I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

Lin Qing'er tried to help him up, but another bolt of lightning struck. Qin Yuan pushed her away and took the hit himself. The lightning exploded on his skin, scorching his clothes and leaving black char marks. His hair stood on end, and he tasted metal in his mouth.

The dark clouds parted, and a bald, burly man emerged. He was two zhang tall, with bulging muscles all over his body, and bronze skin with lightning-shaped markings. His eyes were white, without pupils, and electric light flickered in their sockets.

Chaotic Thunder.

"The third level of the primordial chaos?" He glanced at Qin Yuan, then looked in the direction of Chaos Fire City and Chaos Ice City. "Those two pieces of trash can't even beat the third level?"

He waved his hand. Dozens of bolts of lightning struck simultaneously, like an electric net enveloping Qin Yuan. Qin Yuan used his protective Heavenly Dao to shield Lin Qing'er, exposing himself to the lightning. The lightning exploded on his body, his clothes shredded into strips, and his skin suffered extensive burns, exposing the muscles beneath in some places. He gritted his teeth, remaining silent.

Chaos Thunder laughed loudly. "You can withstand thirty percent of my power, not bad. Let's try fifty percent."

He clasped his hands together, then separated them. A ball of lightning condensed between his palms, growing larger and larger, from the size of a fist to the size of a head to the size of a cartwheel. The color of the lightning ball changed from white to blue, then from blue to purple. There was a smell of ozone in the air, and Qin Yuan's hair stood on end.

The lightning ball crashed down. Qin Yuan didn't dodge. He gripped his sword with both hands, channeling the power of the Heavenly Dao into its blade. The golden light shone faintly amidst the lightning, but it didn't extinguish.

The sword collided with the lightning ball. The explosion was deafening, and a crater was blasted into the void beneath Qin Yuan's feet. He was blasted away, crashing to the ground and rolling several times before coming to a stop. The Xing Tian Sword was stuck in the ground, its blade trembling. His mouth was full of blood, his ears were ringing, and his vision was blurred.

Lin Qing'er ran over, knelt beside him, placed her hand on his chest, and channeled her spiritual energy into his body. The wound was healing, but very slowly.

Chaos Lightning approached, each step accompanied by a thunderous roar. "Can you still stand?"

Qin Yuan pushed Lin Qing'er's hand away and stood up. He drew the Xingtian Sword; several more cracks had appeared on the blade, but it hadn't broken.

He looked up at Chaos Thunder. Chaos Thunder stood before him, two heads taller. His shadow loomed over Qin Yuan.

"Seven paths," Qin Yuan said.

Chaos Thunder frowned. "What Seven Paths?"

"Your heavenly lightning weakens after every seven strikes," Qin Yuan said. "I've counted them."

Chaos Thunder's expression changed.

Qin Yuan gave him no time to react. He charged towards the Chaos Lightning, not in a straight line, but in a zigzag pattern. The Chaos Lightning waved its hand, and bolts of lightning struck down one after another, each time Qin Yuan narrowly dodging them—not by speed, but by anticipation. He knew where the lightning would strike, because the first six bolts had already shown him the pattern.

After the sixth bolt of heavenly lightning struck, Qin Yuan was already in front of Chaos Lightning. Chaos Lightning's hands were still gathering the seventh bolt of heavenly lightning, but the thunderclouds weakened in that instant, and his aura also weakened for a moment.

Qin Yuan's sword pierced the chest of Chaos Thunder.

Chaos Thunder looked down at the sword piercing his body, then at Qin Yuan. For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes. "You... how did you know..."

"I told you, I counted them."

Qin Yuan drew his sword. Chaos Thunder knelt down, his knees slamming into the ground with a dull thud. His body began to shatter, the lightning patterns extinguishing one by one, his skin changing from bronze to gray, then from gray to black.

The Chaos Lightning Crystal emerged. It was larger than the previous two, purple, and its surface crackled with electric light.

Qin Yuan grasped it and absorbed it. His cultivation level rose from the third level of the Chaos Opening Realm to the fifth level. Lin Qing'er rose from the ninth level of the Void Sovereign Realm to the Supreme Void Realm. The change in her aura caused fluctuations in the chaotic energy, like a stone thrown into water.

The Chaotic Thunder City collapsed. The dark clouds dispersed, the lightning vanished, and the city walls shattered. Fragments fell and sank into the depths of chaos.

Qin Yuan was covered in charred soot, most of his hair was singed, and his face was covered in black ash. Lin Qing'er used her spiritual power to heal him, and the charred skin peeled off in patches, revealing new pink skin. The new skin was very tender, and even the wind hurt, but Qin Yuan didn't frown.

He stood up and looked towards the distant east.

"How much further?" Lin Qing'er asked.

"I don't know," Qin Yuan said, "but it shouldn't be far off."

Deep within the abyss of chaos lies a black palace.

The palace had no walls, no guards, just a solitary building situated at the center of chaotic energy. The palace walls were black, not painted black, but rather the color remaining after absorbing all light. There were no windows, only one door, which was open.

Chaos Heaven sat in the palace. Before him was a stone table with a lamp on it. The lamp was made of bronze, its wick burning, and the flame was golden, the same color as Qin Yuan's guardianship of the Heavenly Dao.

He sensed the fall of the three cities, the death of the three elders. He felt no anger, no sorrow, but simply opened his eyes. Golden eyes, like two lamps.

"Useless," he muttered.

He stood up. He was about the same height as an average person, wearing a long black robe, and his black hair flowed over his shoulders. His face was ordinary; he wouldn't have attracted much attention in a crowd. But his hands were extraordinary. There was a scar on the back of his hand, running from the base of his index finger to his wrist. The scar was white, like a centipede.

"East, South, West, North," he said to the empty palace.

Four dark figures emerged from the four corners of the palace. They knelt before Chaos Heaven, heads bowed.

"Go," said Chaos Heaven, "bring those two back. Dead or alive, it doesn't matter."

The four dark figures disappeared.

Qin Yuan and Lin Qing'er were flying. Qin Yuan's body hadn't fully recovered; his new skin was very sensitive, and the chaotic energy blowing against it felt like needles. He didn't say anything, and Lin Qing'er didn't ask. She simply flew beside him, glancing at him occasionally.

Four dark figures appeared simultaneously. One in the east, one in the south, one in the west, and one in the north. Four people, four different weapons—a sword, a spear, a halberd, and an axe. Their cultivation levels were all at the eighth level of the Chaos Opening Realm, three levels higher than Qin Yuan's.

The Eastern Protector wielded a sword with a jet-black blade and blood grooves on the edge. The Western Protector held a spear with a silver tip and runes engraved on the shaft. The Southern Protector carried a halberd with a broad blade, resembling a horizontal axe. The Northern Protector wielded an axe with a massive blade, larger than his entire body.

The four remained silent. They formed a battle formation, trapping Qin Yuan and Lin Qing'er in the center. The formation wasn't a simple encirclement; rather, the four individuals' auras were interconnected, forming a closed loop. Attacking one would trigger simultaneous support from the other three; defending one would share the burden with the other three.

Qin Yuan tried to rush southeast, but the Eastern and Southern Protectors attacked simultaneously, their swords and halberds blocking his path. He parried with his sword, but the combined force of the swords and halberds sent him crashing back to his original position.

The Northern Protector's axe came down from behind him. Qin Yuan dodged to the side, the blade grazing his shoulder and slicing off a layer of new skin. Blood gushed out, and Lin Qing'er bit her lip.