Black Flash

Toji stood still, his eyes locked onto Gu Changge, who wore a faint smile of amusement. The air between them grew heavier as the tension built.

"It seems you're that eager to try, huh?" Gu Changge smiled as he looked at Toji. He could tell the kid was eager to face him for some reason. He couldn't tell why, but the kid seemed a bit too confident.

"Of course I am." Toji smirked, his grip on the katana tightening. "Just want to see how built different the Gods from the upper realms are." His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

"Hmm." Gu Changge frowned in amusement. "Aren't you a confident one." He chuckled as he looked at Toji. "You know, you could die, right?" He added. Now Gu Changge was truly amused. All he could see in the kid's eyes was excitement and nothing else.

"Dying?" Toji chuckled. "So what about dying." His eyes turned disdainful, as if looking down on something that others feared. "Am I supposed to care?"

'Interesting.' Gu Changge studied Toji. He could tell the kid wasn't lying. Someone who didn't care about death, a concept even the Giants of the upper realm feared. Yet here was a kid, right in front of him, treating it with disdain. It was rare to find someone who regarded death as beneath them.

"Fine, then, I'll humor you." Gu Changge said, his cultivation base exploding. The aura of a beginning-stage Sacred Emperor rippled from his body, shaking the air and trembling the ground, even at a restrained level.

Gu Changge decided to have his own fun by restraining his power to 10%, but even so, his aura weighed heavily on the battlefield with oppressive pressure. He wanted to see how much more interesting the kid could be.

So it began.

Toji made the first move. He dashed forward, instantly arriving in front of Gu Changge, his Split Soul Katana flashing through the air in a deadly arc. Gu Changge raised two fingers, pinching the blade mid-swing. For a moment, Toji's advance was stopped cold, but Gu Changge's brow furrowed slightly as a faint tremor coursed through his soul.

"Interesting weapon." Gu Changge murmured, releasing the blade.

Without hesitation, Toji launched into a flurry of attacks. His movements were sharp, precise, and relentless. A spinning kick aimed at Gu Changge's side was met with a casual forearm block. Toji twisted mid-air, his katana slicing downward. Gu Changge sidestepped, deflecting the strike with a wave of spatial distortion. Toji's blade stopped abruptly, as if hitting an invisible wall, but he adjusted instantly, flipping backward to avoid a counterstrike.

Toji's feet barely touched the ground before he lunged again, his attacks accelerating. Punches and kicks flowed seamlessly, interwoven with slashes from his katana. Gu Changge's hands moved almost lazily, redirecting strikes or letting spatial ripples protect him. Toji's movements were fluid and unpredictable, like an assassin weaving through shadows. He spun low, sweeping at Gu Changge's legs. Gu Changge evaded by stepping back, then vaulted upward with a rising slash. Gu Changge leaned back slightly, evading with minimal effort.

'This kind of experience...' Gu Changge thought, observing Toji. The kid's fighting experience was far beyond anyone Gu Changge had seen. He realized that without his cultivation base, he wouldn't stand a chance against the kid. His fighting style was unique, highly skilled, and precise.

'Heh, he's toying with me.' Toji chuckled internally. He knew he was being toyed with. Was he angry? Embarrassed? Frustrated? The answer was simple, no. Toji never cared about such things. Why should he be angry if he was being toyed with? It served no purpose. These things wouldn't affect him. As long as he was alive, as long as he achieved what he aimed for, that was all that mattered. So what if he was humiliated? Public opinions were just noise to his ears. They couldn't kill him or stop him.

Gu Changge, toying with him, was exactly what Toji wanted. The man was just a sharpening tool for his growth.

Toji's speed increased, blurring as he darted behind Gu Changge. A thrust aimed at Gu Changge's spine was stopped by a spatial ripple. Gu Changge countered, turning around with a palm strike. Toji twisted his body mid-air, narrowly avoiding the blow, and landed in a crouch, launching back into the fray.

"You're faster than I expected." Gu Changge's smile widened. "But get ready now." He added, upping his strength to 13%. His next attack was almost imperceptible, a simple wave of his hand sent a shockwave toward Toji. Toji sidestepped, but the edge of the wave grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep cut. Blood seeped through his torn sleeve, but Toji didn't falter. His eyes were focused yet blank, fully in a flow state, ready to predict and counter.

