Skyfire Avenue

The ancient realm of immortals succumbed to the second eventuality and passed into history. But how powerful were those being that created a space that could contend against the universe itself?

The Middle Heaven Emperor of the North Pole Star of Purple Subtlety was not the mightiest of this legendary beings, but he was certainly among the strongest. One can imagine the resilience and potency of his primordial spirit. What remained of his influence was enough to empower Lan Jue.

Having just broken through Lan Jue hadn’t had enough time to wholly understand this gift. However, through his environment and experiences he already had a connection to it that fused them together.

The Banishing Blades were stupendous weapons of power. In the hands of the Emperor of the North Star, they were incomparably destructive. In fact, only the gathered Banishing Blades would be capable of causing harm to a god and his godblade.

Thus with this mystical inheritance Lan Jue was able to galvanize the potential of Captus with great success. It was why he and Qianlin were able to employ the Harmonious Swords style to such abundant success.

In the first moments of releasing his Discipline, Lan Jue felt like the heavens and earth moved at his behest. Within the scope of his Domain he was master and creator, and his protogenia was the motive force for everything that existed. Stars dimmed because they were lending their energy to his pocket reality, translating into the blasts of thunder that snaked through it. It was the foundational energy of the Palm of Five Lightnings and produced a Domain few could contend against.

Lan Qing’s Buddha’s Revelation Domain was held in high regard as one of the strongest as well, but the Buddhist faith was lenient and pacifistic by nature. It was mostly defensive and empowering, where Lan Jue’s Boundless Starlight Domain was designed for direct force. It even has some similarities to the Banishing Strategy. If the Emperor of the North Star himself summoned this Domain, nevermind the alien planets, whole swaths of the universe would cease to exist.

Lan Jue, of course, was nowhere near those levels of power. However when his Domain was released the potential that pulsed within it was staggering.

Qianlin stood by his side, saying nothing. Her Queen of Heaven Domain linked with whatever power was nearby in mutual support. It was inevitable that the stronger one’s power was, the more unstable it was by nature. But bathed in the light of the Queen of Heaven the dangers were abated. White light hung over the domineering image of the Emperor and swelled the manifestation of its Domain farther by half. Lan Jue did not feel drained even despite the expansion of his influence. On the contrary he felt more rooted.

Their target was designated, Monarch’s avatar. There was a flash of purple, and the Boundless Starlight swept up to meet their foe.

When this war started Lan Jue and Qianlin had not been Paragons. They had been Adepts mere hours ago, and now possessed strength enough to challenge a foe who bore the power of Nirvana – and the strongest of the planets’ doppelgangers.

From all intelligence and information gathered, Lan Jue knew that if the alien home worlds were still evolving then these beasts in human skin – along with the Violet Prince and Princess – were the alien’s strongest line of defense. How strong he could not say for sure, but some could at least contend with the Infinite. Beyond a doubt, cutting down one of these top generals would be a tremendous blow against the enemies of humanity.

Satan had died in the conflict, but he had used his death to give mankind a chance. Here were gathered nearly all Paragons, and if they could leave behind the corpses of these doppelgangers and their alien pawns it could turn the tide of battle.

The suddenness of Lan Jue’s Domain and the fact it could overtake it at all was a surprise for the avatar. But he didn’t have time to marvel over it long, before in a flash an arc of golden lightning was blasting toward him. It was the strongest of the five lightnings – chaos.

Monarch’s representative swung its arms in a circular pattern and the essence of its violet energy was summoned, coalescing into a shield to block the lightning’s path.

When the two met there was no dramatic explosion or deafening blast. When the chaos lightning reached the violet light it simply vanished. However, the avatar’s shield was covered in a misty golden hue. It began to melt away before their eyes.

Amazement was the word to best describe the avatar’s features. Its body trembled then shot into the distance. Strong as it was the beast did not desire to face chaotic lightning head-on.

But the lesser monsters continued to tumble from the sky as All-Heaven Lightning hunted them down. As Lan Jue’s chosen specialty it was only slightly less destructive than chaotic lightning. Lan Jue was not the Emperor of the North Star, and his powers were a mere shadow of the ancient god, but it was more than enough to strike fear in the hearts of these monsters.

