The early morning mist hung like a heavy grey shroud over the Central Imperial Capital, clinging to the high stone ramparts and draping the floating islands in a dense, silent blanket of dew. Down in the Southern Mist District, the iron-bamboo stalks stood tall and pristine, their long leaves glistening under the first faint rays of dawn.
In the central courtyard of the Dragon-Vein Bamboo Estate, every trace of the previous night's battle had completely vanished. The fine blue ice dust had melted into pure, sparkling dew that nourished the soil, leaving the cobblestones spotless.
Sitting on the edge of the marble pavilion, Xiao-Yue was happily swinging her legs while eating a warm steamed bun. She held her small wooden sword against her knees, watching a pair of swallows darting through the bamboo canopy.
Beside her, Li-Wen stood with his back straight, his tall frame cast against the rising sun. His broad blade remained securely bound across his back, its dark cloth sheath unruffled by the morning breeze. His dark, abyssal eyes looked far beyond the quiet valley, fixed squarely on the colossal floating island hovering five miles above the city center.
Five miles above the earth, inside the Crimson-Sun Floating Sanctuary, the morning light brought no warmth—only a suffocating, terrifying pressure that caused every servant, guard, and disciple to walk with trembling knees.
At the very top of the central volcanic stone palace, inside the Great Sun Shrine, Patriarch Yan Crimson-Heaven sat upon a throne forged from glowing red molten ore.
He wore his magnificent golden-red dragon armor, but his face was twisted into a mask of monstrous, suppressed rage. His long crimson hair flared erratically, sending sparks of intense heat dancing across the polished obsidian floor.
Before his throne, placed upon a black velvet tray held by a kneeling elder, lay nine shattered silver-and-gold command tokens.
These were the Sun Tokens of the Nine Crimson Sun Guardians—the personal bloodline tokens linked directly to the souls of the clan's supreme shadow assassins.
Every single token was split clean down the middle, their surfaces encased in a thin, permanent layer of translucent blue ice that refused to melt, even under the intense heat radiating from the Patriarch's throne!
"All nine..." Patriarch Yan spoke, his voice sounding like two massive grinding stones sliding against each other in the depths of an active volcano. "All nine were wiped out in less than three minutes?"
The kneeling elder, a Stage-4 Peak internal supervisor whose hair had turned half-white overnight, slammed his forehead repeatedly against the stone floor.
"P-Patriarch!" the elder stammered in sheer terror, pale mist spewing from his trembling lips. "The sky-monitoring array recorded no loud explosions, no long battles, and no calls for reinforcement! At precisely three minutes past midnight, the bloodline connection to First Guardian Sun-Shadow and the others was... was instantly severed!"
CRACK!
Patriarch Yan's broad hand slammed onto the armrest of his molten throne, shattering the ancient volcanic stone into flying red embers!
"Nonsense!" Patriarch Yan roared, standing up slowly. His Stage-5 Peak Martial Sovereign aura erupted outward, causing the thick stone pillars of the shrine to groan and crack under the sheer thermal pressure! "Sun-Shadow carried the Grade-5 Blood-Sun Needle! Even if a Stage-5 Peak Sovereign defended that estate, it should have triggered a destructive explosion that would have leveled half the Southern Mist District!"
The kneeling elder shivered uncontrollably. "P-Patriarch... the lingering energy on the shattered tokens is pure, absolute zero spatial frost. It didn't just break their bodies—it froze their souls and erased their core Qi before the Blood-Sun Needle could even be detonated!"
Hearing these words, the anger in Patriarch Yan's eyes faltered for a fraction of a second, replaced by a sudden, cold glint of instinctual shock.
Absolute zero spatial frost? Patriarch Yan thought inwardly, his hands clenching into tight fists inside his gauntlets. To freeze a Grade-5 lethal treasure and erase nine Stage-4 Peak masters in three minutes without causing a single ripple in the surrounding district... that isn't ordinary cultivation! That man is carrying a true, uncorrupted Northern Legacy!
In the Central Imperial Capital, the Crimson-Sun Clan was powerful, but they were not foolish. They knew that beyond the vast borders of the empire lay ancient, hidden sanctuaries and terrifying hermit lineages whose foundations predated the founding of the current dynasty.
