I didn't move when the barrier around the sect activated. It was my duty - as a protector-elder - to come out of my seclusion and join the defense, but I was too stubborn to pause my research. If I had only a few more days, I would surely make the final comprehensions needed to reach the Elemental Heart stage with the Laws of Time. If I could accomplish that, then my act of not responding to the activation of the barrier would be forgiven. I knew this, so I stayed.

Then, I heard the voices of the great-elders, and I knew things were more serious than I had initially thought. There weren't many things that could get the great-elders to leave seclusion, and they were all on the level of a catastrophe. If the sect's barrier was being activated for a threat that required even the great-elders to get involved, my advancement to the Elemental Heart stage might not be enough to save me from punishment. But, still, I persevered.

"All elders, hear my call! Defend the Infinite Cosmos Sect from the invaders!"

I wanted to finish my comprehensions, but I couldn't ignore the words of the sect-leader. When he spoke, his voice filled me with awe, and I remembered why I was where I was. Everything good in my life had been given to me by the Infinite Cosmos Sect. Because the sect-leader asked for it, I had to leave my seclusion. My advancement to the Elemental Heart stage had to wait.

The scene outside my tower was vastly different from what it looked like the previous day, but it was not something I had never seen before. Many times, I had experienced world-scale sieges, and I had seen millions of practitioners. I was not scared. Hundreds of thousands of disciples and elders of the Infinite Cosmos Sect floated in the air, channeling Arcane Energy and Spirit Energy into the defensive formation that powered the barrier around the sect, and that was just in the area that I could see. I used threads of my soul to investigate the situation around the sect, and I discovered much more. The Infinite Cosmos Sect's homeworld was surrounded by billions of invaders, and even more were being teleported nearby.

The forces inside the Infinite Cosmos Sect's homeworld amounted to about five quadrillion practitioners, but most of them were too weak to make any difference in the siege. If only the sufficiently strong practitioners were counted, the sect had about one or two billion capable practitioners. The might of the invaders already outclassed the Infinite Cosmos Sect's, and they were still teleporting in more.

A large battle would break out at any moment. I added my own Arcane Energy to the defensive formation, but my efforts were futile. A few seconds after I was called out of seclusion, the barrier broke, allowing the invaders to wreak havoc around the world.

The mortals were the first to die. Once the barrier was broken, the first thing the invaders did was destroy the planet's atmosphere. A practitioner at the Mortality Ascension stage or above could survive without an atmosphere, but it was impossible for mortals to survive without the help of a practitioner. Many had died, but I did not care. However many there were, they could be replaced in a few hundred years. It was an insignificant loss to the Infinite Cosmos Sect.

Nobody worked to rebuild the atmosphere. From the Mortality Ascension stage to the Elemental Heart stage, everyone had to fight to stay alive, although their fighting differed significantly.

Without the barrier to separate them, the low-stage practitioners began to cast their Arts at the opposing side. The Mortality Ascension stage practitioners were the weakest in the battle, but they still had a chance against a higher-stage practitioner if they were crafty or worked in a group. As for the higher-stage practitioners, they began to slaughter their weaker opponents in incredible numbers until an equal-stage practitioner met with them. Away from these seemingly petty tussles, the Elemental Heart stage practitioners watched in silence, waiting for the other side to make a move. A single Elemental Heart stage practitioner could kill millions of Mortality Ascension stage practitioners with a wave of his hand, but a moment of thoughtlessness could result in death.

I, too, had to fight. At the Celestial Devouring stage, I was the second-strongest player on the field, only a step below the Elemental Heart stage practitioners. I waved my hand, killing an untold number of invaders. I waved my hand again, but my Art was blocked by a Celestial Devouring stage invader. He wore the robes of the Cosmic Gravity Sect, just like all the other invaders.

"So, the Cosmic Gravity Sect has decided to attack my Infinite Cosmos Sect? The punishment for your actions will be death!"

