166] – [Beyond Enlightenment!]

A pillar of red wrath surged to the Heavens. The shockwaves escaping its domain left the civilizations asunder. The clouds dispersed and the vast sky turned pale red.

Meteors formed and fell high up above, volcanic eruptions spawned out of nowhere.

Pillars of lava attempting to reach their master's height.

Saints shivering on their collapsed knees. Lu Shu showing genuine terror for the first time in his life. The two elders worried, the ancestor seen frowning.

Bright red eyes glowing with a simple and unmastered Dao.

Bulging veins like the faces of ghosts clawing to escape.

An oppression turning anyone's sense of gravity upside down.

A might nearing fifty million Origin Power!

"Haha! Now this is getting interesting!" Cracking his knuckles with a mere thought, the sage was showing a rare smile. A smile of excitement!

"There actually exists a secret art capable of boosting one's battle prowess to such an extent… I suppose that after you reach a time limit or something, you will inevitably die. Incredible! Marvelous!"

"Therefore…"

"I must enjoy it as soon as possible!"

With a roar warping reality itself, the giant of pure muscles kicked the air, reappearing in front of Alexander as if teleporting.

A wide punch was seen swinging fast, its size strangely big enough to cover Alexander.

"[Void Quake]!" The fist turning pitch black, a faint shimmer of purple hugged it. Stars of fallen eras twinkling every so often on its surface.

To answer this first strike, a simple palm.

"[Dominating Palm]."

The void fist collided with the palm of faint silver radiance.

A powerful and fully explored Dao of Space against a faint and still unknown Dao of Supremacy.

The outcome was obvious only to the knowledgeable.

"How?!" Taking a step back in the sky, the ancestor was shocked.

"It doesn't matter how. We are now equal. But… I don't think our Daos think the same…" A giant maw of silver opening wide, it chomped with brutality.

Escaping the area with a quick step, the sage only saw grey as he looked back upfront.

"[Void Mantle]!!" Turning ethereal, the giant phased through a wall of ethereal silver flying at him.

"[Severing The Tenth World]!" Taking a single step to the side, Alexander evaded a slash coming from above. A portal crumbling as a titan reentered the brawl.

Putting his palms together, the old man showed no restraint.

"[Void Collapse]!" White cracks spreading everywhere, a suction force came from their entire surfaces. Fragments of reality began to fall down, a maw of the void left behind, hoping to munch on fresh worlds.

"[Rewind]!" Spreading his arms wide, Alexander shaped a blue wheel of energy in the air.

Visions of a strange river of esoteric waves formed all around the battlefield.

"You..!" The cracks receding, the entire sage's technique was nullified, turned back in time.

The red sky covered with ominous clouds, a crackling blue lightning escaped its new cloudy shapes.

"Piss off!" Sending a casual punch, the clouds were brutally dispersed on the spot.

"Young man! If you want to play with time so badly…"

"Then this old man will give you some company! [Time Warp]!" Sending a palm forward, a blue helix beam flew at Alexander.

"I told you! Your Daos mean nothing in front of me!" His third eye opening wide, a strange array shaped itself just in front of it. Ethereal lights shimmering incessantly.

"[Nullity]!"

The blue helix vanishing without a trace, it was followed by a beam of light. Alexander rushing ahead.

"An all out fight in close quarter? Fine by me… but young man…" Grabbing a twig of a wrist about to palm his chest, the sage grinned.

"…are you really this adamant on dying here!? Hahaha!!"

Using him as a whip, the sage threw Alexander toward the ground, mountains sent flying to the sky by the impact, far away remnants of sects and clans forced to learn flight.

Yet it was not enough to stop him. A beam of light rushing back!

Two fists colliding, their knuckles cracked as silver, red and black merged.

"!!" Seeing the sage reveal his peak strength, Alexander was left blind from the pillar of darkness.

