Swallowed Star: Heavenbreaker

The Deep Vein no longer felt like a sanctuary. Every tremor of the imprisoned heartbeat reverberated through the cavern with a promise of liberation, but also a warning — the Eternal Shadows were preparing to strike back with a force beyond anything Lin Xuan had faced.

Above, the Codex whispered of gathering storms: a convergence of power shaped not like armies but like scalpels. Executors, it named them — the Thrones' chosen killers, honed across eons to annihilate threats like the Heavenbreaker.

Lin Xuan stood before the fractured chains, silver aura painting the cavern in an ethereal glow. His disciples knelt before him, their silver-tinged auras stronger but edged with unease.

"They come," Lin Xuan said. "Not another siege. Not beasts or warlords. Executors. Each one carries the authority of the Thrones themselves."

Zhang Wei's jaw tightened. "How do we fight them?"

"You don't," Lin Xuan replied. "You survive their presence. I will kill them."

Mei Yan shifted uneasily, her hand brushing the hilt of her blade. "What makes them different from Harbingers?"

"They are precision," Lin Xuan said simply. "Each Executor is a weapon designed to sever what the Thrones cannot control. To them, you are incidental."

Luo Jin clenched his fists. "Then we stay out of your way."

Lin Xuan's silver-lit gaze swept over them, razor-edged. "No. You will prepare. Because this time, the Shadows are not only sending their blades. They are probing for weakness within."

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I. Whisper of Betrayal

That night, as the disciples cultivated, Lin Xuan descended deeper into the Vein. The imprisoned entity's whispers swelled, each word dragging along the edges of his consciousness like claws.

"…They come… three Executors… but not all blades cut from beyond… one among your own bleeds shadow…"

Lin Xuan stilled, silver-lit eyes narrowing. A traitor?

"…Fear not… all blades break in time… but trust is a chain, and one has already cracked…"

Lin Xuan rose, his aura flaring in cold, calculated calm. If the Shadows believe they can erode my Sect from within, they will find my trust is tempered steel.

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II. The Executors Descend

The first sign of the Executors' arrival was silence. Not the stillness of anticipation, but a suffocating void that snuffed out every other sound. Then came the pressure — an oppressive weight that pressed against the mind, more suffocating than the Shadow Warlord's killing intent.

Three figures emerged from the upper tunnels, each radiating an aura of absolute lethality.

The first was a tall, slender figure clad in armor that flowed like liquid metal, carrying twin scythes that shimmered with voidlight.

The second, massive and broad, wielded a warhammer inscribed with runes that pulsed with crushing gravitic force.

The third, faceless beneath a mirror-bright helm, bore no visible weapon — yet its presence alone felt like a blade poised against Lin Xuan's very soul.

"Heavenbreaker," the first Executor said, voice a silken whisper that carried the weight of a verdict. "By command of the Thrones, your existence is forfeit."

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III. The Duel Begins

Silver and violet collided as Lin Xuan launched himself forward, his Heaven-Sundering Palm meeting the twin scythes in a burst of annihilation. The cavern floor disintegrated beneath the force of the impact.

The warhammer-wielding Executor struck next, the crushing force of its blow warping the air. Lin Xuan twisted aside, countering with a spiral of silver Qi that hurled the giant backward, carving a furrow through the stone.

The third Executor moved without moving, its mirrored helm turning toward Lin Xuan. For an instant, reality itself buckled, and Lin Xuan felt a thin line of cold trace across his neck — a cut that had not yet been made.

An Executor who kills with intent alone, Lin Xuan noted, silver aura flaring. This one is the most dangerous.

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IV. Shadows Within

Far from the clash, Zhang Wei, Mei Yan, and Luo Jin led the defense against the lesser shadowspawn flooding the outer tunnels. But amid the chaos, Mei Yan's instincts prickled.

"Something's wrong," she muttered, her silver-lit eyes scanning their ranks. "One of the initiates… where is He Lian?"

Luo Jin paused mid-strike, silver aura flaring. "He was on the southern flank—"

A blast of corrupted Qi ripped through their formation, hurling defenders aside in a wave of violet fire. From the smoke stepped He Lian, silver veins tainted with black corruption, his once-bright aura flickering with shadow.

