t you?" His silver eyes gleamed. "The gap between us."
Yun Lintian said nothing. His golden-black eyes burned brighter, his aura intensifying in response.
Nian Shi chuckled. "Still refusing to admit it? Fine."
The Blade of Eternity shimmered in his grasp, its fractured edge repairing itself with threads of temporal energy. The hourglass floated beside him, its golden sand swirling violently.
Space shattered as he crossed the distance in less than a thought, the Blade of Eternity carving a path through reality itself. Silver light erupted, carrying the weight of countless erased timelines—each strike containing the despair of worlds that had never been.
Yun Lintian met him head-on.
The God Slaying Sword clashed against the Blade of Eternity, black and silver energies colliding in a storm of annihilation.
The shockwave flattened the surrounding void, reducing distant stars to dust.
Nian Shi didn’t let up.
His attacks came faster, sharper—each slash reversing causality, each thrust erasing the concept of defense. The hourglass pulsed, accelerating his movements while slowing Yun Lintian’s reactions.
Yun Lintian was forced back.
Step by step, his footing faltered under the relentless assault. Cuts appeared on his arms, his chest, his face—each wound resisting regeneration, stained with silver corrosion.
Nian Shi’s smirk widened. "See? The gap is real."
Yun Lintian remained calm.
He had not yet unleashed his full strength.
With a thought, the White Tiger’s power surged through him—lightning crackling along his veins, his muscles hardening with killing intent. The God Slaying Sword hummed, its dark edge now wreathed in golden-black chaos energy and threads of temporal power.
Lightning split the void as his sword met Nian Shi’s blade. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through space, forcing the God of Time to skid backward.
Nian Shi’s eyes narrowed. "Still holding back?"
Yun Lintian didn’t answer.
The next clash was even fiercer. Lightning clashed against silver, chaos against time. Each collision warped reality, leaving scars in the fabric of existence.
Yet despite Yun Lintian’s counterattack, Nian Shi’s superiority remained evident.
The Blade of Eternity moved with flawless precision, each strike carrying the experience of eons. The hourglass ensured he was always one step ahead, rewriting minor mistakes before they could be exploited.
Yun Lintian was still being suppressed.
Nian Shi’s laughter echoed across the battlefield. "You’re adapting. I’ll give you that." His silver eyes gleamed. "But adaptation alone won’t bridge the gap."
He raised the hourglass, and time itself stuttered.
Yun Lintian’s movements slowed—just for an instant, but it was enough.
The Blade of Eternity pierced forward, aiming for his heart—
—only to be deflected at the last moment as Yun Lintian twisted, lightning flaring from his free hand.
The counterforce sent both combatants flying apart.
Nian Shi landed gracefully, his smirk never fading. "Impressive reflexes. But how long can you keep this up?"
Yun Lintian steadied himself, his breathing even. His golden-black eyes locked onto Nian Shi, calculating.
The next move would decide everything.
Yun Lintian raised the God Slaying Sword high, its dark blade humming with condensed power. The energies of the Primordial Gods he had absorbed swirled violently within him—lightning, fire, ice, entropy—all converging into a single, terrifying point.
Nian Shi watched with cold amusement, the Blade of Eternity resting lazily against his shoulder. "Oh? The Rending Heaven technique again?" He chuckled. "What makes you think your pitiful slash will work against me this time?"
Yun Lintian didn’t answer.
This wasn’t just the Rending Heaven technique.
For the first time, he was attempting something new—compressing the combined might of the slain gods into a singularity of destruction.
The sword trembled in his grip, space itself warping around the blade as if afraid of what was coming.
Nian Shi’s smirk faltered slightly.
The attack was silent.
No grand lightshow, no earth-shaking roar—just a thin, black line cutting through existence.
Nian Shi reacted instantly. The Blade of Eternity crossed before him as the hourglass pulsed, freezing time itself to negate the strike.
The black line continued, slicing through frozen time like it wasn’t even there.
The black slash tore through frozen time, its edge humming with the condensed power of thirty-seven Primordial Gods. Nian Shi’s silver eyes widened slightly as the attack approached—not with fear, but with genuine surprise.
His fingers flicked. The hourglass spun violently, its golden sand scattering into seven distinct streams. Each grain pulsed with temporal energy as space itself fractured around him.
"Dimensional Severance!"
The black slash struck—
Like a river meeting a fork, Yun Lintian’s attack divided into seven weaker strands, each forced into a separate dimensional plane. One vanished into the past, another into a mirrored reality, a third into a void of pure entropy—all scattering harmlessly across existence.
Nian Shi exhaled, a thin line of silver blood trickling from his nose. "That... was a good attempt." His lips curled into a smirk despite the strain. "But we’re done here."
Instead of pressing forward, Nian Shi stepped backward—not through space, but through something deeper. A layer of reality Yun Lintian couldn’t perceive, let alone intercept.
"Grow stronger, Yun Lintian." His voice echoed as his form began dissolving. "I look forward to seeing how you’ll bridge this gap."
Yun Lintian’s eyes narrowed. He reached out, spatial energy surging as he attempted to lock down the area—
—but his senses found nothing.
Nian Shi hadn’t just teleported. He had exited the conventional dimensions entirely, slipping through a fold in existence Yun Lintian couldn’t trace.