The bond between master and disciple needs no spoken declaration, and so it was with Wang Lin and Xuan Luo. Though their formal master-disciple ties were long severed, in Wang Lin’s heart, Xuan Luo would forever be his esteemed teacher. And within Xuan Luo’s soul, his only disciple remained the child he had guided from the Cave Dwelling Realm to the lands of the Ancient Clan.

Within the ancestral temple, though his body writhed in agony, warmth embraced Wang Lin’s spirit. He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and immersed himself entirely in the ordeal of splitting his nascent soul. With his master watching over him, he need not concern himself with anything else.

Time flowed, and three days passed in the blink of an eye. Throughout those days, Wang Lin remained still, but the pain emanating from the soul-splitting intensified, as if a raging tempest was unleashed within his being, threatening to drown him. A radiant aura shimmered into existence around his seated form, connected to the crown of his head, and hovered above him. This aura bore countless cracks, ever increasing in number. Some fissures linked together, forming a dense network of lines that were dreadful to behold. This radiant essence was the outward manifestation of Wang Lin’s nascent soul.

Had another of the Ancient Beginning Clan endured this for three days, some might have succumbed to the torment, opting for integration. But for Wang Lin, this was but the beginning; the end was far from sight.

Three more days passed, then more. Gradually, the denizens of the Ancient Beginning Imperial City noticed something amiss. The aura surrounding the Ancestral Statue lingered longer than usual.

“It has lasted for a full six days, longer than any before! Truly, among this year’s aspirants, there is one possessed of unparalleled will!”

“Alas, who is it among these initiates that endures so long? I could not bear it past the third day. Such agony cannot be overcome by mere perseverance.”

“That the Sovereign Song guards him is no surprise.”

Though it rekindled their interest, six days was still not exceptional. As time passed, the anomaly was again forgotten, until the ninth day, then the fifteenth, then the thirtieth. Two months had passed, yet the aura surrounding the Ancestral Statue continued to pulse, its tendrils reaching across the vast expanse of the Imperial City.

Now, more and more members of the Ancient Beginning Clan gazed at the Ancestral Statue with astonished eyes. Surely, this initiate’s endurance was unprecedented.

“Two months, and no one has emerged from the ancestral temple… Could it be…”

“Could it be that there is but one aspirant this year? Who is it that the Sovereign Song deigns to protect?”

“Two months! He has endured for two months! He must be attempting the most profound of divisions.”

Time continued its relentless march. Six months slipped by, and with the preceding two, Wang Lin had undergone his first soul-splitting for a full eight months! Throughout those months, the first act of nearly every member of the Ancient Beginning Imperial City was to cast their gaze upon the Ancestral Statue to see if its radiant aura still persisted.

Whispers and rumors filled every corner of the city. It had become the topic of all conversations, turning astonishment into dread, dread into excitement, and now, excitement into a fever pitch. For in but four months, it would be the anniversary of the Ancient Beginning Clan’s longest known first soul-splitting!

“Can he endure for a year? For the greatest soul-splitting known in our line lasted but a year! Had that one not fallen during his second splitting, he might have become a Grand Empyrean!”

“Eight months… this one is mad! How can he endure such torment?”

“It is said that the Sovereign Song himself endured for eleven months!”

Amidst the clamor of the Ancient Beginning Clan, deep within the ancestral temple, Wang Lin remained motionless. But the radiant aura that surrounded his form was now shattered, fragmented. The legs had vanished, leaving only a torso, indistinct and translucent, as if on the verge of dissolution. Though Wang Lin’s eyes were closed, the pain he endured was excruciating. The sensation of his soul being torn apart, piece by piece, felt like a thousand cuts, yet he remained forever awake, unable to succumb to unconsciousness.

Eight months of torment were not enough to break him. Wang Lin continued to endure, waiting for his nascent soul to shatter completely before seeking integration! The roars of his Ancient Ancestor, echoing within his mind, became his sole focus.

“If I decree the sky to fall, then the sky shall fall! If I decree the earth to shatter, then the earth must shatter! If I decree the end of all life, then none shall dare defy! If I decree the firmament to be without immortals, who shall dare to exist…”

As he endured with every fiber of his being, the ninth month arrived, then the tenth, then the eleventh. Sovereign Song, sitting in lotus position before the ancestral temple, guarding Wang Lin, had endured for eleven months. That Wang Lin had persisted this long was no surprise. He calculated that Wang Lin should be able to persevere for approximately a year.

“In truth, a year is only enough to shatter the nascent soul into fragments. Save for one madman tens of thousands of years ago who endured for twenty-eight months, few have chosen to grind those fragments to dust instead of integrating them.”

Song Tian did not turn to look at the temple. He simply calculated the time, remaining still.

