Read The Almighty Dominance Novel (Alexander Leonhart and Sophia Lancaster) by Sunshine Updated 2025 -26 - The Almighty Dominance Chapter 617

Alex had spent countless days absorbing every sword art the old man revealed from the traditions of Murim.

The flowing elegance of Mount Hua Sect.

The precise, disciplined strikes of Emei Sect.

The relentless pressure of Qingcheng Sect.

With Gaia quietly supporting him, he mastered them all. Every form, every stance, every variation had been recorded flawlessly within his mind.

“What do you think?” the old man asked quietly.

Alex hesitated.

He had been wrestling with the question for hours.

The older sword arts felt natural now. With Gaia’s help, they had become extensions of his body.

But the new art—

the Limitless Sword—

was different.

It represented the origin of life and death itself, and no matter how hard Alex tried, he could not understand it.

Even Gaia had failed.

The old man’s movements could not be analyzed.

Every motion shifted endlessly, changing before it could be fully understood.

Limitless.

Exactly as the name implied.

Again and again, Gaia returned the same result.

No pattern detected.

The old man slowly rose to his feet.

“I know you possess a sharp mind, boy,” he said calmly. “But even the sharpest mind remains trapped within the third dimension.”

“What I’m about to teach you cannot be reached through thought alone.”

“Only the heart can touch it.”

“Heart?” Alex repeated with a frown.

The old man nodded patiently.

“The simplest language humanity ever created is spoken language.”

“But the most complex language is emotion.”

“The language of the heart.”

Alex frowned even harder.

“Can the heart even speak?”

“Of course it can,” the old man replied gently, kindness softening his eyes.

“Your voice only travels so far. But when two people truly connect, their feelings can cross any distance… and even time itself.”

“That is the language of the heart.”

He paused, allowing the words to settle.

“The foundation of Wudang is yin and yang—the source of all existence.”

“To reach the boundless light, the origin of creation itself, you must open your heart through love.”

“To touch complete destruction, you must embrace your deepest darkness.”

The old man lifted a plain white sword.

“If you can truly understand emotion, then you can stand at the source of life itself.”

Then he moved.

The sword flowed through the air with graceful elegance.

Flowers bloomed instantly around him.

Petals drifted through the wind as vibrant life spread across the barren earth.

Warmth filled the world.

Hope.

Wonder.

A sharp ache tightened inside Alex’s chest.

Then everything changed.

The old man’s expression darkened.

His sword twisted with raw negative force.

The flowers withered.

Leaves blackened and crumbled into dust.

The air turned cold and suffocating, as though death itself had swept across the clearing.

Alex felt the chill sink deep into his bones.

The old man’s grief and fury pressed against him like physical weight.

Then the sword lowered.

The darkness vanished.

“Remember this,” the old man said quietly.

“The Limitless Sword is only the beginning of the true art.”

Alex’s eyes widened.

Understanding struck him like lightning.

Without another word, he sat down and crossed his legs beneath him, slipping into meditation.

His breathing slowed.

His heart opened completely.

This sword art was fundamentally different.

Gaia could never truly understand it.

The system existed only within logic and data, bound to the limitations of the third dimension.

But humans…

Humans could reach beyond those limits.

Beyond logic.

Beyond rules.

Straight toward the source of their own existence.

The True Source.

When Alex opened his eyes again, the world had disappeared.

He stood alone within an endless realm of light and shadow.

There was no sky.

No ground.

Only infinite emptiness stretching forever in every direction.

A living silence pressed softly against his skin.

The old man appeared beside him soundlessly.

“I never expected you to reach this place so quickly,” he said, genuine surprise flickering beneath his calm voice.

“What is this place?” Alex asked quietly.

“The Realm of Spirit,” the old man answered.

“A place that can only be reached through the heart.”

Alex slowly lifted his gaze.

Far in the distance, an enormous radiant light pulsed with boundless warmth and life.

It called to something deep within him.

“That…” Alex whispered softly, “is the True Source of creation.”

The old man nodded once.

Alex turned toward the opposite side.

There, an endless darkness waited.

Cold.

Hungry.

Absolute.

Merely looking at it filled his chest with instinctive dread.

“And that?” he asked carefully.

“The core of darkness,” the old man replied simply.

Then his eyes turned solemn.

“You are now standing on the first true step toward understanding reality itself.”

He gestured toward the two endless forces surrounding them.

“From here, you have three choices.”

“The first path is the light.”

“If you choose it, you will become one of the holy spirits—beings aligned with life and eternal existence.”

Within the radiant glow, Alex glimpsed countless forms.

Humans.

Spirits.

Beautiful beings beyond imagination.

All of them existed together in harmony while creation blossomed endlessly around them.

The sight filled him with painful longing.

“The second path,” the old man continued quietly, “is darkness.”

“You would devote yourself entirely to destruction. You would become one of the creatures that exist solely to unmake creation.”

A cold wave swept through Alex.

For an instant, he felt the horror of that path.

The endless hunger.

The eternal emptiness.

The unbearable silence waiting at the end.

He swallowed hard.

“Can I choose neither?”

The old man’s expression softened.

“Of course.”

“Some call it the middle path. Others call it nirvana.”

“But you would remain trapped in nothingness.”

“Never entering the light. Never falling into darkness.”

“You would exist eternally between them, stagnant and unmoving.”

Alex stared silently into the emptiness between the two forces.

Then he asked quietly,

“Where was I created from?”

The old man sighed slowly, as though the question carried the burden of ages.

“Truthfully… you were born from the light.”

