Outside the cave, a thunderous explosion shattered the silence, sand erupting in every direction as the ground split open with a deafening roar that rolled across the dunes.

From the billowing cloud of dust, a body rocketed skyward.

Qingyi, arms still trembling from the impact, tensed every muscle to absorb the shockwaves rattling through his bones.

His opponent stood at the peak of the Celestial Origin Realm, a monstrous adversary by any measure.

Qingyi, by contrast, had not yet pushed his cultivation to the peak of the Celestial Ascension Realm.

Between them lay a sixteen cultivation stages, not to mention a greater realm, almost two, separating them.

Even if that man possessed no bloodline, the difference in raw power would have remained staggering.

Yet not a trace of fear crossed Qingyi’s face.

If things turned truly dire, he could force his cultivation to the peak of the Celestial Ascension Realm in an instant, narrowing the gap between them into something far more manageable.

Letting out a cold sigh, he fixed his gaze on the dust cloud as it began to thin.

"Boy... boy... are you ready to die? Hehehe~"

The madman’s voice echoed across the scorched landscape, dripping with sadism, yet Qingyi did not hesitate for a single heartbeat.

Activating the Art of the Nine Spears of Celestial Fire, he loosed all nine spears toward the crater in rapid succession, each one screaming through the air like a comet trailing roaring flame.

At that very instant, his bloodline projection awakened.

A powerful draconic aura enveloped his body, and the roar of the dragon on his back crashed down upon the man.

Nine consecutive explosions tore through the dust, each more thunderous than the last. The ship lurched back violently as hellish heat surged from the earth, the crater gaping open even wider.

"Damn... this burns! IT HURTS! IT BURNS!"

Heart-wrenching roars clawed through the flames, and the crazed captain burst into the air on a wave of searing heat.

His skin, which madness had prevented him from shielding with Qi, melted over his exposed flesh and bones, dripping in red and black strands.

It was a terrible sight, but Qingyi did not allow himself to be swayed, pressing his advantage.

"Hand over your neck and I’ll make this pain go away!"

He smiled with confidence, already activating the Tempest Monarch’s sword art.

He chose no specific form, for after completing it, such things were no longer necessary.

Martial arts, in general, were built upon forms: a specific cut, at a specific angle, with Qi applied in a specific way, every motion shaped by the practitioner’s soul, intent, and knowledge.

But the moment Qingyi had reached the twelfth form of the Tempest Monarch’s sword art, all of that lost its meaning.

Every movement of his blade, from the most casual cut to the strike that carried his very soul, was a perfect form, his mind commanding every bolt of lightning with absolute authority.

It wasn’t that the earlier forms had become obsolete.

Rather, upon forging the twelfth form, the Tempest Monarch had glimpsed the truth of martial arts itself and, in a single epiphany, transcended it.

At this very moment, the Tempest Monarch’s sword art stood as a technique of the primordial grade.

Qingyi’s lips curved with confidence.

The Heaven-Defying Thunder Sword, wreathed in crackling lightning, tore through the air with an electric hum.

The madman defended desperately, blade slamming against blade, the thunderous power of the two weapons colliding in crash after jarring crash. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Qingyi’s lightning and the captain’s powerful metallic Qi devoured everything within reach, blue sparks spraying with every impact, scorching the sand into glass wherever they fell.

The handsome young man grunted, the two blades snapping together as a deep gash opened across his neck, traded for a wider, gaping wound torn into the man’s chest.

Dark red blood drenched his blade, sliding down the edge in slow beads.

With the absurd power of Qingyi’s constitution and the bloodline suppression from the mighty black dragon on his back, the two remained locked in a stalemate.

They glared at each other for a breath, then charged again.

An electric dragon accompanied the slash of Qingyi’s sword as he unleashed the full weight of his draconic aura, his Qi devouring the madman’s metallic Qi.

Then the captain let his own sword slide along Qingyi’s blade, spun like a drunken martial artist, and with terrifying speed forced Qingyi to break off his attack to defend.

A mouthful of blood escaped the young man’s lips as he retreated several steps, the metallic taste flooding across his tongue.

"Ah... now I understand why the bounty on your head is so high. You’re quite dangerous..."

Qingyi spat crimson into the sand, his lips curving into a sharp smile even as the pain in his chest sharpened into something deeper.

The madman, drowning in laughter thick with delight, failed to notice that the electric dragon he had dodged had never stopped moving.

In the blink of an eye, the dragon splintered into a thousand forms, a thousand ethereal swords of lightning, each bearing the image of a dragon upon its back, all aimed squarely at the man.

Qingyi laughed along with him, nodded in agreement when the madman proclaimed his coming death, and then, with a simple clasp of his hands, released the thousand swords.

They exploded forward as one, all converging upon the same target.

By the time the madman realized what was happening, dodging was no longer an option.

Countless blades crashed into his body, the electric Qi tearing through his flesh and meridians, ripping him apart from the inside out.

A gasp thick with agony cut through the air, and the corpse of the mad captain, collapsed to the ground.

Not a single part of him remained intact, pieces of charred flesh scattering across the sand.

Qingyi watched the shattered corpse as the ethereal blades faded.

"I hope your soul finds the peace your mind did not."

He gave a slight bow in a gesture of respect, then turned his gaze toward the destroyed ship.

He took a step forward. At that moment, Ruxue’s voice brushed against his mind, and his eyes lit up.

"Qingyi, I can sense the aura of one of my fragments coming from that ship."