Immortal Paladin

[POV: Supreme Heart]

Impatience had been gnawing at Supreme Heart for a very long time. He had waited long enough. The time had finally come to reclaim what had always been his. He looked at Xin Yune with gentle eyes and extended a hand toward her.

“Let's go home.”

His words had barely left his lips before pain exploded through his shoulder.

A blade of darkness severed his arm cleanly.

Blood scattered across the air as a figure erupted from Heart's own shadow, as though the darkness beneath his feet had betrayed him. Da Wei landed lightly between him and Xin Yune, his eyes calm despite the obvious weakness still lingering within his body.

At the same instant, dozens of tears opened in space.

Fragments of the Dark Veil surrounded the battlefield in a perfect circle, hanging in midair like floating mirrors of endless darkness.

“Fire,” Da Wei ordered.

The voids came alive.

Massive qi cannons hidden beyond the Dark Veil unleashed their payloads simultaneously. Blinding beams of condensed spiritual energy burst from every portal, crossing impossible angles before converging upon Supreme Heart.

Heart's body blurred.

He twisted, stepped, and weaved between the bombardment with flawless precision. Every movement narrowly avoided annihilation, the beams missing him by mere inches before crashing into Mt. Qingshi itself.

The palace exploded.

Ancient halls that had stood for centuries vanished beneath overwhelming force, collapsing into rivers of molten jade and pulverized stone. Entire courtyards disappeared beneath the bombardment.

He had underestimated Da Wei.

Even after everything, the Holy Emperor had remained on guard.

Using his Consciousness Projection Technique, Supreme Heart cast his awareness across the battlefield.

His expression darkened.

Far beyond the mountain floated an enormous fleet.

Thousands upon thousands of warships hovered among the clouds, arranged in overlapping formations that stretched beyond the horizon itself. Every vessel carried enormous artillery arrays whose barrels glowed with gathering qi. Their firing solutions had already locked onto him.

This had never been a coincidence. It had been an ambush. The scattered fragments of the Dark Veil shifted once more. Instead of portals, they unraveled into countless black chains that lashed toward him from every direction, seeking to bind his limbs and suppress his movement.

Heart ignored them. His eyes never left Xin Yune. He pursued her while slipping between the chains with impossible footwork, yet before he could advance another step, ranks of armored figures descended from the sky.

It was Guardians, the finest soldiers serving beneath Da Wei. They landed with disciplined precision, lowering silver spears toward him until their formation became an impenetrable wall.

One commander raised his weapon.

“Guardians! Unleash Holy Smite!”

Silver halos appeared behind every spear. The halos spun once before erupting with torrents of silver arrows, each one carrying enough divine authority to erase immortal flesh. Within Hollowed World, Supreme Heart remained shackled. Though he still possessed authority over laws themselves, the world's suppression forced him into the realm of an Immortal. Da Wei suffered under the same restriction.

The difference was that Da Wei possessed an empire, artifacts, armies, players, Guardians, and the Dark Veil itself.

Inside his own world, the Holy Emperor enjoyed an overwhelming advantage.

Heart darted through the rain of silver arrows, every movement threading impossibly narrow gaps. He shattered some with his bare hands while allowing others to graze harmlessly past him.

His gaze swept across the battlefield.

Da Wei had already reached Xin Yune. A sleek transport vessel emerged through another opening in the Dark Veil, and he ushered her aboard without hesitation to evacuate her. However, Xin Yune seemed uncooperative.

More shadows fell across the mountain as thousands of Guardians poured into the battlefield from every direction. Players descended among them, each wielding unique artifacts and impossible abilities.

“Suppress him!”

“Do not let him escape!”

“Long-range divisions! Fire at will!”

Immediately, countless spells flooded the heavens: dragon-shaped torrents of flame, spears of compressed lightning, ice lances, sword qi, formation arrays, and even abilities from the Players that ignored conventional cultivation entirely. The entire mountain transformed into a storm of death.

“You are not going anywhere,” Supreme Heart said quietly, his resolve hardening. Xin Yune could not remain here. No matter the cost, he would take her away.

The laws before him twisted apart. Rather than traveling through space, Heart tore the governing principles themselves, stepping across folded reality. He vanished.