I shouted at the invader and cast my Art of Thousand Thunders. Under the power of my Art, space distorted, tearing apart everything in the Art's path. This Art was one of my strongest, and it used a huge amount of Arcane Energy. The invader was viciously slayed by the Art, unable to counter the Laws in the Art. He could have lived for a million years, but he approached me a billion years too early. No matter how powerful he was, his lack of comprehension of Laws spelled his death.

I had killed the invader, but there were tens of thousands more invaders with his same level of strength. I cast a few more Arts, killing countless weaker practitioners, before another Celestial Devouring stage practitioner came to stop me. This time, there was no talking before we began to exchange blows. I chose to save my energy and not use the Art of Thousand Thunders. I saw my opponent using an Art with the Laws of Water, so I responded with the Laws of Metal. 

Oceans-worth of water rained from space, filling the area with a torrential downpour. But, before a drop could touch me, a grain of steel shattered it and removed it from existence. A sandstorm of metal replaced the monsoon, mixed with steam and fire.

Only a few seconds after we cast our Arts, my opponent changed his Art. This time, he used the Laws of Lightning, sending electrifying sparks into the metal that surrounded me. However, the metal surrounded both of us, and so did water from his first Art. It was simple to redirect his Laws of Lightning into the water that surrounded us, then strike back with my Art of Exploding Spears. My spell remained as a ball of Arcane Energy until it was midway between myself and my opponent, and then it burst into a flurry of spears, each aiming at my opponent. The spears attracted the electricity around us and flew toward my opponent, but he was too fast for them to actually hit him. Before they impacted, he cast his own Arts, destroying the spears.

But, my Art was not over. Each spear burst into nine more, and the bursting also released lightning. The Art's signature explosion distracted my opponent for only a moment, and that was enough time for me to melt him with molten metal. Laws of Metal, Laws of Fire, and several more stabbed into my opponent's Cosmic Arcane Core, thoroughly destroying it and his body.

Although the fight lasted a little longer than the previous one, I used much less Arcane Energy. The amount of Arcane Energy needed to activate the Laws in the Art of Thousand Thunders was too much for me to constantly use it, but I thought about it. After killing my second opponent, I looked around myself and took note of the casualties on both sides. The Infinite Cosmos Sect had lost an overwhelmingly greater amount than the Cosmic Gravity Sect.

I hoped the Elemental Heart stage elders were doing something to end this. Whether it was the Infinite Cosmos Sect or the Cosmic Gravity Sect, neither side’s Elemental Heart stage practitioners had joined the fighting, even while millions of disciples perished around them.

“Protector-Elder Chen Zhen! Save us!”

A group of Infinite Cosmos Sect disciples shouted at me from afar, and I teleported to their side. It took me an instant to identify my allies and my opponents, and the opponents were torn asunder by my Arts in the next second. All of them were at the Crystal Core stage, holding power equal to approximately one of my hairs.

I recognized each of the Infinite Cosmos Sect disciples. They were members of our Hall of Enchanting faction, who specialized in production rather than combat. It was the great-elder of the Hall of Enchanting faction who promoted me to a protector-elder. It was my duty to protect these disciples.

“Stay with me. The mongrels of the Cosmic Gravity Sect will not harm anyone I decide to protect.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I offered to shield the disciples, and they gratefully accepted. After them, more disciples flocked to me, coming from both the Infinite Cosmos Sect and the Cosmic Gravity Sect. With each new group of allied disciples who took shelter under my wing, more enemies came to kill us. In a large group, it was impossible for us to go unnoticed.

“Junior Brother, let’s attack this one!”

A pair of enemy practitioners approached me at rapid speed, and both were at the Celestial Devouring stage. Fighting two opponents at the same stage as myself was only slightly more difficult than fighting one, but it would be impossible to keep all of the disciples around me safe if the battle dragged on. Without any better choice, I struck out with my Art of Thousand Thunders.

The junior brother was instantly torn apart. The senior brother resisted being shredded by the power of the Art, but he was put in a state where he was unable to defend against my next Art. In no time at all, both brothers were removed from the battle.

“Protector-Elder Chen Zhen is incredible!”

