The heavy, ornate doors of the Heavenly Dragon Throne Room, forged from solid star-iron and deeply inscribed with ancient, kinetic-absorbing martial arrays, swung shut with a resounding, echoing thud. The massive locking mechanisms ground into place, sealing General Bao, the Iron-Blood Demon, outside the inner sanctum. The vast, cavernous hall was plunged into a profound, suffocating silence, leaving only the supreme ruler of the Celestial Dragon Empire sitting in absolute isolation upon his macabre throne of bone.
Emperor Huang Long exhaled slowly, a long, measured breath that visibly shimmered with dense, golden Qi.
