Chapter Thirty-One: Witnessing the Ruins, Only Submission Remains

Li Ruoyu continually clashed with those around him using the Fist Across Ages. The more he fought, the more familiar he became with the technique, wielding it with increasing ease. Each strike seemed to sever the flow of time itself, cutting off the ages and blocking all paths of retreat for the living. He pressed his assault relentlessly toward Su Qingyi.

Su Qingyi was extraordinarily beautiful, her form shrouded by a cold moon, three thousand strands of black hair flowing behind her back. Her pale skin and slender jade legs, paired with her flawless figure, gave her the appearance of a goddess, the contemporary beauty of the Tianyi Sect. Yet now, her blue robes were stained with blood, and she coughed blood incessantly.

Even with her Dao Manifestation bolstering her defenses, Su Qingyi could not withstand Li Ruoyu’s attacks and continued to cough blood. Nearby, Gu Tianyi watched Su Qingyi’s suffering, his eyes bloodshot. His Dao Manifestation, “A Tree Witnessing Spring and Autumn,” struck repeatedly toward Li Ruoyu.

Li Ruoyu, with the Remnant Wasteland Physique Dao Manifestation, blocked the attacks from the others. The power of time, truly a forbidden path, erased the force of their combined onslaught within his Dao Manifestation. Even those who managed to get close were blocked by the tombstone. Ignoring all else, Li Ruoyu fixed his gaze on Su Qingyi, determined to kill her.

“Remnant Wasteland Physique!”

No one knew who recognized Li Ruoyu’s Dao Manifestation, but a shout of alarm rang out. The phrase, “All who witness the Remnant Wasteland must bow,” echoed in many minds.

At last, just as Li Ruoyu was about to pierce Su Qingyi with a single punch, Gu Tianyi threw himself in front of her. The blow meant for Su Qingyi instead went straight through Gu Tianyi’s chest. Black snow began falling faster from Li Ruoyu’s Dao Manifestation, as if mourning Gu Tianyi’s death. Gu Tianyi turned to glance at Su Qingyi, his eyes filled with unspoken words, but in the end, only the phrase “Run!” thundered in her mind, shaking her to the core. Taking advantage of the reprieve, Su Qingyi broke free from the encirclement, her gaze locked on Li Ruoyu, hatred flashing in her eyes as she fled into the distance.

Seeing Su Qingyi escape, Li Ruoyu set his sights on Yan Shangying, the Second Prince of Yan. He had heard from Wang Bo that Yan Shangying had once tried to hunt him down. Now, with such a prime opportunity, Li Ruoyu resolved to avenge Fat Dun and cut off Yan Shangying’s future. Channeling the Fist Across Ages, he attacked Yan Shangying relentlessly, the fist’s dazzling brilliance imbued with the power of time, battering against the Dao Manifestation of the Primordial Sky Dragon.

Blow after blow rained down, forcing Yan Shangying back, making him cough blood repeatedly. The Primordial Sky Dragon was corroded by the power of time from Li Ruoyu’s Dao Manifestation, growing dim and dull. His black clothes, soaked with blood, turned a deep red, making for a tragic sight.

Just as Li Ruoyu was about to deal the killing blow, a man appeared before Yan Shangying—it was his servant. “Your Highness, run! The Remnant Wasteland Physique is nearly invincible at this level!” the servant cried out.

Prepared for this, Li Ruoyu, having learned from Su Qingyi’s escape, instantly struck down the servant and lunged at Yan Shangying. Gravely wounded, Yan Shangying could not withstand the Fist Across Ages and fell upon the yellow sands, his blood soaking into the earth.

“The Second Prince is dead. If we don’t kill him, none of us will survive! Attack!” shouted one of Yan Shangying’s servants. They all charged at Li Ruoyu with suicidal ferocity, but it was futile. In the Dao Physique realm, all special constitutions had the advantage, and now, as the boundary between the mortal and the immortal began to emerge, even Su Qingyi, with her Supreme Yin Physique, had nearly died at Li Ruoyu’s hand. Yan Shangying’s servants stood no chance. Before they could even approach the tombstone, their bodies withered under the black snow, hair turning white, and were reduced to skeletons, their remains scattered on the sand.

After withstanding the group’s attacks, Li Ruoyu spat out a mouthful of blood. “He can’t hold out much longer!” shouted Shi Sansheng, the Holy Son of the Trifold Life Sect.

Li Ruoyu turned his gaze to Shi Sansheng, old and new grudges boiling over. He marked him as his next target and charged.

“One Fist Across Ages!”

The Fist Across Ages thundered toward Shi Sansheng. Li Ruoyu followed up, unleashing his Dao Manifestation to counteract Shi Sansheng’s “True Sun Illuminates the Nine Heavens,” while simultaneously eroding his body. The power of time wore away the supreme yang energy emanating from his form.

Again and again, the Fist Across Ages pummeled Shi Sansheng’s body. He coughed blood, his eyes filled with unwillingness. Who was he, after all? The new generation’s Holy Son of the Trifold Life Sect, yet today he was being struck down by a junior—precisely the fate he had so often dealt to others. Only when Li Ruoyu’s punch pierced his chest did Shi Sansheng realize this youth showed not the slightest hint of weakness. As he met Li Ruoyu’s gaze, he saw in those eyes both resignation and terror.

At the very moment Shi Sansheng fell, a wooden sword, unstoppable in its momentum, tore through the black snow and stabbed toward Li Ruoyu.