When the twelfth month elapsed, when a full year had passed, and then two months more, the Ancient Beginning Clan was in an uproar! They gazed upon the aura surrounding the Ancestral Statue, each attempting to guess who this aspirant was, and how much longer he could possibly endure!

“Fourteen months… Truly worthy of the title Wang Sovereign!”

Within the Imperial Palace, the aged Sovereign of the Ancient Beginning Clan sighed softly. On that day, in the fourteenth
For a month, within the ancestral temple, all that remained of the aura surrounding Wang Lin was a head. This head, riddled with cracks, emanated bursts of light. Suddenly, with a deafening roar, it shattered. As the Radiant Skull shattered, no light remained visible to the naked eye around Wang Lin. Yet, with a sweep of divine sense, one could faintly perceive a multitude of minuscule shards adrift, still undergoing fragmentation.

At that moment, all life had fled from Wang Lin’s frame, leaving it a mere shell. His blood no longer coursed through his veins, making him chilling to the touch. He had lost all consciousness, akin to true death. Only a single, unwavering will persisted – the resolve to endure, to persist until the final moment of integration. If he succeeded, he would rise anew, reborn from the ashes. If he failed, he would dissipate into nothingness.

“Will I fail? No! I shall not fail!” His will echoed with the battle cry of the Ancient Ancestor, a roar of defiance against the odds.

The invisible shards around his body continued their slow, agonizing decay. Four months passed, marking eighteen long months since Wang Lin had begun his ordeal, the first separation of the Second Tribulation of Decay. Even Song Tian, unmoved by most things, was visibly shaken, turning from his contemplation of the Ancestral Temple to gaze directly upon the spectacle.

If Song Tian was so affected, imagine the people of the Ancient Sovereign City! For eighteen months they had witnessed the aura and ripples emanating from the Ancient Ancestor’s statue, growing accustomed to the sight. Yet, deep within, their hearts remained filled with disbelief, struggling to comprehend the unfolding events.

The nineteenth month… the twentieth month… until the twenty-seventh month! For over two years, Wang Lin persevered. Within the Ancestral Temple, nearly eighty percent of the unseen fragments surrounding him had completely crumbled, scattering like dust. Only a stubborn few persisted, continuing their agonizing division.

When the thirtieth month arrived, marking the passage of two and a half years, Song Tian, were it not for the lingering presence of the will within the Ancestral Temple, would have surely believed Wang Lin to be dead.

“A madman! His cultivation is fueled by such madness! Does he not realize that complete fragmentation leads only to oblivion?” Song Tian rose from his cross-legged position, standing before the Ancestral Temple, his expression a storm of contemplation.

As the thirtieth month passed, within the Ancient Sovereign Palace, the aging Ancient Sovereign King felt a stirring in his heart. He continued his routine of summoning Ji Tu, but a flicker of something hidden, something only he understood, danced in his eyes. Unbeknownst to the King, Ji Tu had perceived this change. However, he was too preoccupied with the safety of his sworn brother to concern himself with the King’s machinations and the potential threat to his own position.

By the thirty-fifth month, even Xuan Luo, who had maintained a vigil on the heavens as Wang Lin’s protector, began to display concern. He longed to offer guidance, but feared any interruption would shatter the delicate balance.

The thirty-sixth month arrived, amidst Xuan Luo’s indecision. On that very night, the nine halos surrounding the Ancient Ancestor’s statue suddenly blazed with an unparalleled brilliance. The light washed over the city, rendering the entire Ancient Sovereign City silent. All people ceased their activities, their gazes fixed on the Ancestral Temple. Xuan Luo rose, watching with breathless anticipation. Song Tian inhaled deeply, retreating a thousand paces to gain a clearer view. Within the Imperial Palace, the Ancient Sovereign King, gripped by anxiety, stood beside the window of his tower, staring intently at the Ancestral Temple. Ji Tu himself had arrived a thousand paces from the Ancestral Temple, watching with growing desperation.

Inside the Ancestral Temple, light erupted from Wang Lin’s motionless form. Countless points of light materialized from thin air, coalescing into a radiant form, larger and more powerful than any shadow he had cast before. A palpable pressure radiated from within, a testament to the power contained within.

The moment the radiant form solidified, the nine halos surrounding the Ancient Ancestor’s statue fused into a single ring, unleashing a blinding light that turned night into day for all the Ancient Sovereign people! Then, in that same instant, the unified halo shattered, dividing into eighteen luminous rings that circled the Ancient Ancestor’s statue!

“The first separation… is complete!”

“Thirty-six months… three years entire!”

“Utter fragmentation… perfect integration…” Song Tian murmured, lost in awe.

(To be continued…)