The Abyss Entrance

It pricked Chu Ming's skin like countless fine needles stabbing down at once, making his cheeks sting.

The sharp edge whipped his robe into a snapping flutter, pressing it tight against his body and outlining his form.

Chu Ming did not dodge.

He raised a hand.

The runes on the Order Armor began to circulate wildly.

Those runes surged from the armor's surface and gathered before him into a massive shield.

The shield was gray-gold, its surface flowing with countless runes of order. They spun at high speed, and with every rotation, the shield grew a fraction thicker.

The axe light slammed into the shield.

"BOOM!"

A heaven-shaking roar.

The blast made the entire dojo tremble.

The runes across the platform lit up in unison. Golden light poured from them, forming a protective film over the platform's surface to block the spreading shockwave. Yet even so, dozens of runes burst apart in an instant, turning into drifting motes of light.

The shield shuddered violently beneath the impact of the axe light.

The tremor traveled from the shield into Chu Ming's arm, from his arm to his shoulder, and from his shoulder through his entire body.

His bones emitted a dense series of soft crackles amid the shaking, as though an invisible hand had seized them and was violently rattling them.

But the shield held steady.

The runes of order spun frantically, shedding the axe light's power layer by layer and dispersing it across the shield's entire surface.

The shield's face was like a drumskin, vibrating violently under the blow, yet never tearing apart.

The axe light's force was weakening.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

The axe light dissipated. The shield still floated before Chu Ming, several fine cracks now running across its surface, but fresh runes swiftly filled them,