CHAPTER 165 — Threads of Power, Threads of Fate
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1. Lin's First Lesson in True Creation
The Axis Chamber shimmered around Lin like a sphere of bent moonlight.
He stood in its center, breathing deeply, letting the dense Titan Realm qi settle into his bones. The Sect Master observed from a few steps away, expression unreadable, hands folded behind his back.
"Today," Xuanyang said lightly, "you will attempt something cultivators do not try until late quasi-godhood."
Lin blinked. "…I am an outer disciple."
"Yes."
"And still adapting to the realm."
"Yes."
"…Then why am I doing this?"
Xuanyang shrugged. "Because you can."
Lin bit back a groan.
A New Trial: Folding Space
Xuanyang pointed at a floating pebble.
"Fold space around it."
Lin held out his hand, spiritual sense spreading like a thin web around the pebble. He focused, visualizing the fabric of space like a flexible sheet he could pinch—
It resisted.
Of course it resisted.
Space was one of the oldest, most stubborn laws.
Lin steadied himself.
He imagined his inner world's twin suns, imagined gravity weaving orbits, imagined the way light bent around massive objects. He pushed that dynamic outward.
Space trembled.
A faint crease formed around the pebble.
Xuanyang nodded. "Again."
Hours passed.
Lin's breathing became rough. His fingers trembled. Sweat rolled down his forehead. But slowly, steadily—
The crease deepened.
Not a tear, not a distortion—
A fold.
A soft pop echoed inside the chamber as the pebble vanished from one point and reappeared four inches to the left.
Lin staggered.
The Sect Master raised a single eyebrow. "Acceptable."
Lin slumped onto the ground.
"That," he gasped, "was the hardest four inches of my life."
Xuanyang nodded. "Then you understand how weak you still are."
Lin glared. "…Master, that's not encouraging."
"Good." Xuanyang clasped his hands. "Encouragement breeds complacency. You will not stagnate under me."
Lin sighed.
But he stood again.
And this time—
He tried folding space without using his hands.
A faint ripple shivered the chamber walls.
Xuanyang's eyes gleamed with approval he didn't voice.
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2. Tian Faces a True Abyss
Tian had traveled deeper into the Abyssal Training Ground than most inner disciples dared to go.
He wiped ichor from his knuckles and exhaled sharply.
His marrow buzzed with power.
His skin tingled with condensed thunder force.
But now… something felt wrong.
The air here was heavier.
Thicker.
Almost alive.
Tian raised his guard.
A low rumble echoed from the ravine ahead.
Then—
THUMP.
A massive shadow emerged.
Nine eyes glowing like molten embers.
Jaw lined with interlocked fangs that dripped abyssal venom.
A Void Tyrant.
A beast so powerful even elite disciples avoided provoking it.
Tian froze.
His heartbeat quickened.
But his arms loosened at his sides.
"…Well," he muttered, "this is going to hurt."
The Tyrant lunged.
Tian's instincts roared—MOVE!
He ducked, rolling beneath a claw that tore a trench into the earth. He sprang upward, slamming his fist into the beast's jaw—
CRACK.
Its head jerked sideways slightly.
Slightly.
Tian blinked.
"…You're kidding me."
The Tyrant roared, its nine eyes blazing.
Tian grinned, adrenaline flooding his veins.
"Oh, this is bad. I like it."
Lightning erupted along his spine.
He charged.
The Tyrant swung a claw—Tian blocked with his forearm.
Bone cracked.
Blood sprayed.
Tian gritted his teeth.
Before he could retaliate—
The beast's tail whipped around, striking him in the ribs.
Tian flew fifty meters, smashing through a chunk of stone.
He spat blood, pushing himself up slowly.
"Okay… that didn't go well."
He inhaled.
Lightning gathered beneath his skin.
His marrow glowed.
Tian stepped forward.
Again.
And again.
The Tyrant roared and charged—
But Tian didn't dodge.
He leaned into the power.
Thunder erupted—
And he vanished.
Reappearing above the Tyrant's head.
He slammed both fists downward, screaming—
"Thunder Marrow—BREAK!"
The beast staggered.
Finally.
Tian dropped to his knees, exhausted but alive.
"…Lin better not laugh when he hears about this."
Behind him, hidden in the cracks of reality, a fragment of abyssal will observed.
It pulsed.
And fled deeper—toward the rift.
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3. Yueyin's Slow Ascent
Xuan Yueyin sat beneath a willow on the disciple training grounds.
Her legs were crossed properly, her posture straight but relaxed.
A soft breeze rustled her hair.
She opened her palm.
A faint red flame flickered into existence—no larger than a candle.
But in that small flame was a purity and resonance rarely seen.
She frowned.
Her sealed bloodline resisted her attempts to nurture it.
The flame sputtered—
Then steadied.
Her breathing slowed.
The elder supervising her nodded approvingly.
"You are progressing well, Yueyin. The Titan Realm's laws accept you."
Yueyin lowered her gaze.
"That surprises me… after what happened."
The elder's voice softened. "Survival is not a crime."
Her eyes trembled.
Survival… but at what cost?
She swallowed the thought.
She lifted her palm again.
The flame grew.
Then—
A spark of golden-red light rippled outward, like a phoenix wing spreading for the first time.
The elder froze.
"…Interesting."
Yueyin quickly extinguished the flame, heart pounding.
"What was that?" she whispered.
"A sign," the elder murmured, "that your sealed bloodline is awakening faster than anticipated."
Yueyin felt a tightness in her chest—fear and hope mixed together.
Awakening was good.
But if her past awakened with it…
Would she be able to hide the truth?
She closed her eyes.
She would have to.
For now.
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4. Lin's Evening Cultivation — A Quiet Realization
Lin sat within his inner world atop a cliff overlooking both suns.
Aurora floated beside him in her radiant form, legs crossed, golden hair drifting in invisible winds.
"You pushed space and time today," she said. "How does it feel?"
"Like trying to convince reality to do something it hates."
Aurora smiled. "That means you are progressing."
Lin breathed slowly, guiding the flow of creation qi through his meridians.
Gravity.
Fire.
Lightning.
Space.
Time.
The laws hummed together softly.
For the first time, they felt like strands of the same tapestry—not separate threads.
Lin opened his eyes.
"Master is right," he murmured. "My path isn't just forging worlds… it's understanding what makes a world possible."
Aurora's smile softened. "That is what makes you dangerous."
Lin chuckled softly. "You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
He exhaled deeply, letting the suns' light warm him.
His inner world had grown slightly—almost imperceptibly—yet undeniably expanding.
He didn't know why it was happening so quickly here in the Titan Realm.
But he had a feeling.
Something was pushing him forward.
Something was coming.
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5. The Rift Trembles
At the far reaches of the sect, guards patrolling the rift froze as a pulse of abyssal energy trembled through the portal.
One guard stepped forward cautiously.
"…Captain? Did you feel that?"
The captain's jaw tightened. "Yes. Notify the Sect Master."
"But sir, it was slight—"
"Exactly. The Abyss never probes slightly. It hunts."
The guard paled.
A second pulse quivered through the rift, this one sharper.
As if something on the other side was sniffing through the cracks.
Searching.
Reaching.
Wanting.
The captain swallowed and murmured:
"Something is coming."
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