’I will complete it? What does that even mean?’ Yu Xuan thought.

A strange aura began to emanate from the creature.

"...!"

Yu Xuan immediately became alarmed.

He could clearly feel it.

The creature was growing stronger.

Worse still, the empty eyes that had once looked mindless were now shining with great intelligence.

That eerie aura spreading from its body made Yu Xuan instinctively uneasy.

’Should I use that...?’

He made his decision immediately.

Ximen Juesheng had already warned him, the creature had to be killed before it fully awakened its strength and wisdom.

Yu Xuan tightened his grip on his sword.

His Supreme Will flowed over the blade like a dark flame.

But that wasn’t all.

His sword intent fused with the will.

Then.

The power of his physique awakened.

Darkness and light surged together beneath his skin.

Across from him, the creature stared with great greed.

The two clashed again.

In that instant, Yu Xuan noticed something new.

The creature was deliberately avoiding contact with the energy of his physique.

’So it’s threatened by the [Origin]...’

Yet it still wants it.

The realization sharpened Yu Xuan’s focus.

The creature stretched its limbs outward.

Countless jagged spikes erupted from its body and shot toward Yu Xuan like spears.

Yu Xuan’s eyes flashed.

[Telekinesis].

The incoming spikes twisted midair, violently redirected away from him.

At the same moment.

Yu Xuan swung his sword.

A red-black arc erupted from the blade, cutting through everything in its path and tearing apart the creature’s attack.

But Yu Xuan had no intention of prolonging the battle.

The longer the fight continued, the stronger the creature would become.

He vanished.

In the next instant, he appeared right beside it.

Dodging several distorted attacks, Yu Xuan slashed downward, nearly severing one of the creature’s arms entirely.

The creature immediately adapted again.

Its body twisted violently.

In a blink, it transformed into something resembling a massive tiger-like beast, its ghostly form crouching low as it prepared to pounce.

Then it lunged straight at him.

Yu Xuan smiled.

This.

Was exactly what he wanted.

Yu Xuan’s sword moved as if it were an extension of his own body.

The blade reacted on instinct, intercepting and deflecting the creature’s attacks even as Yu Xuan shifted his focus elsewhere.

Instead of guiding the sword, he concentrated entirely on two things.

His physique and his Supreme Will.

Darkness and light surged within him.

Then, near his palm, a dark, shining vortex suddenly appeared, twisting inward like a miniature black hole.

At that same moment, Yu Xuan leapt forward and landed on the creature’s back.

The tiger-like monster twisted violently, its long spiked tail whipping toward him.

But Yu Xuan moved faster.

Before the tail could reach him, he slammed his hand downward.

The vortex plunged straight into the creature’s body.

AHWAAAA—!

The creature released a horrific scream as its entire form convulsed.

Its massive body crashed onto the ground, the force throwing Yu Xuan backward as he rolled across the white battlefield.

The creature struggled to rise again.

But something had changed.

For the first time since the fight began, fear appeared in its eyes.

Not fear of Yu Xuan himself.

But fear of the vortex in his hand.

The thing that had touched it.

Yu Xuan slowly stood up and looked at his palm.

Then he laughed quietly.

"Haha..."

He could feel it clearly.

The creature was weakening.

The vortex had begun devouring something fundamental within it.

Although Yu Xuan could not yet refine the creature’s power properly.

He was certain of one thing.

Given a few more attempts.

He would succeed.

***

Ximen Juesheng observed Yu Xuan silently from afar.

He did not know what kind of future awaited them.

But watching Yu Xuan now.

Seeing his growth, his composure, his adaptability.

A rare sense of optimism rose within him.

In a long while... he truly believed they had a chance.

But that confidence wavered.

The moment Yu Xuan manifested that vortex.

The moment he saw it siphon the creature’s energy.

Ximen Juesheng’s eyes narrowed sharply.

’Impossible... How is he not being influenced?!’

This was not uncharted territory.

Throughout history, countless beings had attempted to absorb the power of these foreign creatures.

Most failed.

And those who succeeded, paid a price.

Their nature became twisted.

Their will corroded.

Some became slaves to something unknown.

Others became enemies of the Heavens themselves.

All for power that was, in truth, not even worth the cost.

So what Yu Xuan was doing right now.

Should not have been possible.

Yet there he was.

Absorbing that alien essence.

Without backlash, without corruption.

Without even the slightest instability.

Ximen Juesheng felt genuine disbelief.

’...Is this the power of an [Origin]? Something that can even influence these beings...?’

If that were true.

Then this matter was far bigger than he had anticipated.

Far beyond the level he was prepared for.

Even for someone like him – an ancient existence who knew countless hidden histories.

There were limits.

He was not a being who could reshape the Heavens on a whim.

And if Origins were involved...

Then the true players behind the scenes were on an entirely different level.

Ximen Juesheng exhaled slowly.

"Freedom is near..." he muttered under his breath.

At the very least.

There was one stroke of fortune.

No one else had witnessed what Yu Xuan just did.

If the others had seen this.

Then once they returned to the greater Heavens, the situation would become far more complicated.

Much more dangerous.

He looked at Yu Xuan again.

A strange thought surfaced in his mind.

’...I’m suddenly glad he was born human.’

After all, a weapon in the hands of someone who knows you and a weapon in the hands of someone who wants to understand you.

Could lead to two completely different outcomes.

Because curiosity can turn into obsession.

And understanding can turn into control.

If Yu Xuan had been born into another race.

Then whatever he would eventually become...

Might not have aligned with Humanity at all.

And that uncertainty.

Was far more terrifying than any known enemy.