The quiet reception hall of the Grand Cauldron Tower turned into a absolute, frozen graveyard in less than a second.
The air didn't just grow cold; it solidified. The rich, aromatic scent of burning spirit-incense and roasted medicinal herbs was instantly crushed under a dense, suffocating blanket of glacial pressure. Every drop of moisture in the room crystallized mid-air, raining down onto the grand mahogany tables like thousands of microscopic, sharp needles.
Li-Wen's words—"Touch her, and I erase your clan from the face of this continent"—did not sound like an angry shout. It was uttered in a low, level, and flat voice that carried no emotion, no heat, and no hesitation. It was the absolute decree of an ancient, unyielding sovereign issuing a final truth to the world.
Elder Yan Fire-Demon's claw-like hand stopped dead in mid-air, barely three feet away from Xiao-Yue's silver ribbons.
A cold, terrifying tremor ran straight down Yan Fire-Demon's spine, making every hair on his neck stand on end. His Stage-5 Peak Martial Sovereign cultivation base—a terrifying ocean of fiery core energy that could melt solid bronze into liquid—felt as though it had been dumped into an abyssal ocean of zero-degree ice water. The crimson flames flickering around his fingers died instantly, extinguished without even a puff of smoke.
What... what is this monster?! Yan Fire-Demon screamed in his mind, his eyes dilating in pure, instinctual horror.
He was a respected Grand Elder of the supreme Crimson-Sun Clan! In the Central Imperial Capital, even royal princes and guild directors treated him with utmost deference. Yet, standing before this tall man in the plain dark coat, Yan Fire-Demon felt like a helpless mortal child standing at the base of an collapsing, mountain-high glacier!
Behind Yan Fire-Demon, the two accompanying Stage-4 Peak elders of the Crimson-Sun Clan dropped heavily onto their knees. Their teeth chattered violently as pale frost mist spewed from their noses and mouths, their crimson robes rapidly turning stiff and white with ice.
"E-Elder Yan..." one of the red-robed guards wheezed out, his chest collapsing under the invisible weight. "I... I can't breathe! My core is freezing!"
Elder Gu Chang-Sheng stood five paces away, his long white beard covered in frost patterns. Even as a Five-Star Chief Alchemist who had witnessed countless supreme experts throughout his long life, Elder Gu was completely awestruck. He finally understood that Li-Wen's unmatched alchemical insight was merely the tip of a terrifyingly vast iceberg—this man was a true, walking taboo of destruction!
Yan Fire-Demon forced his trembling jaw to open. The blood-red light in his eyes flared hysterically as he tried to mobilize his ancient clan pride to swallow the rising fear in his heart.
"Y-You... nameless backwoods brute!" Yan Fire-Demon rasped, his voice shaking violently despite his best efforts to sound domineering. "Do you have any idea who you are threatening?! Our Crimson-Sun Clan possesses three Stage-5 Peak Ancestors and over ten thousand elite sun-knights! The Imperial Guard obeys our Patriarch's command! If you dare strike me inside the Capital—"
Li-Wen didn't wait for him to finish his meaningless boast.
He didn't draw his heavy blade. He didn't execute an elaborate martial stance.
He simply raised his broad right hand, his long fingers closing smoothly into a simple, firm fist.
BOOM—!
A localized dome of absolute, crystalline blue Frost-Domain erupted around Yan Fire-Demon!
"NO! SUN-GOD SHIELD!" Yan Fire-Demon shrieked in desperation!
Recognizing the fatal danger, Yan Fire-Demon burned ten percent of his core bloodline essence, summoning a brilliant, ten-foot-tall illusion of a blazing sun around his body! The scorching heat radiated outward, attempting to melt through the surrounding blue ice domain!
However, the moment Yan Fire-Demon's blazing sun clashed with Li-Wen's Frost-Domain, it didn't cause an explosion or an energy reaction.
The scorching sun energy was forcefully, ruthlessly frozen solid!
The bright orange flames turned into static, glass-like orange crystals in mid-air, shattering into fine, harmless dust under the sheer, unyielding density of the Northern Frost Qi!
CRACKLE!
"AAAGHH!"
Yan Fire-Demon let out a blood-curdling scream of pure agony as the absolute zero frost energy invaded his body through his pores!
Starting from his fingertips, his skin, muscles, meridians, and core energy were flash-frozen at a speed invisible to the naked eye. His sharp, arrogant expression froze into a mask of pure, hysterical terror.
