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

The Western Protector's spear thrust towards Lin Qing'er. Qin Yuan had no time to defend and could only shield her with his body. The spear tip pierced his left arm, going through it and protruding from the other side. He groaned and swung his sword with his right hand, severing the spear shaft. The Western Protector abandoned his spear and retreated, but the Eastern Protector's blade arrived next.

Qin Yuan pulled the spear tip from his left arm, blood spurting out and splashing onto Lin Qing'er's face. She didn't wipe it away, her eyes fixed on the four guardians.

Qin Yuan took a blow from the Eastern Protector, the blade slashing his left shoulder and lodging in the bone. He gripped the blade with his left hand, preventing the Eastern Protector from pulling it out, while his right hand slashed at the Southern Protector's halberd. The halberd shaft snapped, the Southern Protector retreated, and a gap appeared in the battle formation.

Qin Yuan seized this opening and pierced the Northern Protector's chest with his sword. The Northern Protector's axe fell, striking his own foot, but he could no longer feel it. Qin Yuan pulled out his sword, and the Northern Protector's corpse fell, sinking into the depths of chaos.

The battle formation collapsed. The remaining three men's attacks were no longer coordinated. The Eastern Protector tried to retreat, but Qin Yuan pursued him, severing his sword with one strike and his hand with another. The Western Protector picked up a broken spear shaft to use as a short stick, but Qin Yuan kicked him in the knee, breaking it, and pressed his sword tip against his throat. The Southern Protector turned and ran, but Qin Yuan's sword flew from his hand and pierced his heart from behind.

The three bodies fell one after another.

Qin Yuan knelt on one knee in the void, his left arm still bleeding, and the Eastern Protector's knife embedded in his left shoulder. Lin Qing'er ran over, grabbed the hilt with both hands, and pulled it out forcefully. Blood spurted out, and she pressed her hand against the wound, spiritual energy surging into it from her palm, and the wound began to heal.

Qin Yuan, panting heavily, raised his head.

The chaotic energy in the distance began to surge, as if something was approaching. It wasn't a person, but an aura that pressed down, causing the chaotic energy to make way. The aura grew closer and stronger, and Qin Yuan felt his guardian Dao tremble, like a wild beast encountering its natural enemy.

A black shadow appeared in the field of vision. It was a person, dressed in a black robe, with black hair flowing down his shoulders, and a white scar on the back of his hand. His eyes were golden, like Qin Yuan's Guardian Dao, but colder and harder.

Chaotic Heaven.

Qin Yuan stood up and pushed Lin Qing'er's hand away. His left shoulder was still bleeding, and his left arm hung limply at his side, unable to move. He picked up the Xingtian Sword with his right hand; another crack had appeared on the blade.

Chaos Heaven stopped ten feet in front of him, looking at him.

"At the fifth level of the initial stage of Chaos," Chaos Heaven said. "You killed three elders at the fifth to seventh level of the initial stage of Chaos, and four protectors at the eighth level of the initial stage of Chaos. How did you do that?"

Qin Yuan remained silent.

Chaos Heaven waited a while, and seeing that he didn't intend to answer, nodded. "Never mind if you don't want to talk about it."

He raised his right hand, and the scars on the back of his hand appeared exceptionally white under the reflection of the chaotic energy.

"Let me tell you how much the difference is between the ninth level and the fifth level of the primordial chaos."

He waved his hand. It wasn't an attack, just a wave. But Qin Yuan felt the entire chaos pressing down on him, like the sky collapsing. He raised his sword to block, but the sword energy was crushed the moment it left the tip. The Xing Tian Sword flew out of his hand, and he himself flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the chaotic energy, bouncing back, crashing into it again, repeating this several times before finally stopping.

He lay in the void, his mouth full of blood, his ears deaf, and his eyes seeing only double images.

Chaos Heaven walked towards him, each step slow, like taking a stroll.

Lin Qing'er stood in front of Qin Yuan, drawing her sword. Her sword pointed at the chaotic sky; her hand trembled, but she did not back down.

Chaos Heaven glanced at her. "Void Supreme? You can't even withstand a single palm strike from me."

He raised his hand, but didn't swing it. Because he saw Qin Yuan stand up behind Lin Qing'er.

Qin Yuan's left arm was still bleeding, and the wound on his left shoulder had reopened. He swayed as he stood up, but didn't fall. He picked up the Xingtian Sword; the blade was broken in half, leaving only one piece.

"You can still stand?" Chaos Heaven said. "Interesting."

Qin Yuan remained silent. He pulled Lin Qing'er behind him, shielding her with his own body. His right hand gripped the broken sword, its tip pointing towards the Chaos Heaven.

Chaos Heaven glanced at him, then at Lin Qing'er behind him.

"You can't beat me with her," Chaos Heaven said. "Put her down, and you might still have a chance to survive."

Qin Yuan did not move.

Chaos Heaven sighed. "What a pity."

He raised his hand. This time, not with a flick, but by clenching his fist and then opening it. Chaotic energy condensed in his palm, forming a black sphere. Inside the sphere, lightning danced, flames burned, and ice solidified. The three forces coexisted within the same sphere, tearing at each other and devouring one another.

Qin Yuan looked at the sphere and knew he couldn't catch it.

But he did not back down.

He turned and glanced at Lin Qing'er. Her face was covered in tears and blood, indistinguishable between his and her own.

"Don't be afraid," he said.

Then he turned back, faced the chaotic sky, and raised the broken sword.

Qin Yuan's broken sword pointed towards the chaotic sky. The blade was only half a foot long, with jagged edges, as if it had been gnawed by a wild beast. Blood was still seeping from his left shoulder, flowing down his arm to his fingertips, dripping into the void, and being swallowed by the chaotic energy.

Chaos Heaven gazed at the broken sword, offering no mockery. He slowly raised his right hand, the white scar on the back of his hand standing out starkly against the greyish-black chaotic energy. In his palm, a black sphere was coalescing. Within the sphere, three forces tore at each other—red flames, blue ice crystals, and purple lightning. They were incompatible, yet forcibly pressed together in Chaos Heaven's palm, like three wild beasts confined in the same cage.

"You've seen this before," Chaos Heaven said. "When you killed my three elders, the flames came from Chaos Fire, the ice from Chaos Ice, and the lightning from Chaos Lightning. Their power originally originated from me."

Qin Yuan did not answer. He pushed Lin Qing'er back again and gripped the broken sword tightly with his left hand.

Chaos Heaven launched the sphere. Its speed was slow, like a bubble drifting gently in the air. But Qin Yuan knew he couldn't dodge it—not because it was fast, but because it was constantly expanding, constantly occupying more space as it moved. It wasn't chasing him, but rather the space around him was shrinking, squeezing him, and pushing him towards the sphere.

Qin Yuan poured all the remaining Heavenly Dao energy he possessed into the broken sword. A faint golden light shone on the blade, like a candle about to go out. He swung the sword, slashing at the sphere.

The sword energy was crushed less than three feet from the tip. The last few fragments of the broken sword's blade flew off, leaving only the hilt. The sphere struck Qin Yuan's chest, but instead of exploding, it burst open like a water balloon. Flames, ice crystals, and lightning were released simultaneously, the three forces exploding within him.

Qin Yuan was sent flying. He tumbled countless times in the void, crashing into a mass of chaotic energy, only to be bounced back and then crashing into another. Blood gushed from his mouth, nose, and ears, scattering in the void like red flowers. When he finally stopped, his body was covered in wounds. The wound on his left shoulder had widened, revealing the white bone. His right shinbone was broken, and his leg was bent at an impossible angle. His face was covered in blood, and his eyes were swollen shut, barely open.