Swallowed Star: Heavenbreaker

The fires of the ruined city burned without pause, columns of smoke blotting out the fractured moon. From the roof of the parking structure, Lin Xuan watched the alien vanguard tighten their net, hunter-killer teams sweeping block by block. The destruction of the hunter-class war machine had slowed them, but only for a breath.

Through the Codex's heightened senses, Lin Xuan traced the invisible lines of command threading through the invaders' forces. Each pulse of signal energy whispered their intent — a converging assault designed to box them in.

They think I will run, Lin Xuan thought, silver-lit eyes narrowing. They have yet to understand the Heavenbreaker Path.

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I. Preparations for War

Below, his disciples readied themselves with grim determination. Zhang Wei adjusted the scavenged rifle slung across his back, his Qi flaring steadily with each breath. Mei Yan sat cross-legged, weaving threads of silver Qi into the crude blade she had reforged from alien alloy. Luo Jin moved through a series of slow, deliberate forms, each motion sharpening the tenuous bond between body and Primordial Qi.

Lin Xuan descended the cracked stairwell, his presence stilling the restless murmurs of the survivors.

"The vanguard closes around us," he said, his voice cutting through the dim air like a blade. "Tonight, they will strike in force."

Mei Yan's jaw tightened. "Can we hold?"

Lin Xuan met her gaze, silver light flickering in his own. "You will hold, or you will die. The Heavenbreaker Path has no room for those who cling to fear."

He turned to Zhang Wei. "You will lead the first line. Mei Yan, Luo Jin — support him. The rest will fortify the lower levels. Any who falter will be left behind."

No one argued.

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II. Descent into the Nexus

Before the assault, Lin Xuan descended once more to the nexus of ley-lines beneath the structure. The heartbeat of the imprisoned entity thundered through the stone, its resonance deepening with every passing hour.

"…They come… break them… take their cores…"

The whisper resonated with a hunger that bordered on palpable.

Lin Xuan knelt, allowing the resonance to course through him. Soon. But I will not fight for you. I will fight to temper my Path.

He rose, silver aura blazing briefly, and returned to the surface.

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III. The First Wave

Night fell, and with it came the assault. The first wave of alien soldiers swept in under cover of plasma fire, their armored forms moving with mechanical precision. Zhang Wei led the counterattack, rifle cracking with silver-tinged rounds that punched through alien armor.

Mei Yan met the first soldier to breach the barricade head-on, her reforged blade singing as it severed the creature's torso in a single Qi-empowered strike. Luo Jin flanked, his movements finally shedding the hesitance of the untempered; each thrust of his blade carried the raw, brutal efficiency Lin Xuan had drilled into him.

The battle raged through the upper levels, the air thick with smoke and ozone. The disciples fought with desperate ferocity, their Qi blazing brighter with every kill. But for every soldier they felled, two more pressed forward.

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IV. Heavenbreaker Unleashed

Lin Xuan moved among them like a living tempest. His Heaven-Sundering Palm reduced soldiers to twisted wreckage with each blow, and threads of silver Qi carved through the invaders' ranks with surgical precision.

A strike team of elite soldiers surged toward him, plasma blades raised. Lin Xuan answered with a single sweeping motion — a wall of compressed Qi that tore through armor and alloy alike, scattering bodies like chaff in the wind.

Above the cacophony of battle, he felt the distant gaze of the Eternal Shadows — cold, calculating, and amused.

Watch closely, he thought, silver light blazing in his eyes. You will witness the Path that defies all.

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V. Breach

Hours into the siege, the outer barricades collapsed beneath the sheer weight of the assault. The disciples fell back to the inner levels, bodies slick with blood — theirs and the invaders' alike. Zhang Wei limped, his left arm scorched, but his Qi burned steady and unyielding. Mei Yan dragged Luo Jin, his chest plate shattered but breathing still raggedly.

Lin Xuan met them at the base of the stairwell, silver aura flaring. "Fall back to the nexus. Make your stand there."

"What about the civilians?" Mei Yan panted.

"They follow," Lin Xuan said, turning away. "Those who can't keep up are already dead."

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VI. Last Stand at the Nexus

The final defense coalesced at the heart of the ley-line nexus. Alien soldiers flooded the chamber, their weapons painting the darkness in pulses of blue fire. Lin Xuan moved through them like a phantom, each strike of the Heavenbreaker Path scattering bodies in explosions of silver light.

Zhang Wei and Mei Yan fought back-to-back, their Qi flaring as they cut through the press of armored foes. Luo Jin, though barely conscious, unleashed a final desperate surge, his blade carving a brilliant arc that felled three soldiers before he collapsed.

The survivors huddled behind the disciples, their terror mingling with awe as Lin Xuan carved a swathe through the invaders.

Then, silence.

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VII. Aftermath

The chamber was a ruin of shattered stone and scorched metal. Alien corpses littered the floor, their twisted armor still humming with residual energy. Lin Xuan stood at the center, silver aura fading, his breath steady and unbroken.

Zhang Wei leaned on his sword, chest heaving. "We… held."

Lin Xuan surveyed the carnage impassively. "Barely. Strength bought with desperation is no strength at all."

Mei Yan glanced at the bodies of fallen comrades, jaw tight. "Then what now?"

"We bury the dead," Lin Xuan said. "And we move. Reinforcements will come soon, stronger and more numerous. If you remain here, you die."

He turned toward the deeper tunnels, where the heartbeat of the imprisoned entity pulsed louder than ever. "We go below. The next stage of your tempering awaits."

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VIII. The Whisper Deepens

That night, as the survivors tended to the wounded, Lin Xuan knelt alone at the nexus, silver aura coiling around him like a living thing.

"…You bleed them well… their essence feeds my chains… break more…"

Lin Xuan's lips curved into a thin smile. Patience. Each battle hones my Path. When I descend to you, your chains will be the next to break.

"…Hurry, Heavenbreaker… for the Shadows descend in full…"

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, silver light blazing in their depths. "Then let them come."

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End of Chapter 9.