I alone am the Honoured One!

"Huff..."

Zhao Tian exhaled deeply, his chest heaving as he finally forced himself to stand.

The sword in his hand was chipped and scorched with remnants of black lightning and fire.

But in the next instant, the entire sky turned golden and his gaze condensed.

He felt a powerful presence above him.

He shielded his face with his hand from the light and slowly opened his eyes, his eyebrows squinting because of the blinding light.

As he opened his eyes, he took a good look and saw that the whole sky was glowing with rich golden energy.

He felt the space around him tremble and *treek* he heard faint noises echoing in the air.

As he turned his head, he saw the space fabric was getting torn by some pressure, and cracks appeared in the space.

It began to crack like glass, and the web of cracks continued to develop and shatter into pieces.

But before they could fall, the shattered space fabric was quickly restored to its old state.

At this time, the golden sky split into two, as if reality itself were shredded by some force.

The fractures started to expand along the sky, forming a long line, and created a massive rift in the sky that eventually tore apart.

Ji Shuang's gaze trembled as she looked at the golden energy swirling in the sky "... The Heavens?"

Her hands upholding the barrier shivered in fear.

'Huh? What is it doing here?... Is it because Tian broke the 'boon' of the heavens and killed a Qorrathi race Paragon?"

'A response from the very law that governed the world?'

Rui Wuyin who was miles apart, could also sense the presence... the absurdly powerful aura.

Her body trembled in fear 'The same skies which appeared when Vester born.. as the Honoured One, but what is it doing here?'

'Why did it suddenly appear here?'

She still vividly remembers the golden skies that appeared that day... and that was the thing that announced to the whole world that the Honoured One was born.

She closed her eyes as she remembered as the other Kingdoms destroyed the Maverick Family and hunted them for the birth of the Honoured one.

But she was still confused 'Why is it here?'

Rui Guzhi, Long Xuan, Rui Lian, and other powerful cultivators were equally confused.

While some began to speculate that it may be heavens.

"Is that… truly the Heavens themselves?"

"But why here?"

"Could it be… punishment?"

"What is happening?"

Zhao Tian raised his head and glanced at the woman floating in the air.

Her long white hair fluttered in the breeze, and her golden eyes shimmered with coldness as she looked down at Zhao Tian.

Zhao Tian looked back at her, and he didn't need an introduction to know about her.

The Heavenly One.

He doesn't know why... but he can already feel it...

He felt the finality of her presence.

It was like standing before the end of all things.

His eyes narrowed subtly 'Tch. She has locked the space around me, I can't escape into the artifact either.'

'Seems like me killing someone from the Qoratthi race has triggered this...'

The Heavenly One stopped a few feet above the ground, hovering silently as she looked at him.

Zhao Tian glanced back into her golden eyes as she stepped closer to him.

But before another word could be exchanged, a sudden gust tore through the silence.

A blur of white and pale blue surged between them. Ji Shuang landed beside Zhao Tian with a soft whump, her robes billowing behind her.

'Her Grace?' Her eyebrows frowned slightly, looking at her.

*flick* Zhao Tian's eyes shrank, and he turned his head to the left as the silver spear's tip grazed near his face.

'Shit...'

He raised his blade and swatted away the spear from him before taking two steps back.

Then, without hesitation, he reached back and grabbed Ji Shuang by the arm.

"She is the Heavenly On- *clank*

As Qian Shi shot forward again, he raised his sword in time to block her attack.

But the force of her attack sent him flying back in the air as he crashed through the stone and rubble

Chunks of earth crumbled as he skidded across the ruined ground, boots digging furrows in the soil.

Qian Shi cast a glance at Ji Shuang for a moment before appearing above Zhao Tian in mid air and pinning down the spear.

*clang* Zhao Tian blocked it mid-air and landed on the floor, his boots screeching up the rubble.

The resulting shockwave shattered the rubble beneath them, throwing debris in all directions.

He gritted his teeth as the pressure of her strike disrupted the flow of space around him, warping his senses and pinning his movement.

And yet... he held on.

Looking at her, his eyes narrowed further 'She is definitely holding back. Is she not here to kill me?'

Ji Shuang stood nearby, unsure if stepping in again would help or only worsen things 'It's her Grace, surely she won't kill him...'

Zhao Tian's arms trembled as he held his blade up, locking it against Qian Shi's spear.

The grinding force between them let out a piercing metallic shriek as both weapons strained against each other, sparks crackling in the air like flint striking steel.

But then, she vanished.

Flick!

Zhao Tian's instincts screamed, and he ducked low and twisted to his right just as the spear came sweeping from behind, slicing clean through the air where his neck had been a moment before.

His boots dug into the cracked stone, and he pivoted sharply, swinging his sword.

Qian Shi parried effortlessly and used the shaft to redirect his blade before she retaliated with three rapid thrusts aimed at his chest, side, and neck.

Zhao Tian backstepped, the last spear thrust grazing his shoulder and tearing through his outer robe.

He twisted his body and slammed his sword down in a diagonal slash, trying to catch her with the return swing.

Clang!

Again, her spear met his sword mid-air.

The collision pushed him back several paces, and she remained still.

He dodged under a spinning strike, shifted his blade to catch her attack mid-rotation, and retaliated with a burst of spatial force behind his slash.

The air shimmered, space distorting as his sword came down.

Qian Shi shifted sideways, almost casually.

His blade struck the ground instead, splitting the ruined battlefield open with a blast of force as chunks of earth exploded outward.

She stepped into the gap between his strikes and brought her spear up toward his throat.

Zhao Tian caught the shaft with his hand before it reached him, and the two stood in a lock again.

-----------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this chapter!