Chapter 741: The Shattering of Power
by xennovel“Hummm…”
The moment Lu Xin pressed down on the Sword Bearer’s forehead, a colossal surge of mental power roared, nearly tearing his entire body apart.
That immense, solid mental force flowed like a liquid teeming with boundless energy.
In that instant of contact, an infinite power burst forth.
Lu Xin even felt his own palm, upon touching it, stripped of flesh and blood, leaving only a bare bone. Moments later, even the bone was completely charred and shattered into pieces, scattering like dust in the sky.
This was a force no mortal could dare touch.
Even a mere glance would shatter one’s entire mental framework, driving one to madness—let alone actual contact.
“Kneel…for me…”
Yet Lu Xin gritted his teeth and roared with every ounce of strength within him.
He seemed to hear his own voice stretched endlessly, some words emerging while others faded away.
It was as if his body was struck so hard that, for a brief moment, all his flesh vanished and even his vocal cords were silenced.
It’s hard to tell whether this disappearance was real or not…
Having reached the steps of the Illusory Land, Lu Xin could distort everything around him to form a perfect illusion.
The Sword Bearer, of course, could do the same.
At their level, the line between reality and illusion had grown incredibly blurred.
Yet Lu Xin managed to shout that command in its entirety.
Each time his body vanished, it reappeared under the force of his will.
Layer after layer of flesh was ripped away and then closed up again; his body turned to dust several times before reforming.
In the end, he knelt single-kneed on the Sword Bearer’s forehead.
His left palm, covered in black particles, still pressed down firmly on that forehead…
“Crack…”
Lu Xin’s words embodied his will: he intended to make the Sword Bearer kneel.
But the Sword Bearer’s mental core refused to submit, igniting a direct clash of wills.
……
……
“Even if his mental core were found, this is too strained, isn’t it?”
Further off, by Qinggang’s High Wall, even Father couldn’t help but emit a low roar as he gazed ahead in bafflement.
This was the farthest distance ever between Father and Lu Xin.
Even he couldn’t get close enough to the Sword Bearer, let alone rush over to help.
In truth, nearly all of Family had distanced themselves from Lu Xin at that moment.
Both to protect Qinggang and to steer clear of the Sword Bearer’s maddening power.
Father saw the scene: Lu Xin falling from above and colliding directly with the Sword Bearer, then reaching out to press on its forehead.
It seemed to trigger a memory, as Father’s body trembled violently: “Is this the new him…”
“Or is it… still the same him?”
“…”
“Perhaps, there is little difference between the two…”
Meanwhile, Mom watched the scene intently. After a long moment, she let out a soft sigh and extended both her hands.
One reached toward Father, and the other toward Sister.
Father immediately stepped back warily, asking, “What are you trying to do?”
Mom smiled gently and replied, “Don’t you want to see what he has truly become?”
“I do!”
Sister glanced at Lu Xin, then at Mom, gathering her courage as she firmly gripped Mom’s hand.
Though Father hesitated, he eventually mustered the resolve to grip Mom’s hand as well.
Suddenly, the scene before their eyes began to deconstruct layer by layer, as if the very essence of their mental world was undergoing transformation.
In that instant, their knees grew weak.
They saw Lu Xin, kneeling on one knee atop the Sword Bearer’s head, pressing him down to force him to kneel.
They also saw several different versions of Lu Xin arrayed behind him like a long dragon, extending into the unknown. Some passed between them; others diverged further into the distance.
Lu Xin shrank, transforming from an adult into a child at the far end.
Ultimately, that dragon-like line stretched to a palace exuding a damp, dark aura, filled with immense shadows.
It reached the deepest part of the palace, to a dark, massive chair.
There sat a shadow formed entirely of black particles, silently occupying the seat.
The shadow’s features were indistinct, yet clearly, above its head lay a dark, ring-like pattern.
…Was that a crown?
……
“Whoosh…”
Both Father and Sister released Mom’s hand simultaneously, their bodies flickering as if on the verge of disappearing.
“So, did you see it?”
Mom lifted her head slightly to look at Lu Xin, softly explaining to them, “There is only one.”
“From beginning to end, there is only one.”
“It’s merely the same essence extending along different paths, tricking people into believing there are many.”
“…”
Father and Sister exchanged glances, too awed to speak or know what to say.
At the same time, black particles began frantically dancing in Lu Xin’s eyes, overtaking his gaze, covering his left palm, and spreading over his body in strange, layered patterns.
Beneath these bizarre patterns, his body grew unnaturally stable, undeniably real.
At that moment, he finally felt he possessed a tangible body.
A body that could directly contend with the Sword Bearer’s might, resistant to being disintegrated by its mental force layer after layer.
With a surge of excitement, he gritted his teeth and pressed his left palm onto the Sword Bearer’s crown.
For the first time, he channeled all his strength, unleashing the power of the black particles to their absolute limit…
……
Previous reports had already proven that black particles could obliterate nearly any mental power.
Thus, the black particles should also be capable of destroying the Sword Bearer.