"I can't use it for long, so enjoy it for as long as you can survive! [Void Burst]!" The titan's bulging muscles coated with black, a metallic sheen reflected the chaotic lights all around them.

"Certainly not as strong as yours, but!" Unable to defend in time, Alexander's entire body collided with a giant fist. Once again flung far away, he heard the sage's words.

"Forcing me, Lu Olghun, to use this secret art… it is your greatest honor!!" Without hiding it, Olghun's might surged by twenty percent more!

"This art is enough for me to claim a seat of power across the Realms! Feel the fear of the Void Family's influence! Terrorized by our background!"

Teleporting above the still flung Alexander, Olghun struck down with hammering fists.

"Understand the power of our legacy!!"

His trajectory changed, Alexander smashed against the earth once again. The power strong enough to send him to hell's doorway!

Teleporting underground, seeing a silent Alexander amidst the dim lighting of a giant cave turning to rubble, Olghun slapped with a left palm.

Watching him be sent across the entire cave, crashing onto a stone wall causing the entire Core Territory to quake, Olghun smiled even more. His eyes turning even more hollow.

"Submit to the might of our reach!" Panting, Olghun's metallic body returned to an old wrinkly one.

"Phew~! This old man has not exercised so much in eons! It feels amazing! I feel young again!" Shaking his head toward the ground, his short beard swaying ever so slightly, Olghun did not see a shadow to his left on the verge of punching his face down.

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"Unfortunately, you will feel old again!" Hit on the back of the head, Olghun's face smashed into the hard stone ground with incredible momentum. His body was bent, a face stuck in the ground while his body was left confused.

Landing near him, Alexander landed an easy left palm on his open stomach. The force destroyed any remnant of robes while forming a crater visible from outside. The old Olghun left with a red face and an upset belly.

"B-Bastard! [Void- urh!" Barely managing to retrieve his head, it was sent underground once more.

"Shut up! A decrepit old fuck like you thinks he can beat me?! Unlike you, my secret technique won't stop unless I do! The moment I leave a fight, I die! But until then..!" Raising his leg, Alexander stomped hard on the back of Olghun's head.

Tremors spreading out, the remaining cave ceiling crumbled down. Under the berserk lights of the world outside, a man stood tall while a titan was left slouched with a head fused with the earth.

"What are you doing? This isn't over yet!!" Putting his foot under Olghun's stomach, Alexander uprooted the new floor, sending him high above. Vanishing with speed, he faded in the sky, near him.

"What Void Family?! Nothing but disappointment! Unworthy slaves in my domain!" Slapping the back of Olghun, said sage was sent back down with even more velocity.

It was as if Alexander tried to dig a new hell with a sage as the tool of choice.

Olghun once again stuck, Alexander turned into a beam of pure speed, his feet perfectly landing on Olghun's slouched back.

As expected, the cave gained even more terrain, its depths deepening as a crater wider than immortal sects formed.

Raising a leg again, it glowed with silver specks of light. Like silent fairies singing praises of old.

Stomping back down, Olghun's back was bruised, skin teared apart from the impact's leftover energy.

"What peak figure of Limbo!??"

"Nothing but scrap from the roadside! A pebble not worth my time! Forcing me to use a technique when I shouldn't!" His bloodshot eyes unable to discern left from right, he punched harder than ever on a defenseless back.

After its remaining energy spread out, silence reigned haughtily.

Retreating a bit, Alexander caught his breath. Sounds of rubbles echoing down into the cave, Olghun's body jolted.

Finally freed from the kiss of the earth, he cracked his neck with a smile.

"Are you done yet?" Clearly, he did not care about the damage sustained. And Alexander knew this well, as he did not care about his own either.

"Maybe."

"Good! Then let's resume!" Taking a step back, a body heavier than mountains, Olghun swung his right arm far behind, a clenched fist in view.

A familiar poleaxe of translucent silver lights appearing, Alexander slashed down with it.

