The air twisted around Liu Shen as he passed through the rift's crimson veil.
For a moment, everything went black.
No air. No light. No sensation.
Then—pressure.
A crushing, suffocating force gripped him from all directions. His demonic core flared instinctively, struggling to maintain form against the chaotic spiritual turbulence.
> This space isn't part of the mortal realm... It's a pocket world—no, a sealed domain born from corrupted spiritual intent.
His feet touched down on scorched stone.
The sky above was black with cracks of red lightning. Floating islands drifted overhead like tombstones. The air was thick with resentment.
Before him stood a vast, circular arena made of ancient obsidian—each tile etched with faded runes of both heavenly and demonic origin.
At the center was a throne.
And seated upon it…
Was himself.
---
The Throne of Echoes
Liu Shen narrowed his eyes.
The figure looked exactly like him—black robes, crimson eyes, same calm expression—but colder. Crueler.
The other Liu Shen smiled lazily.
"So. You finally made it."
Liu Shen's hand moved to his waist, ready to draw a hidden talisman.
"Who are you?"
The doppelganger rose from the throne.
"I am the version of you that never died. The one who embraced the betrayal. The one who burned the heavens without mercy. I am your true self."
"Impossible," Liu Shen said, voice steady. "This is a trick—an echo born from memory residue."
"Maybe. Or maybe this realm shows you what you could have been… or what you still might become."
The false Liu Shen snapped his fingers.
Chains erupted from the ground, encircling the arena.
"Either way, there's only one way out of here, Demon Sovereign."
---
Battle in the Echo Arena
The two Liu Shens charged.
Black Qi met black Qi—clashing like twin storms.
Their fists collided, creating shockwaves that cracked the arena floor.
The echo version moved like a phantom, each strike perfectly timed, as if he anticipated every motion.
> Of course he does, Liu Shen realized. He's me. At my peak.
The echo struck with a technique Liu Shen hadn't used in this life yet—Demonic Shadow Burial Fist.
Liu Shen blocked it with his forearm, blood spraying from the impact.
The echo sneered. "Still holding back?"
Liu Shen gritted his teeth.
> If I'm going to defeat myself… I have to stop thinking like the old Liu Shen.
He let the pain fuel him.
Let go of the pride, the restraint, the fear of losing control.
And then—he smiled.
"I'm not who I was," Liu Shen whispered. "I'm something new."
---
Awakening of the Crimson Soul Flame
The echo lunged—but this time, Liu Shen didn't block.
He stepped in and embraced the blow—then gripped the echo's chest.
A crimson flame erupted from his palm, seeping into the echo's body.
The echo screamed as Crimson Soul Flame, an ancient demonic technique thought lost, began devouring him from the inside.
The flames didn't burn flesh—they burned fate.
And the echo, no longer bound to reality, began to crack and dissolve.
"You've changed," the echo said through a warped voice. "You are no longer bound by what was…"
"I'm not a shadow of the past," Liu Shen said coldly. "I'm the one who survives it."
The echo vanished in a storm of embers.
---
End of the Trial
The chains shattered.
The arena cracked, revealing a staircase made of flame that led upward into a blazing light.
Above it, an ancient stone floated—a spirit artifact, glowing faintly with demonic inscriptions.
> This… this is a Flame-Sealed Soul Core.
With this, I can stabilize my Abyssal cultivation and ascend into the upper Foundation Realm.
Liu Shen reached out, absorbing the artifact into his core.
Power surged through his meridians.
And then—the sky above the rift cracked.
---
Meanwhile – Outside the Rift
Elder Mo stumbled backward from the spiritual mirror.
"The rift… it's reacting! Something inside is awakening!"
Elder Jin's eyes were wide. "No… he is awakening."
"Who?"
The old man whispered:
> "The Sovereign who once made the heavens tremble."