"Hmmmm... we’ll see in three days, won’t we?" Riley’s voice was calm, almost lazy, yet there was sothing chilling behind those words.
His eyes, cold and unreadable, locked briefly with Elder Harren’s before he turned away.
Without waiting for a reply, he shrugged lightly, as though the matter were already beneath his concern.
Elder Adam followed silently, and together their figures rose high into the sky.
The air trembled faintly as their spiritual energy carried them far from the sect.
Below, disciples and elders alike watched their departure with hushed breath — not one dared to stop them.
Wind whistled past as the two soared beyond the mountain peaks, their robes fluttering against the crimson hue of the setting sun.
For a long while, neither spoke. Elder Adam’s eyes kept darting toward Riley, curiosity burning beneath his calm expression.
There was sothing different about his disciple — sothing deeper, darker, and utterly unfathomable.
After several breaths, Riley slowed and descended upon a secluded cultivation mountain ridge shrouded in mist — the sa place where they had once discussed matters of fate and power.
The silence of the area was almost sacred, disturbed only by the gentle hum of spirit energy gathering naturally around them.
Riley turned toward his master and offered a faint smile.
"Master," he said softly, "what I’m about to show you may co as a surprise. For that... I can only apologize in advance."
Elder Adam raised an eyebrow. "A surprise, you say? After all you’ve done lately, I doubt anything could surprise anymore." He crossed his arms, though his tone carried a touch of warmth.
"Go on then, show ."
Riley’s eyes glimred faintly — an almost imperceptible flash of gold.
He raised his right hand, and the air around them began to distort.
At first, it was subtle: a faint ripple, like heat waves rising from the desert sand.
But then, in the span of a heartbeat, the entire world seed to bend and twist.
The mountain beneath them dissolved into particles of light.
The sky shattered into fragnts like broken glass. Space folded in upon itself — and when it reford, the two n stood in an endless, ethereal expanse.
There was no ground, no horizon — only a vast ocean of sky that stretched endlessly in every direction.
Stars shimred faintly above and below, as though they were standing within the heart of the heavens themselves.
The air was heavy with divine energy, pure and potent enough to make the soul tremble.
Elder Adam’s eyes widened.
"This is..." He took a step forward, his expression shifting from disbelief to awe. "A secret realm."
His voice echoed softly through the boundless space.
He could feel it — the stability, the natural flow of law, the gentle pulse of creation itself.
This was no illusion. This was real.
He had been inside countless realms before — and even created a few with his own power — yet none of them compared to this.
The structure was perfect, the energy seamless. It wasn’t sothing an ordinary cultivator could form.
Adam turned slowly toward his disciple, and for the first ti in decades, he felt the chill of genuine astonishnt run through him.
"Riley..." he whispered. "Do you realize what this ans? To open a world like this ans..."
Riley finished calmly, "That I’ve already stepped into the Sovereign Domain Creation Realm."
The words struck Adam like thunder. His heart skipped a beat as disbelief filled his eyes.
"Impossible!" he breathed out. "You’ve been cultivating for barely over a year! Even geniuses born under celestial phenona take centuries to touch the boundary of that realm!"
Riley simply looked at him — serene, confident, and a little sorrowful.
"I know," he said quietly. "That’s why I said I was sorry."
The realm around them pulsed softly in response to Riley’s will, as though acknowledging its creator.
The stars shone brighter, and an unseen wind carried a divine hum across the endless void.
Adam stood there in silence, his heart pounding. He could hardly comprehend what stood before him — or the monster his disciple was becoming.
"But there’s more," Riley said with a faint smile. His tone was gentle, almost conversational, yet there was sothing beneath it — a quiet authority that made the air tighten.
Elder Adam raised an eyebrow, curious yet wary. "More?"
Riley nodded. "Yes, Master. Prepare yourself," he said softly, his smile deepening. "I’m going to attack."
Before Adam could even question what he ant, Riley’s right hand moved.
It wasn’t fast — in fact, it seed almost slow, even casual, as though he was rely brushing away a speck of dust. But in that instant, the world changed.