If this nameless wanderer was an emissary or successor of an ancient Northern Sovereign Clan, striking him down recklessly could bring absolute disaster to the Crimson-Sun lineage!
"Patriarch!"
Suddenly, a clear, authoritative voice echoed from the grand entrance of the shrine.
A tall elder dressed in refined crimson-and-white robes stepped into the hall. He wore a silver crown and carried an ivory scholar's scroll—this was Elder Yan Wise-Sky, the Chief Strategist and Deputy Patriarch of the Crimson-Sun Clan.
Wise-Sky stepped past the kneeling supervisor, bowing deeply toward the throne before speaking in a calm, measured tone.
"Patriarch, anger will only cloud our vision," Wise-Sky said firmly. "The death of Grand Elder Yan Fire-Demon and the Nine Guardians proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man is a genuine Stage-5 Peak monster, if not a half-step Stage-6 Sovereign. Tackling him alone with our clan's current forces, while our Grand Ancestor is in closed-door seclusion, is far too risky."
Patriarch Yan's crimson eyes narrowed sharply. "Wise-Sky, are you suggesting we swallow this insult?! He erased my brother! He destroyed our shadow guardians! If we do nothing, our clan will become the laughingstock of the four supreme families!"
"Of course not," Wise-Sky replied, a cold, calculating smile playing on his lips. "We do not fight him alone. We use the laws and forces of the entire Capital against him."
Wise-Sky unrolled the ivory scroll in his hands, presenting it toward the throne.
"First," Wise-Sky explained, "the child he is protecting possesses the Primordial Fire-Lotus Bloodline. The Blood-Blade Sect has been searching for that exact bloodline for twenty years to complete their supreme ancestral blood-array. If we leak the child's location to Sect Master Blood-Gouger, he will mobilize his entire sect to seize her!"
"Second," Wise-Sky continued, his voice lowering into a deadly whisper, "killing an elder of a supreme clan inside the Capital violates the Imperial Sovereign Peace Accord. I have already dispatched messengering talismans to the Royal Martial Academy and the Imperial Guard Directorate. By noon today, we can assemble a unified force of four Stage-5 Peak experts and ten thousand imperial sun-knights!"
Patriarch Yan's face slowly relaxed, a sinister, cruel grin spreading across his features.
"A joint siege..." Patriarch Yan sneered, his fist clenching tightly. "Even if he is an ancient northern monster, can he withstand four Stage-5 Peak Sovereigns and the grand defensive array of the Capital at the same time?!"
"He will be turned to ash before sunset," Wise-Sky declared with absolute confidence.
Meanwhile, down in the quiet Southern Mist District, the iron-bamboo estate received an unexpected guest.
SWISH...
A sleek, silver spirit-carriage drawn by two majestic white-winged steeds landed smoothly before the iron-bamboo gates. The carriage bore no military emblems, but a delicate, glowing golden lily pattern was carved into its mahogany doors—the private crest of the Imperial Sky-Pavilion.
The carriage door opened, and Vice-President Lin Xuan stepped out, his face pale and full of urgent anxiety. Right behind him walked a young female attendant dressed in elegant royal-blue silk, carrying a sealed golden scroll.
Lin Xuan rushed into the courtyard, bowing deeply toward the marble pavilion where Li-Wen was standing.
"Senior Li!" Lin Xuan spoke hastily, his voice trembling slightly. "The entire Capital is in an uproar! The news of Elder Yan Fire-Demon's demise and the destruction of the Nine Guardians has reached the Royal Court!"
Li-Wen's face remained as calm and unruffled as an icy mountain stream. He looked down at the anxious Vice-President.
"They move quickly," Li-Wen said faintly.
Lin Xuan wiped a drop of cold sweat from his forehead. "Senior! Patriarch Yan Crimson-Heaven has allied with the Blood-Blade Sect and invoked the Imperial Sovereign Peace Accord! They are branding Senior as a demoniac cultivator from the border wilderness to justify a full military siege on the Southern Mist District!"
Hearing this, Xiao-Yue stopped chewing her bun, looking up at Li-Wen with curious eyes. "Brother Li-Wen, are the bad people coming with more loud drums?"