An instant later, he appeared directly before Da Wei. His hand shot forward, fingers closing around the weakened Holy Emperor’s throat as he lifted him effortlessly into the air.

Golden inscriptions hidden within Supreme Heart’s blue and golden robes suddenly awakened. An enormous formation spread beneath the entire mountain. Far below, dragon veins sleeping beneath the continent answered the summons. The earth trembled. Mountains shook. Rivers changed course. An unbearable amount of energy surged upward, enough to reduce nations to ash.

Heart's voice echoed across the battlefield.

“Withdraw your forces. If you refuse, I will detonate Mt. Qingshi and unleash the dragon veins beneath it. The resulting explosion will ravage this entire continent. It may not kill either of us, but it will kill countless of your soldiers. I only want one thing. Hand Xin Yune over.”

Despite being strangled, Da Wei somehow managed to grin.

“I really hate being on the receiving end of the mutual destruction tactic,” he rasped. “Really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

Xin Yune stared between the two men in disbelief.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Da Wei looked toward her despite Heart's grip tightening around his neck.

“Sorry,” he said with surprising sincerity. “I used you as bait. I'll definitely explain everything once this is over.”

Heart smiled gently at her.

“There is no need to agonize over it, Yune'er. I can explain everything myself.”

Even so, the Guardians continued advancing. Not one of them retreated. Ranks shifted as artillery repositioned and Players prepared another barrage. Every soldier remained ready to die should Da Wei command it.

Heart’s expression finally hardened. “Da Wei,” he said, “withdraw them. I truly mean what I said. I will destroy the entire mountain if I have to.”

Da Wei laughed. “That would also mean Xin Yune dies, and I know for certain she’s important to you.”

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Heart’s jaw tightened. Maintaining this hold demanded tremendous effort. Ordinarily, restraining Da Wei so completely would have been impossible. Only the Holy Emperor’s grievous injuries allowed him to suppress him. This was undoubtedly the greatest opportunity Supreme Heart would ever receive to kill him.

Yet… he had never wanted Da Wei dead, because he still have use of him.

He clicked his tongue in irritation. “I fucking abhor future sight,” he cursed. “Fuck. See you in a hundred years, Da Wei.”

Without another word, he abandoned the confrontation. His grip released. Reality fractured once more as he accelerated away from Mt. Qingshi with overwhelming speed.

As he fled, he looked toward the transport carrying Xin Yune. “We will meet again,” he promised.

Behind him, Da Wei’s voice rang across heaven and earth. “Divine Mandate of the Executor.”

Golden chains erupted from Da Wei’s body, aimed at Heart. By interfering with the spell through his supremacy trait, he redirected its target. The Divine Mandate had connected itself to Xin Yune instead.

"Until next time, Yune'er."

Heart continued fleeing. Escaping would not be easy. Da Wei had reinforced every barrier surrounding the Dark Veil over the past two thousand years. Slipping directly out of the Hollowed World was no longer possible. He would have to burrow downward through the world’s layers to find the Dark Veil or reach the dark lake connected directly to the Dark Veil before making his escape.

Behind him, the fleet finally began moving in earnest. Entire squadrons shifted into pursuit formations. Countless artillery arrays tracked his trajectory. More portals from the Dark Veil appeared throughout the sky.

It had been a trap from beginning to end much to Supreme Heart's consternation.

How did Da Wei knew about his special connection with Xin Yune?

There was no way he’d foreseen in by ordinary means, since his Weight of Existence was too much for him.

Supreme Heart suspected it had something to do with Da Wei's seclusion.

The Holy Emperor's disappearance had never been a secret. During those two thousand years, every ambitious force in existence had attempted to capitalize on his absence. Assassins, hidden sects, ancient organizations, and even opportunistic immortals had all sought to eliminate him before he could emerge stronger than before.

Heart himself had quietly crushed several of those attempts.

Not because he wished to protect Da Wei out of goodwill, but because Da Wei still had a role to play in the future he desired. Until that day arrived, no one else was permitted to kill him.

The pursuit continued.

