Black Piece and White Piece

By now, most of Futu Yijing's physical body had been rebuilt. He raised his head to watch the ninth bolt of lightning gathering power overhead.

Even after enduring eight bolts, Futu Yijing's eyelids still twitched involuntarily at the sight of the ninth.

The eighth bolt had nearly pierced the Light Wall. The power of this ninth bolt needed no imagining.

Within the Thunder Domain above the black clouds, countless bolts converged. Their terrifying power cracked open the space of the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum, yet even after reaching such a fearsome level, the lightning continued to gather strength.

Even the Heavenly Emperor, once a Late Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign, could not help feeling his heart pound at the sight of the lightning still building its power.

"Has this brat provoked heaven's jealousy?"

Futu Yijing stood beneath the black clouds. Even the radiance of the Endless Light Body had dimmed.

He was not someone who would sit and wait for death. Since the Heavenly Sovereign Tribulation was still gathering strength, he seized the opportunity to rebuild his body as quickly as possible. His True Dragon Bloodline seethed, and the remaining portions of his body were restored at an astonishing speed.

Within the black clouds, thunder shook the heavens and pierced his eardrums. Endless lightning gathered, forming all manner of spectral shapes!

These shapes resembled strange and wondrous divine beasts, while humanoid silhouettes also surged among them.

A bolt of purple lightning struck down like a roaming dragon!

Several yards thick, this divine bolt slammed into the Endless Light Body with unstoppable force. It pierced the Light Wall and drove straight toward Futu Yijing.

His strongest defense offered no resistance at all against this lightning's deadly assault!

Terrifying energy flooded Futu Yijing's organs, meridians, and blood vessels, rampaging through them like ten thousand wild horses.

In an instant, Futu Yijing's skin split and his flesh tore. Countless blood vessels burst, staining his clothes with blood and leaving scarcely an inch of him unscathed.

Although Futu Yijing appeared grievously wounded, his aura had reached its absolute peak!

At that moment, all the energy within Futu Yijing erupted. The power of his blood and vitality rose like billowing beacon smoke, charging straight into the heavens. Even from afar, his life force could be seen blazing like an undying torch, too brilliant to look upon!

His aura climbed sharply, then climbed again, until it reached an unprecedented summit!

He gritted his teeth and gripped the Long Spear.

"True Dragon Precious Technique-Black Dragon Severs the Firmament!" Futu Yijing roared.

As though sharing Futu Yijing's emotions, the black dragon surged out with an enraged roar, its enormous body colliding with the lightning.

The energy spilling from their collision shattered the space of the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum, scattering spatial fragments everywhere.

Even the stray energy could pierce space. The terror of the energy at the heart of their collision was easy to imagine.

Even the black dragon could not withstand this bolt. Futu Yijing could only pour in more spiritual energy. His True Dragon Bloodline boiled, and scales emerged in several places on his newly rebuilt body, while his black eyes turned into golden, slit-pupiled eyes.

Their clash lasted only an instant. The lightning pierced the black dragon and shattered Futu Yijing's body.

Then the tribulation clouds dispersed. Above the Heavenly River, a charred-black figure hung in midair, his fate unknown.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The Heavenly Emperor's heart was already in his throat. Never had he expected the ninth tribulation bolt to be so terrifying.

Crack, crack, crack!

Amid faint cracking sounds, layers of fissures appeared across Futu Yijing's body. Charcoal-black flesh peeled away, revealing skin as clear and lustrous as jade.

Futu Yijing opened his eyes. In that instant, they seemed to hold the reflection of the Great Thousand World.

He lowered his head slightly and examined his body. It shone with a jade-like luster, truly free of all filth and impurities, pure to the utmost, for his flesh and spiritual energy had now completely fused.

From this day onward, even if his body were forcibly destroyed, as long as spiritual energy remained between heaven and earth, he could rebuild it with a single thought. He was truly like an undying, indestructible being.

He had become a Heavenly Sovereign!

The Heavenly Emperor emerged from the Human Emperor Seal, unable to conceal the delight in his eyes.

Futu Yijing was his successor and could also be considered his disciple. How could he, as the teacher, not rejoice when his disciple grew stronger?

"Next comes cultivating One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones," the Heavenly Emperor said with a smile.

Futu Yijing nodded in agreement.

Then he slowly raised his hands and formed a seal that radiated an ancient air.

Hum!

As the seal took shape, a wondrous sound seemed to ring out between heaven and earth, spreading outward.

"One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, Sever the Self, See the Truth!"

"Self-Severing Blade!"

The murmured words slowly left Futu Yijing's lips, carrying an inexplicable resonance. Then a streak of spiritual light suddenly burst from the crown of his head. The light churned before him, faintly taking the shape of an illusory blade.

The blade of light was extraordinarily mysterious. It clearly existed, yet felt illusory and ethereal, as though it could never be touched and was merely a figment of imagination.

"Sever!"

He raised his head to gaze at the seemingly illusory blade, then formed a seal with one hand. His thunderous shout rang out.

Hum!

The illusory blade trembled slightly, then tilted downward. With its edge aimed at Futu Yijing, it sliced through the void and, without the slightest hesitation, cleaved heavily toward the crown of his head.

Swish!

The illusory blade struck the crown of Futu Yijing's head in an instant. Then, like a phantom, it sank straight through the top of his skull.

The blade passed clean through Futu Yijing's body.

As the blade emerged from his body, it drew out a streak of blood-red light. That bloody light hovered to Futu Yijing's right, writhing continuously and giving off strange fluctuations.

The moment the blade struck him, Futu Yijing vaguely sensed something being separated from his body. It felt like flesh and blood, yet also like his soul.

But that separation caused him no harm. Something within him had merely moved outside.

"Sever again!"

He threw back his head and roared once more!

Swish!

The illusory blade descended again, passing through his body a second time. As it left Futu Yijing's body, another mass of bloody light separated from within him.

After those two strokes, the illusory blade silently shattered into fragments of spiritual light that drifted down. Futu Yijing turned his head and stared unblinkingly at the two masses of bloody light beside him.

The bloody light continued to writhe, gradually transforming into two equally slender figures.

One figure wore black battle armor, while the other wore white battle armor. Both had faces identical to Futu Yijing's.

More importantly, their bodies radiated the same aura and powerful spiritual energy as Futu Yijing's.

Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereigns!

"Greetings, original," the two clones said to Futu Yijing with smiles.

Futu Yijing nodded. "From now on, I'll call you Black Piece, and you White Piece."

"We were separated from you in the first place. Call us whatever you wish." Black Piece and White Piece exchanged a glance and spoke with smiles.