He used the momentum to spin, his katana arcing toward Gu Changge's neck. Gu Changge tilted his head, evading the blade by mere inches. He countered with a sweeping kick, but Toji bent backward, his torso parallel to the ground, and retaliated with an upward slash. Gu Changge's fingers caught the blade mid-swing, sparks flying as he redirected the force. Toji released the katana, using the opening to deliver a powerful elbow strike to Gu Changge's ribs. Gu Changge didn't flinch, blocking the strike with his palm, but his smile grew.

"Persistent." Gu Changge commented. This time he unleashed 15% of his power. His next punch was too fast for Toji to fully avoid. At the last second, Toji crossed his arms against his chest as the blow connected, sending him hurtling backward. He crashed into a distant wall, a shockwave rippling outward. The impact left a crater, dust and debris obscuring the scene.

Seconds later, the dust was cleared by the force of something, revealing Toji. Blood dripped from his mouth, dripping onto the ground, cuts that seeped out blood staining his torn clothes. His grin was feral, his katana gripped between his teeth by the handle. In his hands, he swung a silver chain, the Chain of a Thousand Miles. A blade connected to its front glowed faintly as it rotated, while the chain's back end linked to his purple glowing ring on his finger.

With a swift motion, Toji hurled the chain forward. The blade at its end sped forward, whistling as it cut through the air, followed by a shockwave.

'From that distance... hmm?' Gu Changge frowned, but his eyes slightly widening seeing something unexpected. The chain's length, which shouldn't have been enough to reach him, extended unnaturally, closing the gap.

"It's all futile... huh?" Gu Changge activated a spatial barrier, intending to stop the blade. But his eyes widened as, instead of halting, the blade pierced through, disrupting his defensive technique.

'It went through?' Gu Changge's eyes narrowed as he quickly stepped aside, avoiding the blade by mere inches. He was certain his spatial defense had been activated, yet it was broken by that blade. 

'What kind of treasure was that?' He thought, his mind racing. It was baffling that there existed a treasure capable of piercing through his spatial defense so effortlessly. This technique involved space and could block attacks from even Sacred Sovereign realm experts and above. Yet now, it was disrupted by a mere blade that cut right through space itself.

He didn't have time to think further, as Toji appeared in front of him, moving with deadly precision.

Toji, not giving Gu Changge any time, closed the distance in an instant. His eyes burned with focus and ferocity as his body moved like a shadow. Swiping his head to the side, the katana gripped tightly in his mouth swung in a precise arc toward Gu Changge's neck. Gu Changge, seeing this, calmly raised a finger to block. However, Toji suddenly yanked the chain connected to the katana with his hands, shortening its length and redirecting the blade's trajectory in a controlled motion. The chain instantly coiled around Gu Changge, binding him tightly in place.

"Not bad." Gu Changge whispered, slightly impressed by Toji's clever maneuver. His calm smile remained unbroken as the katana's edge barely missed his throat.

Then, with a faint exertion of 17% of his power, Gu Changge unleashed a devastating burst of energy. An explosion erupted, sending Toji flying backward through the air. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he crashed heavily onto the ground, sliding to a stop in a crouch. The katana slipped from his mouth, clattering to the floor as his trembling hands loosened. The chain, still attached to the glowing ring on his right finger, lay slack on the ground.

Toji coughed violently, blood spewing from his lips. His body trembled from the force of the blow, his injuries severe. But his grin remained, a wild, unyielding expression that defied his battered condition.

'I can feel it.' Toji thought, his eyes fixed on Gu Changge. His body had been pushed to its limit. He could feel himself approaching the edge of his physical constraints. He just needed to find the switch, the moment to shatter those limits completely. The earlier pressure hadn't been enough; he needed something far more dangerous, something that would truly place him on the brink of death.

"Now it's clear to me how you were able to kill the Sacred Lords before." Gu Changge said, slowly approaching. He stopped at a distance, his sharp gaze observing Toji, who remained crouched. "Your physique." Gu Changge continued, his eyes narrowing slightly in thought. "It seems to be somewhat special, different from ordinary physiques."

From the boy's strength, speed, and the abnormal resilience of his body, Gu Changge could tell Toji's physique was unique. Yet its true nature remained a mystery, even to him.

"But that's as far as you'll go, it seems." Gu Changge declared, raising his right hand. In an instant, a massive palm materialized in the air above him, radiating a suffocating pressure. The air around it distorted visibly, and the ground beneath trembled in response.

'Is this it?' Toji thought as he looked up at the massive palm hovering ominously above him. He could feel it, the breath of death. He questioned whether this was his moment to break through or the moment he would perish. But either way, it didn't matter. If he failed, then he would die, and that was that....

He would just be a man who could only make it this far...

