Not because he was afraid.
But because—enough was enough.
"You were right about one thing."
Chen Changqing spoke, his voice calm.
"For someone in the Tribulation Crossing stage to withstand the power of a Half-step Heavenly Monarch is indeed remarkable."
"Unfortunately—"
He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers.
Sword Realm, open!
Buzzz—
The world power that had previously leaked out only a trace now unfurled in full.
With Chen Changqing at its center, the void within a hundred miles became his territory in that instant.
Within this world, he was the sole law.
The golden sphere of energy Feng Yu had poured everything into began to slow sharply the instant it entered the Sword Realm.
From charging forward at breakneck speed, to creeping ahead, to... stillness.
It simply hovered in midair, utterly motionless.
Feng Yu's eyes widened.
"H-how is this possible..."
"A full-force strike from a Half-step Heavenly Monarch... just stopped like that?"
Chen Changqing flicked a finger.
The golden energy sphere burst silently like a soap bubble. Its violent energy was instantly broken down by the laws of the Sword Realm, turning into countless tiny motes of light that drifted away through the void.
It was quite beautiful, like a shower of golden snow.
But to Feng Yu, that snow chilled him to the bone.
The borrowed power within him was completely exhausted the moment that energy sphere shattered.
His cultivation plummeted.
Half-step Heavenly Monarch, True Lord, Half-step True Lord, Tribulation Crossing Peak Stage...
In the end, because his severe injuries had yet to heal and he had forcibly pushed himself beyond his limits, his cultivation even fell below the Tribulation Crossing Mid Stage.
More than half the meridians throughout his body had shattered. Blood poured from his seven orifices, and he could barely remain standing.
Chen