Lin Wei placed a gentle hand on her arm. "Your Majesty, dreams are but whispers of possibilities, not immutable prophecies. The future is still being written, stroke by stroke, by the actions taken at this very moment. And the Divine Prince... he is writing his chapter with fire and steel. Trust in him, Your Majesty. Trust in his spirit, and trust in the destiny you have helped to weave for your daughter."
Dugu Xueling blinked, her gaze momentarily leaving the orb to meet Lin Wei's. A flicker of gratitude shone in her eyes. "Trust... yes. It is the only weapon we have left in this moment of waiting and uncertainty. But oh, Lin Wei," she whispered, turning back to the orb, her voice laced with a mother's vulnerability, "how I pray that my trust is not misplaced. For Linger's sake... for all our sakes."
Meanwhile, back at the Sword God Sect, the heavens rumbled as Dao Wei and Diteyi clashed midair, their blows resonating across the ruined Sword God Sect.
Bang! Bang!
Each strike was an explosion of force, a clash of celestial and abyssal might. The very sky seemed to fracture under their ferocity, shockwaves tearing open rifts in the void. Below them, the once-proud sect was reduced to little more than rubble, the last vestiges of its former glory swallowed in the wake of their battle.
Dao Wei's eyes burned as he scanned the remnants of his fellow disciples, still locked in their own struggles amidst the devastation. Fear gripped his heart—not for himself, but for those who were still alive. If they remained here, they would all be swept away. He had to act.
Skyfall howled, a streak of silver lightning splitting the clouds as he flickered forward. Diteyi's spear lunged to intercept, but Dao Wei was already gone, his speed pushing past mortal comprehension.
Whoosh!
In a flash, Dao Wei was a streak of light, his aura expanding as he fled toward the sky.
"Running already?" Diteyi sneered, wasting no time chasing in, both of them momentarily becoming flashes of light disappearing into the sky.
In a moment, the battle moved elsewhere. Sands stretched endlessly, shifting with an eerie whisper beneath an oppressive sky. Jagged ruins of forgotten empires jutted from the dunes like the bones of fallen titans. Here, countless warriors had perished, their remnants swallowed by the land itself. Here, Dao Wei and Diteyi would carve their legend.
Diteyi landed first, his crimson robes fluttering as his feet touched the cursed sands. He exhaled, his breath igniting into black flames. "You run to this forsaken place, thinking it'll save you? Hah. You've only given me an advantage."
Dao Wei stood across from him, Skyfall gleaming in hand, the air crackling with the sheer weight of his presence. "No. I brought you here to end you."
The two titans launched forward once more.
Boom!
Dao Wei's Sword Domain erupted like a tidal wave. Though his mastery of the technique was incomplete, even a fraction of its power was monstrous. Silver arcs of sword energy slashed across the desert, carving trenches into the sand, and splitting ancient ruins like paper. The storm of blades raged, forcing Diteyi onto the defensive.
Bang! Bang!
Diteyi's movements became a blur, his demonic spear shifting like a phantom, deflecting the cutting winds of the domain. He smirked, feeling the pressure but unbroken. "That's all? A half-realized Domain?"
The ground trembled beneath them. The air grew heavy with something unseen—an ominous pulse rippling through the sands. Then, from the depths of the cursed land, fallen warriors, dead saints, and specters of the past's spirits rose.
The Southern Vast Desert was not just an ordinary sand ruin—it was a graveyard, and the restless dead were eager to assume new bodies. Hollow eyes burned with malice as ethereal forms clawed their way from the dunes. Spirits wreathed in ghastly flames emerged from ruined citadels, their silent cries echoing through the wasteland.
Dao Wei narrowed his eyes but remained still. The spirits did not approach him. Instead, they converged upon Diteyi, drawn to his corrupt essence like moths to flame.
Diteyi clicked his tongue. "Tch. Annoying."
Boom!
Then, the desert burned, his aura flared, and the air itself ignited. Hellfire. The cursed flames of his Zodiac erupted again as the second seal broke, turning sand into molten glass beneath his feet. And then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he raised his hand.
Rumble!
A black rune burned into existence, hovering above his palm. The sands recoiled, spiraling away as a vast, inhuman presence descended upon the battlefield. The dead spirits let out one final, silent wail before they were devoured.
The air became thick, suffocating, as the Hell Serpent Zodiac emerged.
The spirits screamed as they were drawn into its maw, consumed to fuel its power. The desert itself trembled beneath its weight.
Dao Wei felt the corrosive aura immediately, the sensation of his very essence being stripped away. His muscles tensed as he resisted the draining force. "This ain't no ordinary beast," he murmured.