A low hum spread through the air, vibrating through the bones.
The very fabric of the realm trembled, as though reality itself recognized what was about to happen.
Adam’s eyes widened. What is this pressure?!
His divine sense reached out instinctively, but what it touched made his entire soul recoil.
Behind that palm — that deceptively simple movent — was sothing vast.
Sothing ancient. It was as if an unseen titan had awoken, its will manifesting through Riley’s strike.
To a mortal, it would have looked like nothing — just a young man lazily swinging his arm.
But to Adam, who had lived for countless years and faced countless life-and-death battles, it was sothing beyond comprehension.
The air scread.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Each pulse of wind tore through the space around them, warping light and bending distance.
The pressure that followed was suffocating, pressing down upon him from every direction.
Adam could feel it — the kiss of death.
"Impossible..." he muttered, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
His instincts howled, commanding him to move.
Without hesitation, his body blurred into light as he teleported a hundred miles away.
But no sooner had he reappeared than his heart froze — the palm was still there. It hadn’t vanished.
It followed him.
He teleported again. A thousand miles. Then ten thousand. Then across the edge of the realm itself.
And yet—
The palm remained, closing in like a shadow that ignored the very concept of distance.
"This... this can’t be real!" Adam roared, his composure breaking.
His spirit energy erupted violently, shaking the skies of Riley’s secret realm.
"Even a Sovereign’s domain shouldn’t allow such an attack!"
He tried one last ti — expanding his aura, distorting the space around him — but the strike was inevitable.
It wasn’t moving fast; it simply was. No matter where he went, it existed, descending like destiny itself.
Adam’s mind raced. I’ll die if it lands.
"No!" he shouted. "I refuse!"
He poured everything he had into his final defense.
DING!
A massive golden bell appeared around him, ancient and majestic, etched with runes older than the sect itself.
Waves of divine power rippled outward, shaking the very air.
The bell shone brightly, like a miniature sun within the void, and its hum resonated through every corner of the realm.
"This will stop it," Adam muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "It must..."
But the mont the palm’s shadow touched it—
Creeeeak...
A crack appeared. Then another. And another.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
The sound was deafening. The bell trembled violently, its golden light flickering like a dying fla.
Then...
BOOM!
It shattered — disintegrating into fragnts of light that scattered into the void.
Adam’s face paled. The palm was still there, undeterred, descending silently upon him.
He felt the crushing weight of it — not on his body, but on his soul. His breathing slowed.
A strange calm washed over him.
"Hah..." He laughed softly, almost peacefully. "So this is how I die."
He looked up, his gaze steady, as the enormous palm blotted out the sky above him.
"To think... my disciple would surpass so soon."
The shadow grew darker, swallowing him whole — and just when it was about to strike—
Poof.
The palm vanished.
The crushing aura disappeared as if it had never existed.
The oppressive silence broke into nothingness.
Adam staggered slightly, his knees weak, his robe drenched in cold sweat.
His heart hamred in his chest as he struggled to catch his breath. His hands trembled — the reaction of a man who had just looked death in the eye.
He turned toward Riley. The young man stood calmly in the distance, his hands now folded behind his back, that sa faint smile still on his lips.
The stars of the realm shimred softly behind him, outlining his figure like that of a god.
Riley tilted his head slightly.
"You see, Master..." he said, his voice calm but heavy with aning.
"In three days’ ti, I will be more than capable of defending myself against any foe."
Adam stared at him, speechless.
Every instinct told him that what he had just witnessed was impossible—
and yet, there it was, undeniable.
For the first ti in centuries, Elder Adam felt sothing he had long forgotten—
awe... laced with fear.
He exhaled slowly, his gaze fixed on Riley’s serene expression.
"You..." he whispered. "Just what are you becoming? Have you already stepped into that final realm? The mythical realm?"
Shock rippled through him. In his million years of existence, he had never seen anyone reach that fabled stage.
Countless records spoke of beings who once did—but all had vanished, swallowed by the heartless passage of ti.
And then, a mont later, Riley spoke—
and Adam’s world shifted once more.
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