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The air around him violently warped as the supreme Origin technique activated. However, rather than summoning a colossal avatar behind him, Lin Yuan fused the esoteric arms directly into his True Elemental Body, layering the conceptual authority of reincarnation over his own physical limbs.

The transformation caused the surrounding spiritual Qi to fluctuate violently. Faint traces of ancient principles flickered across Lin Yuan’s arms, creating an indescribable pressure that made the space around him tremble.

The technique did not merely increase the strength of his attacks. It altered the nature of the force he delivered, allowing his strikes to carry a trace of the Origin principles that stood beneath the ordinary laws of the universe.

The Five Great Secret Realms responded to the transformation, reinforcing his body as the Dao Fruit of Three Rebirths supplied the destructive and nourishing forces necessary to maintain the technique. Every strand of energy circulated in harmony, preventing the immense power from tearing his body apart.

For the first time, the Imperial Guard felt a genuine spike of danger.

The starlight armor covering his body began to emit a sharp, unpleasant whine. Its defensive patterns attempted to classify the approaching force and determine the appropriate response, but the energy did not conform to the principles it had been designed to counter.

The guard’s confidence faltered as the light covering his chest flickered. He had encountered countless powerful techniques throughout his centuries of service, yet his armor had never reacted this way to an attack that had not even landed.

The armor could reflect ordinary attacks and manipulate spatial distortions, yet the Origin principle carried a higher conceptual priority than the secondary principles upon which the defensive array relied.

The guard’s expression changed.

”Insolent!”

He desperately twisted his body, raising his starlight-infused forearm to intercept the incoming strike. His movements were fast enough to overwhelm most Soul Transformation cultivators, and his Void Refinement foundation allowed him to react to spatial fluctuations almost instinctively.

Unfortunately, he had already lost control of the encounter.

Lin Yuan’s right hand hardened into a spearhand, concentrating the combined authority of thunder, rain, and the Six Arms of Reincarnation into a narrow point. The attack pierced straight through the blinding white-gold starlight of the guard’s armor, shattering the defensive array as though it were brittle glass.

The guard’s eyes widened as the protective light burst apart. Before he could withdraw his arm, Lin Yuan’s fingers had already crossed the remaining distance.

His fingers drove into the guard’s left shoulder.

Flesh and bone gave way beneath the concentrated force, and Lin Yuan’s hand penetrated deeply enough to seize the structure of the joint itself.

Golden-purple thunder erupted from the point of contact, spreading through the guard’s body and paralyzing the nerves surrounding the damaged shoulder. At the same time, the silver-blue rain disrupted the circulation of spiritual Qi through his meridians, interfering with the guard’s ability to respond immediately.

The Imperial Guard let out a strangled gasp.

For an instant, he could not comprehend what had happened. He had spent centuries cultivating within the Imperial Domain, surrounded by resources that ordinary cultivators could only dream of obtaining. His armor had protected him against countless attacks, and he had never imagined that a mortal from the lower world could penetrate its defenses so easily.

His remaining hand twitched as he attempted to gather spiritual Qi, but the disrupted circulation refused to respond as quickly as he needed.

Then Lin Yuan tightened his grip.

”One hit,” he declared coldly.

With a brutal twist of his hips and an explosive surge of strength from his True Elemental Body, Lin Yuan pulled backward. The force traveled through the guard’s shoulder, overwhelming the damaged joint before the man could restore the circulation of his spiritual Qi.

RIIIIIP!

The sound of tearing flesh and shattering bone echoed across the silent peak. Golden blood sprayed across the pristine jade platform, and the Imperial Guard released a piercing scream of agony and disbelief.

Lin Yuan stepped backward, standing perfectly still as fragments of starlight fell through the air. In his right hand, he held the severed left arm of the guard, still encased in its glowing white-gold armor. Blood dripped from the ragged shoulder joint, staining the jade beneath his feet.

For several seconds, the Imperial Guard could only stare.

He stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding stump with his remaining hand. His arrogant composure had been completely shattered, replaced by an expression of disbelief so profound that he appeared to have forgotten how to speak.

He looked at Lin Yuan, then at the severed arm in the young cultivator’s possession, desperately attempting to reconcile the scene with the assumptions that had guided his behavior.

He had offered the mortal a single opportunity to attack.

He had promised that his armor and cultivation would make the wager impossible to win.

And now he had lost a limb.

Lin Yuan calmly flicked his wrist. A flash of spatial light passed over the severed arm, and the trophy vanished into his spatial ring. He had no intention of leaving behind an intact piece of celestial armor simply because its former owner had been foolish enough to underestimate him.

”You promised one hundred walls,” Lin Yuan reminded the guard. His tone remained perfectly even, completely unbothered by the violence he had just inflicted. ”Begin dismantling them.”

For three seconds, absolute silence settled across the platform.

The wind swept over the Floating Mountains, carrying away the faint smell of blood. The Golden Gate continued to hum in the distance, and the Three Thousand Great Dao Barrier remained unchanged, its countless walls shining with the same ancient authority as before.

Then the Imperial Guard’s face contorted.

The humiliation of being maimed by a cultivator from the lower world overwhelmed every other thought. His pride, which had been built upon the assumption that the Imperial Domain stood above all lesser realms, had been torn apart along with his arm.

He could no longer regard Lin Yuan as an amusing insect, because the young cultivator had demonstrated that the supposedly absolute superiority of the imperial domain was not enough to guarantee victory.

”YOU DARE?!” the guard roared.