010 : Power beyond limit.

The silence after the tribulation was deafening.

The mountain where Lin Tian had stood was completely obliterated, its peak reduced to smoking rubble. The land bore the scars of heaven's fury, yet at the center of the destruction, a single figure stood unscathed.

Lin Tian exhaled slowly.

He lifted his hand, fingers curling as arcs of golden-violet lightning crackled between them. The residual power of the tribulation still pulsed through his body, embedded deep into his bones and meridians. His Golden Core hummed within him, its energy vast, dense, and brimming with an intensity unlike anything he had ever felt before.

This wasn't just any breakthrough.

This wasn't just a normal Golden Core Realm.

Lin Tian had devoured the power of the heavens themselves.

His body, reforged by lightning, felt indestructible. His dantian, once fragile, was now a vortex of infinite energy. The very air around him trembled under his presence, bending to his will as though the world itself acknowledged his existence.

He had become something beyond mortal cultivation.

He smiled, his golden eyes gleaming.

"I wonder…"

He clenched his fist—

And then vanished.

A single step carried him miles through the air, his speed beyond what even high-level Golden Core cultivators could achieve. The world blurred around him, the wind screaming in protest as he shot through the sky like a comet.

He reappeared atop a distant cliff, his feet barely making a sound as he landed.

"Faster. Stronger. Limitless."

He had surpassed all expectations, broken through every boundary set by nature.

But he was not done yet.

Lin Tian turned his gaze to the dense forest below. A vast expanse of towering trees stretched for miles, untouched by human hands, hiding powerful spirit beasts within its depths.

Perfect.

He leapt down, his body barely making a sound as he descended. The moment his feet touched the ground, he closed his eyes, focusing his senses.

Instantly, he could feel everything.

Every shift in the wind, every vibration in the earth, every tiny fluctuation of qi in the air. His perception had expanded to an unimaginable level, allowing him to sense every living thing within a thousand meters.

And then, he felt it.

A predator.

A powerful Crimson Fang Tiger, a spirit beast at the peak of the Golden Core Realm, lurking deep within the foliage. Its muscles coiled as it prepared to pounce, its crimson eyes locked onto him, sensing a challenge.

A beast like this could slaughter dozens of sect disciples with ease.

Lin Tian smirked.

"Come."

The tiger roared and launched itself forward, its massive claws tearing through the air, its fangs glinting with killing intent. The force behind its attack could shatter boulders—

But to Lin Tian, it was too slow.

Before the beast could even register what had happened, Lin Tian stepped forward—

And lightly tapped its forehead.

SHHHHHHHHHH!

The beast froze mid-air, its body convulsing violently. Its qi was being drained at an unprecedented rate, sucked into Lin Tian's endless dantian like water down a vortex.

The great predator, once a ruler of the forest, let out a final, weak growl—then collapsed lifelessly.

Lin Tian cracked his knuckles, feeling the surge of fresh energy from his fallen prey.

"That was… disappointing."

He had expected resistance. He had expected a challenge.

But instead, he had simply devoured it before it could even fight back.

This was his new reality.

He was no longer just a cultivator.

He was something else entirely.

Something unstoppable.

As he walked deeper into the forest, Lin Tian's mind wandered.

He had exceeded the Blazing Sky Sect.

There was nothing left for him there. The elders had feared him, tried to eliminate him, and in doing so, had only given him the chance to become something they could no longer control.

But now, the question remained—what next?

He had reached the Golden Core Realm faster than anyone in history. His power defied logic.

But this was not the end.

If the heavens themselves had tried to strike him down, then what existed beyond?

A low chuckle escaped him.

"There's still more to take. More to devour."

He turned his gaze eastward, toward the distant horizon.

Beyond these lands lay stronger sects, ancient ruins, forgotten legacies buried beneath the sands of time.

And Lin Tian?

He intended to claim everything.

But far beyond the mountains, deep within the shadows of the cultivation world, whispers had already begun to spread.

News of Lin Tian's massacre at Blazing Sky Sect had not been contained. The destruction of the sect elders, the terrifying display of his ability to absorb not just qi, but tribulation lightning itself—it had all reached the ears of those who ruled the world from the shadows.

In the halls of an ancient sect, far grander and more powerful than anything Lin Tian had ever encountered, a group of cultivators sat in dim candlelight.

A single scroll lay open before them, detailing the events of the past few days.

A cloaked figure tapped the scroll lightly, his expression unreadable. "A boy who consumes qi itself… and now, even divine lightning?"

Another figure, an elder with an air of authority, frowned. "We cannot allow this anomaly to continue unchecked."

A third voice, cold and calculating, whispered, "If left alone… he may rise beyond even us."

Silence filled the chamber.

Then, the first figure finally spoke again. His words were soft, but carried the weight of an unshakable decree.

"Find him. Test him."

"If he refuses to submit…"

"Erase him."

Lin Tian stood on the edge of the world he once knew, his back turned to the ruins of his past. His power had grown beyond measure, his path now leading him toward greater conquests, greater challenges.

But he was no longer just a rogue cultivator.

The world had taken notice.

Powerful forces now watched him, waiting for the chance to strike.

Yet Lin Tian simply smiled, his golden eyes burning with amusement.

"Let them come."

He was done running.

Now, it was his turn to hunt.

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