A powerful step forward, Olghun punched with unmatched ferocity. The Core Territory trembled, a single shockwave sent ahead. Light would bend near its unchanging shape, moving toward Alexander with a slow yet unavoidable speed.

His Fleeting Dreams' blade shattering on impact, Alexander coughed his insides. The haft snapped, a weapon was seen crumbling into ethereal particles.

His robes torn, a giant gaping hole caused Alexander to narrow his eyes. One could see his remaining flesh and bones exposed.

But he did not care.

A red life wheel coming out of its hiding spot. A life wheel turning even darker…

His body gaining a second wind, the hole closing itself.

Left behind as the life wheel returned to his Dantian was exposed red skin. Tearing apart his tattered robes, Alexander saw Olghun do the same with what was left of his own.

Two torsos exposed, proof of the fight having done nothing but give superficial wounds.

"Man to man! Let's go!" Speeding up, Olghun closed in on his opponent, two fists flying straight ahead.

Raising his palms, Alexander stopped them both.

"You sure talk a lot!"

A slight push enough to offset Olghun's balance, Alexander rushed in with a quick step, clawing down with nails of light. Seeing Olghun regain stability, watching him punch with great force, Alexander altered the trajectory, crossing his attacks, his forearms now in the way.

Trembling slightly, he was pushed back, his feet sliding against the rough ground. Olghun on the other hand was not free of worry.

Walking toward him, Olghun ignored six slits on his shoulders gushing out blood.

"Again!" Sprinting, the ground received craters in exchange for supporting his endeavor.

"A mountain of old, a dream of certainty. Bashing away one's sins! [Grieving Fist]!" Seeing reality warp around the fist, Alexander clicked his tongue, taking a heavy step back.

The fist on the verge of hitting him right in the face, his body bent and disappeared.

"!!" Clenching his teeth, Olghun only heard a small set of words before an uppercut sent him high above the clouds.

"[Step of Ascension]."

"Urh!!" Grunting along the way up, Olghun spun mid-air, regaining a foothold in the sky. Gazing down, his forehead gained even more vascularity.

"Little bastard! [Void Stomp]!" Pressing a leg down, a dark ripple spread out from it.

Currently flying up, Alexander froze.

"Shi-" Trying to step back, a hidden shockwave began to pressure his body like a vortex. Before long, a blanket of space tried to surround him.

His third eye glowing, a familiar array formed.

"[Nullity]!"

"Arh!!" Plummeting back down, Alexander crashed onto the sharp rocks beneath, crushing them into fine powder.

Slowly getting back up, he squinted as his third eye bled black while his others cracked with miniature silver ravines. His heart ached while his mind buzzed.

"Fuck!" Wiping away the mess, he kicked the earth, a beam of light getting back to the high sky.

"[Void Stomp]!" Going for it again, it was futile as Alexander dodged properly this time. Raising his burly arm left, Olghun's open palm glowed purple as a laser of the same color spewed out.

A figure fading in, Alexander had to receive the blow with his right forearm, now numb.

"Young man! This battle is truly entertaining! But I am old… so we should wrap this up!" As he spoke, Olghun's hands were set ablaze with a glorious set of vibrant and gorgeous purple flames. Like the meteors of a poisonous hell.

"Don't blame me for my dishonesty..!"

"May fate bless the Void Family! Becoming one with times of old and spaces of nostalgia! Flames of the heart forever burning! Ruptures of the mind meant to be healed!"

"[Void Temple]!!"

A monster of purple light growing behind Olghun, so did his aura. So did his oppression. So did his state of mind!

"My Void Family's secret art… Something that was made when I was little… something I learnt before falling down in Limbo…"

"An art from the Great World's Void Family! Something that should have protected my descendants!"

"May your soul be banished throughout the void! To reincarnate in glory! Having died by the hands of Lu Olghun!!"

Forcing more and more strength, Alexander pushed his Daos to the limits. As Olghun talked, he gathered ten lifetimes' worth of comprehension.

