Heaven - Sundered Path

Scene 1 — The Day of the Finals

Dawn broke across the mountain peaks like molten gold, shining upon the floating coliseum known as Skyveil Arena. Unlike previous matches, this arena was opened directly to the skies — a signal that no array would shield the disciples from the heavens themselves.

Disciples gathered by the thousands. Elders floated on their spirit clouds, and even the Sect Master's jade throne hovered in full view.

Lin Xun stood atop the sky platform, clad in simple crimson robes, but his aura was no longer ordinary — it surged with Core Qi, flowing like molten iron beneath his skin.

His soul pulse throbbed quietly — calm, steady, but unfathomably deep.

"So he really advanced in seclusion," one elder whispered.

"In seven days… to Core?" another muttered. "He's not just gifted — he's terrifying."

Scene 2 — The Final Opponent

His opponent was not who they expected.

The announcement came from Elder Hai Chen himself, voice heavy:

"Your final match… is not against another disciple. But against one from the Stellar Pavilion Sect."

A portal opened above.

A young man descended — his robes woven with celestial stars, hair silver as moonlight. His eyes were pale gold.

"I am Mo Tianli, Peak Disciple of the Stellar Pavilion. I request the right of challenge — under the Pact of Open Heavens."

Gasps filled the air. An outsider challenging the tournament?

"The Pavilion claims Lin Xun harbors the aura of a Sealbreaker," said Mo Tianli. "Such power must be tested by the Heavens — and by me."

Scene 3 — Heaven-Sworn Duel

The Sect Master nodded grimly. The Pact allowed it — if a sect suspected a disciple of carrying a forbidden fate, they could test it in ritual combat.

Lin Xun stepped forward.

"Then test it. And prepare to bleed."

A jade bell rang.

The final match began.

Mo Tianli moved like starlight — vanishing in glints of silver, reappearing with strikes that bent air and sound. His sword, Astral Edge, was forged from a shattered comet — and each strike carried spatial vibration.

Lin Xun's movements were grounded, elemental. Fire, marrow, will — all flowed as one.

He activated the Fifth Gate fully — Heaven-Sundered Core — and the platform cracked beneath his feet from sheer Qi pressure.

Clashes echoed like thunder.

Flames met stars.

Mo Tianli summoned a Heavenly Mirror Clone — six astral copies.

Lin Xun closed his eyes.

And then, through Echo Pulse, summoned a single past-moment — Xu Tianheng's divine strike from his soul memory: Heaven-Slaying Palm.

The mirror clones shattered.

Only Mo Tianli remained — blood trailing from his mouth, stunned.

"You wield power you don't yet understand," Tianli said. "But you… have earned this."

He bowed.

The battle ended.

Scene 4 — A Mark from the Heavens

The clouds above parted.

A glowing brand descended from the sky — a six-pointed celestial star — and burned itself into the platform, not on Lin Xun's body, but beneath his feet.

"He has been witnessed," whispered the Sect Master. "By the Outer Sky."

A voice, ancient and distant, echoed faintly:

"The Seal has stirred. Let the Heavens prepare."

All the elders stood.

Lin Xun looked up. The jade pendant on his chest cracked fully, revealing a second layer of inscription — the sigil of the Void Gate, a symbol from the time before the realms divided.

Something vast had awakened.

Scene 5 — A Quiet Ending

As the arena cleared, Lin Xun sat alone under the peach tree at the mountain's edge. Yan Qiruo approached quietly.

"You were brilliant," she said. "But you look… distant."

He turned, slowly.

"The heavens remember things I don't."

She sat beside him. Wind stirred her hair.

"Then let this world give you memories to fight for."

He nodded, eyes still tracing the stars.

"They've noticed me. The real tournament is just beginning."