Chapter 157 — Hammering a Calamity
A thousand disciples held their breath.
The Abyssal Ancestor, a being whose shadow had once darkened entire realms, floated rigid and helpless above the ruined center of the arena—frozen in place by nothing more than a single tap of the Sect Master's finger.
Lightning crawled across its immobilized skin.
Abyssal flames guttered uselessly at the edges of its wings.
It looked like a god carved in obsidian…
one that had suddenly forgotten how to move.
All eyes turned to the Sect Master.
He smiled gently.
> "Tian Lei. You will strike first."
Tian's grin spread like wildfire.
---
1. Tian's First Blow — A Strike Worthy of a Bloodline Prodigy
Tian stepped forward—
and lightning rolled off him in waves.
His veins glowed.
His muscles hardened.
His hammer drank in every spark.
The arena dimmed.
Clouds swirled overhead in a vortex of purple and gold.
Tian inhaled…
Then roared.
> "SKY-ANVIL — DIVINE THUNDER EXECUTION!"
He leapt—
and time seemed to slow.
His hammer carved a comet-trail of lightning, the arc of his strike painting a bright wound across the sky.
The blow landed squarely on the Ancestor's right shoulder.
KRAAAAAAAAAK—BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Space shattered around the impact point.
A shockwave blasted every disciple backward.
The Ancestor's flesh ruptured in a burst of abyssal blood.
One of its six arms went limp.
And inside its mind—
"NO—NO—NO—STOP—THIS CANNOT—THIS CANNOT BE—
I—AM—THE ABYSS—!!!"
But it could not move.
The Sect Master's invisible seal held firm.
Elder Rowan whistled softly.
The Sect Master nodded to Tian.
> "A fine blow."
Tian bowed with pride radiating from every pore.
Damage score: High.
Benchmark set.
---
2. Lin's Internal Shock — A New Understanding of Power
Lin stepped forward.
His face was calm.
His expression serene.
But inside—
His thoughts roiled like a star collapsing inward.
"A pseudo-demigod…
frozen in place…
by a single finger."
He kept walking, hammer slung over his shoulder.
But his heart trembled.
"This…
This is the difference between realms."
A being who could have destroyed Lin's former world—
a being whose presence alone annihilated nations—
was now an immobile training post.
"In my old realm…
the Ancestor was fear incarnate.
A calamity.
A war-ending threat."
He tightened his grip on the hammer.
"But here?
He's just a tool for settling a duel."
A slow breath escaped through his nose.
"I thought I understood the gap between realms.
I was wrong."
He raised his head.
His eyes sharpened.
"This is what true power looks like.
This is what I must reach."
---
3. The Sect Master Takes Note
As Lin approached the Ancestor, the Sect Master's gaze lingered on him with unusual sharpness.
> "His expression is steady…
but his heart is racing.
He understands."
Rowan glanced at him.
> "Is that good or bad?"
The Sect Master smiled faintly.
> "Understanding one's smallness is the first step
toward stepping into vastness."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
> "Now let us see what he does with that realization."
---
4. Lin's Preparation — Gravity Awakens
The Ancestor shrieked mentally.
"DON'T COME NEAR ME—
DON'T—DON'T—
WHAT ARE YOU—
WHAT IS THAT HAMMER—?!"
Lin exhaled once.
A faint ripple of gravity unfurled around him, bending the air, pulling dust inward, warping the light.
Aurora whispered inside his heart-sea:
> "Master… your gravity is responding on its own.
Be cautious."
Shengyuan murmured from deeper within:
> "No.
Let it respond.
It has sensed prey worthy of its rise."
Lin didn't answer.
He simply stepped into place.
Then lifted his hammer.
---
5. Lin's Strike — The First Stage of the Black Hole Doctrine
His voice was calm.
But the arena shuddered at every word.
> "Black Hole Collapse — Second Form."
Space dimmed.
The air compressed until disciples felt their lungs tighten.
A sphere of darkness manifested above Lin's hammerhead—
no larger than a marble,
yet heavier than mountains.
An elder gasped.
> "He condensed it tighter than before…
Is he insane?"
Rowan smirked.
> "He's improving."
Lin swung.
WHOOM—CRRRRRRRAAAK—BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The singularity exploded downward.
The Ancestor's abdomen collapsed inward—
a portion of its torso crushed into a compressed mass of ruined flesh.
Abyssal fire sputtered.
Its wings dimmed.
Its internal organs ruptured.
Inside its mind—
"WHAT—
WHAT IS THIS—
WHAT IS THIS LAW—
WHAT IS THIS FORCE—
NO—STOP—STOP—STOP—!!!"
The crowd fell silent.
Core disciples swallowed hard.
Direct disciples stood.
Elders inhaled sharply.
The Sect Master's eyes gleamed.
> "Yes…
this boy ascends faster than lightning."
But Lin wasn't done.
---
6. The Aftershock — A Second Recoil Strike
Lin's hammer rebounded.
Gravity rippled out again—
WHUMMMMMMP—!!!
A secondary impact struck the Ancestor's spine, cracking bone through flesh.
A visible crater spread across its back.
Tian muttered under his breath.
> "…You…"
"You're not human."
Lin lowered his hammer.
Eyes steady.
> "Your turn."
---
7. Tian Responds with Fury and Pride
Tian cracked his neck.
Lightning surged through his blood.
He stepped forward—
His aura doubling.
Tripling.
His voice shook the arena.
> "SKY-ANVIL—
WRATH OF HEAVEN!!!"
His hammer burst into a torrent of lightning so bright the arena went white.
Lin watched with interest.
The Sect Master nodded.
The Ancestor screamed internally.
"NO—NO—NO—ENOUGH—ENOUGH—WHY—WHY IS THIS REALM—SO STRONG—???"
Tian struck.
BOOOOOOOM—KRRRRAAAAAASH!!!
Half of the Ancestor's wing tore free.
Lightning carved a river through its side.
A storm erupted from Tian's hammerpoint, tearing abyssal flesh into vapor.
The disciples roared.
> "Tian is insane!"
"He ripped off a wing!"
"Is that… allowed?!"
The Sect Master chuckled.
> "The Ancestor will survive."
The Ancestor screamed in his mind:
"I WON'T SURVIVE THIS—!!"
---
8. Ending the Chapter with a Promise of Escalation
The Sect Master raised a hand again.
> "Good.
Very good."
He looked at Lin.
> "Your second strike will determine the winner."
Tian glared but said nothing.
He wanted to see Lin's limit.
Lin stepped forward.
His hammer hummed—
Gravity condensed—
The air cracked—
And the Ancestor shrieked silently, unable to move, unable to resist.
"NO—
NO—
NOT AGAIN—!!!"
Lin raised his hammer.
He whispered:
> "Black Hole Collapse—
Third Form."
The Sect Master's eyes narrowed.
Tian's breath caught.
The Ancestor's panic peaked.
And before Lin could swing—