I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the ceiling of the City Lord's private library, golden formations still glowing softly above me. The familiar weight of countless scrolls and jade shelves surrounded me, but for the first time since learning about the truth of this realm, I felt like I could actually breathe.

The immediate threat was over.

We had successfully created the time loop, which meant that even if Du Yanze failed to completely save this realm, the otherworldly entity wouldn't be able to use it as a stepping stone to breach into the Cultivation World. At least, not for a very long time.

"Du Yanze?" I called out internally, checking on my vessel's mental state.

There was a long pause before I felt his consciousness stir. "I... I need some time to process everything that just happened," his voice sounded drained. "Creating a time loop, potentially condemning myself to endless repetition... it's a lot to absorb."

I could feel him retreating deeper into our shared mindspace, curling up in a corner like someone seeking solitude after a traumatic experience. I didn't blame him. The poor kid had just agreed to sacrifice his normal existence for the possibility of saving his world. That kind of decision would weigh heavily on anyone.

"Take all the time you need," I told him gently. "I'll handle things from here."

With Du Yanze giving me space, I could finally turn my attention to the more practical matter of survival. Yuan Zhen was somewhere in this realm, probably also preparing for our confrontation. I needed every advantage I could get.

"Azure," I said internally, settling into a comfortable position among the library's reading chairs. "I need you to help me understand something. Can you compare the calligraphy techniques from this realm with what I learned about blue sun calligraphy in the Two Suns world?"

"Of course, Master," Azure replied. "The fundamental approaches are quite different, actually. In the Two Suns world, blue sun calligraphy was about imposing your will directly onto reality through pure energy. The characters themselves became vessels for concentrated blue sun power."

I nodded, remembering my time as Tomas at the Blue Sun Academy. "Right, and here?"

"Here in the Realm of the Chosen, calligraphy works through belief and conviction. The Xuan Yi flows through the written characters, but it's the cultivator's absolute certainty that the effect will manifest that actually makes it happen. The energy is more... cooperative."

That made sense, given what I'd observed about this realm's power system. Everything here operated on conviction and self-belief.

"Show me some examples," I requested. "I want to see what kind of techniques are possible."

Azure's presence shifted, and suddenly I could see three distinct examples floating in my mind's eye, complete with the proper calligraphy strokes.

"For attack techniques," Azure began, "there's the Thunder Judgment Strike."

The characters appeared before me: Let the thunder's judgment cut through all deception and strike down the wicked.

"It creates a lightning bolt that seeks out enemies based on the caster's moral certainty about their guilt."

The second example materialized: "For defense, the Fortress of Absolute Will."

The characters read: My will is unbreakable, my purpose unshakeable, let this fortress stand eternal.

"It creates a barrier that grows stronger the more convinced the caster is of their righteousness."

Finally, the third technique: "And for support, the Blessing of Destined Victory."

The characters formed: Heaven has decreed my triumph, let fate itself guide my path to victory.

"It enhances luck and timing, making favorable coincidences more likely to occur."

I studied the techniques carefully, noting the complexity of the character combinations. Each one was a complete sentence expressing a philosophical statement.

"Azure," I said slowly, "these are all multiple characters. Full sentences. But from what I learned in the Two Suns world, I can only manage single-character techniques. Anything more is too advanced for me… how am I supposed to use any of these?"

"Ah," Azure said, and I could practically hear him smiling. "That was in the Two Suns world, where reality is quite rigid and follows specific laws. This realm operates differently. The Dao of Belief means that reality is much more flexible here, especially when you're using Xuan Yi. You should be able to manage longer phrases if you channel the local energy."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Let's see if that is true."

Standing up from the reading chair, I walked over to one of the City Lord's writing desks. The surface was covered with high-quality brushes, ink stones, and blank scrolls. I selected a brush with a fine tip and prepared some ink, then unrolled a fresh scroll.

I decided to try the defense technique first.

Carefully, I began writing the characters for "Fortress of Absolute Will."

My brushwork was decent enough, not artistic by any means, but legible and properly proportioned. As I wrote each character, I channeled Xuan Yi into the strokes, feeling the belief-based energy flow through the brush.