Within less than two seconds, the formidable Stage-5 Peak Martial Sovereign—a man who held immense military authority in the Central Capital—was completely turned into a life-sized, translucent statue of deep blue ice!
Li-Wen slowly stepped forward, his boot making a light, rhythmic TAP against the white marble floor.
SHATTER!
The blue ice statue of Yan Fire-Demon collapsed inward, breaking into tens of thousands of sparkling, diamond-like ice crystals that scattered silently across the frozen floor, dissolving into thin air!
Not a single drop of blood spilled. Not a single organ remained. A Stage-5 Peak powerhouse was utterly erased from the physical world, leaving behind only his empty, frost-covered spatial ring lying quietly on the cold marble!
Silence.
A suffocating, dead silence that felt heavier than the sky itself fell over the entire reception hall.
The two surviving Stage-4 Crimson-Sun guards slammed their foreheads repeatedly against the frozen floor, weeping and trembling uncontrollably as they felt the absolute certainty of death lingering over their necks.
"Mercy! Senior, have mercy! We were only obeying orders!"
"Don't kill us! We know nothing! Mercy!"
Li-Wen didn't even cast a glance at the two kneeling guards. He casually swept his sleeve, bringing Yan Fire-Demon's floating spatial ring into his hand. His divine perception probed inside, finding dozens of high-grade spirit-stones, rare fire-attribute ores, and an official Crimson-Sun Clan command token. He stored the ring into his coat without a word.
Li-Wen turned his gaze toward Elder Gu, who was standing stiffly in place, holding his breath in profound awe and reverence.
"Elder Gu," Li-Wen spoke, his low voice returning to its usual, calm baseline.
Elder Gu bowed deeply instantly, his forehead almost touching the icy floor. "Gu Chang-Sheng is here! Senior, please issue your commands!"
"The noise here is unpleasant," Li-Wen said faintly. "My sister and I will return to the Dragon-Vein Bamboo Estate."
"Understood! This old man will personally escort Senior to the private sky-carriage!" Elder Gu declared with absolute urgency, bowing again. "Regarding the two guards of the Crimson-Sun Clan..."
Li-Wen stepped past the kneeling, trembling guards, his dark coat sweeping behind him.
"Tell their Patriarch," Li-Wen murmured, his voice echoing coldly down the long corridor, "if he wants his clan to see tomorrow's sunrise, keep his people away from the Southern Mist District."
Ten minutes later, a grand, golden-roofed spirit-carriage provided by the Central Pill Guild's highest VIP fleet glided smoothly out from the Grand Cauldron Tower's high-altitude landing deck, shooting across the twilight sky toward the peaceful Southern Mist District.
Sitting inside the spacious, silk-padded cabin, Xiao-Yue was leaning happily against Li-Wen's arm, holding her wrapped pink lotus lantern in her lap. She took a small bite from a sweet, honey-glazed spirit-pastry that Elder Gu had respectfully presented to her before their departure.
"Brother Li-Wen," she murmured softly, her mouth slightly full, "that loud red man with the fiery beard... where did he go? Did he turn into shiny ice dust like the sky-pirate?"
Li-Wen looked down at her, his broad palm gently patting her soft silver hair.
"He left," Li-Wen replied softly, his voice devoid of any lingering coldness. "He will not bother us again."
Xiao-Yue nodded happily, munching on her pastry. "Good! He was very noisy and smelled like smoke. I like our bamboo garden much better."
As the carriage sped through the high clouds, Li-Wen looked out the window at the vast, shimmering expanse of the Central Imperial Capital below.
The sun had completely set over the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of indigo and purple. Below, the thousands of grand avenues and towering floating islands illuminated with glowing array-lights, looking like a brilliant sea of fallen stars.
Li-Wen knew very well that erasing Yan Fire-Demon inside the Grand Cauldron Tower was a heavy blow that would send massive shockwaves through the highest power structures of the Capital.
The Crimson-Sun Clan was one of the four supreme aristocratic families that controlled the city's military defense. They would not swallow the death of a Stage-5 Peak Grand Elder easily. Before the night was over, thousands of imperial scouts, shadow assassins, and clan powerhouses would be searching for the identity of the mysterious master who had shattered their elder into dust.
However, deep within Li-Wen's eyes, there was not a single trace of worry or hesitation.
Her foundation was stabilized. Her Fire-Lotus bloodline was protected. As long as Xiao-Yue was safe, let the four supreme clans bring their armies, let the Stage-5 Ancestors march from their floating sanctuaries—his heavy blade was ready to paint the streets of the Capital in cold blue blood.
