Tower of Heaven

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Kitsune stood still as Atlas attacked as if it was imitating his state within the mental realm.

It stood there, sweeping its paws out when it needed to block an attack. Otherwise, it allowed everything to strike it because it knew that the current Atlas couldn’t touch it.

After all, his current aura was one of the weakest the fox had ever sensed. It didn’t feel a single ounce of threat from the cultivator that had defeated it in its mind.

[Presence of the Mountain]

Voom!

A huge pressure fell onto the beast, but it only slightly bent its knees.

Two chain sickles appeared in Atlas’ hands and shot out.

Whoosh!

Bang! Bang!

It was illogical to expect blades to do something qi couldn’t, but Atlas’ blades weren’t ordinary. Sure, they only showed as much strength as he had, but the material they were made of was not of this world.

It was of a much higher world, so its cutting power couldn’t be considered through the ordinary standards of Mortals.

Shiiing!

For the first time, Atlas did something considerable. As his left blade slammed into the fox’s neck and forced it to swipe its paw to block, the second slid across its side and opened a large gash.

Its flesh was slightly visible under the dark skin hidden beneath its fur. It was the very first substantial wound that had been created thus far.

But Atlas wasn’t done yet.

[Presence of the Willow]

He flew off the ground with great speed, his body as light as a feather. He rushed forward and crossed the distance between them, slamming his palm onto the fox’s chest.

[Guriyatra’s Life Seed]

Green light flowed from his hand and into the body of the Divine Beast.

The fox looked down at him with cold eyes.

It learned from him how to intimidate. It used those lessons well.

It waited for the energy of the Dao of Wood to enter its body and propagate. It allowed that energy to latch onto its flesh and blood, and only then did it do anything. ṟἁΝòʙĘꞩ

VOOM!

A huge burst of energy left its body as a byproduct of its actions. Soon enough, the true attack followed.

A blaze consumed it and spread outward.

’Another wave.’

Atlas had been expecting it to come at some point. After all, it was impossible for the fox to stand still forever.

[Lightning Shadow Step]

Bang!

Atlas shot off the ground several meters high, but the flame wave was much taller.

[Astral Step]

Using the air itself as a stepping stone, he rushed higher and higher.

VOOOOOOOM!

The sound of the wave passing beneath him was almost hard to believe. It was so loud and raucous that it felt like the Heavens themselves were crying out in anger. The heat was so violent that even from several meters above the wave, Atlas felt the soles of his footwear melting off.

Or was it the soles of his feet?

The flames caused so much damage in such a short period of time that the feeling of pain didn’t exist in those wounds. Only after doing a scan with his qi was he able to confirm that the bottom of his right foot truly was burnt into a disgusting molten rock-like thing.

ROOOAAAAR–!

The Kitsune roared with spirit, sending several balls of flame into the air.

Atlas spread his spiritual sense and activated [Intrinsic Foresight]. His vision expanded, allowing him to see everything in his vicinity.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

As they arrived near him, the balls of energy exploded one after another. Atlas turned into a ball of light that was forced to bounce between several destinations, just barely avoiding the fireballs.

He couldn’t go too high into the air, as he wasn’t yet able to fly.

The fox instinctually understood the limits of his strength and attacked accordingly. His surroundings were nothing short of a minefield.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Atlas clutched his teeth even harder as his gaze was forced to stay in the vicinity. He could see the beast below out of his peripheral, but he didn’t have a single opportunity to attack it.

’Did it learn so much from a single battle?’

Their battle was completely one-sided, but Atlas had to put in some effort to make sure the fox never got injured. Did it use that chance to learn his techniques and internalize his fighting style? Was it for its own sake, or specifically so it could counter him?

Regardless of the reason, it didn’t bode well for him. If a single one of these–

Bang!

"ARGH!"

Atlas groaned in pain as the worst-case scenario came true. He was unable to move in time. There wasn’t a single open space for him to move to. WIth no choice, he twisted his body to minimize the impact area and allowed the fireball to strike him.

The left side of his torso was scorched to all hell. His left arm was rendered unusable, and though his left leg barely avoided serious damage, his waist didn’t. He wouldn’t be able to "twist" himself out of such a situation a second time.

His eyes narrowed.

’Its advantage is too big.’

The moment it decided to go on the offensive, Atlas was left helpless. He didn’t like this situation one bit.

’I have to get to the ground in a single moment. Before it can attack again, I must be in a place it least expects me.’

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The pain in his body couldn’t be ignored. As he moved faster and faster to avoid incoming fireballs, the wind against his body made him feel every single crack and crevice of his burned skin and flesh. He winced at every minute muscle twitch, but he didn’t allow it to affect his battle state.

It was as if he forced himself to exist as two people at once. One version of him dealt with the pain, while the other was wholly focused on battle and nothing else.

There was a way down. There had to be a way down. He refused to believe he would lose to a World Core Realm beast that didn’t know how to use its power after all of the training he’d done.

’If I am unable to find or create an opening where an opening should not exist, then am I a cultivator?’

As a cultivator, one would find oneself in situations such as this one often. Often, one would be forced to create paths where paths never existed.

It was the constant journey of a cultivator to tread new ground, find new openings, and pave their own way.

Even when scaled down to the scope of a single battle, this remained true.

Atlas saw the flaming hell of a sky around him and knew that anyone else watching him would think he was fated to die here.

But as long as there was still a living bone in his body, he would find a way to survive and win.

His eyes found that spot. That spot barely a few inches wide between two balls of exploding flame.

He knew that he would be scorched if he tried to move through it, but he also knew that if he didn’t take this chance, another would never appear.

His body turned into a blur of multicolored light. It was hard to describe the scene from his perspective, as from this point on, Atlas started to see the world as nothing more than "information."

However, if one watched from Feng Ziran’s angle, one would see a much more magnificent sight.

The sight of a single cultivator becoming a sword sharp enough to shatter a World Core.

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