Although Lin Dong's will was firm as iron, the truth was undeniable — with his current strength, there was no way he could make the Ice Spirit Clan bow before him.
He might be able to exchange blows with a Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign, but to single-handedly overturn the Ice Spirit Clan as he had in the original timeline — that was impossible.
Between him and a true Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign still lay a vast gulf.
'At this rate, it'll be difficult for him to draw out the Battle Emperor,' Liu Xi thought to himself.
Qing Yanjing hesitated. She considered stepping forward to help, but in the end, she remained silent. No matter how tragic Ying Huanhuan's story was, Liu Xi was her man — she couldn't ask him to risk himself for someone else's sorrow.
For now, only Lin Dong's battle spirit burned brightly. Everyone else doubted the feasibility of his path — even Ling Qingzhu and Qing Tan shared the same concern.
Liu Xi's eyes gleamed. 'Seems I'll have to stir the pot a little…'
He turned toward Lin Dong. "You have ambition, and I appreciate that. In that case, I'll stretch my limbs and help you once more."
Qing Yanjing looked at him in surprise.
Ling Qingzhu and Qing Tan were both overjoyed. Though they didn't know Liu Xi's intentions, his willingness to intervene meant that Ying Huanhuan's chances of rescue had just skyrocketed.
But Lin Dong quickly declined. "Senior, you've already saved one of my wives. How could I trouble you again to wade through muddy waters for me?"
Liu Xi smiled and shook his head. "Who said anything about accompanying you to the Ice Spirit Clan? What I mean is — I'll help you break through to the Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign realm. If you have the courage to endure pain, come with me."
As soon as he finished, he wrapped an arm around Qing Yanjing's slender waist, his body rising into the air. With a thought, space itself split open, and they stepped into the rift.
After they disappeared, Lin Dong's eyes flickered with thought.
"Break through to Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign…" He murmured, knowing well his own condition. Breaking that barrier wasn't impossible — but it required time, and time was the one thing he lacked.
Everything he did now was for Huanhuan.
"We're going!" he said decisively, leaping up as Ling Qingzhu and Qing Tan followed.
---
Above the endless sea, space suddenly twisted.
Liu Xi and Qing Yanjing emerged from the distortion, standing suspended in midair. Liu Xi released her from his arm and smiled faintly. "Go wait over there, a bit farther. Don't interfere."
Qing Yanjing nodded obediently, stepping back without question. Whatever Liu Xi planned to do, she would support him unconditionally.
Liu Xi clasped his hands behind his back, standing tall and quiet as he awaited Lin Dong's arrival. If Lin Dong didn't have the courage to follow, he wasn't worthy of being called the Martial Ancestor.
Sure enough, moments later, Lin Dong, Ling Qingzhu, and Qing Tan emerged from the void.
"You came," Liu Xi said, smiling.
"I came," Lin Dong nodded resolutely.
Liu Xi waved a hand lightly. "We both ascended from the Lower Planes, so you should know this — our early cultivation was not with Spiritual Energy. To fuse Spiritual Energy fully with the flesh and step into the Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign realm, one must either obtain great fortune or spend endless years of refinement."
"Yes," Lin Dong admitted frankly. This was indeed his greatest obstacle.
"Then I'll give you that fortune," Liu Xi said with a faint grin.
The instant his words fell, a boundless pressure erupted. The sky trembled as infinite Spiritual Energy surged toward him, the sea roiling beneath their feet.
The heavens darkened; storm clouds blotted out the sun. The world quaked as pure Spiritual Energy condensed into violent tempests. Within them, thunder rumbled and lightning roared.
An unspeakable divine aura spread from Liu Xi's body — vast, unstoppable.
Within that storm, Lin Dong felt as insignificant as a speck of dust, a lone leaf adrift in the boundless sea, moments from being crushed by the raging waves.
Ling Qingzhu and Qing Tan could barely breathe. The pressure bearing down upon them was suffocating. In that moment, they realized what true power was — the kind of strength that could crush them like ants with a single thought.
