Otherworldly Desert Dust

The entire True Martial Continent was always grey and ink-black due to the clouds, due to the cold rain. The sky was this color, and so was the earth, and the power of the Martial God was the most vibrant color in this world, like a rainbow cutting across the Sky Dome, dazzling and stunning, simultaneously bringing a spiritual shock to countless people.
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Ruan Muhuan's sword was like the sun's boundless light.

The presence of the Burning Cloud Martial God was like towering peaks of red Fire Clouds.

Sometimes, a light too terrifying could plunge the world into the darkest depths of reverse radiance, but after such darkness, it was as if the mountains atop the heavens were aflame, layers upon layers of celestial fire raining down upon the mortal land, with billions of creatures trembling in fear, dreading that the sky might collapse from their battle.

Ruan Muhuan was undistracted, her mind clear of any other thoughts.

She was the only one in nearly a hundred years to have wielded a sword against the Martial God Alliance. Her figure was tall and elegantly beautiful, carrying the heroic spirit of the Heavenly Maiden Martial God. Her sword shadow spanned the earth, capable of annihilating heaven and earth, yet meticulously spared every frail life.

The Burning Cloud Martial God too fought with wide swings, his Qi Ming representing his status as high as the Clouds in Heaven, untouchable. As someone who had just ascended, Ruan Muhuan had to break through his layers of fire clouds, the divine punishment, to earn the right to decide her own fate. However, the one who sought to break through these unyielding beliefs seemed not to care if she would be burnt to ashes, resolute in tearing open this steadfast faith.

On the lands of Wudou, Wu Hen looked up at the magnificent sky filled with the scent of death, originally wanting to wield his sword and ascend to Cloud Peak with Ruan Muhuan to confront the Burning Cloud Martial God. But seeing her unmatched determination, it was clear that all of this was not for someone else, but for herself...

She needed absolute focus.

This was also her struggle against her own destiny, no need for intervention from others.

And Wu Hen also believed she would not lose to such a rotten and arrogant Martial God from the bones out.

Wu Hen's gaze shifted to another part of the sky, faintly feeling something - could there be a stronger presence?

This was truly a tough battle.

Wu Hen maintained absolute perception, observing the battle between Ruan Muhuan and the Burning Cloud Martial God to ensure she wasn't in any life-threatening danger, while also being vigilant against a barely perceptible shadow on the horizon, ready to draw his sword without hesitation should that shadow manifest.

Rows of red Fire Clouds plummeted, like fragments of the Heavenly Gate and Heavenly Palace crashing down upon the mortal world. Ruan Muhuan's silver and jade figure was like a cold jade needle, piercing through the toxic lump in the cloud courtyard. Vast swaths of light from heaven also followed, showering Wudou, and the long-missed sunlight reappeared.

This rain didn't fall day and night, only a few days and hours in a year saw the sun high in the sky. Having lived in a dim world for too long, one's eyes might find the clean, holy sunlight somewhat blinding.

But in the end, people need light and warmth. When shreds of light like a ripped silk curtain fell from the cloudy sky, the dampness, the cold, and the mold were all dispelled. At first, the people of Wudou didn't understand why Ruan Muhuan, who had become a Martial God, would be an enemy of the Burning Cloud Martial God, who represented the Martial God Alliance. Only after experiencing that rare glimpse of light did they suddenly realize that this newly-emerged Valkyrie represented the billions struggling at the bottom of society. Her past, just like all of theirs, was devoid of sunlight.

Unknowingly, the people's fear of the Burning Cloud Martial God transformed into hope for the Valkyrie Ruan Muhuan. Hoping that she could truly, on her own strength, represent the most miserable of beings and tear open a corner of Cloud Sky so that everyone could bask in the comfortable sunlight at ease, rather than having to kneel to someone no matter the realm achieved in cultivation, either to become corrupt or to be eradicated as an alien. Initially, human hearts were not so complicated until certain people with ulterior motives made the system exceedingly complex.

Within the True Martial Super Continent, the factor of faith existed.

As people's inner beliefs coalesced into a yearning, the spiritual inciter of faith would turn into Qi Ming, forming a massive storm of belief that swirled around the deity they gazed upon in adoration.

Above the Sky Dome, in a dimly lit corner, a flicker of light shimmered, like a piece of small colored glass in a river, shining with a brilliance distinct from the mud and sand as it reflected the light of faith, growing ever brighter, constantly sparkling!

In the high skies of Otherworldly Dust, it seemed a clear and visible silver-jade star had been added, hovering above the center of the True Martial Super Continent. The greater the star radiance, the more powerful the divine soul!

Ruan Muhuan's strength continued to rise, the Qi Ming that surrounded her becoming more potent than that of the senior predecessor, the Burning Cloud Martial God. Her soul's lattice ascended with the baptism of the starlight, and the power at her command underwent a continuous transformation.

She had only just ascended to the highest mountain peak of martial artists, which ostensibly left no more steps to climb, at least not as far as Jiang Qi could see.

But Ruan Muhuan was different, as she continued to tread upward. She walked through the air, toward Cloud Peak, toward the Sky Dome, like a Heavenly Immortal whose life's radiance was fully blossoming across the universe, mysterious, ethereal, supremely solitary!

Her realm continued to break through barrier after barrier, her steadfast and clear heart crystalline and transparent, the sword in her hand showing not the slightest hesitation. She had comprehended herself and the laws of the True Martial Continent. She was no longer a bird that resented the height of the heavens under those laws; she was a Phoenix reborn, spreading her wings to soar freely, unrestrained!

"Ascension!"

When the Burning Cloud Martial God witnessed this scene, he couldn't help but take a sharp intake of breath.

This woman had transcended the laws of the True Martial Continent. Even amidst the Otherworldly Desert Dust, she was a supremely brilliant existence.

The Burning Cloud Martial God could never have imagined that he would become the stepping stone for another's ascent to the heavens, becoming merely a backdrop to another's transformation.

Ruan Muhuan's Qi Ming was even more enormous than before; her Qi Ming was closer to the form of ice-jade. As she burst forth with a completely different radiance, the clouds that had stretched tens of thousands of miles across the continent froze, transforming into a celestial glacier suspended above the land.

With a sweep of Ruan Muhuan's blade, the condensed tens of thousands of miles of glacier shattered into billions of Heavenly River Ice Swords, dense and numerous, like Ice Phoenixes skimming across the sky or like eternal ice rivers stretching across the horizon.

The eyes of the Burning Cloud Martial God were filled with shock and fear.

His flame-wreathed Yunluan was akin to a small flame in severe winter, and how could it contend against this extreme chill?

As a Martial God, he too felt a hint of insignificance.

Layer upon layer of crimson Yunluan was dismantled, he exerted all his might to release Qi Ming, yet he couldn't protect the realm of Cloud Sky where he resided.

Soon, the Cloud Sky where he was located plunged into freezing cold, and a sword from the heavens pierced through his crimson Martial God body, knocking him down from the vault of the sky, hurtling him toward the vast plains outside Wudou.

The Heavenly River Ice Swords descended swiftly, coalescing into a single peak, which was the Nine Heavens Immortal Punishment, the terrestrial calamity. This time, the Burning Cloud Martial God was not left with a superficial wound on his chest; instead, he was pressed into the mud from the heavens, his body and soul pinned down in the plains!