The courtyard had become a battlefield of ruins.
Stone platforms were split open, pillars shattered, and scorch marks covered the once-pristine training grounds of the Ember Fist Sect.
At the center of it all stood Kael.
Energy spiraled slowly around him, invisible but heavy, like gravity bending the air itself.
The Sky Drinker realm had changed everything.
He could feel it clearly now.
Every spark of spiritual energy in the courtyard.
Every flicker of flame from the Ember Fist disciples.
Every glowing rune the Pavilion cultivators used.
It was all… fragile.
Breakable.
Across the battlefield, the Pavilion cultivators had stopped moving.
Not out of fear.
Out of caution.
Seraphine stepped forward slowly, studying Kael like a scholar examining a dangerous artifact.
"So it's true," she murmured.
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"What is?"
Seraphine folded her hands behind her back.
"The fragments evolve their bearer."
Her silver eyes sharpened.
"But no one has ever advanced this quickly."
Kael shrugged slightly, though the power inside him still roared like a storm.
"Guess I'm special."
Seraphine did not smile.
"No."
Her aura ignited.
Golden light exploded outward from her body, illuminating the entire courtyard.
"You are unstable."
The pressure instantly doubled.
Several Ember Fist disciples collapsed to their knees under the weight of her spiritual force.
Even Rhyzen stepped back, flames rising defensively around his body.
Kael remained standing.
But he could feel it.
Seraphine's power was enormous.
Far greater than the disciples he had fought earlier.
She was no ordinary envoy.
She lifted one hand slowly.
Golden characters began forming around her arm, glowing brighter and brighter.
"Binding Scripture Technique," she said calmly.
"Divine Lock."
The air around Kael froze.
Suddenly—
Hundreds of golden chains burst from the ground beneath him.
They moved faster than lightning, wrapping around his arms, legs, and chest.
Each chain was covered in glowing symbols designed to suppress spiritual power.
The moment they tightened—
Kael felt his energy choke.
The Broken Heaven Energy raged violently inside him, slamming against the restraints.
Seraphine stepped closer.
"This is the difference between power and control," she said.
Kael gritted his teeth.
The chains tightened further.
Cracks spread across the stone beneath his feet.
Rhyzen tried to move forward—
But another Pavilion cultivator blocked him instantly.
"Stay back," the man warned.
Seraphine raised her hand again.
The chains began lifting Kael into the air.
"This is over."
But then—
CRACK.
One of the chains snapped.
Seraphine's eyes flickered.
CRACK.
Another chain shattered.
The symbols along the metal began breaking apart like glass.
Kael's head lifted slowly.
Dark fractures spread across the air around him.
"You still don't get it," Kael said quietly.
The Broken Heaven Energy surged violently.
The remaining chains exploded outward in fragments.
BOOM.
A shockwave blasted across the courtyard.
Seraphine slid back several steps for the first time.
Dust swirled between them.
Kael landed on the ground again, breathing heavily.
His body was beginning to reach its limit.
Sky Drinker power was massive…
But unstable.
Seraphine noticed immediately.
"You're burning yourself out," she said calmly.
Kael wiped blood from his lip.
"Maybe."
Then he stepped forward again.
"But not before I hit you."
Seraphine sighed softly.
"So be it."
Her aura expanded again.
Golden runes formed an enormous circle above the battlefield.
A heavenly formation.
Even Rhyzen looked alarmed.
"That technique…"
Seraphine raised her hand.
"Scripture of Heavenly Judgment."
The sky itself responded.
The cracked heavens above the sect glowed brightly.
A massive pillar of golden energy began forming above Kael's position.
Kael looked up.
Even with his new power…
That attack would erase him completely.
Rhyzen suddenly shouted from across the battlefield.
"KAEL!"
Kael glanced toward him.
Rhyzen slammed both fists together.
Flames exploded around his body in a violent surge.
"I'll open a path!"
He launched himself into the air, punching the descending pillar of light with everything he had.
BOOM.
The collision shook the entire mountain.
For a moment—
The attack slowed.
Just enough.
Kael's eyes sharpened.
Energy surged into his arm again.
The air warped violently around his fist.
Seraphine saw it and whispered under her breath.
"…Again?"
Kael stepped forward.
"Shattered Horizon."
The ground beneath him cracked.
"…Second Break."
He punched upward.
The sky split.
The golden pillar of judgment shattered down the middle like a broken mirror.
Fragments of divine light scattered across the battlefield.
Even the sky above the mountain trembled.
Then—
A loud rumble echoed across the heavens.
CRAAAAAAAAACK.
Everyone froze.
High above the sect…
A massive piece of the broken sky began falling.
A true fragment of heaven.
And it was heading straight for the mountain.
Seraphine stared upward in shock.
"…What have you done?"
Kael looked at the falling fragment.
And for the first time…
He realized something terrifying.
It wasn't falling randomly.
It was falling toward him.