“Protector-Elder Chen Zhen is invincible!”

The disciples cheered me on. I took a great deal of satisfaction from hearing the praises of the disciples, but I didn’t have time to listen to all of them. More enemies were approaching - through flight and teleportation.

If the enemy was below the Celestial Devouring stage, I could kill them with my weaker Arts. I understood hundreds of rank-four Laws, and there wasn’t a single Law I couldn’t counter. If the enemy was at the Celestial Devouring stage or above, I had to have a better understanding of Laws to beat them. 

I released simple Arts toward the approaching enemies, not caring if they hit any target. The weaker enemies fled from the Arts, spreading out the crowd that was approaching me. Celestial Devouring stage enemies blocked my Art or completely avoided it without slowing down. Only a few minutes had passed since the barrier broke, but most of the lone practitioners had already perished. I was one of the few Celestial Devouring stage practitioners who chose to stand my ground and protect the weaker disciples.

Four Celestial Devouring stage enemies approached me from the same direction. I teleported forward - away from the disciples that circled me - and released a single Art of Thousand Thunders at the closest enemy, then attacked with an Art of Fire aimed toward the other three. To protect the disciples, I used an Art of Ice to surround them with a giant wall. Not even teleportation could make it through my defensive wall of ice.

The four enemies in front of me dodged the Art of Thousand Thunders and the Art of Fire, but the fluctuations in space caused them to slow down. I seized this chance to use my Art of Planetary Winds, ripping one of the Celestial Devouring stage enemies to pieces.

“Junior Brother Fu Jiang!”

One of my opponents became outraged, and he threw two Arts of Metal at me. At the same time, his allies attacked with Arts of Lightning. The combination of these two Arts was troublesome to deal with, but I could manage. I used Laws of Metal and Laws of Ice to neutralize the lightning and metal, then pushed out an Art of Water.

Killing one of the enemies before we could trade Arts was good, but it was difficult to gain the upper hand once the remaining three began to engage. I could resort to my Art of Thousand Thunders to quickly kill them all, but I wouldn’t be able to continue fighting for much longer in the grand-scale battle. These tiny fights needed to be ended efficiently. If I killed my opponents too quickly and ruthlessly, stronger opponents would come to face me. If I took too long, more opponents would gather and team up.

I had thoughts of distracting the current three enemy practitioners with an Art of Light and finishing them off with a discreet Art of Lightning, but the sudden appearance of an Elemental Heart stage enemy stopped my plans. Coupled with the dozens of Cosmic Core stage enemies who were approaching, I had to change strategies. I finally decided to unveil my true strength: the Laws of Time.

My comprehensions surrounding the Laws of Time were nearly at the fifth rank. This thorough understanding allowed me to use Arts of Time with much less Arcane Energy than what my other Arts used. My only worry was that an Elemental Heart stage enemy would be attracted to the powerful Laws, but one had already set his sights on me.

I activated my Art of Paused Time, almost completely stopping time around myself and my three opponents. With them unable to react, I dispersed each of their bodies with a weak Art of Space. 

The Elemental Heart stage practitioner of the Cosmic Gravity Sect arrived in front of me only a second later.

“You! You killed my disciple, and now you will die. Meet Hua Tian in the afterlife!”

He immediately unleashed an Art of Water after speaking. I dodged with Laws of Space and used Laws of Water to try to neutralize the Art of Water, but I was still damaged. It was clear that this practitioner had reached the Elemental Heart stage by comprehending rank-five Laws of Water. My comprehensions on the Laws of Water were only at the fourth rank. A single attack from this opponent was enough to hurt me.

I hurriedly used the Laws of Time to slow down the Elemental Heart stage practitioner, but he was powerful enough to resist most of the effects. He used Spirit Energy - an opposite energy to my Arcane Energy - and overpowered the time-slowing effects of my Art. At this moment, I truly understood how powerless I was. To my enemies below the Celestial Devouring stage, I was invincible. To my enemies at the Celestial Devouring stage, I was a nightmare to fight. To my enemies above the Celestial Devouring stage, I was merely an ant.