"Let's see if you can do more than this." Gu Changge said with a faint smile. His tone was almost mocking, as though expecting Toji to entertain him with some final, desperate effort. If not, the boy would simply be crushed.

".... Mortal." Gu Changge added with a smirk as he lowered his hand, the massive palm descending upon Toji.

"Sure thing... God." Toji chuckled softly to himself as he heard Gu Changge's words. If Gu Changge wanted a performance, then Toji would make it a spectacle.

Toji exhaled slowly, his body instinctively tensing as the palm's shadow fell over him. He stored his weapons back into his ring, his posture straightening slightly. Planting his feet firmly into the ground, he crouched low, muscles coiling with explosive tension. Veins bulged prominently across his body as he braced for impact.

The massive palm crashed down, and Toji's hands shot upward just in time to catch it. The ground beneath him shattered under the force, his legs sinking into the earth from the immense pressure.

"Ughhh." Toji groaned, his veins bulging across his body as he strained against the palm's crushing weight. Blood seeped from his arms, legs, ears, nose, and eyes as he pushed back with everything he had.

'Almost... there...' Toji thought, his body trembling violently under the pressure. Blood streamed freely, but his resolve did not waver. He gritted his teeth, refusing to yield.

'I need to act!' Toji's thoughts raced as he realized his situation. If he didn't retaliate, the palm would crush him completely. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his stance, allowing the weight to press him further into the ground. Then, with a feral growl, he began unleashing a flurry of punches against the massive palm.

Each strike reverberated through the battlefield, the force of his blows briefly halting the palm's descent. Yet Toji could feel his body giving way. His bones cracked with every punch, his muscles screaming in agony.

Above him, the sky darkened ominously. Massive bolts of white lightning, each thousands of meters thick, crackled in the heavens.

"Hmm." Gu Changge frowned, glancing up at the sky. His expression grew serious. "A heavenly tribulation?"

But it seemed that it wasn't aimed at him. The bolts were locked onto Toji.

Under the growing pressure, Toji's punches grew more ferocious, each blow a testament to his unyielding will. The palm above seem to show light cracks, fissures spreading across its surface.

Suddenly, the tribulation bolts struck. Deafening explosions echoed across the battlefield as the lightning rained down on Toji, piercing through the palm and slamming into his body.

'Shit.' Toji cursed inwardly as the lightning surged through him, destabilizing his focus. The palm pressed further, its weight growing unbearable.

His body convulsed as the lightning strikes tore into him, shaking his internal organs and threatening to rip him apart from the inside. Blood poured from his wounds as his bones fractured further.

*Boom!*

Another bolt of lightning struck, its force completely disrupting Toji's strength. The palm crashed down, slamming him into the ground. His back hit the shattered earth, and his body lay motionless for a moment. Blood seeped from every pore, leaving him utterly battered.

'I... am... not... dying... now.' Toji thought, his bloodshot eyes filled with madness. He could see it, the wall blocking his breakthrough. He just needed to push through it. He couldn't afford to die here, not when he was this close.

Toji's punches weakened, but he continued to fight. Each blow was a desperate cry of defiance. The massive palm pressed lower, threatening to end him, but Toji's crazed determination burned brighter than ever.

Just as he was about to lose, something seemed to snap inside Toji. His bloodshot eyes flickered faintly with a strange mix of black and red sparks. Gritting his teeth tightly, he retaliated with one final, desperate struggle, a punch imbued with those mysterious black-red sparks. As his fist connected with the massive palm, the black-red energy engulfed it entirely, spreading across its surface like wildfire.

And then, everything seemed to compress inward.

A deafening explosion erupted, echoing across the entire Sacred Land and beyond. The shockwave tore through the air, shaking the heavens and earth alike. The sky, darkened by the tribulation, suddenly brightened as the clouds above were pushed aside by the force. Dust and smoke filled the battlefield, obscuring the aftermath.

Gu Changge stood still, his usually calm and imperious demeanor replaced with stunned disbelief. "He shattered it?" he whispered to himself, his eyes fixed on the dissipating smoke.

The sight before him defied reason. The palm, crafted from almost 20% of his power, had been completely destroyed. Gu Changge found it hard to reconcile this reality. He had designed that palm to crush cultivators at the Sacred Lord realm, and even they would have been forced to avoid it at all costs. Yet this mortal boy, a mere mortal, had not only withstood it but shattered it completely with his own flesh.

This wasn't the first time Gu Changge had witnessed the boy perform the impossible. He had already seen Toji kill three Sacred Lords before, an achievement that, while shocking, had not fully surprised him. The child's unconventional methods and strange treasures had explained that much. But now, something had changed.