A multicolored shield brandished. A giant man faster than light. A fist colliding with his effort.

Cracking like the shell of a weak egg. Broken apart as if it were nothing more than the most obvious of results.

Unable to move his body fast enough, obligated through his Divine Sense to see a titan close in on him.

His flesh trembling in apprehension.

"Pouring all my talent into it! Pouring all my familial piety in it!"

"Bringing glory to the defeated! For the winner will live another day!"

"Ugh! Arh!"

"You speak… too… soon!!" Grunting heavily, Alexander knew the fist to have penetrated his last barrier of aura. Yet just this was enough to cave in his ribs.

Vomiting blood of beautiful stars like a broken dam, Alexander then felt the true impact. Purple flames poisoning his vessel. His soul shivering at the strange energy. Corroding him.

Silence dominated the world. Saints left in denial of reality. The two elders gulping each blow. A group of people far away in awe.

Alexander's vision darkening. Feeling his grip on lucidity fade. His consciousness on the verge of receding.

Enduring the most powerful blow of a peak Eleutherian Realm sage with his bare body!

And since he could not survive it, he might as well give the opponent a loss!

Focusing his entire soul, body and mind. His studies and years of practice…

Sending a right punch, like a frail leaf facing the storm of ten Heavens.

He was lost in it.

Captivated by it.

His small fist barely visible when compared with the monstrous opponent.

But he did not care. He did not even see him.

He only saw a failure.

Not good enough.

He thought.

Too slow. Too weak.

He thought.

I can still go faster!

I can still go beyond! Reach for the stars when lost in hell, claiming the throne when only a subject!

His vision fading away, he opened his eyes once more.

There was no battle anymore.

There laid no more impending death.

Only darkness. But in it, a small star of pink grabbed his attention as the sole source of light. And when he grabbed hold of it. He opened his eyes again.

Greeted with a strange world of dreams.

Pink sky.

Golden clouds.

War deities and silent fairies.

Dancing energies.

Scriptures of ancient legacies.

A burst of pink flames. A figure of pink light birthed.

Right in front of his face.

It looked at him. Just like all the other deities and fairies present.

He whispered at him.

Strange words. He understood them all. The voice was very familiar even.

Was it not his voice?

"Go."

Gently pushed away, the world around him crumbled.

He was not sure.

What happened?

However…

Did it matter?

His acupoints as if living beings, pressured almost at the same time. His Dantian collapsing onto itself, condensing itself. Wild energies all around forced to gather, magnetized by a black hole.

Olghun's punch frozen in place, his face turning pale. His sunken purple eyes widening in fear.

He could not squeeze his fist further. A hard wall of pink blocking the way.

A thin pillar of pink behaved wantonly. Within it, a youth gently opened his eyes.

Returning from enlightenment. But what kind?

His red skin glowed fiercely. Soon changing.

Left with a shade of pink instead.

A pair of rosy eyes like the most gorgeous of gems staring into Olghun's very soul.

A faint layer of pink and pale blue energies covering his body, twinkling with grandeur. Just like a new layer of skin.

An oppression reaching heights even further beyond.

Striking innate terror within all who gazed upon him. Reality itself distorted. Light bending crazily around him. His aura causing said light to even warp when far away. Even the horizon unable to escape. The birth of a new dimension!

All who witnessed his horror, watching his surroundings twist and turn, mountains and clouds merging, lakes and caves embracing the other. A mess of bent lights.

White glowing cracks all over his body. Shimmering rainbow mists escaping without stop from their apparent glow. A titan of silver covering the entire sky.

His cultivation breaking through the Dream Dominion Realm! Directly attaining the first stage's peak!

But it was still not enough!

The usual smile of a bear vanishing without a trace. Olghun, who now cowered in fear next to two elders instantly sliced apart, only heard a single word before his heart gave out.

"[Transcend]."