Immortal Paladin

Gold bloomed beneath my feet as Zealot’s Stride carried me forward. I forced the turmoil in my heart down, focusing only on finding Lu Gao to resurrect him. My nose twitched. Sulfur. I skidded to a halt just in time to avoid a massive club that would have flattened me. Lei Jia’s derisive voice slithered out of the mist, “Is that it? That’s your god, Jue Bu? How shameful! Weren’t you supposed to be a King of the Underworld?”

I steadied my stance, casting Armor of the Indomitable and Sacred Bulwark. One would harden me the more I endured, the other punishing my enemies with reflected fury. Her weapon melted into vapor, birthing several grotesque limbs that sprouted around me, clawed fingers converging. I incinerated one with Searing Smite, dodged another with Flash Step, parried the third with Flash Parry, and severed a fourth using Divine Smite. But reality dawned with icy certainty… we were going to lose.

I delved into Jue Bu’s and Yuen Fu’s memories, grasping their fear, their desperation, and their failed tactics. Every path seemed cut off. Not even Egress would carry us away in time, not to mention the dome of power imprisoning the entire country. Grinding my teeth, I triggered Exalted Renewal, compressing a lifetime of casting into a heartbeat. I etched Divine Word: Raise into Spell Resonance, then followed with Divine Word: Life on myself and Divine Word: Rest on Lei Jia.

The demoness faltered, flesh rematerializing, eyes heavy-lidded as a yawn broke her mocking sneer. For a moment, she staggered like a drunkard, her limbs sluggish. It bought me seconds, nothing more. I clicked my tongue, mind racing. No good choices… save Yuen Fu, save Jue Bu, resurrect Lu Gao? How many burdens could I shoulder at once? But hesitation was for weaker men, and I’d clawed through worse fates before.

Lei Jia shook off the haze, regaining her edge. I canceled Exalted Renewal, shifting to Jue Bu’s Immortal Art: Reversal of Heaven and Earth, stealing moments to prolong my hold over this frail body. Then I invoked my own: Divine Appointment of the Faithful upon Yuen Fu.

Yuen Fu’s form shimmered, his battered frame reforged into a Paladin of the Divine. Radiance cloaked him, his battered will sanctified into something greater.

Three times I chained Lei Jia with Halo of Restriction, silver rings of divine law binding her form. She broke them in succession, cracks shattering each halo as if they were glass. Still, the moment was enough. Above, the heavens dimmed, stars swallowed by a colossal golden blade of judgment. My skin blistered, boils blooming across my arms and chest, my breath shuddering as the demon’s spell consumed me.

Lei Jia’s clawed hand closed around my ribs, lifting me like a doll. Her misty breath burned against my face as she mocked, “Fancy spells… but do you truly believe that giant sword is enough to beat me?”

I leaned into her grip, voice low and calm. “Oh, that’s not for you.”

The Heavenly Punishment descended. The world vanished into golden brilliance, a pillar of searing light devouring all within its radius. Lei Jia shrieked, desperately trying to wrench Jue Bu’s soul free from Yuen Fu’s flesh, shielding them from the brunt of the devastation even at the cost of her own layers of immortality. Her panic was naked, her desire for Jue Bu not to die laid bare. Spells and barriers erupted around her, yet the damage reverberated back into her body through my Sacred Bulwark’s multiplier of Reflect Damage, severing another layer of her immortality… and then another.

The blast reached its crescendo. The heavens themselves split as the sword detonated, a golden pillar piercing the night. I forced myself close, lips brushing her ear in a whisper carried on Qi Speech.

“Does it hurt? Don’t worry. There’s more where that came from.”

And then Yuen Fu died.

I existed as Da Wei for only a short while, but even that fleeting breath had been glorious. The weight of divinity, the heat of righteousness, and the impossible surge of strength. It was intoxicating! For a moment, I had thought I could carry it forever. Then, like a dream interrupted, the glow ebbed, and I felt myself recede into shadow. My thoughts blurred, my words broke, and “I” became “he” once more.

Jue Bu opened his eyes. He was no longer in his grand undead form, but instead bound within his fleshly state. His body was submerged in a wall of stone, talismans hammered across its surface, burning him with their radiance. Only his head protruded, his expression painted with sardonic amusement rather than despair.

Beneath him stood Lei Jia. No longer a towering giantess, she had compressed her form to the height of an ordinary woman, though the vapor of sulfur still clung to her like a veil.

Jue Bu’s lips curled into a grin. “So,” he rasped, laughter spilling out of him like dry bones rattling in a tomb, “how did the Da Wei experience go? Good? Heh—hahahahaha!” His laughter grew harsher, tearing at his throat, finding bitter amusement in his own ruin. “What a sight, a Demon King tripping over herself because of one irregular existence. You really are screwed!”

Lei Jia’s snarl cut through the chamber. “If you think your savior will come again to rescue you, give it up. I’ve ensured he will never set foot on this land. The dome surrounding this nation bars even the most exalted experts from entry. Your hope dies here, with you.”

Jue Bu only laughed harder, head pressed back against cold stone. “Don’t make it so obvious you’re terrified. You mask it poorly. I’ve never seen a man as self-destructive as Da Wei, and trust me… you’re going to learn why that’s a problem! Hahahahahahaha~!”

Lei Jia’s face darkened, her patience fraying. “You seem to forget your place. You are my prisoner now. You will behave accordingly.” With a gesture, the talismans flared. Agony surged through Jue Bu’s veins, tearing muscle and splitting nerves.

He howled, but the howl broke into wild, ecstatic laughter as he used his Immortal Art: Reversal of Heaven and Earth. “Ooooh~! That’s the good stuff!” His grin widened, obscene and mocking. “Hey, can you show me your boobs?”

