The heavens fell quiet.
The storm no longer raged with spears or breaths. It twisted, folding inward on itself, a whirl of divine anger swirling together into a single point above them.
Lightning concentrated, not into a bolt but into a sun — a ball of absolute judgment, blinding white, throb-beating with the weight of the heavens themselves. Its light seared flesh and soul alike, even at a distance.
The system's voice spoke low and stuttering, as if it feared also what was to come:
> [Tribulation Phase V: The Final Strike.]
[Warning: No survival recorded in history.]
[Outcome: Life or annihilation.]
---
Li Xian's body tilted. His flesh was torn, his skin flayed raw, his bones glowing with scarlet light beneath the ruin. Su Yao's jade body trembled in his arms, her white robes splattered with blood and ashes. Both of them were covered in sweat, blistered, exhausted — but still their eyes burned.
She breathed softly, her lips trembling against his ear: "If this is the end… I regret nothing."
He laughed, his voice raw and hoarse. "No. This is not the end. This is where we start."
His scarlet qi blazed, blood-red wings spreading from his shoulders, battered but unshattered. Su Yao's silver light interwove with his, a double aura of red and white boiling out into the emptiness.
The heavens bellowed.
The sun of lightning descended.
---
The world's end.
The strike landed.
A white tide swept over everything — mountains, rivers, sect halls, disciples, even the heavens themselves. Elder ones standing at the sidelines covered their eyes, their hearts shaking. Disciples prostrated themselves, weeping.
"It's… impossible… No one could survive this…"
Even the Sect Master himself trembled with fear, his robes burnt by the mere vibration of the blow.
---
In the storm, Li Xian roared, every vein and muscle torn asunder. His crimson qi burned, but not enough alone. His wings splintered, his body shattering like glass.
But then — Su Yao's cry rang pure, steel-sharp.
"If Heaven despises us, then let us revolt together!"
Her arms wrapped around him. Her spiritual center flared, not white but scarlet-silver, mixing with his. The bond of desire, the bond of flesh, the bond of soul — all they had experienced ignited all at once.
The system shattered into static:
> [Warning—system error—bond—unregistered—]
[Detected unknown cultivation path.]
[Name: Heaven-Defying Dual Core.]
[Power output: Unbounded.]
Their auras danced together, crimson and silver spinning into their own maelstrom. Not against Heaven — devouring it.
The lightning sun broke apart. And then, unbelievably, it screamed.
---
The sky itself ripped asunder.
The sacred sun broke apart, blowing out in a storm of silver fire and red dust. Billows of destruction scorched the void, shattering the heavens. Entire mountains broke apart. Sect halls toppled. Thousands of disciples fell where they had been standing.
And amidst the destruction — they remained.
Li Xian and Su Yao, burned and mutilated, yet alive. His crimson wings restructured, enormous and terrifying. Her green eyes flared with silver fire, her energy doubled in strength.
They did not kneel.
They rose up.
---
The world was silent.
For the first time in thousands of years, a Heavenly Tribulation had failed.
Heaven itself staggered back. The clouds disintegrated, exposing the sky gigantic and vacant. A broken sun blazed, then extinguished.
And in the stillness, Li Xian's laughter shattered it, harsh but triumphant.
"Do you see, Heaven? Chains cannot hold me. Death cannot claim me. Even your judgment distorts when I place my hand in hers."
Su Yao clung to him, her body trembling, tears streaming — not of suffering, but of awe.
She whispered, voice raw, shaking: "You… you challenged Heaven."
His scarlet eyes flared, hot and unrelenting. "No. We did."
---
Far away, Mei Ling stood at the edges of the ravaged storm, her dagger set aside, her mouth open with awe. Her voice was trembling with madness and adoration.
"He… he actually destroyed Heaven itself. Hah… hahahaha… I was right. He's beautiful."
Her eyes flashed with hunger as she whispered: "And I will make him mine too… even if I need to burn the world for it."
---
The tribulation was over.
But the world had changed.