Li Tian walked toward Ling'er step by step.
With every step he took, a shallow dent was left in the stone bricks. The Gold-Patterned Restriction around the dents flickered erratically, continually giving off the crackling sound of tiny flashes.
He did not walk quickly, but along the path he had traveled lay a string of heavy footprints, evenly and precisely spaced, as though measured with a ruler.
Ling'er watched him draw closer, one step at a time.
She felt a crushing pressure. It was not killing intent, nor was it an aura. It was pure physical weight.
With every step Li Tian took closer, the space around Ling'er was compressed a fraction more.
The air grew denser, the flow of Saintly Breath slowed, and even light bent faintly as it passed by him.
"This power of yours..."
Ling'er spoke, and at last, her voice carried a trace of genuine seriousness.
"You have compressed the Force Law entirely into your own body."
"Right now, your entire body is a mass of power compressed to the very limit."
"If you touch me, what I withstand will not be the impact of your physical body, but the collision of the entire Dao of Strength."
"If I am struck head-on by this power of yours..."
"You will shatter."
Li Tian took over her words.
His voice became steady and certain, carrying the exhilaration of someone who had finally found the right method.
"You will shatter outright."
"Not split in two—you will be crushed into powder."
"But I have a problem now."
He stopped three zhang away from Ling'er and held the axe horizontally before his chest.
"Now that I've drawn all the power back into myself, I can't send out my axe light anymore."
"I have to truly strike you with the axe itself