Two months had passed since the Edge Fanged Panther pact, and now seven-year-old Chen Xin stood at the edge of another battlefield with Zhongli not far from him, they were far deeper within the Monster Continent.
Chen Xin's breathing was steady—his expression razor-sharp.
Across from him, partially cloaked in mist and moonlight, stood the legendary Three-Eyed Phantom Beast.
It wasn't just fast.It used it overwhelming spiritual perception into a weapon that can counter anything.
As Chen Xin charged and lightning arced around him in a symphony of Thunder Breathing's Third Form: Thunder Swarm, multiple streaks of golden arcs spiraled in, crackling toward the target like a lightning storm made flesh.
But—
The beast didn't move until the last second.
And when it did, its movement looked… inevitable.
Like it already knew where every strike would land.
Like it was reading fate itself.
The third eye on its forehead glowed an eerie violet-gold, distorting light around it. Every motion became a slow, haunting echo of what should be.
Chen Xin's pupils glowed with an intense white brilliance, the air around his head shimmering with translucent rings of spiritual energy. As he entered the state granted by Split the Heavens, his perception fractured—not in confusion, but into clarity.
It was as if nine great eyes opened in the sky above, each hovering at a different angle of the battlefield, silently watching.
These weren't illusions. They were manifestations of his sharpened consciousness—Spirit Eyes, unlocked through the fusion of sword intent and spiritual clarity. Each one let him observe the world from a unique vantage point, stitching together a complete panoramic awareness.
He no longer looked at the Three-Eyed Phantom Beast from one direction—but from nine.
The Three-Eyed Phantom Beast lunged, its movement shifting again into a blurred, ghostlike dodge. Its third eye flared with a deep violet light, releasing another mental wave, meant to cloud the senses and obscure its path with warped motion and false images.
To an ordinary opponent, it would look like the beast had split into three—each clone moving slightly differently, making any strike a gamble.
But to Chen Xin, guided by the Spirit Eyes of the Nine Skies:
All lies fell apart.
He could clearly see:
Which illusion flickered too sharply.
Which clone stepped without displacing the grass.
Which trail had true weight behind it."Middle-left. Slight distortion behind the left shoulder. That's the real one."
Chen Xin easily dodges it, Then Chen Xin holding his sword at the ready as sparks of red lightning surged along the blade. His breathing was sharp, rhythmic—guided by the Wind and Thunder styles coursing through his body."Let's see how you handle this...!"
His body stilled for half a second, and then:
Edge Sword Pulse
Chen Xin channeled the power of his first spirit ring, the legacy of the Edge Fang Panther.
—His sword lit up with a vibrant crimson-red energy, wild and jagged like the energy claws of the beast he once fought.
—The power surged through the blade, wrapping it in a jagged, almost flaming aura of red force. The air around it shimmered with heat and kinetic force.
Then, with a shout, he dashed forward—but stopped mid-way and swung his blade in an X-shape."Edge Sword Pulse!"
A glowing, double-layered X-slash of red energy exploded out from the swing, expanding as it traveled forward. The wave hummed with slicing force, growing in size, spinning outward with increasing momentum like two intersecting blades in flight.
It wasn't just a close-range skill—it chased down the target.
Three-Eyed Phantom Beast Reaction
The Three-Eyed Phantom Beast, who had evaded his Thunder Swarm before, instinctively moved again—but—
This time, it twitched a second slower.
Its third eye blinked, flickering with mental energy, but—
—The speed and unexpected range of the Edge Sword Pulse caught it off-guard.
It jerked sideways in a blur of ghost-like motion, narrowly avoiding the full brunt of the X-slash, but the outer edge of the crimson energy clipped its side, leaving a streak of blood across its fur.
A low growl escaped it—not of pain, but of recognition.
This wasn't just a child flailing in battle anymore.
The boy had tactics. Timing. Growth.
Chen Xin narrowed his eyes. "It's not just dodging. It's knows where I am going to strike. But it doesn't seem to be all knowing."
Chen Xin had an idea, so he made his move.
With blinding force, he launched Thunder Breathing: First Form – Thunderclap and Flash.
The storm exploded forward.
His body disappeared in a golden bolt, slicing toward the beast with terrifying precision.
But that wasn't the true attack.
At the very last moment before impact, Chen Xin used Star God's Broken Shadow.
A single footstep.
A single breath.
A single afterimage—so real it pulsed with his aura and kinetic trace.
To the Three-Eyed Phantom Beast, which relied on spiritual prediction and real-time perception, the afterimage appeared utterly authentic.
Its third eye flared.
Time for it seemed to stop—as it always did.
It lunged. Its claws sliced through the phantom like a scythe through smoke.
But there was no resistance.
No blood.
No heart pierced.
Just…Mist.
And above, like the calm before the thunder, Chen Xin descended from the sky, his blade cloaked in black lightning and Armament Haki.
"Second Flash."He whispered as he came down like a guillotine of divine judgment.
The beast had no time to react.
Its eye widened—disoriented by its own false perception.
Then—
Slash.
A clean, diagonal arc of lightning carved through the beast's shoulder to its flank. Crackling energy ruptured from the wound like a thunderstorm trapped in flesh.
The Three-Eyed Phantom Beast slumped to the ground, trembling—half of its body flickering between solid and semi-ethereal, leaking radiant streams of psychic energy.
Its once-glowing third eye now dimmed, and for the first time in centuries, its perception blurred. Where it had once seen the future, it now saw only one path.
Chen Xin slowly approached, his blade humming with residual thunder, and his eyes—calm but solemn—reflected no cruelty.
