Myth Beyond Heaven

Heaven Sunderer blazed crimson as it carved through. Time — severing Nian Shi’s connection to alternate moments. Space — locking the blade’s path across all dimensions. War — ensuring the strike would land true.

Then—

The blade connected.

“Ugh—!”

Golden blood sprayed as Heaven Sunderer bit deep into Nian Shi’s side—the first real wound they’d inflicted.

The Time God’s eyes widened in genuine shock. “You—”

Yun Lintian twisted the blade. “That’s for Kong Ling.”

Nian Shi’s form flickered violently before shattering like glass—not dying, but forcibly retreating across countless dimensions to escape the wound.

His final whisper echoed through the void:

“Not bad. You have adapted quite well… but this game has only just begun.”

Silence fell. Nian Shi had escaped.

Qing Yun exhaled shakily. “You… you actually hit him.”

Kong Xuan’s laughter was pure vindication. “Hah! Did you see his face?”

Yun Lintian didn’t celebrate. He stared at the spot where Nian Shi had vanished, Heaven Sunderer still dripping golden ichor.

“That wasn’t a victory,” he said quietly. “Just proof it’s possible.”

“Indeed.” Kong Xuan clapped Yun Lintian’s shoulder, his cosmic eyes alight. “Now you know his weakness. Next time…”

“Next time,” Yun Lintian agreed, “I’ll cut his throat.”

“Well said!” Kong Xuan laughed happily. The anger he had been accumulated for years was finally vented today, even though it was just a little.

He paused for a moment and said calmly. “However, it’s still a long way for you to touch him completely.”

Yun Lintian nodded slightly. “I need to recuperate for a moment.”

He sat cross-legged on a floating island in the Infinite Realm, Heaven Sunderer resting across his knees. The golden blood had long since evaporated, leaving only faint stains on the crimson blade.

Linlin and Qingqing came over and sat nearby, exhausted from the battle. Qing Yun meditated a short distance away, her emerald robes fluttering gently. Kong Xuan stood at the edge of the island, staring into the void with unreadable eyes.

Yun Lintian exhaled slowly, replaying the battle in his mind.

That was too close.

Even with eight Primordial Authorities, even with Kong Xuan’s help—they’d barely scratched Nian Shi. And the Time God had been playing with them.

Yun Lintian clenched his fists.

“You can’t even trust your own senses.”

Nian Shi’s taunt echoed in his mind. It was true. Every move, every attack—none of it mattered when your enemy could rewrite time itself.

“Troubled?”

Kong Xuan’s voice startled him from his thoughts. The God of Space stood beside him now, his cosmic eyes swirling with galaxies.

Yun Lintian didn’t lie. “We got lucky.”

Kong Xuan snorted. “Luck had nothing to do with it. You saw through his tricks.”

“For one moment,” Yun Lintian admitted. “But next time, he’ll be prepared.”

“Of course he will.” Kong Xuan’s lips curled into a vicious smile. “But at least we know that he’s not invincible.”

Yun Lintian studied the God of Space. “You’ve fought him before. How did you survive?”

Kong Xuan’s smile faded. “By running,” he said bluntly. “Space against Time—it’s a losing battle. I can flee anywhere, but he can always rewind my escape.” His gaze darkened. “That’s why I can’t avenge Ling’er…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

Yun Lintian understood. Without control over time, they were fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

“Is there no other way?”

Kong Xuan’s galaxy-filled eyes swirled as he studied Yun Lintian. “You already know the answer in your heart.”

Yun Lintian frowned slightly and said nothing.

The God of Space tapped Yun Lintian’s chest with a glowing finger. “Time. You need to master time itself.”

“That’s impossible,” Yun Lintian said immediately.

“Wrong.” Kong Xuan’s voice turned sharp. “I sense it in you—a faint trace of temporal power. Like a seed waiting to sprout.”

Yun Lintian opened his mouth, but no word came out. He thought of the tiny fragment of time he had comprehended when he first experienced going to the past. He could indeed comprehend it, but it was only a small portion of it. There was no way he could fully master it.

Qing Yun’s eyes snapped open. “The temporal fragment,” she whispered. “Your mother must have left it within you.”

Linlin’s ears perked up. “Big Brother Yun can control time too?”

“Not yet.” Kong Xuan crossed his arms. “But the potential is there. Buried deep.”

Yun Lintian closed his eyes, searching inward. Past the swirling authorities, beneath the roots of the Tree of Life—there.

A single golden thread.

Fragile. Faint. But undeniably temporal in nature.

His eyes flew open. “How do I awaken it?”

Kong Xuan grinned savagely. “By stealing time itself.”

Boom!

The Infinite Realm shuddered as Kong Xuan tore open a rift—not in space, but between timelines. Countless versions of their battle with Nian Shi played out simultaneously.

“Every time Nian Shi rewinds time, he leaves echoes,” Kong Xuan explained. “Fragments of what could have been.” His cosmic eyes gleamed. “Find one where you defeated him. Claim that victory as your own.”

Yun Lintian stared at the swirling timelines. “That’s…”

“Suicidal?” Kong Xuan laughed. “Obviously. But you’ve got eight Primordial Authorities and a sword that drinks god-blood. What’s one more impossible feat?”

Qingqing fluttered nervously. “What if he gets lost between times?”

“Then we’re all doomed,” Kong Xuan said cheerfully.

Yun Lintian exhaled sharply. He glanced at Heaven Sunderer—the blade pulsed eagerly, as if hungry for another taste of Nian Shi’s blood.

“Understood,” he nodded slowly. “But I need to absorb your power first.”

“Alright. We can do it here. Nian Shi doesn’t dare to come over again.” Kong Xuan said gently.

Yun Lintian sat cross-legged, Heaven Sunderer resting across his knees. The crimson blade pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, as if eager for what came next.

“Ready?” Kong Xuan stood before him, his galaxy-filled eyes swirling with power.

Yun Lintian nodded. “Do it.”

Kong Xuan’s hands flashed with cosmic energy. “This will hurt.”

He thrust his palms forward—

BOOM!

Pure spatial power erupted into Yun Lintian’s chest. It felt like being stabbed with a thousand knives made of fractured dimensions. His bones cracked. His meridians screamed. The Tree of Life in his core shook violently as roots tore through his spiritual sea to accommodate the new power.

“Guh—!” Blood sprayed from Yun Lintian’s mouth, splattering across Heaven Sunderer’s blade.

Linlin gasped. “Big Brother Yun!”

Qing Yun held her back. “Don’t interrupt!”

Yun Lintian’s vision whited out as spatial energy flooded every cell — folding, bending, tearing, and mending.

Concepts beyond mortal comprehension burned through his mind. The Infinite Realm itself seemed to pulse around him, recognizing its master’s power being transferred…