Meanwhile, in the highest floating island hovering above the center of the Capital—the Crimson-Sun Floating Sanctuary—a terrible, violent storm had erupted.
Inside a grand, ancient hall constructed from glowing red volcanic stone, a colossal bronze ancestral flame-bowl burned brightly. Embedded along the stone walls were dozens of glowing Soul-Life Tablets, each representing a core elder or direct descendant of the Crimson-Sun Clan.
CRACK—!
Suddenly, at the very center of the elder row, a life tablet glowing with a rich, Stage-5 peak crimson flame shattered into tiny, cold fragments!
The fragments did not fall as burning embers—they turned dark blue and crumbled into frozen dust on the floor!
The four elder guardians standing watch inside the ancestral hall turned deathly pale, their eyes filled with utter terror and disbelief.
"Elder Yan Fire-Demon's Soul Tablet... shattered?!"
"Look at the residual energy on the fragments! It's not fire damage... it's absolute zero spatial frost!"
BOOM—!
Before the guardians could raise the alarm, a terrifying, apocalyptic wave of scorching heat erupted from the deepest, underground chamber of the floating sanctuary!
The heavy volcanic doors blasted open, and a towering figure clad in grand golden-red dragon armor stepped out. His hair was a wild, roaring sea of pure crimson flame, and his eyes burned like two mini suns—this was Patriarch Yan Crimson-Heaven, a legendary Stage-5 Peak Sovereign who was merely half a step away from entering the mythical Stage-6 Realm!
"Who..." Patriarch Yan's voice boomed across the floating island like apocalyptic thunder, causing the surrounding sky-clouds to part violently. "Who dared to extinguish my brother's soul fire in the Central Capital?!"
A kneeling shadow scout rushed into the hall, slamming his forehead against the floor. "P-Patriarch! The news from the Grand Cauldron Tower has arrived! Elder Yan was... was erased by a nameless master carrying a dark wrapped heavy blade and accompanied by a small silver-haired girl!"
"A wrapped heavy blade?!" Patriarch Yan roared, his fiery aura flaring thirty feet into the air, melting the stone pillars of the hall into liquid magma. "Gather the Nine Crimson Sun Guardians! Activate the Imperial Sky-Tracking Array! Find where this nameless brute is hiding! I want his head mounted on our grand gate before dawn, and I want that silver-haired girl brought to my refining chamber alive!"
"Yes, Patriarch!" dozens of powerful voices echoed across the floating island as streaks of red light shot into the night sky!
An hour later, the spirit-carriage landed smoothly before the iron-bamboo gates of the Dragon-Vein Bamboo Estate in the quiet Southern Mist District.
The cool night air was filled with the soft rustling of bamboo leaves and the peaceful melody of the trickling mountain stream. The chaotic turmoil of the city felt a world away from this secluded valley.
Li-Wen stepped out of the carriage, holding Xiao-Yue's hand as they walked through the open gate.
He led her into the main pavilion, helping her take off her small leather backpack and setting her wrapped wooden sword on the wooden stand. Xiao-Yue yawned softly, rubbing her eyes as tiredness finally caught up with her after an eventful day.
"Go to sleep," Li-Wen said gently, tucking her into her soft, fur-lined bed.
"Brother Li-Wen... will you be outside?" she asked sleepily, her eyelids fluttering shut.
"I will be right here," Li-Wen murmured, stroking her forehead until her breathing turned slow, deep, and rhythmic.
Once she fell into a peaceful slumber, Li-Wen turned around, stepping smoothly out of the main pavilion onto the white marble courtyard.
The moon hung high in the dark indigo sky, casting a soft, silver light over the quiet lotus pond and the surrounding tall bamboo.
Li-Wen walked over to the center of the yard. With an unhurried, steady movement, he unbuckled the dark leather straps from his shoulders and drew his broad, wrapped heavy blade from his back, resting its heavy tip against the cool stone floor.
THUD.
He sat down cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, closing his dark eyes as the night wind fluttered his coat.
He did not activate the hiding function of his isolation array. Instead, he allowed a single, extremely faint thread of his cold, sharp Northern Blade-Intent to leak out into the night sky—acting as a silent, visible beacon for anyone searching for him.
They will come tonight, Li-Wen thought inwardly, his heart as calm and peaceful as a frozen lake under the moonlight.
He was waiting.
In the quiet night of the Central Imperial Capital, beneath the whispering dark bamboo, the sovereign stood ready for the blood that would paint the morning sky.
See you in next chapter....