As Sheo passed through the crowd, many eyes fell upon him—some filled with pride, some with admi-ration, and some clouded with jealousy and murder-ous intent.
He walked calmly, his expression composed, but as he neared Kiana, he paused for a brief second.
Using telepathy, Sheo spoke directly to her mind.
"Thanks for the Space Heart and Flame Core tech-nique back in Teromi. Back then, I wasn't able to pay you the right price. I'll try my best to repay you for these techniques."
Without waiting for a response, Sheo continued walking toward the seal.
Behind him, Kiana smiled faintly, an amused glint in her eyes.
"He can see through my illusion… this kid is getting very interesting," she murmured to herself.
In front of everyone's eyes, the three prime keys slowly floated into the air. With a hum of ancient power, they moved in perfect harmony. Gradually, they began to melt, forming into a single disk of glowing energy. That disk then gently floated down and slotted itself into an invisible mechanism near the gates.
With a heavy creak, the massive seal began to dis-solve.
The towering three gates ahead started to shine, their surfaces pulsing with power.
As Sheo and the others were about to step in, a sud-den voice—frantic and laced with urgency—pierced Sheo's mind.
"Run! Get away from the seal! Now!"
Before Sheo could register Nisch's voice, the very world around him seemed to shift.
Everything... folded inward.
A force—absolute and crushing—descended upon the plain like a god's wrath. It was overwhelming. Unstoppable.
The pressure was so great that everyone in the area—elders, leaders, new generation alike—was instantly pinned to the ground.
Their knees buckled. Hands pressed into the soil. Even cries were strangled, as though the world itself had silenced everything.
It felt as if that seal had been containing something that was never meant to exist in this world.
Even Kiana—one of the most powerful present—gritted her teeth, her body trembling.
"Damn it! I can't even lift my seals…"
The entire plain fell into a deadly silence. Not even the wind dared to move.
And yet—Sheo stood.
He was far weaker than many in the field, but… he felt nothing.
Everyone else was crushed under the force. But Sheo?
He stood still.
He looked around and saw everyone pinned to the ground, helpless. He could sense that all the energy in the area was slowly vanishing—as if it had never existed to begin with.
Panic started to rise in his chest.
"Nisach… what is this?"
Nisach's voice returned, filled with dread and hesita-tion.
"We walked right into that bastard's trap… And now… you have to harvest it. Damn it."
"Harvest what?" Sheo demanded, his voice pan-icked, his eyes darting toward the collapsing seal.
He could feel it now—the very essence of life itself was disappearing.
Nisach responded, sharp and urgent.
"Listen! There's no time to explain. You have to en-ter that seal. Right now."
Sheo's eyes widened.
He wasn't feeling the pressure, but he could feel the monstrous force. It was real. Suffocating. Terrifying.
Nisach barked, forcing the panic aside.
"Stop thinking! You don't have time. In thirty sec-onds, everything in a five-hundred-kilometer radius will be destroyed. Enter the seal! Enter into your Heaven's Battle Body and force your purple energy out of your body! You have no other choice. You have to harvest that dimension seal!"
Sheo gritted his teeth.
Then—without another moment wasted—he activat-ed the 9 Paths Movement and flashed forward, crossing the distance and entering the seal.
The moment he passed through, his purple energy surged wildly, spinning out of control inside his body.
Sheo took a deep breath, steadying himself. And then, in an instant, his hair turned stark white.
The pressure reduced—exponentially.
He leapt upward, using his Space Heart to navigate in that chaotic pressure. His vision strained under the force, but then—he saw it.
A small, hexagonal seal. Floating, pulsing.
He reached toward it.
His hand extended, shaking under the force, and just before his strength could give out, he pushed out his purple energy with everything he had.
The moment his energy touched it, the seal reacted.
As if it had found its master, the seal melted instant-ly and surged into Sheo's body.
An explosion of pain followed—pain that tore at his soul.
Then—
His time ran out.
Sheo's body fell from the platform.
Outside, the seal had shattered.
And due to the barrier's design, no one had seen what had happened inside.
No one knew what Sheo had done.
All they knew was that the moment Sheo entered the seal, the deadly pressure—the one that had nearly killed them—vanished.
Now, Sheo lay unconscious.
But inside his mind, a strange sensation began to form. A vision.
As if a video was playing before his eyes, he saw a space—a whole new dimension.
Cities stretched to the horizon. Tall towers reached into a swirling purple sky.
At the center stood a massive temple, its bells ringing non-stop.
But the people… they weren't panicking in fear.
They were panicking with joy.
The entire population bowed toward the temple.
Then—seven figures stepped forward, moving sol-emnly toward the temple. They stopped before a towering statue.
A woman.
Sheo focused.
He tried to see her clearly.
The moment her face became clear in his mind—
His head screamed in pain.
A spike of agony pierced his consciousness, and then—darkness swallowed him whole.
Back on the plain, everyone looked toward Sheo in confusion.