For the first time, Toji had broken through Gu Changge's personal strength, a feat no mortal could, or even many cultivators, had ever come close to accomplishing.

'Is this kid really a mortal?' Gu Changge thought, his expression unreadable. He was sure of it, Toji had no spiritual energy since the system was the one to point it out. But if that were the case, then what kind of mortal could possibly achieve this?

Bizarre treasures, a mysterious physique, and now a heavenly tribulation, each piece of the puzzle only deepened the enigma. Gu Changge had seen countless physiques in his lifetime, but none that worked without spiritual energy as a foundation. It was baffling.

'What physique is this that defies such basic principles?' Gu Changge wondered.

And then there was the boy's fortune value.

'Did the system miscalculate his fortune value?' Gu Changge pondered. From what the boy had shown, his abilities were on par with, or even exceeded, that of a son of luck. Yet he wasn't one. Everything Toji had attained seemed to come solely from his own willpower, ingenuity, and sheer defiance of the natural order.

Gu Changge's thoughts crystallized into one undeniable conclusion.

'A heaven-defying mortal he is.'

It was the only way to describe him. Someone who defied logic, reason, common sense, and even the heavens themselves. A living anomaly.

Gu Changge, who had never before praised another being, felt compelled to acknowledge it. Even as he had toyed with the boy, holding back the majority of his strength, Toji had risen to meet and exceed every challenge thrown his way.

And now, even as these thoughts raced through Gu Changge's mind, the battlefield was not yet silent.

A sudden disturbance in the smoke caught Gu Changge's attention.

In an instant, a figure burst forth, dashing toward him with astonishing speed. The shockwaves from his movement shook the space around him, generating ripples of force as he closed the distance between them in an instant, aiming a punch.

It was Toji.

His body was a battered and bloodied mess, his wounds gruesome and severe. Yet none of that seemed to matter. His face bore a manic smile, and his bloodshot eyes gleamed with an unrelenting, almost insane determination. Within those eyes burned something new, something profound.

[Physique: Heavenly Restriction (Omnipotent Stage)]

Toji had done it. He had broken through his limits. His Heavenly Restriction had ascended from the Transcendent Stage to the Omnipotent Stage, transforming him into something entirely new.

But that wasn't all.

The punch he now directed at Gu Changge seem to radiate with immense power, its surface crackling with dense black-red sparks that burned brighter and fiercer than ever before. This wasn't merely an attack, it was the culmination of everything Toji had endured, every boundary he had shattered.

For the second time, Toji had tapped into something extraordinary.

*Flash Back*

A young Toji stood amidst the dense forest, his breathing steady but tense. Before him was a towering beast, its eyes glowing with malevolence, its aura oppressive and suffocating. This was a peak Soul Palace realm beast, a creature that dwarfed anything he had faced before. The ground trembled with each of its movements, and its spiritual energy pressed down on him.

The beast lunged, claws ripping through the air. Toji sidestepped instinctively, his body moving faster than his thoughts. Its attacks were ferocious, and while Toji's strength and speed allowed him to contend with it physically. Every dodge, every strike, every clash felt like a race against time.

'Damn, this thing's relentless,' he thought, gritting his teeth as he narrowly avoided another swipe, the wind from its claws cutting a deep gash into the nearby trees.

Then came the pressure. It wasn't the beast's attacks but the suffocating weight of its presence, its intent to kill. For the first time in the fight, Toji felt his movements slowing, his instincts sharpening. Something inside him stirred, a convergence of his physical prowess and the spiritual energy he passively absorbed from the beast's aura. His mind blanked, his body reacting entirely on instinct.

As the beast reared back for another strike, Toji's fist clenched tighter, his movements becoming fluid and precise. A surge of power coursed through his arm as he pivoted and threw a punch with all his might.

The moment his fist connected with the beast's chest, black and red sparks erupted, intertwining like dancing lightning. Time seemed to slow as Toji felt the beast's spiritual energy vanish, its overwhelming aura disappearing completely for the briefest moment.

The beast recoiled, its massive frame trembling. Its eyes, once brimming with spiritual energy, were momentarily dull and unfocused. Toji didn't hesitate. With the opening created, he followed up with another punch, this one a devastating blow to its head. The beast's body went limp as it collapsed with a resounding thud, the ground shaking beneath its weight.

Toji took a step back, his eyes wide as he stared at his fist, where faint remnants of black and red sparks crackled before fading.