He extended his hand.
Again, the glowing soul contract circle flared to life—brilliant cyan laced with deep violet this time, infused with swirling illusions and fragments of thought, memory, and spirit.
The glowing formation of concentric rings, rotating glyphs, and orbiting dragon-like light constructs surrounded the battlefield like a cosmic seal.
Chen Xin spoke—not with arrogance, but conviction:"Your strength will not fade. Lend it to me—not as prey, but as a companion. In return, I will carry your will. You will grow with me—and one day, you will reborn again."
The beast's eyes—two feline and one celestial—focused on him. It heard the truth behind those words. Not domination. Not subjugation.
Symbiosis.
With a final breath, the Three-Eyed Phantom Beast raised its head and lowered it in solemn acceptance.
It stepped into the contract circle, and its spirit dissolved into an elegant swirl of violet and silver light, pulled inward by the rotating constructs.
The contract ring exploded in radiance, merging high-level spiritual constructs with flashes of psychic glyphs that only those with advanced perception could decipher.
As the beast's soul was sealed, a second spirit ring emerged behind Chen Xin.
It rotated opposite to the first, orbiting like a twin moon. This ring shone in colors of dark purple.
[A/N: Chen Xin's 2nd Spirit Ring
Ability:Mind Sword
Effect: This ability amplifies Chen Xin's mental perception and spiritual acuity to superhuman levels. Upon activation, within a wide radius, every movement, energy fluctuation, and trace of hostile intent becomes crystal clear to him. His sword strikes respond with preternatural timing, as though reacting to the future rather than the present.
In battle, Mind Sword allows Chen Xin to:
Anticipate attacks before they are fully formed.
Track invisible or concealed enemies.
Disrupt enemy focus through a spiritual pressure field that creates hesitation and mental interference.
As he advances in cultivation:
At Soul Emperor level, the ability evolves into a mental combat simulation engine. By observing an opponent, he begins memorizing and internalizing their style and reactions. Within his mind, he constructs a predictive simulation, running countless internal battles to find weaknesses and counter-strategies. However, this comes at a high mental cost, and the accuracy is limited if the opponent is hiding their true strength or style.
At Quasi-Demi God rank, his Mind Sword refines further. He can now analyze the entire battlefield—sensing air currents, ground vibrations, and spiritual density to calculate movement trajectories with extreme precision. In this state, Chen Xin's swordplay rivals that of God Officers, flowing not just with instinct, but with analytical insight. Yet, this ability heavily taxes his mind, and overuse can lead to mental fatigue or backlash.
Origin: Three-Eyed Phantom Beast. It is known more from legend than observation. This creature resembles a panther with flowing, semi-ethereal fur and a luminous third eye at the center of its forehead.
Because of its spiritual perspection ability, it is like everything freezes right before someone strikes it. Everything slows dramatically—frames stretch, ambient noise cuts out, and the visual feels like time has stopped.
With its advantage in speed. Everything making it incredibly hard to hit and very good at counter attacking.
The beast feeds on spiritual fluctuations, illusions, and mental energy from intruders who stray into its territory.
What made this beast especially dangerous wasn't just its stealth, but its psychic prowess. The third eye on its forehead could emit waves of spiritual interference—disrupting an enemy's perception, distorting their sense of time and space, or even casting illusions that blurred the line between reality and thought. Those who faced the Mind-Eyed Phantom Beast often found their senses dulled and their attacks misdirected before the beast even moved.
Age: 6000+ years
Color: Purple]
Zhongli's amber eyes softened as he looked toward the horizon. The trial was over, and Chen Xin had not only survived, but surpassed expectations. With a wave of his hand, golden lines etched themselves into the air, forming a dimensional portal.
"Come on," Zhongli said calmly. "Your father and mother will want to see you."
Chen Xin, his Seven Kill Sword sword now disappeared. His hair fluttered gently, faint sparks of lightning and wind still flickering around him.
He smiled for the first time in days, fatigue falling away as familiarity crept in."Coming, Master."
He stepped through the portal, following Zhongli.
The shimmering veil parted, revealing rolling hills, peaceful farmland, and quaint stone paths. Nestled among them sat a modest but well-kept house—Chen Xin's home.
The village children played nearby, but paused when they saw the glowing portal shimmer into being just outside the outskirts. Elders and farmers turned, curious and cautious.
From the doorway of the house, Chen Jianjun, tall and broad-shouldered with rough hands from years of labor, looked up in shock. His expression immediately softened into joy.
Beside him, Li Meng, graceful and warm-eyed, stepped forward, hand over her heart, breath caught in her throat.
"Xin'er?" she whispered.
Chen Xin grinned. He didn't run forward immediately—instead, he stood tall and proud, facing his father directly.
"Father!" he called.
"I've gotten stronger!"He raised his right hand into the air.
In a dramatic flourish, two spirit rings materialized behind him—orbiting slowly like celestial bodies.
The first, purple ring —the 2,000-year-old Edge Fang Panther, radiating fierce speed and razor-sharp aggression.
The second, slighly back-violet —the 6,000-year-old Three-Eyed Phantom Beast's ring, exuding an ethereal aura of psychic might.
The villagers gasped audibly."Two spirit rings?!"
"At his age? That's not possible!"
Chen Jianjun took a step forward, eyes wide, the pride rising in his chest like a tidal wave.
"Xin'er… Those are… spirit rings? Already?"
Chen Xin beamed, his voice full of excitement."Yup! And not just any! One is a 2,000-year beast—and the second is over 6,000 years old!"
His father's jaw clenched—not in anger, but in sheer disbelief.