Diteyi grinned. "Now, let's see how long you last, Your Highness."
Whoosh!
The serpent moved, and the world followed its command.
A single sweep of its tail obliterated the landscape, sending a tidal wave of molten sand cascading toward Dao Wei. He reacted on instinct, Skyfall carving a path through the devastation, but the force still sent him skidding back, his feet dragging trenches into the desert.
Boom!
The Hell Serpent lunged, its maw splitting open into an abyss lined with endless rows of jagged fangs. Dao Wei leaped skyward, avoiding the initial strike, but the beast twisted unnaturally, chasing him midair. Faster than it should be.
Dao Wei's mind raced. He had to counter—
Too late.
A burst of hellfire engulfed him whole.
"Argg!" Dao Wei's world exploded into agony as the flames tore through his defenses. His silver aura cracked, flickering as he spiraled downward. He crashed into the ruins, the impact sending a shockwave that buried entire structures beneath a collapsing dune.
BANG!
For a long moment, silence reigned.
Rumble!
Sand shifted violently, and the ground trembled. A single footstep echoed as Dao Wei rose.
His body was scorched, his robes tattered, blood dripping from countless wounds. Yet his grip on Skyfall remained firm. His legs shook, barely able to hold him up, but he did not fall.
Diteyi's smirk faltered. "Y-You should be dead."
Dao Wei lifted his gaze, eyes still burning with a crimson hue.
As Dao Wei's gaze met Diteyi, the battle had already taken a turn for the absurd. The smirk on Dao Wei's bloodied face, that infuriating, indifferent expression, made Diteyi see red. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked, his entire body trembling—not from exertion, but from sheer frustration.
"Why?! WHY WON'T YOU JUST SCREAM OR SOMETHING?!" Diteyi exploded, his voice echoing through the Southern Vast Desert. "Are you even human? You're supposed to be suffering, dammit!"
Dao Wei, still sprawled on the cracked battlefield, tilted his head slightly. His lips parted as if he were about to say something profound.
"…Huh." That was it. That was all he said.
Diteyi's eye twitched. "HUH? That's ALL you have to say?!" His voice cracked at the end, a near-hysterical laugh bubbling up as he raked a hand through his already disheveled hair. "You're barely breathing! You're coughing up more blood than a dying elder! LOOK AT YOURSELF!"
Dao Wei coughed. And more blood came out.
Diteyi's patience snapped like a dried twig. "Fine. Fine! If you won't ACT like you're losing, I'LL MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE IT!" He took a deep breath, suddenly disappearing.
BANG!
Dao Wei's body was sent skidding across the sand dunes, bouncing twice before rolling to a stop. The dust barely had time to settle before another shot came in.
BANG!
Diteyi was there again, gripping Dao Wei by the collar and shaking him violently. "SAY SOMETHING!"
Dao Wei blinked. "…Something."
"YOU—!"
BANG!
A knee to the gut sent Dao Wei back into the sky. He barely had time to register the pain before Diteyi appeared above him, arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently midair like an exasperated schoolteacher.
"You think this is funny? HUH?! Is this some kind of sick joke to you?!" Diteyi swung his leg down in a brutal axe kick.
BANG!
Dao Wei crashed into the ground like a shooting star.
Cough! Cough!
Blood seeped from his lips, his entire body barely holding itself together. Three meridians shattered, internal bleeding, and Qi slipping away like water from a cracked jar. By all accounts, he should have been screaming in agony, wailing like a dying beast. But instead…
Dao Wei lifted his head, met Diteyi's glare, and—Smirked. "…You done?"
Diteyi's scream of rage shook the heavens.
The heavens trembled. The ground cracked and split.
Diteyi's face twisted into an expression of absolute wrath, his crimson aura flaring like an inferno, turning the sky a deep shade of scarlet. His veins bulged, eyes burning with a madness that had long since left behind any semblance of rationality. He had crushed Dao Wei. Broken him. Beaten him down to the very threshold of death itself. And yet…
That smug look. That unbearable, taunting, maddening grin.
Dao Wei hung in the air like a tattered flag in the storm, blood dripping freely from his mouth, his robes shredded beyond recognition. His body was a wreck—bones shattered, meridians torn, every breath a battle against the inevitable. But even with his body broken, his spirit refused to kneel. He simply stared at Diteyi, his eyes gleaming with an unreadable expression.
Diteyi could not accept it. He would not accept it.
"I WILL KILL YOU!" His roar tore through the air, shaking the remnants of the battlefield.