# 9
**Chapter 9: The Broken Cane**
"So bright!"
"What is that?!"
"Did something catch fire?"
"No way! A fire wouldn't be that bright! And Cangnan City doesn't have any buildings that tall!"
"Quick, quick! Take a picture! Post it on social media!"
"…"
The pillar of light piercing the sky was so blinding that half of Cangnan City noticed it. Pedestrians stopped in their tracks, excitedly speculating about its origin.
Some said it was an explosion, others an optical experiment, and some even claimed it was a divine miracle… But only a handful knew what the appearance of this light truly meant.
Two minutes ago, in the old district.
On an empty street, spatial ripples gently stirred, as if someone had lifted a corner of the canvas shrouding the old district. Then, five figures in black-red cloaks stepped out.
One of them glanced around, walked forward, and picked up the "No Entry" sign from the ground, folding it shut.
The moment the sign was put away, the silent old district shattered like a bubble, revealing its true form.
Chilling blood soaked the worn streets red, and grotesque limbs were scattered everywhere. If Lin Qiye saw this, he’d recognize the diced-up pieces on the ground as the same ghost-faced monsters he’d been fighting!
There were at least thirty-four of them!
"The [Borderless Domain] has been retrieved," the one holding the sign said flatly. "Call in the logistics team to clean up."
"Where’s Old Zhao?"
"Chasing the two ghost-faced ones that got away."
"…We slipped up," the injured woman clutched her right shoulder, looking drained.
"Don’t say that, Hongying. No one expected a Ghost-Face King to be hiding among them," the man beside her comforted.
"The captain should be fine facing the Ghost-Face King alone, right?"
"Of course. Don’t forget, the captain’s a River Realm expert. He’ll be fine," the man paused. "Let’s just hope… those two escaped ghost-faces don’t harm any civilians…"
Just as he finished, a blazing pillar of light shot into the sky from another direction, illuminating half the heavens!
All five turned in shock!
"That’s…"
"A Forbidden Ruins has awakened. That energy wave… is insanely strong!"
"That’s at least Infinity Realm—no, maybe even Klein… How could a small city like Cangnan attract someone that powerful?"
"No… this doesn’t feel like a human Forbidden Ruins," the man frowned.
Hongying froze, then seemed to realize something. "You mean…"
"It’s more like a divine Forbidden Ruins. A God’s Ruins."
At the word "god," everyone’s gaze sharpened.
"Which god?"
"Scorching, sacred, overwhelming… and that aura of creation. If I’m not mistaken…" The man stared at the fading light and spoke slowly:
"God Serial Number 003, King of Angels—Michael."
…
Lin Qiye was in agony.
At the center of the golden pillar, his body had lost all control, suspended midair as endless energy surged from his eyes.
He felt like he was back ten years ago, once again gazing across the cosmos into those eyes.
That Supreme Godly aura—he still remembered it vividly.
The difference was, ten years ago it came from the Moon. Now… it came from his own eyes.
The Seraphim’s might and divine pressure poured madly from his pupils, which blazed like twin suns, as if to incinerate everything into nothing.
Ten years ago, the Archangel Michael had met his gaze from the Moon.
Ten years later, Lin Qiye opened his eyes, and the residual Seraphim power within them erupted!
Fortunately, only a trace remained. After seven or eight seconds, the pillar faded, and Lin Qiye dropped from the sky, stumbling to steady himself.
The brilliant gold in his eyes dimmed, leaving only a faint glimmer.
If before it had been as bright as the sun, now it was just a candle’s flame.
The earlier burst had been overwhelming, but it hadn’t belonged to him. Now, the faint golden shimmer in his eyes was truly his.
A sliver—weak, but real—of Seraphim power.
Lin Qiye took a deep breath and slowly raised his head.
Dark night, old streets, grotesque monsters, blood-soaked ground… When this grim scene unfolded before him, he smiled.
A genuine, joyful smile.
Ten years. Once again, he saw the world with his own eyes.
To Lin Qiye, even the blood-drenched monsters seemed… a little cute.
When his Seraphim aura had erupted, the two monsters had been pinned to the ground by divine pressure, nearly crushed into paste.
Only after the light vanished did they recover, dazed, then refocus on Lin Qiye.
Bloodlust flared again in their eyes.
"Screee—!"
One shrieked and lunged!
Lin Qiye was far calmer now. The instant it moved, he predicted its trajectory and dove aside.
He was slower than the monster, but his reaction speed was insane. His enhanced perception gave him a few precious seconds.
It wasn’t prophecy—his senses had transformed.
First, his mental perception range had doubled from ten to twenty meters. It had taken him five years to reach ten. Now, it had doubled in an instant.
Second, his dynamic vision.
Within twenty meters, he had nearly triple the normal human’s dynamic vision and reflexes. In close combat, it was almost like foresight.
Other abilities? He hadn’t sensed them yet.
But now wasn’t the time to explore.
The monster shot past where he’d stood, smashed through a wall, kicked off the rubble, and launched again!
Lin Qiye rolled aside, grabbed something from the ground—the broken half of a Guide Cane!
He sprang up, half-crouched, eyes locked on the incoming beast, gripping the cane with both hands.
It blurred toward him, wind whipping his hair.
It leapt!
This time, Lin Qiye didn’t dodge.
He clenched the broken cane, eyes fixed on the monster’s.
"Screee—!"
Its claws slashed for his throat.
Just before contact, Lin Qiye’s pupils shrank!
The faint gold in his eyes flared like furnaces!
A sliver of divine might surged through his gaze into the monster.
In its eyes, Lin Qiye transformed—into a six-winged, supreme deity of overwhelming power.
Its body froze.
In that instant, Lin Qiye raised the broken Guide Cane high…
And drove it straight into the monster’s right eye!