Warships surged through the skies with relentless determination, their warp arrays allowing them to repeatedly appear ahead of his route before forcing him to alter course once more. Artillery batteries tracked him without pause, while countless detection formations searched every fluctuation of qi along his escape.

Heart remained calm.

He had already memorized the current geography of Hollowed World.

Rather than fleeing through prosperous territories, he deliberately crossed the lands devastated by the Pale Conqueror. Mountains remained broken, rivers flowed through canyons carved by forgotten battles, and countless ruined cities offered enough interference to disrupt the fleet's formations.

Even so, they refused to give up.

By the time Heart arrived within the territory belonging to the Four Pillars, where the dark lake should have been waiting for him, another interception force had already assembled.

Warships surrounded the entire region.

Dark portals floated silently throughout the heavens.

And standing directly before the dark lake was Da Wei.

This time, the Holy Emperor wore complete armor.

Dark regalia covered him from head to toe, every plate engraved with moving runes that shifted like living creatures beneath polished steel. Strange movements pulsed from within the armor itself, as though something ancient slept underneath the metal.

Standing quietly beside him was Hei Mao.

The disciple rested one hand upon the hilts of his black and white sabers without speaking.

Da Wei casually waved his hand.

A wooden table appeared.

Two chairs followed.

A steaming pot of tea settled neatly between them.

“Let’s talk,” Da Wei said as he sat first. “Tea?”

Heart smiled politely. “I’d rather remain standing.”

Da Wei sighed as though dealing with an especially troublesome acquaintance. He poured himself a cup anyway. “Now,” he said, “what do you want Xin Yune for?”

Heart’s expression softened. “She’s my wife.” He paused, a faint smile touching his lips. “Well, I had many wives.” His gaze drifted somewhere far away. “But she’s special.”

Da Wei raised an eyebrow. “So Meng Po and you are a thing?”

Heart immediately grimaced. “Oh, gods, no.” He let out a helpless laugh. “It’s… more nuanced than that. Much more complicated.”

He spread his hands.

“Can you just let me go? I've gone to great lengths not killing your people or destroying your warships while they've chased me all this way. Please. Let's settle this on the fated day, hmm?”

Da Wei quietly sipped his tea. “If you’re not going to be honest with me,” he replied, “it will be difficult for me to let you go.”

Heart frowned. His senses expanded across the battlefield. Far in the distance floated an enormous fox with nine tails, each breath she exhaled becoming a tide of frost that blanketed the heavens in expanding storm clouds.

Elsewhere, the World Tree shimmered, its already immeasurable trunk growing larger as another immortal guarded its roots.

Behind him, a second sun hung in the sky, except this one was black, resembling a perfect eclipse whose darkness swallowed even light itself.

Deep beneath everything, within the countless folds of the Dark Veil, Heart sensed several familiar presences: the former Judges of the Underworld. Every one of them had descended to the realm of an Immortal. They were waiting.

The trap had become even larger than he first imagined.

Hei Mao finally spoke. “You are a trespasser within Hollowed World. By all rights, you should be judged.” His calm eyes met Heart’s. “However, my master has deemed that you deserve clemency.” The disciple slowly drew both sabers. “It is up to you what you make of it.”

Heart forced a smile, answering. “She is my weakness.”

The ground exploded. Thousands of Holy Spirits burst upward from beneath the earth—the Ezekiels, Holy Skeletons forged by Da Wei in incomprehensible numbers. They had remained hidden beneath the Dark Veil from the very beginning. Their armor and weapons possessed the same properties as the Dark Veil itself, making every strike unpredictable as they climbed over one another in endless waves.

Heart reached into his pocket dimension. A spear appeared in his grasp. One sweep shattered hundreds of skeletons. Another thrust exploded dozens more into fragments of sanctified bone. The swarm continued regardless.

Then Hei Mao appeared. The disciple moved without warning, twin sabers flashing in opposite arcs aimed directly at Heart’s neck. The blades stopped exactly one inch from his skin.

Heart smiled knowingly. “Didn’t your master tell you?” His fingers lightly tapped the unmoving blades. “I can manipulate the distance between hearts.”

No matter how Hei Mao pushed forward, the remaining inch refused to disappear. Instead, the disciple calmly rotated both sabers and rested their edges against his own throat out of his own will.