"Is that…?" He muttered to himself, his breathing uneven. "Black Flash?"

His mind raced as he replayed the moment in his head. That feeling, the sparks, the energy, it was something he had only seen in theory, something that felt instinctively familiar yet foreign, it was definitely from Jujustu Kaisen, but it was different in a way. 

He recalled the sensation of the beast's spiritual energy disappearing for less than a second, leaving it vulnerable. That momentary weakness had been enough for him to land the finishing blow.

As the reality of what had just happened sank in, a faint grin crept onto his face. 

"Looks like this restriction still has a few tricks up its sleeve."

Toji, didn't expect that he could still do something like that, but that could be perfect for him since he can catch someone off guard with it.

After all, he is an assassin.

*Flash back end*

'Black Flash.'

Toji's fist shot forward, carving through the air with devastating speed as shockwaves rippled outward. The energy emanating from his strike crackled with sparks of black and red, a terrifying aura that carried destructive intent. The punch was aimed directly at Gu Changge.

"Interesting, you became even faster than before." Gu Changge chuckled, seemingly unaware of the spark that intertwined on Toji's fist. "And your strength..." Gu Changge continued as he raised his hand, calmly blocking Toji's fist, feeling the strength was different. "... Is stronger, but that's how far you'll manage to go... huh?" He added, analyzing Toji's increase in his physical traits, but suddenly his eyes widened, locking onto the sparks of black and red energy now spiraling out from Toji's fist. The energy coursed through Gu Changge's body, destabilizing his spiritual foundation. In the next instant, a sickening piercing sound echoed through the battlefield.

The world seemed to hold its breath.

The spectators, Su Taixuan and his daughter, Su Qingge, stood frozen in stunned silence. Their disbelief was etched across their faces as they processed the impossible sight before them.

"Y-Young Master?" Su Qingge's voice trembled as she addressed Gu Changge, her words barely audible, her expression riddled with confusion, fear and shock.

"This monster." Su Taixuan muttered under his breath, his voice laced with awe and shock. Despite having lived over a millennia and witnessed countless extraordinary events, nothing had prepared him for what he was seeing now. He stared at Toji, a mere mortal, standing before Gu Changge, taking in this breathless and shocking scene.

And then, cutting through the tension like a blade, came the sound of a dark chuckle.

"Got you."

Toji's voice rang out, low and menacing. Standing infront of Gu Changge, his Inverted Spear of Heaven was plunged deep into Gu Changge's throat as blood seeped out.

"You never expected this, right? God?" Toji whispered, his grin widening as he looked up at Gu Changge, whose calm and imposing demeanor had been disrupted for the first time.

Gu Changge's gaze shifted downward, meeting Toji's eyes. Despite the blood dripping from his throat, his expression was unnervingly composed, though a subtle gravity shadowed his usually detached features. He didn't react to the wound as if it were life-threatening, treating it more like an annoyance than a mortal injury.

'It actually worked.' Toji thought to himself.

This was something he had luckily performed while hunting spiritual beasts in the forest. During one encounter, he faced a peak Soul Palace realm beast. The fight was grueling, forcing him to contend with the beast's overwhelming power, as its sheer strength and relentless attacks pushed him to his limits.

That pressure had driven him to the brink, allowing him to discover something crucial, an ability that seemed to be born out from desperation, forged under immense strain, and perfected through sheer will.

The black flash, a phenomenon Toji discovered during his physical battle against the peak Soul Palace realm beast, was an accidental yet extraordinary breakthrough. It occurred when his Heavenly Restriction's Spiritual Sea Stage ability, which absorbed spiritual energy from his opponents during combat, synchronized perfectly with his instinctive flow state.

This synchronization caused a ripple-like distortion in the opponent's spiritual energy upon impact, momentarily severing their connection to it. For a fleeting 0.1 seconds, Gu Changge, like the God before, was rendered completely mortal, devoid of spiritual energy or defenses. In that narrow opening, Toji seized the opportunity, drawing the Inverted Spear of Heaven from his storage ring and striking true. The spear, with its ability to nullify cultivation techniques, plunged cleanly into Gu Changge's throat, capitalizing on the vulnerability created by the black flash.

At first, Toji didn't think it would work on Gu Changge but the result showed otherwise. It worked cleanly and perfectly, but there was something else.

The black flash wasn't something Toji could summon at will, it was, as he thought, a phenomenon born out of extreme pressure, instinct, and perfect timing. Its occurrence was tied to his flow state, where his body instinctively reacted to combat situations without conscious thought. 

