Myth Beyond Heaven

Yun Lintian met that horrific gaze without flinching. "I've come for your authority."

A beat of silence.

Then Zhan Tian laughed—a sound like avalanches burying armies. "Good! No pretenses." He stood, his greatsword seeming to drag the very light toward it. "The terms are simple: survive."

Linlin bristled. "That's it?"

The War God's grin showed too many teeth. "Oh little one, you misunderstand." He raised his sword. "I didn't mean survive me."

The greatsword came down—

—and the entire Eternal Battlefield shifted.

Suddenly, Yun Lintian stood alone on an endless plain, surrounded by the greatest warriors from every timeline.

Zhan Tian's voice boomed from everywhere at once:

"Survive them all."

The moment Zhan Tian's greatsword fell, the battlefield erupted into chaos.

And then the armies charged.

Yun Lintian's White Dragon Spear flashed silver as he met the first wave of warriors head-on. These weren't ordinary fighters—each moved with the precision of veterans who had spent lifetimes perfecting their craft. Their God Ascension Realm cultivation belied combat skills rivaling True Gods.

"Linlin! Qingqing! Cover my flanks!"

Linlin's white fur stood on end as crackling lightning gathered around her paws. With a fierce yowl, she unleashed a storm of white thunderbolts that arced through the advancing horde.

Qingqing darted through the air, her tiny hands weaving intricate patterns as razor-sharp gales sliced through armored ranks.

Yun Lintian didn't hold back. Azure Dragon scales erupted across his arms as the Primordial bloodline's power surged through him. His spear strikes carried the weight of mountains, each thrust leaving spatial tears in their wake.

A towering warrior swung a massive axe at his head, only for Yun Lintian's eyes to flash gold—Golden Crow God's power igniting solar flames across his body.

BOOM!

The axe melted before it could touch him, and a single kick sent the warrior crashing into a dozen others.

"Behind!" Linlin's warning came just in time.

Yun Lintian spun, crimson Vermilion Bird wings bursting from his back in a sweep of scorching flames. Three attackers turned to ash mid-lunge.

BANG!

At the same moment, the Black Turtle's defensive formation shimmered around him, deflecting a hail of void-piercing arrows.

The battlefield became a storm of clashing elements—Linlin's White Tiger lightning splitting the sky, Qingqing's tornadoes shredding formations, and Yun Lintian's Golden Crow flames turning the plain into a blazing hellscape. Yet for every warrior felled, ten more took their place, their weapons gleaming with lethal intent.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a spear-wielding general broke through Yun Lintian's defenses, his weapon piercing straight for the heart. Golden Qilin scales flashed across Yun Lintian's chest at the last moment, deflecting the lethal strike. He countered with a palm strike infused with Divine Phoenix flames, reducing the general to cinders.

High above the carnage, Zhan Tian observed from his throne of blackened steel. His scarred fingers steepled as pupil-less eyes tracked every movement. Where lesser gods would see only chaos, the War God perceived the terrifying precision in Yun Lintian's combat—the seamless transitions between bloodlines that should have torn any normal cultivator apart.

"Fascinating," Zhan Tian rumbled.

Back in the fray, Yun Lintian felt his muscles burning. Even with his monstrous stamina, the endless assault was taking its toll. Qingqing's wind barriers faltered as a fresh wave of warriors broke through.

"Hah!" With a roar, Yun Lintian unleashed all eight bloodlines simultaneously.

Azure Dragon scales armored his body while White Tiger lightning crackled along his limbs. Divine Phoenix wings of flame sprouted from his back as a Golden Crow's solar corona blazed around him.

Vermilion Bird runes circled his form while Black Turtle shield formations materialized in the air. Glaciers erupted beneath his feet through Ice Phoenix inheritance, and golden Qilin horns crowned his brow like a battle helm.

BOOM!!

The resulting explosion of power flattened everything in a hundred-meter radius. Warriors disintegrated mid-charge, their weapons vaporizing before touching him.

Linlin panted on his shoulder, her fur standing on end from residual energy.

But the reprieve was brief. The fallen warriors' bodies dissolved into mist, only to reform at the battlefield's edge, unharmed.

Zhan Tian's laughter shook the realm. "Did you think death mattered here? This is the Eternal Battlefield, boy! Here, war never ends!"

Yun Lintian frowned, his mind racing. Brute force wouldn't win this. He needed to outthink the endless horde.

"Qingqing! Distraction! Linlin, focus fire on my mark!"

The wind spirit nodded, summoning a hurricane that scattered the reforming ranks. Linlin gathered crackling energy between her paws as Yun Lintian closed his eyes, reaching for his newest power—the Breath of the World Tree.

Emerald light erupted from his feet, spreading across the battlefield like living roots. Where it touched, the very fabric of the Eternal Battlefield quivered.

Zhan Tian's throne creaked as the War God leaned forward, his expression shifting from amusement to genuine surprise.

Yun Lintian's eyes snapped open, now glowing pure jade. "I don't need to kill them all." The roots pulsed with primordial energy. "I just need to change the rules."

For the first time in eternity, the Eternal Battlefield knew silence.

Yun Lintian stood at the center of the emerald-lit battlefield, his breathing steady despite the carnage. The golden scales of Balance authority shimmered in his eyes as he activated its power.

"Let the battlefield be balanced."

The words resonated through the Eternal Battlefield like a divine decree. Suddenly, the endless waves of warriors staggered—their movements slowed, their coordination disrupted. Where before they had moved as a perfectly synchronized killing machine, now they stumbled like ordinary soldiers.

Linlin's ears perked up. "What did you do, Big Brother Yun?"

"Leveled the field," Yun Lintian said, wiping blood from his lip. "Balance doesn't mean fairness—it means equilibrium. I made them fight on my terms."

The effect was immediate. The warriors' flawless formations broke apart. Attacks that had come from all angles now arrived haphazardly, their timing thrown off.

But Yun Lintian wasn't done.

He raised his left hand, and the Breath of the World Tree technique activated. Emerald tendrils extended from his palm, latching onto the nearest warriors.

"Life borrows but does not steal."

The tendrils pulsed—and vitality flooded into Yun Lintian. Fatigue vanished. Cuts sealed. Even the spiritual energy he'd expended replenished instantly.

The warriors didn't collapse—they simply weakened slightly, their movements growing sluggish as Yun Lintian grew stronger.

Now the tide truly turned…