“You always were.”

“But many people prefer to deny that truth.”

“So instead, let us simply say this.”

“You appeared from nowhere.”

Silence settled between them.

Then the old man’s gaze sharpened.

“And now, where will you go?”

“Will you walk the path of light…”

“Or the path of darkness?”

Alex felt the weight of the question settle deep in his chest.

“Can I choose both without denying either one?”

“Of course,” the old man replied patiently.

“But if you refuse to choose, you will never truly evolve.”

“You will drift endlessly between the two.”

“Living. Dying. Being reborn.”

“Again and again without end.”

“People call it samsara.”

“An endless dream of life and death.”

“Only by choosing a side can true growth begin.”

Alex looked toward the endless realms once more.

“Where does each path lead?”

The old man gestured toward the radiant light.

“If you join the light, you will draw directly from the True Source.”

“You will grow endlessly.”

“Stronger. Greater. More alive.”

“There is no limit to how far beings of light can evolve.”

“You will eventually create life itself.”

“First small things.”

“Then planets.”

“Galaxies.”

“Entire dimensions.”

“Even realities beyond comprehension.”

“You will spread life and beauty endlessly.”

“That is the path of light.”

Warmth bloomed painfully inside Alex’s chest.

Hope.

Creation.

Meaning.

He could almost feel it.

Then he asked quietly,

“And darkness?”

Sorrow flickered across the old man’s face.

“If you choose darkness, you will devour everything the light creates.”

“You will never create anything yourself.”

“You will only consume.”

“Hunger endlessly.”

“Destroy endlessly.”

“And yet…”

“That destruction will make you unimaginably powerful.”

The old man allowed the silence to linger.

Then he slowly drew two swords.

One pure white.

One black as the void.

“The Limitless Sword Art,” he said quietly, “changes according to the source you connect to.”

He raised the black sword.

With one smooth swing, Alex felt it instantly.

A connection.

An invisible thread linking the old man directly to the endless darkness itself.

“When I wield this sword,” the old man said softly, “even the strongest enemy is left with only one fate.”

“Death.”

He lowered the blade.

The connection faded, but its cold presence still lingered against Alex’s skin.

“Yet every time you use this power,” the old man warned, meeting Alex’s eyes directly, “the darkness will corrupt you.”

“Little by little.”

“Until nothing remains except darkness itself.”

“This is the Death Sword.”

Then he raised the white blade.

Warm light spread gently outward.

“This is the Life Sword.”

“Wherever it moves, life follows.”

“When it encounters darkness or hatred, it devours those shadows and transforms them into nourishment for new life.”

He paused.

“But it cannot kill.”

“It only gives life.”

The old man lowered both swords.

“For now, I will entrust both blades to you.”

“Life and death.”

“Until the day you choose your path.”

Before Alex could respond, the Realm of Spirit shattered around him.

Light and darkness cracked apart like broken glass.

The world spun violently.

Then everything vanished.

Outside, in the physical world, the disciples of Wudang Sect had gathered in silence for days.

Across every peak, disciples stood shoulder to shoulder, staring toward the motionless figure seated beside the Sword Peak testing stone.

Alex had not moved in nearly a week.

His breathing was so faint it was almost invisible.

The elders and Sect Master watched with growing unease.

Then suddenly—

the sky split apart.

A deafening thunderclap shook the heavens.

One half of the sky turned pitch-black, filled with raging storm clouds and violent lightning.

The other half remained bright and peaceful beneath warm sunlight and drifting white clouds.

The divide between them was impossibly sharp, as though the heavens themselves had been cut in two.

No one in Wudang had ever witnessed such a phenomenon.

Disciples whispered in shock.

Elders stared upward with pale faces.

Even the Sect Master stood frozen in disbelief.

Then, from the highest peaks of the sect, two swords erupted from an ancient grave.

One black.

One white.

They streaked across the fractured sky like divine comets before crashing into the center of Sword Peak with a thunderous impact that shook the mountain itself.

The moment the black sword struck the ground, the storming half of the heavens roared in response.

Thunder exploded endlessly overhead.

Dark winds screamed across the arena.

Shadow and dust spiraled violently around the blade as though the storm itself obeyed its command.

Then the white sword landed.

Warmth spread instantly across Sword Peak.

Every disciple felt it.

Joy bloomed within their hearts.

Exhaustion faded.

Old aches disappeared.

It felt as though years of suffering had been lifted away in a single breath.

The two swords stood side by side, radiating completely opposing forces.

Then—

lightning and sunlight collided.

A blinding explosion engulfed the arena.

And from within it, a figure appeared.

A man stepped forward and grasped both swords.

One in each hand.

Thunder roared louder than ever.

The fierce wind forced everyone to shield their eyes.

Voices cried out in shock.

Then, just as suddenly—

everything stopped.

The storm vanished.

The dark clouds dissolved instantly.

The lightning faded.

Only a final gust of wind swept across Sword Peak before the heavens returned to brilliant, endless blue.

When the light finally settled, Alex stood alone at the center of the arena.

The black sword rested in his left hand.

The white sword in his right.

His robes stirred softly in the wind.

Power radiated from him like a visible aura.

Celestial.

Commanding.

Almost divine.

Beneath the clear sky, he looked completely transformed.

His posture stood straighter.

His eyes carried a depth that hadn’t existed before.

It was as though a hidden star had awakened inside him.

Every disciple stared speechless.

The elders leaned forward in shock.

Even the Sect Master could not hide the awe in his expression.

Alex had returned.

And something far greater had returned with him.