The vast, floating palace known as the Sovereign's Hall was an island of sheer panic. The news of the instantaneous annihilation of the five Grand Unity Enforcers at the Void Fault Line had shattered the morale and stability of the entire governing body. The atmosphere was a chaotic mix of fear and frantic mobilization.
Lin Tian, having absorbed the vast spiritual essence of his fallen enemies, was now fully stable at Grand Unity Immortal Stage 4. He flew toward the Hall, not with caution, but with the confidence of a being who knew the weaknesses of his target better than the target knew itself.
His entry was simple: he slipped through the chaotic spiritual energy leaking from the Hall's main defensive formation. Elder Long Wei, tasked with maintaining the perimeter integrity after the Enforcers' deployment, was too distracted by the political fallout to notice the infinitesimal rift that Lin Tian exploited.
Lin Tian landed covertly in the Hall's massive, ornate courtyard. He was still nine months old, but he moved with the light, confident steps of an Immortal master.
His target was the Sovereign's Archive—the deepest vault beneath the Hall, rumored to hold the collective, unedited wisdom of the entire Cloud Heavens, including the elusive "Heavenly Flaws" that Tier 2 Immortals dared not speak of.
He activated the Observer's Eye, scanning the entire political structure, the defensive arrays, and the flow of information.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Sovereign's Hall Complex. Threat Assessment: HIGH. Weakness: Over-reliance on Tier 3 Deception Protocols.]
Lin Tian smiled internally. The Sovereign's Hall was so busy inventing complex cover stories about external Tier 3 interference (to hide their own incompetence) that their actual security focused on defending against threats from the outside, not subtle infiltration from the inside.
He encountered the Hall's primary defense: the Nine-Ring Concealment Array, designed to hide the Archive's location. The Array pulsed with blinding light.
Lin Tian didn't attempt to break the array. He simply activated his Divine Nascent Soul, channeling his Divine Purity Qi through the flaw he instantly identified: a structural reliance on false energy signatures. The array was designed to trick observers with misleading energy readings. Lin Tian's absolute Purity made him immune to deception; he saw the true, simple paths immediately.
He bypassed the array in seconds, moving through the labyrinthine halls and descending toward the depths of the palace.
The final obstacle was the Archive door itself—a massive, jade-and-steel vault sealed by the personal spiritual essence of Grand Sovereign Chen. Standing guard was Elder Fan, the Hall's last remaining high-level enforcer, a Grand Unity Immortal Stage 7.
Elder Fan saw the infant immediately, not as a child, but as a catastrophic anomaly. The scent of shattered power clung to Lin Tian's clothes, and the sheer purity of his aura confirmed the Elder's worst fear: this was the entity responsible for the carnage.
"You! The demon of purity!" Elder Fan shrieked, channeling his full power into a desperate defensive shield around the vault. "You will not touch the Archive!"
Elder Fan lunged, utilizing his most potent technique: the Impenetrable Stone Wall, a fusion of Earth and Metal Qi designed for absolute defense.
Lin Tian did not spare him the ten seconds required to analyze the flaw. He needed speed, not another puppet.
He channeled his Divine Nascent Soul, fusing the Fire, Earth, and Water elemental essences he had acquired. He struck the Elder's shield with his tiny index finger, delivering a precise, instantaneous blow. The technique was not designed to crush the wall; it was designed to exploit the Earth-Metal fusion's reliance on stable heat ratios.
The strike created a microscopic thermal imbalance within the shield. The Earth element instantly began to expand while the Metal element violently contracted. Elder Fan's shield imploded, not outward, but inward, crushing the Elder with his own technique. Elder Fan fell, utterly annihilated, his spiritual essence immediately seized by Lin Tian's hungry core.
[RESOURCE ACQUISITION: Grand Unity Essence (x1) secured. Cultivation Stability: Maximum.]
Lin Tian stood before the vault, the last guard of the Cloud Heavens eliminated.
Lin Tian placed his hand on the vault door. The System instantly provided the counter-logic to the spiritual seal. He channeled his Divine Purity Qi, mirroring the sequence of the Grand Sovereign's own essence, but adding the fatal flaw: unconditional obedience to a purer source.
The vault opened with a smooth, silent hiss.
Inside, the Sovereign's Archive was a vast cavern of shimmering, celestial jade slips. Lin Tian pushed his consciousness forward, initiating the ultimate resource acquisition.
[System Notification: Tier 2 Archive Acquisition Initiated. Scanning and Cataloging of Nine Heavens Flaw Protocols in progress.]
The knowledge flowed into Lin Tian's mind—the deepest secrets of the Tier 2 realm, the political and martial weaknesses of every major sect, and, most importantly, the complex spiritual flaws inherent in the Heavenly Gate itself. Lin Tian was securing the blueprint for his final ascension.
As he consumed the massive archive, Lin Tian looked down at the floor, where the dust of the final guardian lay. He had secured the entire continent without ever facing a true martial obstacle, relying entirely on strategy and the purity of his System.
[Tier 2 Conquest Status: Complete. All knowledge acquired. Next Goal: Final Breakthrough to Grand Unity Peak.]
The Tier 2 political saga was closed. Lin Tian had proven that in the cosmic game, the strongest weapon is not the sword, but absolute knowledge.