Nian Shi moved.
Not through space.
But through ti itself.
One second, he was ters away. The next, his palm was pressed against Yun Lintian's chest.
"Decay."
A single word—
And Yun Lintian felt it.
His skin wrinkled. His muscles weakened. His divine bones brittled. Centuries, millennia of ti compressed into a single mont, rushing through his body like a tidal wave.
Nian Shi smirked. "Let's see how you handle decay."
But Yun Lintian's mismatched eyes remained calm.
"Chaos."
The Power of Chaos erupted from his core—Creation and Destruction intertwined. The aging effect shattered, ti itself reversing around him as his body returned to its pri.
Nian Shi's smirk vanished.
Yun Lintian's sword was already moving.
"RENDING HEAVEN."
The blade ca down—
And ti scread.
The mont Yun Lintian's sword descended, the universe itself seed to fracture.
Nian Shi's silver eyes widened—a rare flicker of alarm crossing his face as he twisted through ti, barely avoiding the blade that could rend even eternity itself.
"You—!"
Yun Lintian didn't let him finish.
BOOM!
His left fist, wreathed in the Primordial Azure Dragon's lightning, slamd into Nian Shi's gut. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the frozen ti around them, cracking the stillness like glass.
Nian Shi coughed blood—silver, divine—but his lips curled into a sharp grin.
"Good."
Ti rewound around him, his wounds sealing instantly. Then—
"Stop."
A single word.
And Yun Lintian froze.
Not by space. Not by force.
But by ti itself.
His muscles locked. His thoughts slowed. Even the divine energy in his veins seed to stagnate.
Nian Shi stepped forward leisurely, examining his trapped opponent.
"You're strong," he mused. "Stronger than I expected. But ti... ti is absolute."
His fingers reached for Yun Lintian's throat—
CRACK!
The frozen ti shattered as Yun Lintian's Power of Chaos erupted outward. Creation and Destruction intertwined, unraveling the temporal prison like rotten thread.
Nian Shi barely had ti to react before Yun Lintian's knee slamd into his ribs.
"AGH—!"
The God of Ti was sent flying, crashing through the remnants of a dead star.
Yun Lintian didn't pause as the eight divine beasts' power surged through him.
Nian Shi's playful deanor was gone now. His silver eyes burned with cold focus as he wiped blood from his lips.
"I didn't expect that... Fine. Let's get serious."
He clapped his hands together—
And the universe split.
Countless afterimages of Nian Shi appeared across ti itself, each one attacking Yun Lintian from a different mont—past, present, future.
A fist from yesterday.
A kick from tomorrow.
A blade strike that hadn't happened yet.
Yun Lintian's body was bombarded from all directions, his divine flesh tearing under the onslaught.
But he adapted.
The God of War's battle instincts rged with the God of Balance's harmony, allowing him to predict the temporal attacks before they landed.
CLANG!
The God Slaying Sword intercepted a blade that hadn't even been swung yet.
BOOM!
His fist collided with a kick that was still seconds away in the future.
Nian Shi's eyes narrowed. "I must say, you're learning very well. In every battle I've seen so far, you always adapt mid fight. This is your strong point."
"I'm ending this," Yun Lintian growled.
He exploded forward, the Golden Qilin's power enhancing his speed to impossible levels. The God Slaying Sword humd with Chaos, each swing carving wounds in ti itself.
Nian Shi was forced back, his temporal clones flickering out one by one as Yun Lintian erased them from existence.
"Co!" Nian Shi snarled—the first real anger he'd shown.
His hands wove through complex seals, and the river of ti churned violently.
"Ti Collapse."
The very fabric of ti around Yun Lintian imploded, trying to crush him into nothingness.
But Yun Lintian pushed back.
The Power of Chaos t the collapsing ti head-on, Creation and Destruction battling against eternity itself.
For a single, breathless mont—
The two forces stalled.
Then—
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The backlash sent both combatants flying.
Nian Shi crashed through a cluster of dead stars, his silver robes in tatters.
Yun Lintian skidded across the void, his divine beast transformations flickering unstably.
Silence.
Then—
Nian Shi laughed.
It wasn't his usual playful chuckle, but sothing darker. More real.
"You really are sothing else," he admitted, pulling himself upright. "To think that you can push this far..."
Yun Lintian steadied his breathing, the God Slaying Sword still gleaming in his grip.
"I'm not done yet."
Nian Shi's laughter faded. His silver eyes glead with sothing unreadable as he straightened his tattered robes. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he wiped the blood from his lips—and smiled.
That sa playful smile.
"But I am."
BOOM—!
An invisible wave exploded outward from his body. The cosmos froze.
Not just space—ti itself ca to a complete standstill. Stars halted mid-explosion. Light particles froze mid-flight. Even the residual energy from their battle hung motionless in the void.
Behind Nian Shi, the River of Ti materialized—a vast, shimring current of silver energy stretching endlessly through the cosmos.
He stepped forward, his boots making no sound as he approached Yun Lintian.
Yun Lintian's body was locked in place. His thoughts still raced, his consciousness untouched by the temporal freeze—but his flesh, his divine energy, even the God Slaying Sword in his hand—all of it was trapped in absolute stasis.
Nian Shi stopped inches away, tilting his head as he examined Yun Lintian with amused curiosity.
"You've improved significantly over the years," he mused, his voice echoing strangely in the frozen ti. "Truly impressive. To think a re mortal could reach this height... But alas."
He sighed dramatically.
"You still lack understanding of the true power of Creation."
A pause.
Then—he leaned closer, his silver eyes boring into Yun Lintian's.
"I'll leave you for now. After all... you still have one last duty to fulfill."
His fingers brushed against Yun Lintian's chest—light as a feather, yet carrying the weight of eternity.
"Defeat Yin. Seal the Chasm of Uncreation. And then..."
His smile widened.
"It will be your turn to die."
With that, he stepped back—and vanished into the River of Ti.
The mont he disappeared, the frozen ti shattered like glass.
Yun Lintian gasped as movent returned to his body. His muscles tensed, his grip on the God Slaying Sword tightening instinctively—but Nian Shi was already gone.
Silence.
Complete, utter silence.
Yun Lintian stood alone in the void, his breath coming in slow, asured intervals. His mismatched eyes darkened as the reality of what just happened settled in.
He couldn't move.
At the very end, when Nian Shi truly willed it... Yun Lintian had been completely helpless.
A deep frown etched itself onto his face.
"This... is the true power of ti?"
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