The battlefield was far from quiet.
Chen's breath steamed in the cold air as the violet knight fell still, bound in divine sleep. Around him, the cracked stone shimmered with lingering Yang energy. But there was no time to rest.
From the enemy lines, a new rift tore open in the sky.
Out stepped a woman—clad in veils of lightning, her eyes flickering like twin stormclouds. Her aura carried the weight of a whole pantheon, and behind her trailed twelve divine blades, orbiting her like predatory stars.
Ye Yue's face paled.
"That's not a proxy. That's a true divine—a Lesser Matron of the Tempest Court."
"She's here in person?" Lanmei growled, summoning a great phoenix-flame shield. "That breaks all the accords!"
"Which means," Chen said grimly, "they're desperate."
The Tempest Matron raised one hand, and the heavens cracked.
Lightning struck down—twelve bolts at once—aimed directly for Chen.
He met them with both hands raised, and his body surged with divine fire.
[Skill Activated: Yang Core – Divine Bloom]
His chest lit up like a second sun, and the first bolt shattered across his palm. The second hit his shoulder and was devoured. The third, he caught—and threw back, redirecting it into the oncoming tide of soldiers.
Chen blurred forward.
One of the orbiting blades screamed toward him—a weapon forged from stormlight itself.
Lanmei intercepted it mid-air, her blade clashing with it in a ring of molten sparks. "I've got her toys. You handle the queen."
Ye Yue vanished in a burst of lunar light, reappearing beside Chen. "She'll come at you with guilt and rage. Don't let her control the pace."
"Too late," Chen said, a grin cutting across his lips. "I'm done reacting."
[Skill Activated: Lust Domain – Overheat]
A heatwave exploded from Chen's body—not just fire, but desire. Divine enemies stumbled as longing, awe, and temptation flooded their thoughts. The Tempest Matron staggered—her control flickering as visions of what could be slipped into her mind. Power, pleasure, peace.
For a moment, she hesitated.
And Chen struck.
The battlefield ignited. He vaulted into the air, fists glowing, and came down like a comet. The Matron raised a stormwall—but he pierced through it like a blade through silk, his punch colliding with her gut and sending a shockwave across the valley.
The heavens screamed.
But she wasn't done. Blood at her lip, she smiled—insane, elegant.
"You think you can ascend by seduction, mortal?"
"No," Chen whispered. "I'll ascend because no one like you will stop me."
[System Notice: Divine Suppression Broken – Temporary Ascendance Achieved]
Golden wings burst from Chen's back.
His form lit up—no longer just mortal. Not yet a god—but something more than either.
The Tempest Matron struck again.
Lightning and lust collided.
Far above, in a divine realm of shattered mirrors and forgotten vows, Lysaria opened her eyes fully for the first time in centuries.
"He's close," she whispered. "My trial awaits."