“A killing weapon,” Li Ruoyu muttered, his expression turning grave at the sight of the green wooden sword. He brandished the Great Soul Banner, thrusting it forward with deceptive simplicity to block the charging sword. Seeing the person wielding it—a member of the Meng family—Li Ruoyu’s eyes flashed with menace, and he advanced, Great Soul Banner in hand.

“Hand over the Extreme Cold Ice Marrow, or I’ll have to act in earnest,” Meng Ningsi declared, her sword leveled at the oncoming Li Ruoyu.

“Die,” Li Ruoyu replied coldly. Before the Soul Banner could reach her, his Dao Manifestation arrived first. Yet Meng Ningsi, holding the wooden sword, was untouched by the black snow. In ancient times, there was a tree named the Great Chūn, which counted eight thousand years for a spring and eight thousand for an autumn. Meng Ningsi’s sword was crafted from a branch of this tree, imbued with the power of time, and so could resist the temporal force of Li Ruoyu’s Dao Manifestation.

The Great Soul Banner struck at Meng Ningsi, and though the Great Chūn Wooden Sword blocked its force, it could not withstand the power of Dao that Li Ruoyu wielded. Meng Ningsi’s mind was drawn into his Dao. In her moment of distraction, Li Ruoyu unleashed the Fist Across Ages again, suppressing her with its overwhelming might.

Meng Ningsi stood firm, her refined face and gentle cheeks reminiscent of a maiden awaiting marriage, exuding both intelligence and elegance. Yet now she was instantly wounded by Li Ruoyu’s strike. At the critical moment, the Great Chūn Wooden Sword shielded her from further harm—a true treasure protecting its master.

Freed from the Dao’s pull by her sword’s intervention, Meng Ningsi looked toward Li Ruoyu. Though in poor condition, she remained calm and steady as a pine. “Remnant Wasteland Physique, I’ll remember this blow. One day, we will settle this.”

“Why wait for another day? Since you’re here, you might as well stay!” Li Ruoyu unleashed his full power. Meng Ningsi, relying on the Great Chūn Wooden Sword, sought to kill and seize treasures, but Li Ruoyu equally coveted her sword. The Fist Across Ages continued without pause, striking at all around him as he pursued Meng Ningsi.

“He’s not injured—we’ve been tricked! Run!” someone shouted in panic, seeing Li Ruoyu’s surging divine power. Indeed, Li Ruoyu had not been hurt; his earlier blood was a ruse, a trap to lure the leaders of the group so that he could kill them before they fled. Shi Sansheng had realized this at the last moment, which explained the resignation and terror in his eyes before death.

Fist Across Ages opened a path, separating Li Ruoyu from the others as he chased after Meng Ningsi. “Miss, run! We’ll hold him off!” called over twenty of her servants, throwing themselves at Li Ruoyu with suicidal secret techniques.

“The world knows loyal bones—let me honor your loyalty,” Li Ruoyu declared, his Dao Manifestation enveloping the servants and others nearby. Like a tiger among sheep, he swept through them like a desert wind laden with sand—wherever it passed, all turned to ash. Those caught within his Dao Manifestation withered like dead wood, reduced to dust. Only a handful managed to escape—such as Dao Feiyan, the senior brother of the Supreme Unity Sect, and the leaders of the Dream Sect, Corpse Sect, Lifeless Gate, and Demon Sect of Zhao—while Li Ruoyu slaughtered the rest like a meat grinder, driving some to utter collapse. “All who witness the Remnant Wasteland must bow!” someone screamed.

In a flash, Li Ruoyu caught up to Meng Ningsi. The bone sword flew from its box, and he seized it, attacking Meng Ningsi, who met his strike with her Great Chūn Wooden Sword.

Explosive cracks rang out as wood and bone clashed. Li Ruoyu infused the bone sword with wasteland energy. This sword, sharing the same origin as Li Ruoyu himself, now unleashed its true power.

“Cleave the Years!”

Seeing herself falter, Meng Ningsi unleashed a secret technique—Cleave the Years. It severed spring and autumn, cutting through time itself. She struck at Li Ruoyu, who, newly ascended to the Dao Physique realm and yet to master any secret techniques, relied on the power of his Dao Manifestation and wasteland energy. Infusing these into the bone sword, he summoned an aura that seemed to span the river of time. The bone sword, like a great abyss, transformed from white to jet black, meeting Cleave the Years head-on. Yellow sand erupted, scattering in all directions. Li Ruoyu pressed his attack, determined to kill Meng Ningsi and seize her killing weapon.

Fierceness flashed in Meng Ningsi’s eyes as she revealed her Dao Manifestation for the first time—a gray lotus appeared behind her, swaying in the wind, its roots anchored in primordial chaos.

“A Single Lotus of Chaos.”

Li Ruoyu was taken aback. Legend spoke of a lotus in chaos that could nurture entire worlds. No wonder her family had bestowed such a treasure upon her. Wrapped around the Great Chūn Wooden Sword, the lotus bathed it in chaotic light, and Meng Ningsi charged at Li Ruoyu. He parried with the bone sword, while summoning the black snow from his Dao Manifestation to his hand. Slowly, the black snow condensed into a four-foot-long black ice vine. With his right hand wielding the bone sword and his left gripping the ice vine, Li Ruoyu lashed out at Meng Ningsi.

In her hand, chaos energy surged as she caught the ice vine blow with her bare hand.

“Chaos Lotus Physique.”

The Chaos Lotus Physique, born with mastery over primal chaos, wielded a power unlike any other—one of the very few forces capable of resisting the power of time.

Li Ruoyu had anticipated this, and was not too surprised, having already guessed as much from the Single Lotus of Chaos.