CHAPTER 241: BRAIN BEATS BRAWN

For a brief, almost unreal moment, the chaos of the battlefield froze. The roars of the lesser beasts died down, the clash of Qi-infused elements ceased, and all eyes...human and beast alike..turned toward the impossible duel unfolding before them. The sight was nothing short of breathtaking. A grandmaster-ranked cultivator, still so young, standing toe to toe with an ascendant-ranked mountain gorilla within the heart of its own icy domain.

Lucas and the beast were moving so fast that even the snow seemed suspended midair. The flashes of golden and white energy streaking between them painted the mountainside in blinding bursts of color. Every collision between their fists sent shockwaves rippling outward, shaking the frozen cliffs and tearing apart the ground beneath their feet.

Lira could barely breathe as she watched. "He’s not supposed to be able to do that..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "That thing is an ascendant-ranked beast...it could destroy an army..."

Selene nodded weakly, her eyes wide and unblinking. "And yet he’s holding it back. Xavier is... he’s matching it blow for blow."

Mirielle had stopped tending to her frostbitten fingers entirely, her lips parted as she stared in disbelief. "It’s not possible," she murmured, "no grandmaster could last this long against something like that."

Only Nyx, though equally stunned, managed to keep her composure. Her eyes gleamed faintly as she followed the blurs of light tearing across the field. "He’s not just fighting," she said quietly. "He’s learning. Every strike, every movement... he’s adapting."

The ascendant-ranked beasts that had been preparing to attack halted completely. Their glowing silver eyes reflected the brilliance of the ongoing clash. Even in their controlled state, they hesitated...something about the overwhelming presence that Lucas was exuding made them wary.

Seraphina and Aeloria stood shoulder to shoulder, both Divas breathing heavily after their own battles, but their gazes were locked on Lucas. "His Qi flow..." Seraphina whispered, "it’s unnatural. It doesn’t wane at all."

Aeloria’s brows knitted together. "And his movements...those aren’t just the techniques of a human fighter. There’s something...strange about them."

The old guide could only stare, his face pale from shock and cold. "By the heavens," he muttered under his breath, "this boy... he’s defying the very order of cultivation."

Behind them, the Empress stood still beneath the faintly glowing canopy of her Qi barrier, her elegant silhouette framed by the silver moonlight and drifting snow. Beneath her veil, a faint smile curved her lips.

"How splendid," she whispered softly, her voice barely audible over the rumble of the mountain. "To see such raw power and unyielding spirit... even in the face of the impossible."

The ground trembled again as the gorilla roared and slammed its fists into the earth, sending a shockwave of frost tearing toward Lucas. But he was faster...he vanished from sight, reappearing above the beast with a burst of golden light, his fist crashing down upon its shoulder with enough force to splinter bone. The creature howled in pain, and the sound echoed across the mountain peaks.

Lira gasped, covering her mouth. "He hurt it! He actually hurt it!"

The others could hardly believe it. For the first time since the fight began, the mighty ascendant beast stumbled back, its massive feet cracking through the ice. Lucas landed lightly on the snow, his breath visible in the cold air, his eyes glowing faintly gold as he tightened his fists once again.

The beast straightened, fury blazing in its glowing eyes, and let out another roar that shook the heavens. Lucas smirked.

"Come on," he said, his voice low but firm. "I’m just getting warmed up."

The moment Lucas spread his arms, the very air seemed to bend around him. The fabric of space shimmered and warped, faint golden lines flickering like threads being pulled apart by unseen hands. The ascendant-ranked beasts, sensing the sudden distortion, growled in alarm, their instincts warning them of danger far beyond their comprehension.

Then, with a deafening crack, the surrounding folded in on itself. The snow, the mountain winds, even the echoes of battle...all vanished in an instant. Lucas and the colossal mountain gorilla disappeared from sight, leaving behind only a faint ripple that distorted the air where they once stood.

Everyone froze. The ground beneath them stilled as though the mountain itself was holding its breath.

Lira’s voice broke the silence, trembling. "He... he’s gone..."

Nyx clenched her fists, her normally calm eyes wide with disbelief. "He used spatial Qi," she whispered. "But at this level, that’s madness. If he loses control, even for a second..."

Inside that shattered dimension, Lucas hovered in the void. Around him, reality twisted violently...black streaks of raw energy slashed through the empty expanse, tearing apart whatever dared to exist within it. The cold was beyond anything natural; even the concept of temperature seemed distorted.

The mountain gorilla, massive and powerful, roared in confusion. Its glowing eyes darted across the endless horizon of chaos, unable to comprehend where it was. It slammed its fists against the unstable air, but each strike only deepened the fractures in space, making the void tremble violently.

Lucas hovered a few dozen feet away, his body shaking, blood running from his nose and mouth. His Qi flared weakly, a shimmering barrier of golden light barely keeping the collapse from reaching him.

"You’re strong," he said, panting, his voice echoing unnaturally across the distorted plane. "But strength alone can’t help you here."

The beast turned to face him, its roar tearing through the void. Its power surged, and the unstable space responded...shattering, twisting, folding in on itself.

Lucas’s expression hardened. He clenched his fists and focused all his remaining Qi into his barrier, forcing the spatial energy around him to stabilize for just a few breaths longer. He could feel his mind fracturing under the strain, every nerve screaming in pain, but he held on.

The gorilla lunged, its enormous body cutting through the void like a meteor. For a moment, it almost reached him...before the space around it crumbled completely.

The air collapsed inward. The sound was like a thousand thunderclaps tearing through existence. The creature’s roar was cut short as its entire form was shredded apart, its body and soul annihilated by the collapsing void. In a blink, it was gone...erased from every plane of being.

Lucas’s vision blurred. The pressure was crushing, his barrier cracking like glass under the force of the collapsing dimension. With the last shred of his consciousness, he used his spatial Qi again, forcing an opening...an exit back to reality.

There was a flash of golden light, and then he was back.

He reappeared in the same spot he had vanished from, stumbling forward before collapsing onto one knee. The snow around him hissed as his Qi radiated wildly, his breath coming out in short, harsh gasps. Blood splattered on the white ground as he coughed, the sound echoing across the silent battlefield.

"Master!" Lira screamed, rushing forward, but the Empress raised a hand slightly, stopping her.

"Let him breathe," the Empress said softly, her tone almost admiring. "He survived the void. That alone is beyond what even most Ascendants could accomplish."

Lucas wiped the blood from his mouth, his vision hazy. He looked up, faintly smiling despite the pain. "He’s gone."

His body swayed, the exhaustion of his feat washing over him in full. "Brain beats brawn," he murmured weakly, before his knees buckled completely.

The Empress took a step forward, her eyes hidden beneath her veil, but the faintest trace of a smirk tugged at her lips. "Indeed it does," she whispered, her voice just barely audible over the howling mountain winds.