However, the conditions for achieving it were as precise as they were demanding, the opponent's spiritual energy had to be in direct conflict with his own passive absorption, and his physical strike needed to land at the exact microsecond when the absorbed energy destabilized their flow. Even then, the black flash rendered the opponent mortal for only 0.1 seconds, a duration so brief that it demanded flawless execution to exploit. 

Toji himself couldn't control when or if it would happen again, making it a phenomenon of last-resort desperation rather than a reliable technique. Yet its implications were devastating, it bypassed the usual rules of cultivation, allowing a mortal like Toji to challenge the untouchable, but he didn't know if it will always work on some beings that are currently stronger than Gu Changge.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Toji suddenly said, turning his head back just enough to give a side glance to the figure in a black cloak standing behind him, hand outstretched but stopping a hair away from his head.

"If anything, you should think twice about what you need to do. After all..." Toji continued, looking back at Gu Changge, who seemed to stop himself from acting further, hesitating in what he tried to do.

"This guy's life is in my hands now." Toji said, his expression becoming stoic.

"You see, this treasure isn't your ordinary treasure, and you've experienced it firsthand." Toji added, making Gu Changge's eyes narrow. Toji's words were true. "Let me tell you." He started to explain. "This blade is linked with my thoughts. If I die, it will directly explode. If I lose conscious it explodes. If I get injured, one thought will make it explode. Trust me, the explosion is above what you can handle, it would easily annihilate your entire existence, your soul and body in a matter of seconds, and even your past." Toji clarified as he explained.

"You're bluffing." Gu Changge, who had been silent, finally spoke, looking directly into Toji's eyes. His voice was calm and clear, as if the injury on his throat wasn't affecting him. The kid had to be bluffing. From what he explained, the level of explosion attributed to this blade shouldn't be possible. For that to be true, the blade would need to be at a divine or supreme grade level, and such an artifact shouldn't be in the hands of a kid.

Annihilation of the soul and body, he could believe that. But the past? That was beyond belief. For the blade's explosion to annihilate the past meant it could trace back in time and destroy his past self. That would mean being erased from existence itself, with no chance of reincarnation. It would be as though he had never existed in the first place.

The kid must be bluffing. Yet Gu Changge wasn't entirely certain. In the world of cultivation, one must expect the unexpected. This kid had been delivering one surprise after another. That last attack, those black and red sparks, he had no idea what they were. But for less than a second, he had been reduced to a mortal.

He couldn't be sure. This kid was an anomaly, far greater than the so-called sons of luck. Of that, he was certain.

"Then... go ahead." Toji replied, his expression one of extreme stoicism. His eyes were cold, faintly glowing red as he continued, his voice calm but cold. "Try me."

'This kid...' Gu Changge thought, looking into Toji's eyes, which gleamed with something akin to insanity. For the first time since arriving in this world, a cool sensation rushed through Gu Changge's body, gripping his heart.

The kid didn't seem to be bluffing. From his expression, Gu Changge could tell, this kid would go through with it, even if it cost him his life.

People who could face such situations, knowing they would die, were the most likely to succeed.

'A terrifying way of thinking...' Gu Changge thought. He had never expected such mental strength from the kid. A tremendous will, combined with a body capable of carrying it out. Even cultivators feared death. Nobody willingly walked into situations where death was certain. Yet this kid seemed to be different.

His will was above even those cultivators who cultivated their hearts and mental strength. When death approached, even the strongest would cry out for mercy, for help. In those moments, they truly understood what it meant to die. It meant losing everything. Accomplishments, possessions, all gone. They themselves would fade into memory until forgotten.

But the kid didn't care. Gu Changge could tell. A person who didn't fear death was the most frightening opponent to face. 

The kid wasn't bluffing at all.

"So, what do you want?" Gu Changge asked, his tone steady as he looked at Toji.

"Get your guard to back away." Toji replied, maintaining his stance.

Gu Changge glanced briefly at the cloaked figure behind Toji. With a slight nod, the figure disappeared.

"So?" Gu Changge spoke again, seeing Toji hadn't moved.

"I said tell him to back away." Toji said expressionlessly, sensing that eyes from the void still lingered on him, were close.

"Old Ming, leave." Gu Changge commanded after a moment, though he silently questioned how the kid could sense Old Ming, which shouldn't have been possible.

"Phew." Toji exhaled, sensing the presence retreating. He prepared to act.

A loud impact echoed as Toji almost instantly disappeared, leaving behind a shockwave that rippled through the air. The ground beneath him cracked as he vanished.