Before this, Liu Xi had always been calm and approachable. The sudden contrast between his gentle demeanor and his overwhelming might left both women shaken.
Lin Dong, however, quickly composed himself. "Qingzhu, Qing Tan — step back."
"Lin Dong!"
"Big Brother Lin Dong!"
Though worry filled their faces, they obeyed, retreating to a safe distance. If Liu Xi had truly intended to kill them, he would not have gone through this trouble.
Once they withdrew, Liu Xi smiled faintly. "I'm not here to play house. If you can't break through to the Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign realm… you'll die by my hands."
At his words, an even greater pressure descended. Waves of force crashed down like tidal floods, engulfing Lin Dong completely.
Lin Dong's expression grew grave. The man before him — this calm, smiling figure — was even more terrifying than the Demon Emperor who had once ravaged the Tianxuan Continent. Dozens, hundreds of times more so.
If he didn't fight with everything he had, he would be obliterated in an instant.
Yet under this crushing oppression, Lin Dong discovered something wondrous — his Spiritual Energy was merging with his body at an unprecedented rate.
Power burst forth uncontrollably, shifting between devouring, lightning, flame, ice — the forces of the Eight Ancestral Symbols flaring in succession.
Liu Xi's eyes gleamed. 'The eight ancestral symbols… truly remarkable.'
Then, with a single step, he blurred like a bolt of lightning, tearing through space as he appeared before Lin Dong.
"This won't do," he said mildly. "If you want to reach the Heavenly Sovereign realm, your power must be purer — more condensed. Otherwise, it'll crumble like this…"
"Devour!"
Liu Xi stamped the air, unleashing a storm of Spiritual Energy that instantly tore apart Lin Dong's Devouring Sea.
"Lightning!"
With a flick of his hand, an enormous palm of pure Spiritual Energy descended like a divine verdict, smashing the thunder sea into fragments.
"Flame!"
"Frost!"
"Life and Death!"
One by one, all of Lin Dong's techniques shattered like fragile glass. Liu Xi's figure blurred forward again, his expression unchanging, and with a gentle motion — pushed out a single palm.
Purple-gold light flared around Lin Dong, a colossal dragon's shadow rising behind him, ancient and majestic.
Even so, Liu Xi's casual strike broke through every defense. Lin Dong crossed his arms before him, but the next instant, he was blasted downward like a meteor, crashing into the endless sea below.
He hadn't held back water this time. No — he had released the entire ocean.
Neither the Nine-Turn Profound Art nor the Azure Lotus Undying Body could withstand him. Even with his power suppressed to the peak of the Spiritual Grade, Liu Xi's strength was enough to rival the Immortal Grade Heavenly Sovereigns.
Boom—!
The ocean exploded into waves tens of thousands of feet high. Lin Dong's figure burst out from the depths, utterly battered.
Liu Xi's might was beyond crushing — it was overwhelming.
As soon as Lin Dong reappeared, Liu Xi moved again, strolling leisurely through the storms and lightning as though walking in his own garden. Another light palm fell.
Ripples of space spread outward, sealing Lin Dong's every escape route. Even the Space Ancestral Symbol couldn't pierce the blockade — he could only face it head-on.
Spiritual Energy within Lin Dong's body surged to the brink of madness as he met the strike. He managed to block it — but was once again hurled into the sea like a cannonball.
And again. And again.
Every time Lin Dong rose, Liu Xi struck him down. Every technique, every defense was shattered effortlessly.
Bones cracked, organs shifted, blood burned — Lin Dong hovered constantly at death's edge. Yet Liu Xi's control was precise; he never let him die.
Under this cycle of destruction and recovery, Lin Dong's Spiritual Energy began to root itself into his very flesh and blood.
The threshold to Spiritual Grade Heavenly Sovereign was drawing ever closer.
(End of Chapter)
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