Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Breaking the Illusion
Xiao Yan's heart raced as the void around him stretched endlessly. Zhi Yi's illusion techniques had created a world where nothing was real, not even time. The ground beneath him shifted, morphing into an infinite darkness that seemed to swallow him whole. He could feel the system's warnings growing louder, but they were drowned out by his overwhelming drive for power.
"You can't escape this reality," Zhi Yi's voice echoed, a dark chuckle accompanying his words. "You're trapped in my world now. This is where your journey ends."
Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, forcing himself to focus. Zhi Yi's voice was just another illusion, a tactic to break his will. The more he fought, the more the system resonated with his struggle.
> "Host's mental stability at 10%. Power surge detected. Recommended immediate action."
Xiao Yan's vision blurred again, but instead of succumbing to the disorienting effects, he embraced them. His mind, honed by countless battles, began to adjust. The false world around him began to distort, flickering in and out of reality. He wasn't just fighting Zhi Yi anymore—he was fighting the illusion itself.
The system granted him a new skill—Void Cleaver—a technique designed to break through illusions and attack the core of their reality.
> "Skill unlocked: Void Cleaver. Cost: High."
Ignoring the warning, Xiao Yan raised his hand, focusing all his energy into the strike. A surge of power erupted from him, tearing through the illusion with a force that shook the very fabric of the world. Reality bent and cracked, and Zhi Yi's smirking face appeared for a moment before it disintegrated into nothingness.
For a heartbeat, everything was silent. Xiao Yan's breathing was ragged as he tried to steady himself. The world around him began to solidify again. The fortress walls returned, and the sky above them faded back into view.
Zhi Yi was gone.
Xiao Yan stood victorious, but as the illusion dissolved, he felt a cold emptiness. His body was exhausted, and the toll of using so much power in the mental realm left him feeling hollow.
But he couldn't stop. Not yet.
He turned to Su Mei, who was watching him with a mixture of awe and concern. "You... you're different," she whispered, but Xiao Yan's focus was already elsewhere.
"Let's go," he said, his voice flat. The system's whispers still echoed in his mind. The journey was far from over.
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