"Cough." Gu Changge choked out, blood spilling from his mouth as the blade was removed from his throat.

"Young Master, are you okay?" The cloaked figure reappeared beside Gu Changge, his tone worried yet emotionless, but inside his thoughts were in a turmoil.

"Yes, Old Ming, I'm fine." Gu Changge replied, the damage on his throat visibly healing.

"Old Ming, you know what to do," Gu Changge instructed, his expression calm.

"Understood," Old Ming replied, raising his right arm. His finger glowed red, releasing a beam of light that arced through the air.

Back to Toji...

'Run.' The thought raced through Toji's mind as he dashed across miles, leaving shockwaves in his wake, tearing through the surroundings.

He knew he had to keep moving. If he wasn't fast enough, he'd die. Gu Changge wouldn't let him leave alive, knowing that injury he gave Gu Changge won't be enough to take him down at all, and that old man would act which would be a disaster.

"Huh?" Toji's instincts screamed as he felt his body being locked onto by something. He turned to see a red glow approaching, distorting the space around it.

"Shit." He cursed out, pushing his speed to the limit, but the glow closed in.

"Fuck this. If I can't outrun it, then..." Toji suddenly stopped in a forest-like environment. Turning to face the incoming beam, his ring glowed, summoning his split-soul katana to his right hand and his inverted spear of heaven to his left.

"Heh, should I feel thankful, though?" Toji chuckled, analyzing the beam that approached. He could tell this wasn't meant to kill him, but just to cripple him. How generous.

"Today, I might die, but I had my little fun." Toji muttered, taking a stance to meet the beam of red light. He didn't care about dying. If he died, it was because he was weak, and they were strong. That's all there was to it.

If he died here, he would at least go out in style.

Toji suddenly acted, planting his feet firmly on the ground. He swung his Split Soul Katana and Inverted Spear of Heaven in an X-slash, meeting the beam of red light head-on.

*BOOM!*

A deafening explosion sounded as the two forces clashed. Toji was swept back, his feet grazing the ground, carving deep trenches as he slid to a stop. His body groaned under the immense pressure, his bloodied frame trembling from the effort.

"Ughhh!" Toji groaned, the weight unbearable as he felt himself slowly but surely sliding back. The pressure was relentless, forcing his planted feet to skid despite his best efforts. He gritted his teeth, his arms trembling violently as they bore the brunt of the clash.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. The immense pain racked his entire body, but Toji persisted. His veins bulged grotesquely, his skin splitting under the strain.

*SPURT!*

His eyes widened as all around his body, blood spurted from his pores like a geyser as the pressure grew unbearable. The beam pushed him back further. Toji roared like a mad beast, his determination unwavering despite the overwhelming force.

The beam seemed to grow stronger, or perhaps Toji was growing weaker. His arms remained miraculously intact, but screamed with agony, his legs buckling under the strain. His body flinched under the assault. Blood sprayed uncontrollably, his body teetering on the brink of collapse.

*CRACK!*

"Arghhh!" Toji groaned, his legs trembling before a loud, simultaneous crack echoed. A sickening sound as both legs shattered, the bones tearing through his skin, blood spurting out in a gruesome display.

Despite the agony, Toji planted his broken legs firmly into the ground, his torn skin and exposed bones making for a horrific sight. The pressure bore down on him, unrelenting, as the sky above darkened. Clouds gathered above, their ominous churn foretelling doom as bolts of lightning brewed within, preparing to strike.

Suddenly, the lightning rained down, dozens of bolts slamming into Toji, who was fighting tooth and nail against death itself.

"Fuck!" Toji roared, his bloodshot eyes gleaming with a maddened defiance. Each strike felt like his internal organs were tearing apart, his skin ripping open under the relentless onslaught. Blood poured from the countless wounds covering his body, his form battered and broken, yet unyielding.

"Heavens, you fucking piece of shit!" Toji roared again.

The heavens seemed to hear his defiance, and they answered with fury. Dozens of bolts once struck simultaneously, each one more ferocious than the last. Toji's consciousness blurred as the unrelenting strikes pushed him closer to the edge.

Gritting his teeth, Toji's dulled senses suddenly caught the sound of cracking. His eyes moved to the two weapons in his hands, the Split Soul Katana and the Inverted Spear of Heaven. Faint lines ran along their once-perfect surfaces, cracks spreading like webbing.

"God. Damn. It." Toji roared, his voice trembling with rage and desperation.

The numbness in his body spread as he was suddenly flung back, hurtling into the distance. His arms were flung upward, the grip on his weapons loosening slightly as the beam of red light bore down on him. It was an unstoppable force, closing the distance to his defenseless body.

