Chapter 6: The Battle Begins
The world held its breath.
The wind stilled. The trees swayed ever so slightly, their leaves trembling under the weight of the moment. The pressure hanging in the air was suffocating, pressing down on everything like the gaze of an uncaring god.
Luo Qiyan stood tall, his crimson robes fluttering despite the silence. His golden eyes bore into Kael, cold and piercing, scrutinizing him like a predator assessing its prey.
A Fifth Realm cultivator. A towering existence in this region.
Before him stood Kael—unranked, an anomaly, a being that defied understanding.
But Luo Qiyan did not see an opponent.
He saw an insult.
"This will be your final mistake," Luo Qiyan declared, his voice smooth, authoritative, absolute.
Jin Mu trembled beside Kael. His body was locked in place, his very bones refusing to move under the overwhelming weight of the Fifth Realm cultivator's aura.
Kael, however, simply smiled.
A slow, deliberate smirk that should not have existed in the presence of such overwhelming power.
Luo Qiyan's brow twitched. Insolent.
Kael's crimson eyes gleamed with something dangerous. He could feel it—the pulsing energy, the boundless well of power his opponent possessed.
He wanted it.
The world blurred.
Luo Qiyan moved first.
A mere flicker. A single step.
But the force behind it was devastating.
The air ripped apart, a shockwave exploding outward as he closed the distance in an instant. His hand shimmered with golden Qi, condensed into a spear of destruction, aimed directly at Kael's heart.
Jin Mu barely had time to see the attack.
To everyone watching—this was instant death.
But Kael was already moving.
His Unmatched Combat Mastery activated at full force.
Time seemed to slow.
Luo Qiyan's attack, perfect in its execution, was already understood—completely analyzed before it had even landed.
Kael's body twisted.
He leaned back, his torso shifting just enough for the golden spear to pass an inch from his chest. The raw energy within it shattered the air, but Kael had already countered.
His hand shot forward.
His fingers closed around Luo Qiyan's wrist.
And then—
CRACK!
A sickening noise echoed through the forest.
Luo Qiyan's expression shifted.
Shock.
Kael smiled wider.
His grip tightened.
And then—
BOOM!
Kael ripped him forward and drove his knee into his ribs.
Luo Qiyan's body bent unnaturally as the impact sent him rocketing backward, his figure blurring into the distance, crashing through tree after tree in a violent eruption of destruction.
Silence.
Jin Mu's jaw dropped.
Kael exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. "Not bad."
His Unparalleled Cultivation Talent surged, analyzing the interaction, the force, the damage. His muscles, his Qi, everything had adjusted in that single instant.
If he survives that, the next strike will be even stronger.
The dust cleared.
Luo Qiyan emerged.
His robes were tattered. Blood trickled from his lips. His eyes, once cold and controlled, were now burning with something new.
Fury.
"Impossible," he hissed. His Qi flared, shaking the ground itself. "You—what are you?!"
Kael grinned.
Luo Qiyan snarled. "Enough."
The sky darkened.
Qi erupted from his body like a tidal wave. The very air twisted, bending under the sheer weight of his power.
His domain expanded.
A vast, suffocating presence surged outward, covering the battlefield in a golden glow, warping reality itself.
Jin Mu collapsed, unable to withstand it. "No… this is a True Domain…"
Kael's smirk never wavered.
A Domain—a manifestation of absolute power, something only true experts could wield.
Luo Qiyan had just unleashed his full strength.
Perfect.
Kael stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the ground, his Qi flared to life.
And then—
The Domain shattered.
Luo Qiyan's eyes widened in horror.
Kael's voice was calm.
"My turn."
BOOM!
The ground erupted as Kael vanished.
Before Luo Qiyan could react, a fist crashed into his stomach.
BOOM!
The force broke sound itself. Luo Qiyan's entire body curled inward, his ribs shattering as he was launched skyward, blood spraying from his mouth.
Kael appeared above him before he could stop.
His hands clasped together.
And then—
BOOM!
A hammer-like strike sent Luo Qiyan crashing into the earth below, splitting the ground open, an explosion of dust and debris blotting out the sky.
Silence.
Jin Mu could not speak.
Kael slowly descended, landing lightly on the cracked ground.
Luo Qiyan lay motionless, his body twisted, his eyes wide—filled with terror.
His strength. His Fifth Realm cultivation.
It had meant nothing.
Kael stared down at him, his expression unreadable.
Then, he lifted his foot.
Luo Qiyan's body trembled.
"No… wait—"
CRACK!
Kael's foot slammed down, crushing Luo Qiyan's chest—shattering his core.
The Fifth Realm cultivator screamed.
His power—his life's work—destroyed in an instant.
He was nothing.
Kael exhaled, stepping off his ruined body.
The fight was over.
He turned to Jin Mu, who still stared in stunned silence.
Jin Mu swallowed hard.
He had just witnessed something impossible.
A Fifth Realm expert… destroyed like trash.
By a cultivator who wasn't even ranked.
Kael grinned.
"This world," he murmured, staring at his hands.
"It's mine."