He was unconscious, covered in blood… and yet sit-ting upright.
Before anyone could react, a shadow darted for-ward.
It was Havnim.
He had seen his chance. A rare opportunity to strike.
The allied force began to move, but it was too late.
Havnim's hand shot forward, aimed straight for Sheo's chest.
But then—something moved.
A sword flashed.
A sharp intent cut straight through Havnim's throat.
Before Havnim could even register what had hap-pened, Sheo's hand grabbed his face—and slammed it into the ground with such force that the very earth cracked beneath him.
The crowd was stunned.
The one who had just nearly been hunted… had be-come the hunter.
But more than that—it was how Sheo was moving.
His eyes were closed. No energy radiated from his body.
He was unconscious.
And yet—he moved, as if in a trance. As if guided by instinct alone.
A faint green-blue hue glowed softly in his eyes.
Havnim couldn't even understand what was happen-ing.
Hundreds of sword strikes rained down on him—merciless, unrelenting.
There was no grace. No art. Only raw power and sharpened instinct.
Two shadows rushed in, trying to save their com-rade.
But Helmen intercepted them, his blade drawn—he had his own grudge.
Sheo didn't stop.
He butchered Havnim with no hesitation.
And finally—he killed him.
Covered in blood, Sheo sat down slowly, as if noth-ing had happened. His breath shallow, his mind dis-tant.
Kiana watched from afar, her gaze narrowed.
"This is the selfless state," she whispered.
Slowly, Sheo's consciousness returned.
He blinked.
His eyes fluttered open.
And the first thing he saw was his white star sword—now drenched in red—and Havnim's man-gled corpse lying in front of him.
Sheo's breath caught in his throat.
Panic flickered in his eyes.
He stumbled back, confusion washing over his face. He had no idea what had just happened.
But before anyone could speak—
A voice boomed across the plains.
"The gates were successfully conjured."
A pulling force erupted from the gates.
In a flash—Grandmaster, Chiara, and Sheo's weak-ened body were each drawn toward different gates.
And in an instant—
The gates vanished.
Everyone stood in stunned silence, eyes wide with awe.
Inside, Sheo felt the world around him shifting.
He had experienced something similar during the Void Haul… but this was different.
He wasn't surprised by the space itself—
He was surprised by the message flashing across his gene tablet:
"Deteriorated Heaven's Dimension Seal harvested."
Sheo exhaled, trying to calm his thoughts.
Then his voice rang out in the silence.
"Nisach… you've got a lot of explaining to do."
As the space slowly changed around Sheo's body, he sat down calmly and took a few energy and recovery pills. The sensation of space twisting around him gradually faded into a stillness that felt heavy, yet peaceful. Then, Nisach's voice began to echo in his mind.
"See, as I said earlier, the purple energy you pos-sess… it's the opposite side of nature. Long ago, there was a cultivator who had the purest energy of creation. People say that all energy types are mere derivatives of that creation energy. But just like eve-ry coin has two sides, there was also a cultivator who held the purest destructive energy."
Sheo listened quietly as his heart began to thump with unease.
"Her energy," Nisach continued, "was so powerful, it rivaled the energy of creation itself."
His voice lowered, as if reverent of what he was about to say.
"In this world, there are eight Origin Gods. They are the very foundation of this space. Not just this realm, but the higher plane as well—the very essence of this reality is controlled by them."
Sheo's expression turned serious. He didn't dare in-terrupt.
"They are: the God of Air (Vāyu), the God of Water (Jalam), the God of Earth (Bhumi), the God of Flame (Agni), the God of Life (Jīvanam), the God of Death (Yama), and then… the Creator. And the De-stroyer."
A moment of silence passed.
Then Nisach added, more softly:
"And the person who chose you as her descendant… is named Vinakshi. Or, as the world knows her—the Destroyer."
Sheo took a long breath and let that sink in.
His thoughts raced, trying to make sense of what he was being told.
Nisach continued in a steady tone:
"The dimension seal you've just absorbed—it's a god-class treasure created by Vinakshi herself. It was meant to nurture her descendants. With this seal, you can access a dimension named the Deteriorated Heaven. It has the perfect environment for your training."
Sheo's gaze drifted toward the faint shimmer in space as Nisach kept speaking.
"Since the beginning of time, there have only been six descendants of the Destroyer who possessed the gene energy type of destruction. None of them made it till the end. And now… you are the seventh."
There was a pause.
"With that, your life is forever changed. Call it luck… or bad luck. You now have an opportunity to achieve power that no one could imagine. But that also means…"
His voice hardened slightly.
"…you'll face trials and hardships countless times harder than any ordinary cultivator. What I've just told you… is one of this world's greatest secrets. I am merely a spirit fragment of my previous master, and the memory I can access only allows me to tell you this much—for now."
Sheo sat silently.
His thoughts were loud, scattered. He didn't fully understand what he had gotten into. But one thing was clear—his path would not be easy.
Still, deep within, a fire lit in his heart.
