Chapter 160 : Five Breaths Under Heaven
The cave was silent.
Cold stone. Slow dripping water.
The small figure sitting cross-legged before Shen slowly opened his eyes.
"Come," the boy said simply.
"Let us exchange a few moves. No weapons. Hand to hand."
Shen frowned.
"…What?"
He looked carefully.
Small frame. Calm breathing. No visible aura.
"You're a child," Shen said.
"How can I fight you?"
The boy did not answer.
Instead—
He raised one hand.
Not fast.
Not slow.
He moved it gently through the air.
—
BOOM!
A crushing pressure erupted behind Shen.
The waterfall exploded upward as if struck by a giant palm from heaven. Water scattered like shattered glass. The cave walls groaned, cracks spreading
outward.
Shen's pupils shrank.
"…This pressure—!"
The boy stood up.
"I am stronger than you," he said calmly.
"And I am not a child."
He took one step.
The air itself bent.
"My name is Nephine."
Shen felt it then.
Not killing intent.
Authority.
"I am the God of Destruction."
Nephine raised his hand slightly.
"Come."
Shen inhaled deeply.
His stance lowered.
His breathing stabilized.
"…Alright," Shen said, smiling faintly.
"Let's test."
His inner power surged. Muscles tightened. His body became light.
Shen moved.
In one step, he closed the distance and threw a straight punch—clean, sharp, filled with condensed force.
Nephine shifted his shoulder.
The punch brushed past empty air.
Shen followed instantly—elbow, knee, spinning kick.
Each strike was precise. Ruthless.
Nephine moved once.
Just once.
His foot slid half a step.
Shen felt it—
Time slowed.
Two fingers tapped Shen's wrist.
Crack.
The flow of power in Shen's arm collapsed.
"What—?!"
Before Shen could recover, Nephine placed his palm lightly on Shen's chest.
No force.
No technique.
Just contact.
—
The world overturned.
Shen felt his organs shift as his body was launched backward. He crashed through the cave entrance and slammed into the stone surface outside, carving a long scar into the earth.
Dust rose.
Silence followed.
Five breaths.
That was all.
Shen lay on the ground, chest heaving.
He forced himself to sit up, blood at the corner of his mouth.
"…Is he a devil?" Shen muttered.
"He only used two movements… and my cultivation collapsed."
Nephine stood behind him.
Unruffled.
Unbreathing.
"Do you understand the difference now?" Nephine asked.
Shen clenched his fist.
"…Yes."
Nephine turned away
"You have failed my test."
Shen spoke urgently.
"I want to see my friends."
"No."
The word was final.
"You are not qualified."
Nephine paused.
Then—
"But during our exchange," he said calmly,
"I noticed something."
Shen looked down.
Nephine's gaze fell on Shen's hand.
"That symbol," Nephine said.
"How did you obtain it?"
Shen swallowed.
"That mark," Nephine continued,
"is not of this world."
"It is the descendant seal of the Mother of All Gods."
Shen's heart trembled.
"…Are you talking about—"
"Artha," Nephine said.
The cave went still.
The symbol on Shen's hand pulsed faintly.
"Yes."
Far beyond heaven and earth—
Something ancient turned its gaze.
And Shen understood—
This defeat was not humiliation.
It was a threshold.
End of Chapter 160