"Traitor!" Zhang Wei roared, fury lacing his voice.

He Lian's twisted grin revealed nothing of the disciple they once knew. "The Thrones promised ascension. Why crawl in the dirt beneath Lin Xuan when we can stand above the heavens?"

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V. Battle on Two Fronts

The betrayal fractured the defenders' lines. Shadowspawn surged through the gap, cutting down those too slow to react.

Zhang Wei engaged He Lian in a storm of silver and corrupted Qi, their blades clashing in a torrent of sparks. "You chose the wrong Path!" Zhang Wei roared, driving his silver-tinged blade toward He Lian's heart.

Mei Yan and Luo Jin fought to hold the breach, silver auras weaving blurs of light as they carved through the onslaught. But for every shadowspawn they cut down, two more took its place.

If Master falls to the Executors, it's over, Mei Yan thought, desperation sharpening her strikes. We must hold.

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VI. Heavenbreaker Ascendant

Back in the cavern's heart, Lin Xuan unleashed the Heavenbreaker Codex's Fifth Form — Celestial Sundering — in a storm of silver annihilation. The blast hurled the warhammer-wielding Executor into the cavern wall, shattering its weapon and leaving deep fissures in its armor.

The scythe-bearer pressed the attack, its blades weaving patterns of lethal precision. Lin Xuan met each strike with perfect economy of motion, his silver aura devouring the voidlight and feeding it back as sharpened force.

Then the third Executor moved, and the world seemed to split. A line of silver bisected the mirrored helm, the killing intent vanishing as Lin Xuan's Heavenbreaker Path severed its very essence.

One down, Lin Xuan thought, turning as the other two regrouped. Two remain.

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VII. The Price of Betrayal

In the outer tunnels, Zhang Wei finally broke through He Lian's guard, his silver blade piercing the corrupted disciple's chest.

He Lian's blackened veins pulsed once before his body dissolved into mist. "You'll… all… fall…" his voice echoed as the corruption dispersed.

Zhang Wei staggered, blood dripping from a dozen shallow wounds. "The breach is sealed," he gasped.

"Not yet," Mei Yan said grimly, cutting down another shadowspawn. "We hold until Master finishes this."

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VIII. Breaking the Executors

Lin Xuan's silver aura blazed brighter than ever, his every movement a storm of annihilation. He wove between the scythe-bearer's attacks, severing one blade, then the other in bursts of silver light.

The warhammer-wielder charged, runes blazing with desperate power, only to meet the Heavenbreaker Codex's Sixth Form — Endless Horizon Collapse. The technique struck with the weight of a collapsing star, annihilating the Executor in a cataclysm of silver and violet.

The scythe-bearer fell moments later, bisected by Lin Xuan's Heaven-Sundering Palm.

As the last Executor dissolved, the cavern fell silent.

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IX. Aftermath

Lin Xuan stood amid the remnants of the battle, silver aura fading. The chains behind him pulsed with widening cracks, the imprisoned heartbeat thundering in triumph.

"…Only two chains remain… their finest blades lie broken… soon, we will rise…"

Lin Xuan turned, silver-lit gaze cutting through the gloom. Two chains. Two battles left — and one traitor's shadow burned from my Sect.

He found his disciples battered but alive, their silver auras burning with renewed resolve. Zhang Wei knelt, his voice steady despite his wounds. "The breach is sealed. He Lian is dead."

"Good," Lin Xuan said, his voice cold and final. "Let this be a lesson — the Heavenbreaker Path tolerates no weakness. Trust is forged in blood, and betrayal is erased in kind."

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X. Gathering Strength

That night, as his disciples healed and the cavern settled, Lin Xuan meditated before the chains. The whispers of the imprisoned entity coiled around him, intoxicating and insistent.

"…Break them all… ascend beyond shadow… only you… only we…"

Lin Xuan's lips curved into a cold smile. Not "we." When the last chain falls, I will decide your fate.

Above, in the far reaches of the Shadowlands, the Thrones stirred — their Executors dead, their dominion cracking.

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End of Chapter 17.