The Xuan Realm had begun to tremble.
Not in fear, but in anticipation. Whispers of ancient bloodlines awakening, of forbidden energies stirring in the forgotten places, spread like wildfire across sects and kingdoms. Those with deep karmic vision felt the shift before it even touched the skies. They looked up—and for a fleeting moment—saw a second sun burning above the heavens.
That wasn't a celestial body.
It was a gate.
One that had not opened in tens of thousands of years.
But before that gate could fully manifest, a tear—a precise, pinprick fracture in space—opened high above the Veil Expanse.
From it descended a man.
Clad in robes embroidered with cloudsteel threads and divine runes that flickered like stars, his figure glowed with majesty. His long silver hair flowed behind him, and his sword—more artifact than weapon—hummed with the resonance of a thousand Dao.
This was Li Jianyu, direct descendant of the Li family patriarch from the Upper Realm.
And he had come for Li Yi.
---
Qingxuan Sect — Twilight Courtyard
Li Yi stood in front of an ancient rock garden nestled between two ridgelines of the sect's inner mountain. Moonlight bathed the pale stones, and the distant sound of falling water added a meditative hum to the evening air.
He had spent the last four hours refining his newly formed Divine Foundation. Chaos Qi no longer simply followed his will—it resonated with his intent, forming a feedback loop that allowed his soul to partially manifest even outside of battle.
It was power—raw, untamed, and filled with potential.
But even that felt distant now.
His gaze was fixed on a jade talisman hovering in front of him. It pulsed once every few seconds, growing brighter with each rhythm. A signal.
> "Someone from the Li family… is here."
Lan Qing'er arrived moments later, dressed in midnight-blue robes, her hair pinned with a sapphire lotus ornament. She held a scroll in her hand.
"They pierced the spatial barrier," she said without preamble. "It wasn't a projection. It was direct descent."
Li Yi's brow furrowed. "That should be impossible without the God Realm's permission."
Xue Lian arrived next, crimson cloak fluttering in the wind. "It means one of three things: either the God Realm is weakening its restrictions... or someone broke the rules."
Li Yi narrowed his eyes. "No one from the Upper Realm would descend so brazenly unless it was personal."
Lan Qing'er unrolled the scroll and showed him the celestial signature etched in fine runes. His body tensed.
> "Li Jianyu."
---
Flashback — Upper Realm, Seven Years Ago
Atop the Celestial Dragon Platform, a duel had once taken place.
A young man with blazing eyes and unmatched sword talent faced an elder cousin. One sought recognition. The other, dominance.
The fight ended with blood on the stones and Li Yi's father—Li Tianzhan—intervening to stop Jianyu from killing his own kin.
From that day forward, Jianyu held a grudge. Not against the father—but against the son who carried the same blood.
---
Back to Present — Veil Expanse Outskirts
Thunder cracked across the heavens as Jianyu walked calmly through the forest, each step flattening the terrain around him. Birds scattered, beasts retreated, and spiritual qi shivered under his pressure.
His cultivation level was clear: Divine Foundation Realm — Late Stage. But that wasn't the most terrifying part.
The sword he carried was a Heavenly Dao Armament, forged from stardust harvested in the God Realm.
A blade named: Worldcleaver.
And he had come not to greet—nor to test—but to eliminate a threat to the family's heavenly order.
> "Chaos should not exist… outside of fate's approval."
---
Qingxuan Sect — Grand Hall
The sect master, Wen Yaozi, stood at the forefront of the gathered elders.
They had felt it—his descent. The pressure alone had caused several outer sect disciples to fall unconscious.
"Prepare the formation," Elder Mingyu ordered. "We may be hosting a storm in human skin."
Lan Qing'er returned to the hall, this time without Li Yi. "He says he'll meet him alone."
"What?" Xue Lian exclaimed. "That's suicide!"
But Wen Yaozi raised a hand. "Let him go. If this is to be the forging of a star, it must be done under cosmic pressure."
---
Battlefield — Stormpine Valley
The two met under the stormlit skies of the outer valley. Lightning danced across the peaks like ancestral dragons, and the ground rumbled with residual qi.
Li Yi wore black battle robes embroidered with golden lines. No flashy artifacts. Just the Chaos Flame Sword floating beside him like a loyal guardian.
Li Jianyu hovered opposite him, not drawing his blade yet.
"You've grown," Jianyu said coldly. "Stronger than I expected. The elders above feared as much."
Li Yi's tone was firm. "Did they send you to test me?"
"No," Jianyu said. "I volunteered. I came to erase an aberration."
Li Yi raised his brow. "Afraid of a younger cousin, Jianyu?"
"I'm afraid of what you represent. Chaos doesn't bow to law. It breaks it. The God Realm is already crumbling. We don't need a walking catastrophe."
Silence followed.
Then—Jianyu moved.
The world split in half as Worldcleaver shot forward.
> "First Form: Heaven's Divide!"
The attack was near-instantaneous. A single sword wave that cut through air, mountain, and spirit.
Li Yi's Chaos Flame Sword intercepted with a brilliant flash of black-gold.
> "Chaos Blade Art — Spiral Collapse!"
The collision shook the entire region. Trees within ten miles disintegrated, and the sky turned pitch black.
They clashed again.
And again.
Li Yi's movements were sharp but fluid, bending around Jianyu's rigid heavenly sword techniques. Chaos did not confront directly—it enveloped, consumed, and redirected.
Ten moves passed. Then thirty. Then a hundred.
Each time, Jianyu grew more frustrated.
> "Why won't you break?!"
Li Yi's breath was steady. "Because you fight like law. And law is predictable."
> "Chaos Flame Blade — Fifth Form: Origin Spiral!"
A vortex of spiraling flame erupted from Li Yi's blade. For a moment, even space warped around it, forming a temporary singularity that devoured Jianyu's next technique.
He was flung backward.
And for the first time—he bled.
---
Spectators' Peak — Lan Qing'er and Xue Lian
"He injured him," Xue Lian said in disbelief.
Lan Qing'er remained silent, but her eyes shimmered.
They were watching history unfold.
A cultivator born in the lower realms.
Defying the heavens.
---
Final Clash — Sword of Judgement vs. Chaos Embryo
Li Jianyu activated his trump card. Worldcleaver hummed with the chant of divine scripts, and a phantom of the God Realm appeared behind him—a shadow of his potential ascension.
> "Judgement Form: Celestial Law!"
The sky shattered. Lightning descended like a heavenly trial.
Li Yi gritted his teeth and poured his soul into his core. The Chaos Embryo within bloomed—like a flower of endless paradoxes.
> "Formless Law: Spiral Reversal!"
The laws bent.
Time reversed briefly.
And the sword meant to kill him… missed.
He slashed upward.
Chaos met Heaven.
And Heaven blinked.
---
Aftermath
Li Jianyu lay collapsed, his sword cracked.
He looked up at Li Yi, coughing blood. "You… you've surpassed me."
Li Yi nodded. "You came to erase Chaos. But perhaps Chaos came to remake you."
Wen Yaozi arrived with the elders in tow. No one interfered.
Jianyu staggered to his feet. "They'll send more."
"Then let them come," Li Yi said, eyes burning with a light that shook even the elders' hearts. "This realm is my crucible. And I will rise from it."
---
End of Chapter 39