B-o-o-o-m—The peal of thunder was so intense it made the doppelganger’s shield tremble.

More glittering bolts of electric power came crashing down from on high. The searing purple of primordial lightning, the three turquoise bolts, and more assailed the doppelganger. The creature was pinned and its spirit rattled, forced to rely on exuding pure energy to defend itself.

Even Lan Jue was surprised at the fortitude of his Domain. Whatever the circumstance he was still just a Reflection of Heaven and Earth. It spoke volumes to his abilities that he was able to suppress a monster that was a full degree of power above him.

The pressure from their clash was palpable in the air. There was a flash of light in Lan Jue’s eyes as he thrust Captus forward. He closed his eyes, and suddenly he was one with the essence of his Domain.

A beam of red light streaked forward. As it raced forward bolts of all the different sorts fell into its wake. Monarch’s avatar hovered directly in its path of destruction.

Boom– — — To the doppelganger it was as though reality collapsed around it. The blasts of lightning that tied him down grew ever stronger. Within this terrible state he could feel a wild energy tearing at his body.

The Five Lightnings were righteous by nature and suppressed the power of evil. Captus was a weapon forged by the gods. Together, and empowered by his Domain, the force at Lan Jue’s command was overwhelming.

It might be expected that Lan Jue and Qianlin, with their Harmonious Swords, could defeat a progenitor of Nirvana level. It was a different thing entirely that Lan Jue, empowered by the image of the Emperor of the North Star, could face down one of the alien generals on his own and not be in too inferior a position.

The only person who could compete with him in sheer talent was Lan Qing. This was true in both dharmic image and Domain. But don’t forget that Lan Qing was not the bearer of a Banishing Blade. Nor was Lan Qing’s powers focused on offense, but control. Thus Lan Jue, with all the tools at his disposal, had the sheer destructive power of the likes of Luo Xianni and his father. Even the Terminator could not say for certain if he could win a one-on-one encounter with the young man.

However Lan Jue had not recognized this. After all since his breakthrough he had just known the strength of the Harmonious Swords. He had only anticipated their combined strength to be enough for the task ahead. He would only come to know the scope of his personal abilities through trial by combat – as he was doing now.

The aura pouring from the Monarch’s avatar was threatening. Although, it was less terrifying than it had been prior to being consumed by Lan Jue’s Domain. Boundless Starlight seemed to be repressing the monster’s cultivation while simultaneously peppering it with attacks. Lan Jue was as surprised as anyone when he saw his Domain fuse perfectly with the tide of Captus’ power. The Five Lightnings worked in sync with the Banishing Blade to great effect.

The alien general was cut off, surrounded on all sides by the reality-piercing might of Captus. Meanwhile Lan Jue’s Domain worked with a mind of its own. Lightning strikes of various colors traced their way through the air in a mass onslaught.

Monarch’s avatar threw its head back and roared at the sky. The pain was excruciating, and the power he needed to free himself was fleeting like water through sand. Destruction was a terrifyingly real possibility.

All cognizant beings knew terror. The more powerful they were, the deeper their fear ran. When the circumstances of one’s demise were laid bare, that dread became unescapable.

Such was the truth Monarch’s representative faced. Scales began to emerge on its skin. Where its face had once been handsome and gallant, now it was a mask of feral inhumanity. It could no longer control itself and defend against Boundless Starlight, and was forced to reveal its true nature.

In the instant Lan Jue thrust forward with Captus, Qianlin mimicked the motion with her own sword. But her attack was absent the overwhelming power of Lan Jue’s. Hers was possessed by a faintly discernible immortal presence, and emerged as a hail of piercing blue light. Ubiquitous as rain in a summer storm.

The myriad blue lights served as guides for the power of the Five Lightnings. The centralized blasts of electricity dispersed, but only to attach themselves to the fragments of sword energy.

First the incisiveness of Demortus, then the sheer force of the Five Lightnings, together forged into a hail of catastrophic intensity. Each beam of blue light was like an atom bomb that pummeled the avatar’s defenses.

It couldn’t keep it all out. The shield around one of Monarch’s mightiest agents collapsed.