Chapter 154: Kalpas
Heaven, Earth, Wind, Water, Lightning, Fire...
Ji Lin wielded these six distinct Authorities, channeling them flawlessly through her stigmata into the Xuanyuan Sword.
"Give up." Ji Lin looked down at Rovel. He was half-kneeling on the fractured ground, using his own Xuanyuan Sword as a crutch to keep his battered body from collapsing. Her voice was entirely devoid of warmth. "Although I don't know why you refuse to attack me, blind defense will not earn you my mercy."
Rovel steadied his ragged breathing. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the hilt, forcing himself back to his feet.
"You want to know what exactly the original Ji Lin was fighting for, don't you?" Rovel asked, his voice cutting through the heavy air.
Ji Lin's crimson eyes flickered, a subtle tremor breaking her indifferent facade, but she remained silent.
Stripped of love and hope, the darkness within her simply could not comprehend why the original Ji Lin would bleed for those so infinitely weaker than herself. Just because she was a tribal leader, she had to throw her life away to protect them? It was sheer foolishness.
"Then let me show you." Rovel wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth. A faint, defiant smile curled on his lips.
He raised his Xuanyuan Sword, leveling the golden blade directly at Ji Lin's heart—mirroring the exact stance she had taken against him moments prior.
Crack!
The ground beneath Rovel shattered. His figure vanished from the spot, leaving only a residual blur of afterimages. When he reappeared, he was already within arm's reach, closing the distance in a fraction of a second.
[Lightning Sword Intent, activate!]
Ji Lin's pupils contracted into pinpricks. She hadn't anticipated his speed to spike so violently! Instinct took over, and she brought the Black Xuanyuan Sword up in a desperate parry.
Sparks showered the air as golden and black blades clashed.
"She fought for the inheritance! To keep the fragile spark of human life from extinguishing in the dark!" Rovel roared over the screech of grinding metal.
"Earth!" Ji Lin commanded, her voice laced with sudden panic.
Dozens of times the normal force of gravity slammed down toward Rovel, threatening to crush his bones into powder.
But before the invisible weight could flatten him, Rovel's form dissolved like mist. He bypassed the gravitational field entirely, materializing directly behind her exposed back.
[Clear Mirror Sword Intent, activate!]
"She fought for civilization! To ensure the blood, sweat, and tears of the Shenzhou people would never be erased!"
"Heaven!" Ji Lin shouted, twisting her body. Realizing she had no time to mount a proper defense, she warped space to instantly retreat from her original position.
She reappeared meters away, gasping for air. But before her boots even touched the ground, Rovel was already there. It was as if he had read the very fabric of space, predicting her exact exit point.
[Taixu Sword Intent, activate!]
"She fought to save her best friend! So that she could live to witness the future of Shenzhou!"
Desperation clawed at Ji Lin's mind. She swung the Black Xuanyuan Sword with all her might, attempting to unleash the full, chaotic power of her Authorities to crush this relentless assault.
It was too late.
A single, blinding flash of steel cut through the chaos.
[All Phenomena Unknowing]!
The tempest of elements abruptly ceased. The heavy silence rushed back in.
Rovel stood perfectly still, the razor-sharp edge of his golden sword resting gently against the pale skin of Ji Lin's throat.
"Give me a chance," Rovel whispered, his voice softening, carrying a weight that seemed to echo across centuries. "Give Shenzhou a chance. And I am willing... to take you to see the scenery she never got to see."
He leaned in slightly. "To see the sights she dreamed of. The future of Shenzhou..."
"I... have lost."
Ji Lin felt the icy bite of the blade against her neck. A fraction of an inch more, and her life would end. Yet, as she spoke those words, the heavy burden that had chained her soul for millennia seemed to shatter.
A genuine, relieved smile blossomed on her lips. She was finally free.
She could put down the sword. She wouldn't have to fight this endless, agonizing war anymore. She was just so, so tired.
"Thank you," Ji Lin murmured softly, her grip loosening. "But... I probably won't be able to see it."
The Black Xuanyuan Sword slipped from her fingers. As it fell, the suffocating black miasma clinging to her body began to dissolve, washing away to reveal the weapon's original, brilliant golden luster.
"Chiyou will be fully resurrected soon," she confessed, her voice growing faint. "I... am both the final seal holding Chiyou back, and its very heart."
She looked up at Rovel, her crimson eyes clear for the first time. "Only by killing me can you stop Chiyou. Only then can you destroy it completely."
"So... do it."
Meanwhile, on the turbulent surface of the ocean.
"Chiyou is only two kilometers away! Order all Descenders to retreat immediately; we can't wait any longer!" Theresa's voice cracked over the comms, laced with absolute urgency.