Toji felt his vision darken slightly. His body screamed in agony, though he could barely feel it anymore. Parts of his skin had been completely torn away, leaving raw, bloodied flesh exposed. His blood loss was severe, his body growing paler by the second. Time seemed to slow as the red light neared.

'This seems to be it, huh?' Toji thought, staring at the beam of death approaching him.

It was right in front of him, ready to consume him entirely. Death seemed inevitable, ready to claim him in this moment of weakness.

'I did everything I could, but it seems I lost at the end.' Toji thought grimly, his eyelids slowly drifting closed.

But then, a question arose in his mind.

'Did I actually try everything?'

The thought lingered, cutting through the fog of his fading consciousness. His eyelids, moments away from shutting completely, froze.

The answer was clear. No, he didn't.

He could still breathe. He could still see. He could still feel, even if faintly, even if it was just the distant echo of agony. His heart was still beating. He was still alive.

'I'm not done.'

His eyelids snapped open, his dull, blank eyes reigniting with their signature madness.

"I'll win." Toji whispered, his voice weak but resolute.

"I'LL WIN!" Then he roared.

His grip on his weapons suddenly tightened, knuckles white with exertion. The sky seemed to explode in fury, its defier refusing to yield. Bolts of lightning struck down again, more vicious than ever.

"I ain't dying here. Death can have me when it earns me!"

Toji's voice tore through the chaos as red and black sparks began to intertwine around his blades. The energy crackled with raw power, thick like bolts of lightning themselves.

Planting his shattered legs into the ground, he roared again, ignoring the pain, the blood, and the overwhelming pressure. His body was nothing but a vessel for his unyielding will.

In a final, desperate attempt to survive, Toji swung his weapons downward in a massive X-slash.

The clash was cataclysmic. The red beam met the red and black sparks head-on, creating a massive shockwave that obliterated everything around Toji. Trees and mountains in the distance evaporated in an instant.

The heavens roared in rage as white lightning struck down upon him, seemingly intertwining with the red and black sparks. The collision created a destructive resonance, shaking the void itself. Sonic booms echoed across the battlefield, the sheer force cracking the void visibly.

In that final clash, the red beam shattered.

A deafening shockwave spread out, pushing away the dark clouds above and brightening the sky once more. The heavens trembled as their wrath was overcome.

But Toji wasn't spared from the aftermath. He was flung violently into the distance, his body taking the full brunt of the explosion.

'Heh, I did it, right? But at what cost?'

Toji chuckled internally, staring at the now-clear sky as his body soared through the air. He could feel nothing anymore. His entire body was broken, every bone shattered, yet his heart still beat faintly.

'I'm still alive, right?' He thought, the corners of his bloody lips curling into a faint smirk.

His eyelids grew heavier, his vision darkening. The last thing his blurry gaze saw before succumbing to unconsciousness was the sky, that was blue suddenly bathed in an eerie, dark red glow.

Seconds later.

A figure, draped in a dark cloak, appeared in the sky above the destruction that had just occurred.

'Strange.' Old Ming looked at the destruction that razed the surrounding area to the ground. He was certain it wasn't his doing. He had controlled his strength to send out a beam that would perfectly cripple the kid without killing him. So what in the world happened here?

Old Ming's aura suddenly spread out, causing the plane itself to faintly shake. He closed his eyes, seemingly probing for something.

"Impossible." Old Ming's eyes shot wide open in disbelief. He was shocked. He couldn't sense a trace of the kid. It was as if the kid wasn't here at all, as if he had vanished into thin air.

For someone at the peak of the Divine King Realm, this was unthinkable. There was nothing that could escape his Divine Sense, which could easily cover the entire plane. He could locate anyone beneath his level, but now he couldn't sense the kid at all. That alone was shocking. And from the looks of the destruction below, the kid seemed to have fended off his attack, which shouldn't have been possible.

"I need to quickly report to the Young Master." Old Ming muttered as he vanished from his place.

He needed to inform Gu Changge about the kid. The kid wasn't just dangerous, but extremely dangerous.

Nobody else could have done what this kid had achieved. From his debut up until now, this kid had defied all reason.

By now, the kid would likely bear a grudge against the Young Master.

For anyone else, that wouldn't matter. They wouldn't even enter his eyes. But this kid was different. If left alive, the consequences could be immeasurable.

=====

Is the fight scenes good?

By the way, I might make some changes in the abilities of the mortal stages of the heavenly restriction in the future.