The moment I finished the final stroke, the characters began to glow with a soft golden light. The scroll lifted off the desk, hovering in the air as the technique activated. Around me, translucent golden walls materialized, forming a protective barrier that hummed with spiritual energy.

"It works!" I said, genuinely surprised at how easy it was.

The barrier felt solid and stable, definitely capable of deflecting attacks.

Curious, I let the barrier fade and prepared another scroll. This time, I wrote the exact same characters for "Fortress of Absolute Will," but instead of channeling Xuan Yi, I carefully fed blue sun energy into the brush strokes.

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The result was as expected.

Only the first character, Absolute, blazed to life with brilliant blue light. The remaining characters remained inert, just ink on paper. A weak, flickering barrier appeared around me, but it was unstable and translucent, barely a quarter of the strength of the Xuan Yi version.

"Hmm," Azure observed. "It seems we were correct with our assumption; your blue sun calligraphy skills aren't refined enough for complex phrases."

The failure gave me an idea. If I could only manage single characters with blue sun energy, how would they compare to the full Xuan Yi phrases?

I prepared a fresh scroll and wrote a single character: Stop. This time, I poured blue sun energy into it with confidence, using the level of control I'd developed in the Two Suns world.

The character erupted with intense blue light, and when I activated it, the entire library went silent, not just quiet, but completely motionless.

Dust particles froze in mid-air, the formations above stopped their gentle cycling, even the air itself seemed to pause. The effect only lasted a few seconds before my energy reserves demanded I release it, but it had been absolute.

Complete cessation of motion within a significant radius.

I tried a few more single characters: Shield, Cut, Bind.

Each single blue sun character was more powerful than entire Xuan Yi phrases, but the Xuan Yi techniques offered more complexity and versatility for my current level.

That made perfect sense when I thought about it.

Blue sun energy was simply a higher tier of power than Xuan Yi.

That was why I'd been able to overpower City Lord Feng Zhaoyang's "Chains of Absolute Binding" with a simple "Stop" character. The blue sun energy had torn through his derivative Xuan Yi technique like it was made of paper.

"Divine One?" Du Yanze's voice spoke up tentatively from our shared mental space. "Could I... could I try one of those techniques?"

I paused. He'd been so quiet I'd almost forgotten he was there.

"Of course," I replied, settling back in the chair. "Take control."

I felt our body's control shift to Du Yanze. He walked over to the writing desk, picked up a brush, and began writing one of the simpler attack techniques Azure had shown us.

"Thunder's Single Strike."

Du Yanze channeled his Xuan Yi into the characters, and they did activate, but the resulting lightning bolt was thin and weak, crackling halfheartedly in the air before dissipating. The technique worked, but it was clearly fragile compared to what I'd achieved moments earlier.

"Sorry," Du Yanze said, sounding embarrassed. "I'm still getting used to this level of cultivation. My control isn't very refined yet."

"Don't worry about it," I assured him, taking control back. "It'll improve with practice. You've only been at this level for a few hours, after all."

I found the difference fascinating. In the Realm of Living Lyrics, Mo Yuhang had been far superior to me at manipulating harmonic essence. His deep understanding of music cultivation had made him the natural choice to lead our battle against Guo Xinyi, with me providing support when needed.

Here, the situation was reversed. Despite Du Yanze being native to this realm and supposedly better suited to Xuan Yi manipulation, I was clearly more adept at the calligraphy techniques. Probably because of my extensive experience with blue sun calligraphy in the Two Suns world; the fundamental principles were similar enough that my skills translated over.

This was actually excellent news for my upcoming battle with Yuan Zhen. From what little I knew about him, calligraphy wasn't his specialty. Most cultivators from our realm focused on qi techniques, formation work, or specialized combat arts. Having to suddenly adapt to an entirely different power system and fighting style would put Yuan Zhen at a significant disadvantage even if he did breakthrough to the World-Writ Sovereign stage.

"Azure, help me select a proper arsenal of techniques for the battle," I said, returning to the writing desk. "I want a complete set: attack, defense, movement, support, and anything else I might need."

