Apostle

Three days.

Uchiha Kei was gone for three whole days.

There was no rest, no food, no sleep.

Just keep walking.

Heading north.

Towards that mountain.

Three days ago, he killed Ōtsutsuki Isshiki strike, using up the power of 537 worlds.

Jiang Hao's obsession, that obsession that transcended 379 failures, has completely dissipated.

He was left all alone.

And that tear in my palm— A-Yi's tear.

It no longer shines; it has turned grayish, like an ordinary pebble.

But Uchiha Kei knew it was still alive.

She was just asleep.

Just like A-Yi said, she was tired.

"Sleep a little longer," Uchiha Kei said softly. "I'll wake you up after I find Jiang Hao."

He huddled his tears in his arms and looked up.

That mountain is right in front of us.

Not high.

Approximately one kilometer.

But it gives the impression of a barrier that stretches across the sky and the earth.

The mountain was pitch black, its surface smooth as a mirror, devoid of any vegetation or signs of life.

It was like a huge, black stone monument that had fallen from the sky.

The World's End.

This is where Jiang Hao's refuge is located.

Uchiha Kei took a breath and stepped forward.

He took one step, then stopped.

Because there was a person standing at the foot of the mountain.

A woman.

Dressed in white, with hair as black as a waterfall, she possessed an exquisitely beautiful face and an icy demeanor.

She stood there quietly, like an ice sculpture.

But those eyes were fixed on Uchiha Kei.

"They're here," she said.

The sound was very soft, like the wind blowing across ice.

Uchiha Kei didn't reply, she just looked at her.

He could sense the power contained within this woman.

Frozen Rules.

Pure, ultimate, and transcendent freezing rules that surpass even true immortals.

He's several levels stronger than that previous apostle named "Frost".

"You killed him," the woman said. "Isshiki."

"Yes," Uchiha Kei admitted.

"Very good."

The woman's lips curled slightly upward, revealing a cold smile.

"I've wanted to kill him for a long time."

"It's a pity I didn't have the chance."

She stepped forward, walking towards Uchiha Kei.

With each step, a thin layer of ice would freeze on the ground beneath their feet.

"My name is Frost," she said. "An apostle of the Old Gods, ranked seventh."

"The Isshiki was ranked ninth."

"He's dead, so I'll be promoted to eighth."

Uchiha Kei raised an eyebrow. "So, you've come to thank me?"

"Grateful?"

Shuang smiled.

His laughter was cold and calculating.

"No."

"I'm here to kill you."

"Kill you, and I can rise to sixth place."

As soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, a chilling aura emanated from behind Uchiha Kei.

He didn't turn around.

The Black Blade was drawn, and a backhand slash followed.

When--

The blade clashed with the ice, sending ice shards flying everywhere.

Frost's figure emerged from the ice shards, the ice blade in her hand already half-shattered.

She looked at Uchiha Kei with some surprise.

"You've become stronger."

"Three days ago, when you used your Isshiki, you didn't have this kind of reaction speed."

Uchiha Kei did not answer, but simply gripped his Black Blade tighter.

Three days ago, he used the power of 537 worlds.

Three days later, those forces had dissipated.

But he is still alive.

As long as you live, you will become stronger.

"Interesting."

Shuang stopped smiling and looked at him seriously.

"Then let me see just how much stronger you've become."

She Hand Seals, and the chill emanating from her body suddenly surged.

In an instant, everything within a radius of a hundred miles was frozen!

The sky, the earth, the ruins, even the air—all turned to ice!

Uchiha Kei was frozen inside an iceberg, completely motionless.

Frost walked to the iceberg and looked at him through the ice.

"The Rules of Freezing, Third Layer - Absolute Zero"

"At this temperature, even the soul would freeze."

"Can you still move?"

Uchiha Kei Yamanaka, was indeed unable to move.

It's not that I don't want to move, it's that I can't.

Because that chill had seeped into his body, freezing his meridians, blood, internal organs, and even his soul.

But...

He didn't panic.

Because in his palm, that dusty tear was slightly warm.

"You think you've won?"

Upon hearing this voice, Shuang's pupils contracted sharply.

That didn't come from the Yamanaka.

Instead, it comes from...

Behind her.

She turned around abruptly.

Uchiha Kei stood behind her, his Black Blade already raised.

"How is that possible!"

Frost looked at him in disbelief, then turned to look at Iceberg.

The "Uchiha Kei" within the Yamanaka is slowly melting.

It's not the ice that's melting, but "him" that's melting.

That is...

"An ice clone?" Frost asked.

"No," Uchiha Kei said, "It's Blade Intent."

He brandished his knife.

He slashed down with a single stroke.

Shuang tried to dodge, but found that she couldn't move her body.

It wasn't frozen, but rather... locked.

That slash targeted her soul.

"This is..."

"Third level of Blade Intent - Soul Lock."

Uchiha Kei's voice was calm.

"When you froze me with Absolute Zero, my Blade Intent had already entered your body."

"You think you've won."

Actually, you lost.

The blade's edge fell.

Frost's body instantly turned into ice shards and vanished in the wind.

A glittering shard drifted down from where she vanished.

Uchiha Kei reached out and caught it.

A faint light flowed within the fragments.

That is...

"Fragments of rules."

He muttered to himself.

It turns out that killing the apostles allows one to seize their power of rules.

He looked at the dark, colossal mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, ten people were still standing.

Ten apostles.

They've been watching this battle closely.

Watch it from beginning to end.

There was no intervention or action taken.

Just watching.

Now, Frost is dead.

They started to move.

Ten figures vanished from the spot simultaneously.

In the next instant, Uchiha Kei was surrounded.

Ten apostles, ten directions.

Ten beings who surpass true immortals.

The leader was a man dressed in red.

His body was engulfed in blazing flames.

The rules of burning the heavens.

"Interesting." The man in red laughed. "That stupid woman, Shuang, you actually managed to kill her."

"However, that's all for now."

He raised his hand, and flames condensed in his palm into a fiery red longsword.

"Let me introduce myself."

"My name is Yan, an apostle of the Old Gods, ranked fourth."

"Of these ten people, I am the strongest."

"So, I've come to kill you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the flaming longsword slashed down.

With a single slash, the heavens and earth changed color!

That flame was no ordinary fire.

It is a fire that burns the heavens.

It's a fire that can burn according to the rules!

Uchiha Kei's pupils contracted sharply.

He couldn't dodge that blow.

Only accepting.

He gripped the Black Blade tightly, unleashing the full power of the Three Worlds, and met the attack head-on with a single strike.

Boom--

Flames clashed with blade light.

The terrifying aftershocks of energy spread in all directions.

Uchiha Kei flying backward, crashing into the mountain and leaving a human-shaped dent.

Yan stood still, his flaming longsword already half-shattered.

He frowned as he looked at the broken sword in his hand, then glanced at Uchiha Kei inside the mountain.

"He's got something."

"He actually managed to withstand one of my blows."

He drew a second flaming longsword from his waist.

"And what about this cut?"

The second strike landed.

Stronger, faster, and hotter than the first strike.

Uchiha Kei burst out of the mountain and met the attack with another slash.

Boom--

It flew backwards again.

It crashed into the mountainside again.

This time it's deeper.

Yan sheathed his flaming longsword and looked at the mountain.

Inside the mountain, Uchiha Kei remained motionless.

"Dead?"

Yan raised an eyebrow.

Just then, a voice came from inside the mountain.

"No."

Uchiha Kei slowly stood up.