No matter how difficult it gets… I will climb to the top.
With that resolve, Sheo slowly rose as the space around him stabilized. A vast land stretched as far as the eyes could see.
Then, his gene tablet hovered in front of him.
A notification appeared:
"Sky Class Sect: Nezhic Pavilion."
He felt the energy around him—it was rich, thick, and powerful.
He knew what he had to do. His teacher had in-structed him to head to the capital city of Ruqio af-ter this. But before that…
He had to train.
The flow of time in this place was faster—an invalu-able advantage.
Sheo began laying out his plan.
"After this… I'll go to Galion City and register as an adventurer. Then the journey begins."
But first—training.
He walked forward and spotted a large, calm lake before him. As he stepped toward it, surprisingly, he did not sink.
Then, suddenly, a light rose from deep within the water.
A large falcon emerged, and above it, a middle-aged man sat cross-legged.
A voice echoed from above.
"You came here… which means you're capable. But that's not enough. You need to prove you're worthy of my technique."
Sheo nodded once.
"What do I have to do?" he asked.
The man smirked lightly.
"Oh, nothing much. You just need to survive three of my moves. Fair warning… you can definitely die here."
Sheo let out a soft sigh. He knew at once this was a soul essence—one left behind with a specific task. The elder seemed humorous, almost playful, but Sheo bowed respectfully.
"I would love to try, Elder."
"Good. That's the spirit."
Then, the man waved his hand.
For a split second, the space around Sheo froze.
But that sneak attack wasn't enough. Sheo jumped back instantly.
A large burst of energy rushed toward him, taking the shape of a tiger.
A faint voice whispered through the wind:
"Five Life Beast Soul Technique—Core One: Tiger."
Sheo steadied his breath and calmed his thoughts. Then, using his death sword and speed sword class, he struck at the tiger and barely dodged the violent assault.
Clapping followed.
The old man was rolling on his falcon, laughing.
"You survived my sneak attack and Core One? Im-pressive! But there's still one more attack left. Let's see what you can do."
As he spoke, the air grew heavier.
A monstrous pressure began to condense into a sin-gle point, forming into the shape of a snake.
The elder's tone turned mock-serious.
"Five Life Beast Soul Technique—Core Two: Snake."
The power radiating from that snake was unimagina-ble. It felt like the strength of an Emperor Level 2 cultivator.
Sheo's heart pounded.
He knew this would be difficult.
He dodged another strike with effort and determina-tion. Then he muttered quietly,
"Here goes nothing…"
He flicked his hand, guiding his soul energy with precision. Hundreds of formation seals flew out and settled into carefully calculated positions in the air.
Then he spoke firmly.
"Activate Blood Maya Formation."
Dark red mist rapidly filled the space around the snake.
This time, the formation was complete.
Just by looking at it, the old man's surprise was visi-ble. He hadn't expected it.
Sheo moved back. The sky above lit up with stars. Thousands of starlights converged upon his sword.
Dark energy wrapped around his blade. Lightning arced across his body. His breath slowed.
He knew—this was his one chance.
Carefully, he channeled the energy of the death em-blem into the strike. Then he commanded:
"Collapse."
The formation shattered.
Enraged, the snake charged forward.
Sheo thrust forward, and a sword light—shaped like a dragon—shot through the mist.
A deafening boom followed.
The smoke cleared slowly. The snake vanished.
The old man clapped again.
"Congratulations."
He smiled warmly now, no longer joking.
"This is the technique I, Akhari Jung, spent my life developing. You are a worthy successor."
A golden paper floated toward Sheo, titled:
"Five Life Beast Soul Technique."
The man's voice softened.
"I hope you use this technique for good—and pass it on to a worthy successor one day."
Sheo bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Elder."
Then, the elder's soul essence slowly faded.
But before it all vanished, Sheo noticed the falcon's soul was still present. An idea struck him.
He made some quick seals.
"Refine."
As he hoped, his shadow puppetry worked. Light began to cover the falcon.
But this time—the beast resisted.
It struggled violently. It looked like Sheo would fail.
Then—his purple energy surged out.
In an instant, the falcon's resistance vanished.
A notification appeared:
"Green Flame Falcon Refined — Shadow Puppetry Initiated."
The falcon's form turned into a shadow and entered Sheo's body.
Knowing this would take time, Sheo sighed and waved his hand.
The Arctic Dragon appeared. So did his puppet.
Then, a cocoon emerged as well—it was Dreamy, still in the process of awakening.
This area had so much energy and so many resources that Sheo couldn't even hope to use them all.
But he knew what he had to do.
He would refine every set of power he had.
A shimmering symbol of light floated before him—still unhealed.
Even after absorbing energy from the Star Sea Sect's treasure, the death emblem had yet to recover.
After sorting all his allies, Sheo finally sat down.
He closed his eyes.
And with unwavering focus, he began refining his techniques, mastering them one by one.
Because his next adventure…
Would be wilder than anything he had faced before.