“Hold it!”

Just when my hope was starting to run out, an Elemental Heart stage elder from the Infinite Cosmos Sect appeared. With one Art of Fire, she pushed back the Art of Water that was rampaging around me.

“Gao Ye, I was wondering where you slid off to. Our fight has not yet ended.”

“Haha, we can continue at any time, Yao Ming. I only need a second to kill this brat.”

I knew Elder Yao Ming very well. She was only a Cosmic Core stage practitioner when I joined the Infinite Cosmos Sect. Later, when I was in the Crystal Core stage, she helped me bring my understanding of the Laws of Fire to the fourth rank. I owed a lot to her, but I was never in a position to pay her back.

Elder Yao Ming and Elder Gao Ye began fighting, and I retreated from the range of their Arts. I also removed my ice wall from around the disciples I was protecting.

“Find somewhere safe! I won’t let anyone chase you!”

I commanded the disciples to leave. If the two Elemental Heart stage practitioners drifted toward the disciples, the ice wall wouldn’t be able to protect them for long. One casual strike from Elder Gao Ye would be enough to shatter the ice wall, and a second strike would kill everyone inside.

The disciples flew and teleported away as quickly as they could. Many practitioners from the Cosmic Gravity Sect watched them fleeing, but I slaughtered them before they could think about attacking. I rapidly killed practitioners between the Cosmic Core stage and the Mortality Ascension stage while dodging the ones at the Celestial Devouring stage.

But, eventually, I couldn’t keep running. Six Celestial Devouring stage enemies surrounded me and bombarded me with Arts. I activated my Art of Paused Time and ruthlessly cut through their Arts. Stopping six Celestial Devouring stage practitioners put a heavy burden on my mind and Arcane Energy, but I managed to hold the Art until all six were killed.

I had killed all of the enemies surrounding me, and the closest possible opponent was Elder Gao Ye. I could try to help Elder Yao Ming, but I wasn’t sure what help I could provide. For the moment, I decided to scan the area around the planet with my soul. Fights were happening everywhere, and most of the Elemental Heart stage elders from both sects had gotten involved. The sect-leader had yet to move, but there didn’t appear to be anyone he was apprehensive about.

I wondered if there was someone I couldn’t sense making him hold back. I wanted to expand my soul further into space, but a nearby scream stopped me. Elder Yao Ming, my friend, sustained a grievous wound from one of Elder Gao Ye’s Arts. I had to help Elder Yao Ming before investigating the sect-leader.

I prepared a teleportation Art to the space next to Elder Yao Ming, but a powerful wave of Spirit Energy disrupted my Laws of Space, shattering the Art. An Elemental Heart stage practitioner from the Cosmic Gravity Sect appeared in the distance. He prevented me from teleporting or using any Laws of Space, crippling my ability to retreat. 

The Laws of Space were commonly considered the strongest Laws. It was rare for someone to comprehend them to the fourth rank, and it was even rarer for someone to comprehend them to the fifth rank. These Laws of Space were definitely above mine, clearly making them rank-five Laws of Space. I had no idea who this practitioner was, but they had to be one of the ten strongest practitioners in the galaxy. I was unable to win this fight.

If I didn’t spend a few seconds examining the battlefield in an area without any Cosmic Gravity Sect disciples, I might’ve not been targeted by this Elemental Heart stage practitioner. I immediately made this conclusion, but it couldn’t help me at this point.

I was guaranteed to die in the next few seconds. My whole life - billions of years - led up to this moment, being only a few days away from reaching the Elemental Heart stage myself. I felt an unwillingness to die this way. If I had to go, I would at least allow my body to be destroyed by using an Art I was unable to control.

Before the enemy could kill me, I attempted to suicide by using the most powerful Art of Time I had ever theorized. I called it the Art of Reversed Time. All of the Arcane Energy in my body was sucked out by the Art. My body disintegrated, leaving nothing behind. 

The Art of Reversed Time was a success, but I had no idea what kind of effects it would have.