Lei Jia froze, staring at him in silence, her sulfurous mist churning with disbelief.

Jue Bu smirked through the pain, his eyes gleaming with deranged mirth. “If you think the Heavenly Temple is your ally, you couldn’t be more wrong. But I’ll admit… They make a compelling case. Had I not crossed paths with Da Wei, I might have been swayed to their side as well. So, a word of advice, Demon King… of Steaming Dumplings…” He leaned forward as far as his shackled head would allow, voice dropping into a taunting whisper.

“Da Wei thrives when the odds are stacked against him. I suggest you start stacking them quickly.” His laughter cracked through the chamber again, mad and unrelenting. “Hahahahahahahaha~!”

…

..

.

[POV: Yuen Fu]

Near the lake, where the scars of a mighty battle marred earth and water alike, golden motes drifted through the air like restless wasps. The battlefield was silent save for the soft lapping of waves and the whisper of scorched trees swaying in the noon wind. It was an eerie stillness, for the land had only recently been a stage of violence.

The motes struggled to weave themselves together, unraveling and reforming in sluggish spirals. Each shimmered faintly, as though the light itself resisted cohesion. Finally, the hum of power deepened, and Spell Resonance pulsed through the air. The spell stored within the resonance flared open, and a voice… unheard, yet absolute… spoke in silence: “Divine Word: Raise.”

A burst of brilliance rippled outward, blinding for an instant. When it faded, a figure stood unsteadily at the heart of the glow. Yuen Fu staggered forward, his expression blank with disorientation, until the sharp jolt of pain in his lower back made him grimace. His hand went to his spine, rubbing the ache as his brow furrowed.

He looked around. The battlefield was unfamiliar, and yet it was not. Blackened earth, the acrid scent of sulfur, fragments of shattered wood scattered across the banks… These were memories his body recognized before his mind caught up. He swallowed hard, eyes darting as the haze of resurrection began to clear.

“What… happened?” he muttered hoarsely to himself. Bits and pieces of memory returned in uneven fragments from the clash with Lei Jia, the searing light of ultimate skills, and Jue Bu’s Immortal Art flooding through his veins. His broken sword. His throat clutched in Lei Jia’s hand. His own scream of defiance. And then… nothing.

Yuen Fu dropped to one knee, clutching his chest as breath returned in ragged bursts. He remembered now: his failure, his helplessness, and the overwhelming presence that had descended upon him like a storm of divinity. His lordship’s will, Da Wei’s presence, had surged through his body as if the heavens themselves had claimed him.

“His last words… His Lordship told me something, before he vanished… It was…”

Yuen Fu’s knees trembled, not from weakness, but from the weight of recollection. The words did not come from the sky nor from the lake; they rose from within him, resonant and absolute, like the echo of a temple bell inside his soul.

“Yuen Fu.”

Da Wei’s voice rang with solemn gravity, not the tone of a comrade nor even that of a lord, but of a judge passing eternal decree.

“Before Heaven and Earth, I declare you my Paladin. Take upon yourself this oath: to guard the weak, to defy the unjust, and to stand even when all others fall. Swear it, and the chains of doubt will never bind you again.”

Yuen Fu’s throat quivered, his lips moving as if the memory compelled him. “I swear it… by my life, my flesh, my soul… I am Da Wei’s Paladin.”

The memory brightened, pressing deeper into him, impossible to resist.

“From this day forward, you are my disciple. Rise, not as a forgotten soldier, but as Yuen Fu of the Divine Path. Walk as my blade, and let the world know you are not abandoned.”

Tears stung Yuen Fu’s eyes. The ache in his back felt trivial now; his heart burned hotter than pain could reach. He clutched his chest, bowing his head low, as though Da Wei himself stood before him.

Then came the final charge, weighty but clear.

“When you awaken again, seek Lu Gao’s body. Do not let him fade into nothing. Guard him. Look for Ye Yong. Tell her Da Wei walks still, and the fight is not over.”

The light in his heart dimmed to an ember, leaving only silence in its wake. Yuen Fu exhaled shakily, his fists clenched.

“Lu Gao… Ye Yong… and my lord’s will,” he whispered. “I shall fulfill your commands.”

The motes of light faded at last, leaving only the noon sun above him, harsh to all else, but to Yuen Fu, it was a crown of fire that marked his rebirth.

At the Fifth Realm, Soul Recognition, Yuen Fu came to understand the shape of his soul. It was the sun. It was bright, warm, and immense in its power. The sun was not only fury and fire, but hope. That reminder steadied him as he stood amid the carnage.

Before him lay the ruin of Lu Gao. What had once been a man proud of his sword and spirit was now a grotesque heap, bones jutting at odd angles, flesh torn to strips, blood pooling darkly in the soil. The sight twisted Yuen Fu’s stomach. He could have turned away. He could have left the remains to rot, but he did not.

Silently, he removed his outer robes and spread the fabric on the ground. He forced his trembling hands to move, scooping the pieces of what had once been his brother-in-arms into the cloth. The act was terrible, humiliating, and unbearable, yet he persisted. His breath came ragged, his vision blurred with moisture he refused to let fall. Each handful of gore felt like a knife, but he endured it.

When the grim task was finished, he tied the robes into a makeshift sack and hefted it onto his back. It was heavy, far heavier than he expected, as though Lu Gao’s pride and stubbornness still weighed on him even in death. Yuen Fu staggered forward, step by step, until the ruins of the battlefield were behind him and the road ahead stretched empty.

He did not know where Ye Yong might be. He had no plan beyond survival. But he knew one thing: he had to leave the capital. To remain was to invite certain death, and he would not waste the hope Da Wei had left him. So he walked, carrying the burden of a fallen rival and brother, the sun of his soul burning faintly against the overwhelming night.