Over the next hour, we worked through various options. For attacks, I settled on several ranging from quick strikes to devastating area effects. For defense, I prepared both personal barriers and area denial techniques. For movement, I found techniques that could enhance speed, provide teleportation-like effects, or alter the battlefield terrain.

The support techniques were perhaps the most interesting, spells that could boost my cultivation base temporarily, enhance my perception, or disrupt my opponent's techniques.

"Master," Azure said as I finished preparing my final technique scroll, "would you like to try something more advanced? A Domain technique, perhaps?"

"A Domain?" My eyes widened.

Unlike my past opponents, I'd never actually manifested a proper Domain. My qi techniques were powerful but straightforward, and the sun energies at my current level didn't include Domain-level effects. But in this realm, with its flexible reality and belief-based power system...

"What are my options?" I asked.

"Given your plant-based cultivation and the local energy patterns, I'd suggest the Forest of Endless Growth," Azure replied. "It creates a Domain where everything becomes plant life, essentially becoming an extension of yourself."

That sounded perfect for my fighting style. "Show me how to write it."

The technique required an entire paragraph of characters, each one building on the previous to create a comprehensive statement of dominion over natural growth and plant life. I worked slowly and carefully, making sure each stroke was perfect as I channeled Xuan Yi into the formation.

When I finished the final character, the entire library transformed around me.

Vines erupted from between the jade shelves, flowers bloomed from the writing desk, and trees sprouted from the marble floor. Everything remained elegant and controlled rather than chaotic, this was cultivation, not random growth, but the sense of absolute dominion was intoxicating.

I could feel every plant in the expanded space as if it were part of my own body. I could make them grow, change shape, attack, defend, or create complex formations with just a thought. It was like having dozens of additional limbs, all perfectly coordinated.

The Domain lasted maybe six seconds before my Xuan Yi ran out and everything returned to normal, leaving me gasping with exhaustion. But the power I'd felt during those brief moments was unparalleled. Complete control over my environment, reality bending to accommodate my will...

"That," I said breathlessly, "was incredible."

"Domain techniques require enormous energy reserves," Azure noted. "But with practice, you should be able to maintain it for longer periods."

I spent the next few hours working on exactly that. The library became my private training ground as I repeatedly manifested and dismissed the Forest of Endless Growth, each time trying to extend the duration just a little longer.

It was exhausting work. Each attempt drained significant amounts of Xuan Yi, and I had to rest between sessions to recover. But gradually, incrementally, I was making progress. Ten seconds. Fifteen. Twenty.

By the time I felt satisfied with my progress, I could maintain the Domain for a full thirty seconds. It wasn't protagonist-level advancement, but it was pretty good in my opinion. Certainly enough to give Yuan Zhen a nasty surprise.

I let the Domain dissipate around me one final time, watching as the magnificent forest of glowing trees and flowering vines faded back into ordinary library furnishings. My Xuan Yi reserves were nearly depleted, but that was fine. I had time to recover before the battle.

The preparation was done. I had a full arsenal of calligraphy techniques prepared, passable control over a powerful Domain technique, and a better understanding of how this realm's power system worked. More importantly, I had advantages that Yuan Zhen wouldn't be expecting.

But now it was time to see what was happening outside.

During my training session, I'd been vaguely aware of sounds filtering through the library's sealed doors: shouting, spiritual pressure fluctuations, what sounded like techniques clashing.

The sounds of battle. But for the past hour or so, everything had been quiet.

Had Feng Zhaoyang succeeded in his mission to convert the city's population? Or had resistance forces managed to organize and strike back? Given how dangerous Disbelievers were considered in this realm, it was entirely possible that neighboring cities had sent reinforcements, or that the local authorities had called in specialists from the capital.

I needed to know the situation before my battle with Yuan Zhen began.

Walking to the library's main entrance, I deactivated the security formations that had kept us sealed inside. The massive doors unlocked with a series of soft clicks, and I pulled one of them open just enough to peer outside.

My eyes widened at what I saw.

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