The battlefield became silent.
Not a natural silence.
A suffocating stillness.
Because every powerful cultivator present had noticed it.
Something had appeared beyond the silver heavens.
Something that should not have been visible.
Far above the Heavenly Eradication Formation
beyond the layers of heavenly law
beyond the golden runes
a shadow had emerged.
Ancient.
Vast.
Motionless.
The First Heavenly Regent slowly raised his head.
For the first time since his arrival
his expression changed.
Slightly.
The Heavenly Eye trembled.
The silver heavens flickered.
And throughout the battlefield, every cultivator felt an indescribable chill run through their souls.
Even the Gate Lord became silent.
Its crimson eyes narrowed.
The Fourth Seal continued resonating within Lin Feng.
Azure runes rotated inside his pupils.
The world appeared clearer than ever before.
And because of that
he could see more than the others.
The shadow beyond the heavens was not a creature.
Not exactly.
It resembled a continent.
A floating celestial landmass hidden behind reality itself.
Ancient ruins covered its surface.
Broken palaces.
Collapsed towers.
Endless battle scars.
And at its center
a gigantic sword was embedded into the ground.
A sword so enormous that entire mountain ranges appeared insignificant beside it.
The Azure Sovereign's voice echoed from within the sword world.
"You found it."
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.
"What is it?"
For a brief moment
the Sovereign remained silent.
Then he answered.
"The First Battlefield."
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The heavens shook violently.
The Heavenly Eye immediately released endless golden lightning toward the ancient shadow.
As if trying to conceal it once more.
But it was too late.
The Fourth Seal had already revealed the truth.
The battlefield below erupted into confusion.
"What is that?"
"Another world?"
"An ancient ruin?"
No one knew.
Except a handful of ancient beings.
The Gate Lord suddenly laughed.
A low, dark laugh filled with ancient memories.
"So it still exists."
Xu Tian's expression hardened.
Even he appeared unsettled.
Commander Yue immediately noticed.
"You know about it?"
Xu Tian exhaled slowly.
"Only legends."
"The oldest records mention a battlefield beyond Heaven."
Before further explanation could come
the Heavenly Eye attacked.
Not the battlefield.
Not the Gate Lord.
Lin Feng.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A gigantic beam of golden judgment descended directly toward him.
The attack was faster than anything Heaven had unleashed so far.
The First Heavenly Regent moved simultaneously.
A golden spear manifested in his hand.
His target was also Lin Feng.
The message was obvious.
The Fourth Seal had revealed something Heaven desperately wanted hidden.
Therefore
Lin Feng had to die.
The battlefield exploded.
Golden judgment descended from above.
The Regent attacked from the front.
Several Heaven Executors closed in from all directions.
A perfect kill formation.
Commander Yue's face changed.
Xu Tian immediately drew his sword.
The Gate Lord roared.
Yet all of them were too far away.
Only Lin Feng remained at the center.
The Silver Dragon roared.
The Fourth Seal illuminated.
Everything slowed.
The descending judgment.
The Regent's spear.
The movement of every executor.
Lin Feng saw them all.
Then—
he moved.
Cloud Step Art.
His figure blurred.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The place where he had stood vanished completely.
The golden judgment struck the battlefield below.
Several mountains disappeared.
The Regent's spear pierced through empty space.
Lin Feng reappeared above.
The Blue Dragon's Sword Intent erupted.
SHIIIIIIIIING!!
The Azure Sword left its sheath completely.
Azure light flooded the battlefield.
The Fourth Seal resonated with the blade.
Then
something changed.
The Azure Sword no longer appeared merely sharp.
It appeared absolute.
As if it existed beyond ordinary laws.
The Regent immediately sensed danger.
Lin Feng swung.
Not an Azure Sword Art.
Not yet.
Just a simple slash.
SHIIIIING!!
Azure light crossed the heavens.
The approaching Heaven Executors froze.
Then
their bodies split apart.
Cleanly.
Silently.
The battlefield became still.
Even the Regent's eyes narrowed.
Because the attack had not cut their bodies.
It had cut the laws sustaining them.
The Fourth Seal was showing its true purpose.
Truth.
Understanding.
Perception.
Lin Feng was beginning to see the foundations beneath reality itself.
The Regent attacked again instantly.
This time
far more serious.
Golden laws erupted around him.
A massive divine phantom manifested behind his throne.
Ancient.
Majestic.
Terrifying.
The pressure alone shattered nearby space.
Lin Feng felt genuine danger.
The Gold Dragon roared.
The Crimson Dragon followed.
Dominance and Sovereignty erupted together.
BOOOOOOOM!!
His dragon aura exploded outward.
The battlefield trembled.
The Azure Sword hummed violently.
The Regent descended.
Lin Feng ascended.
Both figures collided in the center of the shattered heavens.
Dragon fist.
Divine spear.
Sword intent.
Heavenly law.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The resulting explosion lit up the entire Upper Sky Region.
Mountains collapsed.
The silver heavens cracked again.
When the shockwave cleared
both remained standing.
The Regent's sleeve had been torn.
A shallow cut appeared on his arm.
The battlefield froze.
Commander Yue blinked repeatedly.
Xu Tian remained silent.
Even the Gate Lord stared.
Because that was not a Heaven Executor.
Not a Marshal.
Not a projection.
That was an actual Heavenly Regent.
And Lin Feng had wounded him.
The Regent slowly looked at the cut.
Then toward Lin Feng.
The indifference in his eyes was gone completely.
For the first time
there was killing intent.
True killing intent.
"You are becoming troublesome."
Lin Feng calmly pointed the Azure Sword toward him.
His dragon aura surged.
The nine dragon heads roared behind him.
The Fourth Seal pulsed steadily.
Yet despite the intensity
he remained composed.
Not arrogant.
Not reckless.
Simply confident.
The Regent took a step forward.
The Heavenly Eye brightened.
The battlefield tensed.
Then
suddenly
a horn echoed from beyond the silver heavens.
OOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Ancient.
Deep.
Ancient enough to shake souls.
Every cultivator froze.
The Heavenly Eye trembled violently.
The Regent's expression finally changed.
Genuinely changed.
The Gate Lord laughed.
Not mockingly.
Triumphantly.
"Too late."
The ancient shadow beyond the heavens began moving.
And the gigantic sword embedded within the First Battlefield
slowly started to rise.