As Shichen's words fell, green light surged around him.
The River of Time rushed forth beneath his feet. He stood upon its surface, hair flying, as though he had become one with the entire river.
Pangu saw this and, far from afraid, broke into a grin.
"Good! Now you're worthy of being my opponent!"
He raised the Pangu Axe. The Law of Strength gathered along its blade as a tangible radiance. One glance at that light was enough to make a person feel as though their very soul would be crushed.
Shichen struck first.
Time Roulette appeared behind him. Its hands began ticking backward, and the power of time silently seeped toward Pangu.
Once that power took hold, it would drag its target into Time Turbulence and send him back to his weakest moment.
"You think you can trap me with time?"
Pangu snorted. The Creation Jade Butterfly above his head suddenly lit up. It spun, scattering soft white light that enveloped him.
The power of time struck the white light as though it had hit an invisible wall, shattering and fading away.
"The Creation Jade Butterfly?" Shichen gritted his teeth. "Damn it."
"That's not all!"
With a roar, Pangu gripped his axe in both hands. The Law of Strength condensed along its blade to the utmost. He stepped forward, shaking all of Chaos, then brought the axe down.
There was no elaborate technique in that strike. Only pure strength.
A vast rift tore through Chaos Space in the wake of the axe light. Golden flames burned along its edges—the Law of Strength made manifest. That blow held enough power to split heaven from earth.
Shichen neither dodged nor retreated. With a sweep of his hand, he sent the River of Time surging against its current.
"I am time. Time Reversal!"
The river rushed back against the axe light. Under its relentless wash, the light began to dim, as though its strength were being drained away.
But Pangu's Law of Strength was too overbearing. Even weakened by the Law of Time, the axe light still reached Shichen.
Shichen shifted slightly. The axe light grazed his shoulder and swept past, cleaving a rift hundreds of millions of light-years long through Chaos Space behind him.
"Quick on your feet." Pangu grinned and swung again.
This time, Shichen did not wait to defend.
Treading upon the River of Time, he darted through time and space, appearing left and right, ahead and behind. His movements were impossible to predict.
Pangu's axe light missed again and again, carving terrifying rifts through Chaos Space.
"Is dodging all you can do?" Pangu was growing impatient.
"What's the rush?" Shichen's voice came from every direction. "Let me show you the true power of the Law of Time."
He abruptly stopped and formed a hand seal.
"Eternal Time Imprisonment!"
The flow of time around Pangu suddenly fell into chaos.
Sometimes it raced like lightning; sometimes it crawled like a snail; sometimes it even reversed. Pangu felt his body turn light one moment and heavy the next, throwing his movements into disarray.
"What the hell is this?" Pangu frowned.
"Time Turbulence," Shichen said calmly. "You can't even control your own movements here. How will you fight?"
Pangu fell silent for a moment. Then he smiled.
"You think this can hold me?"
He closed his eyes, and the Law of Strength churned wildly within him.
"Dao of Strength—break!"
Pangu's eyes flew open, and he swung his axe.
He was not striking at Shichen, but at the Time Turbulence around him. Pure strength erupted, forcing the chaotic flow of time back to normal.
Surprise flashed through Shichen's eyes.
"He broke through Time Turbulence by force?"
"There's nothing one swing of an axe can't solve," Pangu said with a grin, resting the axe on his shoulder. "And if there is, I'll swing twice."
Shichen smiled too.
"Interesting. Then try this."
He raised a hand. The River of Time suddenly contracted, forming a long, slender green Light Blade. The Law of Time shimmered across it, and its aura made the heart tremble.
"Blade of Time."
Shichen swept his hand forward, sending the Light Blade flying.
Chaos Space silently split wherever it passed. Time raced through the space in its wake; in the blink of an eye, that space underwent the changes of tens of thousands of Chaos Eras.
Pangu's expression tightened. Gripping his axe with both hands, he gathered the Law of Strength into a golden glow along its blade.
"Slash of Force!"
Axe light and Light Blade collided with a thunderous crash.
For an instant, the entire Chaos World fell silent.
Then a terrifying storm of energy erupted. Chaos Origin qi surged out of control, like a lake struck by a massive boulder, raising waves that towered into the sky.
Space throughout the Chaos World shook violently, then broke apart in great swaths to reveal the black void beyond. The Law of Time fell into disorder, blurring the boundaries between past, present, and future.
The stars born only recently with the emergence of the Star Demon God shattered in the turbulence of time and space. Countless fragments drifted through Chaos.
"What the hell!"
The Star Demon God had only just recovered from the misery of having his Dao body smashed apart. At the sight, he nearly leaped up.
The demon gods watching from across Chaos paled and hurriedly invoked their own laws to shield their Domains of Dao.
"Those two have gone mad!"
"Stop fighting! Both of you, stop!"
"It's only a ranking! Are they trying to destroy the Chaos World?"
The Karma Demon God hid behind the Fate Demon God and stared toward the battlefield.
"Fate the Third, who do you think will win?"
The Fate Demon God shot him an irritated look. "Can you stop calling me Fate the Third?"
"Of course, Fate the Fourth. So who'll win?"
"...Get lost."
At the center of the battlefield, Pangu and Shichen faced each other.
The space around them had shattered completely, and time was in utter disarray. Yet neither backed down. The fighting spirit in their eyes only burned brighter.
"Hahaha! Now that was a fight!" Pangu laughed. "Just what I'd expect from you, Shichen! Let's settle this in one blow!"
A smile touched Shichen's lips. "Exactly what I had in mind."
Both closed their eyes, and the power of their Daos soared.
Around Pangu, the Law of Strength condensed into a tangible golden radiance. It grew brighter and brighter, blazing like a golden sun. He gripped his axe with both hands, its blade shining so fiercely it was painful to look at.
Around Shichen, the River of Time surged without end. Waves crashed, each crest carrying the power of the Law of Time. Standing on the river's surface, he formed a hand seal.
Pangu threw back his head and roared, his voice shaking Chaos. "One Force Breaks Ten Thousand Daos!"
He gripped the axe in both hands and swung it forward with all his might.
That blow contained every ounce of his strength. Chaos Space was utterly annihilated in the path of the axe light, and even the Chaos Origin qi evaporated. It was pure power—power enough to destroy everything.
At the same moment, Shichen struck.
"Time bears space, and space bears time. Space-Time Slash!"
The River of Time surged forth, a trace of silvery-white light appearing on its surface. It was the power of the Law of Space—faint, but unmistakably real.
Across countless Chaos Eras, Shichen had often sought out Yang Mei to discuss their Daos and study the Law of Space. Though he had not fully mastered it, he had grasped a trace of its essence. Now he wove that trace into the Law of Time.
The River of Time heaved. A wave rose, carrying that trace of the Law of Space, and transformed into a Light Blade of interwoven green and white.
The Light Blade swept forth, warping both time and space in its path.
Far away, beneath the Willow Tree.
Yang Mei's hand paused around his wine cup. Surprise flashed through his eyes before he shook his head and laughed.
"Shichen, you sly bastard." He shook his head with a quiet chuckle. "I knew all those visits weren't just to see me."
The two supreme attacks collided with a thunderous crash.
In that instant, dazzling light engulfed the entire Chaos World.
Every demon god instinctively shut their eyes. Only a handful managed to keep theirs open, desperate to see what was happening on the battlefield.
The light lingered for a long time.
When it finally faded, every demon god held their breath and looked toward the center of the battlefield.
At last, they would learn who was the foremost demon god.
Before you continue