The colossal beast was about to enter the optimal firing range of the main cannon. To prevent friendly fire and unnecessary casualties, Theresa had ordered the immediate evacuation of the frontline players.
As for Rovel... if he accidentally got caught in the crossfire and died in there, she would just have to apologize to him later!
The Nanhai City defense forces scrambled, frantically reeling in the remaining Descenders who were still stubbornly trying to scratch away at Chiyou's impenetrable hide.
"Hyperion main cannon, begin charging sequence!"
"Charging complete!"
A blinding, apocalyptic beam of pure energy tore through the sky, striking Chiyou squarely on its massive head. The impact vaporized the surrounding seawater, and a deafening, agonizing roar erupted from the beast's abyssal maw.
[-1,200,000!]
A terrifying, blood-red damage number materialized in the air, shocking everyone who witnessed it. The sheer force of the blast whipped up mountainous tidal waves that violently crashed against the distant shoreline.
However, as the steam cleared, the horrific truth revealed itself. Despite taking a direct hit from a battleship's main cannon, Chiyou merely shook its massive head and continued its relentless swim toward the city.
"It's this tough?!" Theresa gripped the console, her eyes wide with shock.
It took a direct hit from the Hyperion and was practically unfazed!
"Damn it, eat another one!" Theresa slammed the firing sequence button again.
[-1,200,000!]
The exact same catastrophic damage number flashed across the sky. Yet, the Judgment-class Honkai Beast didn't even slow down.
"This..." The evacuated Descenders stood on the shore in stunned silence. Even Himeko and the other seasoned Valkyries found it hard to process.
An Emperor-class Honkai Beast would be instantly vaporized by a single shot of that magnitude. Chiyou had just tanked two back-to-back!
Was the chasm in power between an Emperor-class and a Judgment-class truly this impossible?
At that moment, Chiyou slowly unhinged its jaws. The hundred-meter-wide maw opened like a black hole, a bottomless abyss threatening to devour the entire world.
A terrifying, localized gravitational pull erupted from its throat. In an instant, it felt as though a Category 12 hurricane had violently touched down on the coast.
The Descenders who hadn't retreated far enough were immediately swept off their feet, sucked into the air like ragdolls. Surrounding ships, abandoned cars, uprooted trees, and even chunks of concrete buildings were ripped from the earth, all spiraling helplessly into Chiyou's gaping mouth.
Everyone desperately clung to whatever they could find, struggling against the apocalyptic suction.
Everyone, except for one person.
A lone figure walked against the screaming wind, moving steadily toward the shoreline.
"Class Monitor, where are you going?!" Mei screamed over the roaring gale, the first to notice Fu Hua's abnormal behavior.
Fu Hua stood at the very edge of the churning sea. A single, glowing crimson feather—Fenghuang Down—slowly materialized in the palm of her hand.
Her ash-gray hair began to shift, the color bleeding away into a striking gradient of white and fiery red. A pair of complex, ancient gauntlets manifested over her hands, radiating a terrifying heat.
"Fenghuang Down, Zeroth Rated Power..." Fu Hua whispered, her voice eerily calm despite the chaos. The aura surrounding her began to climb exponentially, burning with the intensity of a dying star.
Suddenly, a hand clamped firmly around her wrist.
The grip was unyielding. Fu Hua turned her head, her stoic expression cracking in sheer disbelief.
It was Rovel.
When did he...?
"You want to burn away the memories between us? I won't allow that." Rovel curled his lips into a faint, reassuring smile, his eyes locking onto hers. "So... leave the rest to me."
For some inexplicable reason, even though the young man standing before her was infinitely smaller than the apocalyptic leviathan looming in the ocean...
Fu Hua trusted him. Completely.
He... can do it.
This was the first time Rovel had ever attempted this move. He had no idea what the backlash would be, or how long it would take him to recover.
But... compared to the thought of Fu Hua permanently erasing her memories of them, he felt this price was a bargain.
Rovel released her wrist and raised his right hand high above his head.
In his peripheral vision, his completely full health bar instantly plummeted, stopping at a fragile, singular 1.
This was not a standard system skill. This was a desperate gamble. This was not a mere attack; it was a martyrdom.
Strip away all defenses. Burn everything you possess. Compress every ounce of 'future'and'possibility' into a single, fleeting instant. Use the most unyielding, purest self-will as the ultimate catalyst, all to exchange for a final bloom that completely transcends the rigid constraints of the world's rules!
Its name was—
"Kalpas!!!"
At that exact moment, Nanhai City bloomed with a blinding, ethereal light—a radiance so absolute and magnificent that it seemed capable of making the sun itself cover its face and sigh in defeat.
Time seemed to stop flowing entirely. Amidst the frozen hurricane, everyone on the shattered coast could only look up in awe at that heaven-piercing pillar of light.
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