1 Death

Atop the peak of the tallest mountain, covered by ice and snow, two peak level cultivators battle to the death. They resemble a flurry of shadows as they exchange blows at inconceivable speeds, each time easily breaking the sound barrier. Each of their misfired attacks sends shots of condensed Qi flying thousands of kilometers before smashing into the ground creating massive craters.

"Sh*t, at this rate I stand no chance against this monster! I'm losing blood too fast!" One of the men was covered in his own blood as he tried to evade and parry the other party's attacks.

To an ordinary person, he looked gruesome and on the verge of death, but the situation was not how it seemed. Cultivators at his level can lose all of their blood and easily survive as long as they have sufficient Qi left, so unless the other person strikes his meridian, the man will not go down that easily. Having said that, if he loses blood continuously, he will eventually run out of Qi and killing him would be a piece of cake. That is often the reason why unless one person is significantly weaker than another, a battle on that level could potentially take days.

The person on the winning side was Ren Tu, he was a step away from breaking through to the Supreme Aura God stage basically achieving godhood. The two were fighting for a unique plant which only grows on the top of the tallest mountain, as it would help either one breakthrough.

Although Xiong Yu, the person on the losing side, has much better talent, Ren Tu made up for it with hard work, building a steady foundation and gaining insights, as Xiong Yu rushed ahead relying solely on his talent. This difference was prominent in what most likely was their last battle, for better or worse.

"ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!" Ren Tu shouted as he used his best technique putting his index and middle fingers together, a streak of golden essence left his heart and merged with his fingers, as he thrust forward. The attack easily penetrated Xiong Yu's hand, which was trying to block the attack, and smoothly pierced his heart, which contained his primary meridian, his fingers coming out the other side of his chest.

"REN TU YOU USED A FORBIDDEN TECHNIQUE BURNING YOUR LIFESPAN AND SO WILL I!!!" Xiong Yu, who was on the verge of death, activated his last-reserve technique to use his body as fuel for an explosion.

Suddenly, a wave of golden essence left his body and created a sphere around him, which rapidly condensed taking Xiong Yu's body and merging it with the sphere. Unlike Ren Tu who only used about 20 percent of his lifespan, Xiong Yu used 100 percent plus his body. The hatred of Ren Tu caused him to even sell his soul, preventing him from reincarnating, all so he could kill his enemy in his last struggle.

"F***ING BASTARD!" Ren Tu yelled as the sphere condensed so much it was not visible anymore, the only sign it was there was an intense glow like a beacon during the dark night illuminating the entire mountain causing people to see it from thousands of kilometers away.

Ren Tu felt his whole life flashing by, from the moment he was born up to the moment he was about to die. He could see himself when he was just five years old, diligently cultivating while other kids were playing games. He remembered his poor family who had long died for he was over five thousand years old, and the way he got bullied all the time. His only escape was to grow stronger for no matter where you come from, be it from a poor family or from a royal one, strength dominates all! He spent nearly his whole life cultivating, battling, and gaining insights to become who he was now. However, it did not matter, everything he worked so hard for, was now slipping away from his very grasp, godhood, his dreams of immortality all gone.

At the last moment, the tiny sphere exploded and Ren Tu felt like all color disappeared from the world, a single tear made its way down his cheek and his last struggle to flee was useless. With an earth-shattering boom, the whole mountain disappeared from the face of the world.