206: Battle of Ascension

Liu Qingtian's figure was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly breaking the balance of the battle at the bottom of Yun Dao Cliff.

The dao platform he chose to land on was originally a free-for-all among three Geniuses from different races. One was a God Clan of Brightness member, wielding scorching Holy Light and possessing six wings on their back; another was a burly Thunderstorm Giant, wreathed in destructive lightning; and the third was a elusive Puppet Master from the Spirit Mech Realm, manipulating countless transparent threads.

The strength of all three was not to be underestimated; they were considered paragons in any major world. The fierce battle was in full swing, and the collision of energy caused the dao platform to rumble.

Liu Qingtian's sudden intrusion caused all three of their attacks to pause.

"Another one seeking death!" The Thunderstorm Giant, the most hot-tempered of the three, roared upon seeing someone dare to interfere with their battle. He abandoned the other two, bringing with him immense lightning, and like a Thunder God descending, punched straight down at Liu Qingtian! The force of his punch caused the space it passed through to ripple with a scorched haze.

The God Clan of Brightness and the Spirit Mech Puppet Master also had icy gazes. Although they didn't immediately join forces, their Qi faintly locked onto Liu Qingtian, the uninvited guest, clearly intending to eliminate this variable first.

Facing this lightning punch, powerful enough to shatter a small planet, Liu Qingtian's expression remained unchanged. He didn't even adopt any defensive or evasive posture. He simply calmly raised his right hand, fingers slightly splayed, and gently pressed it towards the roaring lightning giant fist.

There was no grand display, no violent fluctuations of Law.

That incomparably violent lightning giant fist, when still several feet away from Liu Qingtian's palm, was as if it had encountered an invisible black hole. All the lightning energy, destructive will, and even the terrifying kinetic energy contained within the fist itself, were instantly stripped away, disintegrated, and devoured, vanishing without a trace.

It was as if... that world-destroying punch had never appeared.

The Thunderstorm Giant maintained his punching posture, the anger on his face frozen, his eyes filled with unbelievable horror. He felt that his power, capable of tearing apart stars, had sunk into the sea like a clay ox, without stirring even a ripple.

The pupils of the other two onlookers, the God Clan of Brightness and the Spirit Mech Puppet Master, also contracted sharply, their relaxed expressions instantly replaced by solemnity.

An expert's move reveals their skill. Liu Qingtian's casual press demonstrated a comprehension and control over the essence of power that had already exceeded their cognitive scope.

"This person is troublesome!" The six wings on the God Clan of Brightness's back vibrated, and the scorching Holy Light transformed into countless sharp swords, shooting towards Liu Qingtian like a torrential rain. Each Holy Light sword contained the Law of purification and judgment.

At the same time, the Spirit Mech Puppet Master's fingers moved slightly, and countless transparent threads, imperceptible to the naked eye, silently wrapped around Liu Qingtian's limbs and neck like living things, attempting to restrict his movements and directly attack his Soul core.

Facing this pincer attack from two directions, Liu Qingtian finally moved.

His feet didn't move, but the profound Dao of Guixu around him rippled like water.

The Holy Light swords, shooting across the sky, rapidly melted and dimmed like ice and snow in the sun when they entered a three-zhang radius around him, eventually transforming into pure light element particles, quietly absorbed by the Guixu force field.

And those strange and tricky transparent threads, capable of cutting Divine Souls, seemed to fall into an endless quagmire the moment they touched his body. The spiritual energy and Soul Power attached to them were rapidly stripped away and annihilated, becoming as fragile as ordinary threads, falling limply.

"What?!"

"This is impossible!"

The God Clan of Brightness and the Spirit Mech Puppet Master simultaneously cried out in alarm. Their attacks couldn't even touch the corner of the opponent's clothes?

Liu Qingtian's gaze calmly swept over the three of them, finally landing on the Thunderstorm Giant who had attacked first.

"You, may step down."

His voice was flat, yet it carried an undeniable will. Before his words even finished, he joined his fingers like a blade and, from a distance, slashed at the still-frozen Thunderstorm Giant.

A faint, almost invisible dark thread flashed past.

The Thunderstorm Giant's massive body trembled violently. He looked down at his chest; there was no wound, but he could clearly feel that his connection to the Great Dao of Thunder, his vast life Origin, was being rapidly stripped away and returned to the Void Realm by an irresistible power of termination!

"No—!" He let out a desperate and unwilling roar, but his massive body visibly withered and became transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye. Finally, like weathered rock, it completely disintegrated into the most basic energy particles, dissipating into the Void Realm. Not even a trace was left behind.

A Thunderstorm Giant Prodigy, revered as a Dao Ancestor in his own world, was thus annihilated in both body and spirit!

Silence!

A deathly silence enveloped this dao platform, even spreading to the surrounding dao platforms where fierce battles were raging.

The God Clan of Brightness and the Spirit Mech Puppet Master's faces turned pale, cold sweat instantly soaking their backs. They looked at Liu Qingtian as if he were a demon god from the Nine Netherworlds. To casually obliterate a powerful expert of their caliber, what terrifying strength was this?

Liu Qingtian's gaze turned to them.

Both of them trembled, and almost without hesitation, they simultaneously retreated rapidly, fleeing the dao platform at top speed. They didn't even dare to linger nearby, directly escaping to the lower regions of Yun Dao Cliff, fearing that a moment's delay would lead them to the same fate as the Thunderstorm Giant.

Liu Qingtian did not pursue. His purpose was not slaughter, but to occupy the dao platform and ascend. Since the opponents wisely retreated, he saw no need to waste energy.

He stood alone on this dao platform, which had just experienced a brief but thrilling confrontation, slowly closed his eyes, and began to adjust his aura, adapting to the rich and chaotic Law environment here, while also sensing the fluctuations of more powerful auras above.

The battles on the surrounding dao platforms experienced a brief pause. Countless gazes—some fearful, some solemn, some curious, some boiling with Battle Intent—were cast towards this newly changed dao platform, towards that dark figure whose aura was as deep as an abyss.

"Who is this person? Never seen him before!"

"What terrifying methods! Taros of the Thunderstorm Giant Race was actually killed in one strike?"

"His Dao... seems to be some kind of ultimate termination and annihilation..."

"It seems another extraordinary figure has arrived at Yun Dao Cliff."

Whispers echoed in the Void Realm. Liu Qingtian's earth-shattering entrance instantly left a deep impression on countless Prodigies and observing powerhouses.

He knew this was just the beginning. Occupying a bottom-layer dao platform only granted him the qualification to stay here. To ascend further, challenge the dozens of top Prodigies in the middle and upper sections of the cliff, and eventually confront Luo Jiuxuan directly, a long and brutal battle awaited him.

But at this moment, his heart was calm, with only Battle Intent silently burning in his Bloodline.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through layers of space, as if seeing the figure at the peak, like an Incarnation of annihilation.

"Luo Jiuxuan, wait for me. I will step by step, treading on the bones of these so-called Prodigies, to stand before you."

The next moment, he opened his eyes, his gaze locking onto a dao platform not far above, one with a more powerful aura, currently occupied by a figure shrouded in sickly green poisonous mist.

With a step, his figure vanished from the spot, leaving only the Guixu Dao charm on the dao platform, which had not yet fully settled.

The Battle to Ascend to Heaven officially began!