"Kill yourself," ordered Heart.

Da Wei appeared beside them instantly. Without hesitation, he grabbed Hei Mao by the collar and threw his disciple backward. “You’re still too green.”

Silver Steel appeared within Da Wei’s hand. The longsword descended. “Divine Smite.”

Divine radiance erupted as the sword transformed into a pillar of sacred judgment capable of burning away everything before it. Heart merely watched, then copied it. The same divine brilliance gathered around his own spear, perfectly reproducing the technique before the two Divine Smites collided and annihilated one another.

The battlefield trembled. Dark spears erupted from beneath the cracked earth as the Dark Veil itself pierced upward in countless directions. Heart danced between every strike. “I can read the path of hearts,” he said while avoiding another forest of black spears, “even the inanimate possess hearts.”

He suddenly accelerated. Rather than escaping toward the dark lake again, he changed direction entirely toward the World Tree.

Da Ji immediately intercepted him. Her enormous body split apart. Nine colossal foxes emerged, each taking a different position before weaving together an ancient formation. The surrounding temperature plummeted as an ocean of frost surged toward him.

Heart thrust his palm outward. Hellfire erupted. Flames preserved within his memories from another age flooded the heavens, colliding violently against the overwhelming cold. Steam consumed the battlefield.

Using the distraction, Heart rushed forward. Then the inferno disappeared. Someone had extinguished it.

Ru Qiu stood calmly within the dissipating mist, black flames quietly dancing around the sword in his hand. He sighed. “You really had to disturb me from my other job?”

The black flaming blade descended. Heart raised his spear to block. Steel met fire. Then his instincts screamed. The slash before him had only been an illusion. By the time he realized it, the real strike had already passed harmlessly behind him, forcing him to retreat rather than advance.

The World Tree finally stood within reach. A figure descended beside it with silver hair, long ears, and a sword carrying the pure essence of the Void. Chen Wei. Heart recognized him immediately. Among Da Wei’s followers, Chen Wei was probably the most mysterious. The swordsman from False Earth had inherited a portion of Supreme Void itself.

Their weapons collided several times in rapid succession. Void split apart. Laws fractured. Neither side gained an advantage.

Heart abruptly smiled. He stole a sliver of authority from the surrounding Dark Veil, just enough. A stolen teleportation activated beneath Chen Wei’s feet, sending the swordsman far away before he could interfere further.

Heart leaped toward the World Tree. Without warning, the tree itself awakened. Colossal roots burst from the earth like living dragons, each thick enough to crush mountains. Wu Chen had finally made her move. The guardian had merged completely with the World Tree.

Heart inhaled deeply. Quintessence gathered. A thread of Primordial Qi wrapped around his spear. With every ounce of strength he possessed, he hurled it forward. The spear screamed through reality itself.

Da Wei appeared. Rather than meeting force with force, the Holy Emperor employed an entirely different technique. Silver Steel struck the side of the incoming spear, shifting its trajectory. Instead of continuing forward, it slammed violently into the trunk of the World Tree.

Heart did not pause. His consciousness projected toward the distant dark lake. Reality folded. He teleported.

The world blurred before reforming around the lake. Hei Mao was already waiting. A crimson scarf snapped through the air, wrapping itself around Heart’s body before tightening. At the same moment, Da Ji’s frost engulfed him from behind, sealing him beneath layers of crystalline ice.

Da Wei stepped forward. “Heart.” He lowered Silver Steel. “Surrender—”

Heart grinned, showing off a skill he copied from Da Wei. “Castling.”

Instantly, he exchanged places with the spear still embedded within the World Tree. Before Wu Chen could react, Heart landed directly upon the ancient trunk. His Supremacy Trait awakened. Rather than forcing passage, he sympathized with the World Tree itself. For one fleeting moment, the tree accepted him. Its barriers opened.

Heart crossed through. The next instant, he stood outside Hollowed World once again. Behind him floated the dark sphere that contained Da Wei’s impossible world. He lingered only long enough to glance back one final time.

Then the full cultivation of a Ruler of Laws erupted from his body. Reality bent around him. Without another backward glance, Supreme Heart disappeared into the endless void.

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