“Bzzz…”
Lu Xin felt dazzling sparks erupt between his left palm and the Sword Bearer’s crown.
It was the destructive power of the black particles, relentlessly erasing the Sword Bearer’s strength and shattering the laws that governed its body.
Yet, this pace was still too slow; compared to the Sword Bearer’s gargantuan form and the endless flow of mental power within, Lu Xin was like a mosquito trying desperately to suck the blood dry from an elephant…
Not only was his own strength lacking, but the Sword Bearer was also continuously attempting to counterattack.
Crash, crash…
The massive body struggled, and with every movement, the white chain rang out chaotically.
It was evident that the white chain of the Cangzhang Sect was stretched to its limits—thin and on the verge of breaking.
“Why still no good?”
“What gives it the right to still resist?”
As Lu Xin sensed the unparalleled force of the Sword Bearer, a surge of indescribable anger welled up inside him.
A strange emotion suddenly took over him.
It was as if everything around him was feeble, fragile beyond belief.
Even the frenzied Sword Bearer seemed equally weak.
How could something so insignificant dare to stubbornly cling on under his hand?
It showed not even a shred of respect!
In truth, ever since he had faced the Sword Bearer, this instinctive revulsion had taken root deep within him.
Yet, being a cultivated university student, he had always striven to restrain that disgust.
No matter that the Sword Bearer was his enemy, he dared not harbor overt disdain toward it.
Until now, that deep-seated loathing surged forth, as if his carefully maintained facade were tearing apart.
“Hummm…”
His eyes turned pitch black—not like eyes anymore, but rather portals.
It was as if they connected to some mysterious realm, summoning a hidden power from deep within.
“Creak, creak…”
Suddenly, a strange sound emanated from Lu Xin’s neck.
It was the pressure from above his head, a force he felt unable to withstand.
That immense pressure returned, now with an unprecedented clarity.
……
……
All his life, he had carried an unbearable burden.
It weighed on him so heavily that he could barely breathe, constantly gasping under its strain.
Having borne it for so long, he had almost grown accustomed to it—even as life brought moments of joy and ease, making him nearly forget the burden he still carried.
“Huff…”
A heavy, labored breath sounded, and for the first time, Lu Xin clearly felt the oppressive presence of that weight.
It was omnipresent, leaving no room for resistance.
Crackle, crackle…
At that moment, Lu Xin suddenly noticed that the Sword Bearer below was emitting a strange noise.
This left him momentarily stunned before he realized what it meant—uncertain whether it was surprise or wonder.
The pressure on his body had never been clearer.
And since the Sword Bearer had been pinned down by him, that pressure was now transferred through him onto the Sword Bearer.
He had long grown used to the pressure, but clearly the Sword Bearer could not.
“Crack, crack…”
A tremendous cracking of bones resounded from within the Sword Bearer’s body.
Like the weight of a mountain, it was brutally transmitted from Lu Xin to the Sword Bearer.
The massive body of the Sword Bearer began to lean forward slowly, its spine contorting into a grotesque arc as chaotic mental energy burst forth in erratic sparks, like severed electrical wires.
“Snap…”
In the next moment, the Sword Bearer wavered, one leg thrusting forward.
As its body sank, it knelt on one knee, forcing its head upward to once again endure Lu Xin’s pressure.
Yet, it was far from enough.
With an impassive expression, Lu Xin’s left palm continued its relentless assault.
The overwhelming force persisted, causing the Sword Bearer’s head—just raised moments ago—to bow heavily once more.
The immense pressure seemed to suffocate it.
Mental energy surged wildly, as if eager to wage one final battle with Lu Xin.
But under such indescribable pressure, even futile struggles for release were impossible. Its newly risen mental force was immediately overwhelmed, forcing its head further down as its bones split inch by inch.
“Huff…”
At the peak of this extreme pressure, an endless rush of air seemed to pass through the massive chest of the Sword Bearer.
A dreadful wind roared, as if the Sword Bearer itself let out a cry of despair.
In the next moment, its body completely collapsed.
……
……
Piece by piece, its form shattered, plummeting to the ground with a resounding crash as the earth trembled and dust and debris erupted into the air.
Its body, its armor, its bones, its flesh.
Its mental energy and the very laws that had constructed its massive form.
All were crushed into fragments under an unprecedented pressure.
The Sword Bearer’s vast body was ground into pieces, and those fragments were further pulverized into dust.
Its mental energy—and the principles governing it—were utterly destroyed, reduced to nothing but pure, chaotic turbulence.
Unconsciously, the faintest wisps of this turbulence drifted away like the thinnest, lightest mist, carried by the wind into the depths of the wasteland.
“Hahaha…”
From within the depths of that mental chaos, Lu Xin’s faint laughter echoed.
……
……
By the distant High Wall, Father and Mom both widened their eyes, their hearts pounding as if they might burst from their chests.
“W-what… what just happened?”
Father’s voice trembled with uncertainty as he urgently asked.
Mom, meanwhile, watched silently. Gradually, a look of sorrow washed over her face and after a long pause, she softly said:
“Just now, one Ultimate fell.”