Original and most updated translations are from volare. Please don't read elsewhere and stop supporting theft.
TL: Zhao
Editing: Krisaia
"It's not working..." Li Yiming said with a shaken voice. His friends were all exhausted, and once he shifted his sight to Liu Meng, he finally started to feel remorse.
They had just given their everything trying to break the tenebrous wall beyond the clouds. Big Beard's mecha continued firing until its cannon tubes were overheated, and the rest of them launched their strongest attacks time and time again. Even Li Huaibei could only do enough to delay the black ceiling for a split-second.
As the black wall continued in its descent, mountain peaks after mountains peaks were crushed to dust.
"There's less than a thousand meters left…" Stargaze looked at Li Yiming and shook her head in frustration. She performed a seal with her hands, creating a rift in front of her.
"Seven hundred meters…" Li Huaibei wiped away the sweat on his forehead and glanced at Li Yiming.
"It's hopeless." Eyeglasses pushed Sai Gao's hand away as the latter once again offered to feed him blood.
"I'm sorry about everything..." Li Yiming lowered his arm, and his sword came back flying to him.
Li Yiming's friends stayed silent as they watched their impending doom. They understood the consequences of their actions the moment they chose to support Li Yiming's decision, but it was only now that their last sliver of hope was obliterated.
At one hundred meters, Stargaze suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and walked into the rift in front of her after one last glance at Li Yiming.
At fifty meters, Li Huaibei let out a long sigh and slash the air with his sword, creating his own rift. He slowly walked into the portal, looking as if he had aged several years.
At ten meters, Big Beard hopped out of his mecha as the cannon tubes were crushed into dust. He stared blankly above him as he stood still.
"It's alright, you can leave…" Qing Linglong suddenly said. She knew that sages were privileged when facing punishment and that Li Huaibei and Stargaze had just escaped with their lives after paying a hefty price.
"I'm sorry…" Li Yiming wrapped his arms around Liu Meng and stood still.
As the last few meters went by, the wall was now right above the heads of those still standing. Li Yiming's friends seemed to be relieved more than anything as their end approached, and none of them showed regret.
Li Yiming raised his right hand in anguish, unwilling to meet his end at such a time. As he closely felt the warmth of Liu Meng's body, the will to live grew stronger. At this point, all he could do was embrace Liu Meng during his last moments.
And then, the wall suddenly stopped.
'What?' Li Yiming looked at his right hand.
Everyone else was also wondering what happened. The descent of the black wall, which had remained impervious to the attacks of sages, was stopped effortlessly by Li Yiming's hand.
One last hope still lingered and all of Li Yiming's friends put their hands up to help Li Yiming.
However, the next instant, every single one of them fell to the ground in a submissive position, their will to resist had been broken the moment they touched the black wall.
The only person who was still standing was Li Yiming. He looked above him and could not believe how weightless the wall felt to him despite its massive size.
"Ahhh!" Li Yiming suddenly let out a loud cry and pushed upward with both arms — he had learned since a long time ago to never give up.
To his disappointment, the wall did not budge in the slightest.
'So, am I supposed to hold this forever?' Li Yiming was unsure what to do in the current situation. He tried to slightly retract his arm, and the sky resumed its crushing descent. He immediately raised his hand and stopped it once again.
'So I can't push it upward, but I can't let go either?'
Li Yiming's friends, however, were astonished at seeing Li Yiming standing as tall as the sky, especially after experiencing the soul-crushing sensation of opposing the will of the Heavens earlier themselves.
"So, does anyone have an idea of what to do?" Li Yiming's question broke the silence.
Boom!
A loud noise was heard as Li Yiming fell a crushing weight push against his arm, causing him to lose his balance and nearly trip as the golden glyphs of the wall lit up.
Ding!
Another deafening noise, but this time, originating from within Li Yiming's body. Li Yiming spat out a mouthful of blood and stood back up. His small metal orb had appeared between his palm and the wall.
'This thing again…' Li Yiming focused his attention on the runic glyph which was buried deep within his soul. After what had transpired on the Island of Eternity, the glyph became clearer, to the point that Li Yiming could roughly determine its shape. He had been trying to find a way to utilize it, to no avail.
Li Yiming suddenly heard a cry of anger coming from within the glyph, and the small object began spinning furiously just as the black wall began its crushing descent with even more might than before.
Li Yiming could feel energy accumulate within his limbs as he instantly felt reinvigorated. His muscles were filled to the brim with power, to the point that blood began to seep out his skin. Li Yiming opened his eyes wide and looked above, standing upright once more and raising his right fist.
"You cannot bend my will!" Li Yiming cried out and directed the energy accumulated within his body into his right arm.
"What is…"
"Shit…"
"Who is he…?"
Li Yiming's friends laid down on the ground in bafflement as the black wall was finally being pushed up.
As the black wall was lifted up further and further, all eyes were focused on the golden staff which appeared on Li Yiming's hand — the legendary staff that could only belong to one person.
Boom!
A blinding explosion of light was followed by a deafening thud. Everyone knew exactly where the sound came from — it was the sky that had just been ruptured.
Li Yiming fell down to his knees as the giant black wall was broken into pieces. The world swirled around him, but his attention was solely focused on his right hand.
"The one who slays Li Yiming will be made a sage."
"The one who slays Li Yiming will be made a sage."
"The one who slays Li Yiming will be made a sage."
A voice was heard once again, this time in the head of every guardian in the world.
* * *
"He survived? I missed out…" Stargaze wiped away the blood on the corner of her mouth and looked at the East, deeply regretting her decision to escape.
Li Huaibei leaned against a wall to support himself. Despite his weakness, he seemed happy and relieved at hearing the voice in his head.
"What did he do?" Fang Shui'er put her hand to her mouth as she looked at the horizon from the deck of the cruise ship.
The same question occupied the thoughts of all: "Who is Li Yiming?"