The sky above the Floating Obsidian Pavilion turned an unnatural shade of violet. Thunderclouds rolled overhead, not from weather, but from karmic pressure rippling across the heavens. Inside, the latest auction had concluded. Li Xuan did not participate—he didn't need to. His silent influence dictated every winning bid, every treasure traded, every sect groveling for favor.
On the highest platform of the pavilion, surrounded by layered arrays and veiled space seals, Li Xuan stood alone, eyes closed. Dozens of transmission talismans floated around him like a halo. Each bore the final offers, secret oaths, and desperate messages of powerful sects across the lower realms.
"I've touched every string," he murmured.
The generals stood far below. Even the Seven dared not ascend unless summoned. Li Xuan had grown increasingly cold, even to them. Though they were fiercely loyal, their trust meant nothing to him. He had begun to see loyalty itself as a fleeting illusion, easily swayed by karma or fear.
At his feet burned the Ashen Karma Brazier, a treasure he had forged by sacrificing three entire sects in secret. The black flame fed on karmic imbalance—it twisted the aura of those who owed more than they were worth. It whispered secrets to him now.
Blood must fall. Balance must be paid.
Li Xuan's expression was calm, but something in his aura was changing. He no longer sought dominance. He sought understanding. Understanding of karma so deep it would rival the gods above.
Behind his cultivation, behind the resources and forces he controlled, lay his true breakthrough—one none could see.
The Voidheart Enlightenment Sutra.
This mind cultivation technique had no levels. No form. No path to follow.
It devoured his consciousness with each meditation, peeling apart his thoughts like rotting bark from a tree. Every time he delved into its depth, pain seized his soul—not his body, but the essence of his mind, his will, his identity.
And yet, after each session, his enlightenment soared.
A single hour of comprehension while under its torment granted him insights that others would need centuries to touch.
That morning, his entire chamber had been drenched in blood. Not his, but echoes of his own mind tearing itself apart. His eyes had turned white, not from blindness, but from having glimpsed too much.
Now, he controlled over a thousand sects in name. But in truth, over a million supporting realms bent to his will, all through hidden hands—false names, ghost factions, and fabricated enemies he secretly owned.
Li Xuan turned toward the brazier and whispered, "Burn the names."
The talismans lit like paper. Flames consumed every identity, every promise—leaving behind nothing but memory in Li Xuan's flawless mind.
There would be no record. No proof. Only his silent grip across the realms.
Suddenly, a tremor ran through the sealed chamber.
The air twisted, and a dark portal began to form. From it stepped an ancient figure cloaked in robes stitched with falling stars.
The immortal apparition. One of the Dark Observers. A whisper of a being from the Ancient Realms.
"You've begun the awakening," the figure said in a voice like cracking bones.
Li Xuan didn't bow. He didn't speak. His gaze alone was enough to silence the immortal shade.
"There will be a price."
"There is always a price," Li Xuan said. "But karma always pays what it owes."
The figure faded. It hadn't truly been here—just a shadow sent to observe.
After it vanished, Li Xuan's gaze fell to the realms below. The next phase had begun.
"Send word," he whispered to the void.
A thousand hidden seals activated across the continent. His 49 elite received a single command:
Begin the silent acquisitions. Remove names. Erase sect roots. Make them believe it was fate.
Each message came with a list of sects, clans, and factions—targets to erase, assimilate, or replace with shadows loyal only to Li Xuan.
Later that night, the Seven Generals stood in the inner sanctum. Only silence greeted them.
Li Xuan sat on a throne of obsidian, his gaze distant.
"The next auction," he said finally, "will be held in three months. Make it the grandest of the millennium. Draw out the God Realms' eyes."
One of the generals frowned. "Master, if they see us too early—"
"They will see only what I let them see."
The chamber darkened.
Li Xuan's aura pulsed.
In the silence, even his most loyal subordinates felt the chill of a man becoming something more—something inhuman. A sovereign of karma, with no warmth left in his