The world exploded in a shower of shattered jade and pulverized stone. The elegant guest pavilion, a structure that had stood for a century as a symbol of the Golden Tide Clan's artistry and wealth, was annihilated in the blink of an eye, its delicate architecture no match for the primal, explosive fury of a leviathan's rage.
In the instant the building disintegrated, Kui reacted with the seasoned instinct of a survivor. He slammed his palms together, a deep, golden light erupting from his body. "Aegis of the Unbreakable Shell!"
A massive, semi-transparent dome of golden, turtle-shell-patterned energy expanded outwards, enveloping Li Yu, Jian Xuan, and himself, effortlessly deflecting the storm of deadly shrapnel. Dust and debris rained down upon their impenetrable shield.
When the dust began to settle, Li Yu's gaze swept over the scene. They were now standing in the center of a smoking crater, completely surrounded. It seemed the entire clan had mobilized, or something close to it. Hundreds of cultivators, a mix of black-clad Beast Faction members and warriors wearing the golden wave crest of the Golden Tide Clan, had formed a tight, inescapable ring around them, their faces a mixture of shock at the sudden destruction and cold, murderous intent.
But Li Yu's attention was not on the army below. It was on the raging battle in the sky above.
Spine, in his true, magnificent beast form, was a whirlwind of golden scales and unrestrained fury. He had completely abandoned any semblance of technique or defense, his entire being focused on a singular, all-consuming goal: the destruction of Elder Tian Long. His massive claws tore through the air, his powerful tail whipped like a golden tsunami, and beams of pure, condensed energy shot from his draconic maw. Every attack was a killing blow, delivered with a suicidal recklessness.
Elder Tian Long, despite being a peak Core Formation expert, was having a difficult time. He was clearly the stronger of the two, his techniques more refined, his spiritual energy more condensed. He parried the furious, desperate attacks with a series of powerful, defensive arts, but he was being forced constantly on the back foot. Spine's berserker rage, fueled by a deep and ancient grief, made him a terrifyingly unpredictable opponent.
Then, a roar, filled with a pain that was more profound than any physical wound, echoed from the heavens. It was Spine's voice, a sound of pure, soul-deep agony and rage.
"THIS AURA!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the very clouds. "I WOULD RECOGNIZE THIS AURA ANYWHERE ACROSS A THOUSAND HELLS! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU, YOU BASTARD!" His eyes, usually calm and steady, now burned with an insane, sorrowful light. "YOU WILL DIE THIS DAY AND JOIN MY SON IN THE AFTERLIFE!"
He unleashed a torrent of attacks, a desperate, beautiful, and utterly heartbreaking display of a father's grief turned into a weapon.
On the ground, inside the safety of Kui's golden shell, Li Yu watched with a growing sense of dread. He now understood the source of Spine's rage, but his understanding did nothing to quell his fear. Spine was fighting with his heart, not his head. He was leaving himself wide open with every desperate attack. Elder Tian Long was a seasoned, powerful expert. It was only a matter of time before he found an opening in Spine's reckless assault and delivered a fatal blow.
Li Yu could not let that happen. But he also could not intervene directly. He could feel it in his very soul—this was a battle that Spine had to fight. It was a culmination of a lifetime of pain and searching. To stop him now would be to break his spirit more surely than any enemy blade.
He turned to Jian Xuan, his expression grim. "Jian Xuan. Keep an eye on Spine. I am worried he will be killed with how reckless he is being. But I do not want to stop this fight. It feels like something he must do, or his dao heart will never be clear." He looked at the Soul Formation expert, his voice a quiet plea. "Give him his chance. Let him give it his all. But do not let him die."
Jian Xuan's gaze was fixed on the battle in the sky, his expression calm and unreadable. He gave a single, almost imperceptible nod. "Do not worry, Young Master," he said, his voice a steady, reassuring presence amidst the chaos. "I am here. His life is not in danger. Focus on the battle before us. Fight freely."
That was all Li Yu needed. With Jian Xuan acting as the ultimate safety net for Spine, he was now free to deal with the army that surrounded them. And he wanted to finish things quickly. He needed to end this ground battle now so that he could be ready to support Spine the moment his vengeful duel was over.
He stepped forward, his body still shielded by Kui's aegis. He looked at the hundreds of hostile cultivators, their weapons drawn, their killing intent a palpable, suffocating wave. He needed a technique that was overwhelming, absolute, and instantaneous. He needed to end this with a single blow.
His mind went to his most powerful, and most dangerous, soul technique. 'Death's Roar,' he thought. But a standard roar wouldn't be enough to incapacitate so many, including several other Core Formation experts. He needed more. He needed everything.
He closed his eyes, his consciousness diving deep into his spiritual sea. He focused his entire will on the colossal, sleeping leviathan that was his nascent soul. He did not just draw upon its power; he commanded it. He pushed past all his normal limits, pouring his will into the ancient, slumbering being, commanding it to awaken, to unleash its true, primal, world-shaking rage.
The world seemed to go gray. He felt the colossal soul stir, and then awaken. A terrifying, ancient pressure began to build within him, a power so immense he could feel his own spiritual pathways beginning to strain and crack under the sheer, unimaginable force.
A sound that was not a sound erupted, not from Li Yu's mouth, but from the very fabric of the space around him. It was the roar of his leviathan soul, a wave of pure, absolute soul power that washed out over the battlefield.
And then, the world stopped.
The first thing Li Yu noticed was the silence. The clash of steel, the roar of techniques, the furious bellowing of Spine—it all just… ended. The second thing he noticed was the stillness. The dust and debris from the exploded pavilion, which had been swirling in the air, hung perfectly motionless, a frozen cloud of gray. The hundreds of enemy cultivators surrounding them were perfect, living statues, their faces locked in expressions of shock and aggression, their bodies frozen mid-charge.
He looked up. The battle in the sky, the furious, high-speed duel, was now a perfect, silent scene. Spine's golden claws were frozen a mere inch from Elder Tian Long's face. A half-formed defensive technique, a shield of black, swirling energy, was frozen in Tian Long's hands. Even the spiritual energy of their attacks hung in the air, a beautiful, deadly, and completely motionless sculpture of light and power.
Time had stopped.
Li Yu was stunned. This had never happened before. His Death's Roar was a powerful, disorienting attack, but it had never had an effect of this magnitude. It had never… frozen time.
He took a hesitant step. He could move. He looked back at his companions. Kui and Jian Xuan, who had been standing beside him within the golden shell, were also frozen, their expressions a mixture of readiness and surprise. He was the only thing in the entire world that was still moving.
'What… what just happened?' he thought, a sense of profound, soul-shaking shock washing over him. He cautiously extended his spiritual sense, trying to probe the frozen world around him. But it was like pushing against a thick, invisible wall. His sense could only travel a few meters from his body before it simply disappeared, unable to penetrate the strange, temporal stasis that now gripped reality.
He stood alone in the center of a silent, frozen battlefield, surrounded by hundreds of enemies and allies alike, a god of a stillborn moment. The power he had unleashed, in his hurry to end the fight, had produced a result that was far beyond anything he could have ever imagined, and far, far beyond his understanding.