Li-Wen reached out, gently patting her head. "No drum will disturb your rest."
The young female attendant in blue silk stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Li-Wen before presenting the sealed golden scroll with both hands.
"Greetings, Honorable Senior," the attendant spoke in a sweet, refined voice. "I am a personal messenger from Her Highness, Princess Ye Ling-Xue of the Imperial Sky-Pavilion."
Lin Xuan added quickly, "Senior, Princess Ye Ling-Xue is the second princess of the current dynasty and the supreme director of the Sky-Pavilion Intelligence Network. She holds immense influence within the Royal Court and has always been at odds with the arrogant expansion of the Crimson-Sun Clan."
Li-Wen casually swept his hand, bringing the golden scroll into his grip. The moment his fingers touched the scroll, the golden seal dissolved, revealing sweeping, elegant calligraphy written in divine ink:
> "To the Honorable Northern Sovereign:
> The Crimson-Sun Clan and the Blood-Blade Sect have deployed a ten-thousand-man grand formation to seal the Southern Mist District by noon. Their true aim is not merely revenge, but the Primordial Fire-Lotus Bloodline of the young lady beside you.
> The Imperial Court is split. My Sky-Pavilion is willing to offer absolute asylum and a spatial transportation array to exit the Capital safely, provided Senior is willing to share an audience with me at the Sky-Pavilion before the siege commences.
> — Princess Ye Ling-Xue."
>
Li-Wen read the scroll in a single glance. A cold, faint trace of an indifferent smile flickered at the corner of his lips.
"Asylum?" Li-Wen murmured softly, the golden scroll in his hand instantly turning into fine blue ice dust, floating away on the morning wind.
He looked at the blue-clothed attendant, his dark eyes carrying an absolute, unyielding sovereign authority that made the young girl's heart skip a beat in pure awe.
"Tell your Princess," Li-Wen spoke, his low voice echoing clearly across the courtyard, "I do not require asylum. Nor do I flee from traps."
The attendant gasped softly. "Senior... they are bringing four Stage-5 Peak Sovereigns and ten thousand elite troops! The grand array will lock the spatial coordinates of this entire district!"
Li-Wen turned his back smoothly, stepping toward the center of the courtyard where his wrapped heavy blade rested against his spine.
"Let them bring ten thousand," Li-Wen said, his voice flat, calm, and terrifyingly cold. "Let them bring their grand array. When the sun reaches its peak, I shall teach the Central Capital the true meaning of fear."
The attendant stood frozen for a moment, deeply struck by the absolute, mountain-like confidence radiating from this plain-coated man. She bowed low, holding her breath.
"I... I shall convey Senior's exact words to Her Highness!"
She backed out of the estate hurriedly, boarding the silver carriage as it shot back into the sky toward the central floating district.
Vice-President Lin Xuan stood in the courtyard, his hands trembling slightly inside his purple silk sleeves. He looked at Li-Wen's tall, unyielding back, feeling a surge of profound reverence and anxiety.
"Senior Li..." Lin Xuan asked nervously, "shall the Merchant League prepare our private guards to assist in defending the perimeter?"
Li-Wen didn't turn around. He looked down at Xiao-Yue, who had finished her steamed bun and was now carefully practicing her sword stances under the shade of the bamboo.
"No," Li-Wen replied calmly. "Keep your people ten miles away. This fight belongs to my blade alone."
"Understood, Senior!" Lin Xuan bowed deeply, knowing that any further words would be superfluous. He quietly withdrew from the estate, leaving the pair in absolute peace once more.
The morning sun climbed higher into the sky, painting the clouds above the Central Imperial Capital in brilliant shades of gold and amber.
Far away, across the five major districts of the city, heavy war drums began to thunder. Thousands of armored sun-knights clad in crimson scale armor were marching out from the military barracks, their heavy boots shaking the granite avenues. High in the sky, dozens of massive blood-red war-barges belonging to the Blood-Blade Sect were emerging from the eastern clouds, trailing dark, corrosive killing intent behind them.
The entire Central Imperial Capital was turning its eyes toward the quiet Southern Mist District. Every major clan, every ancient sect, and every royal faction was holding its breath, waiting for the inevitable clash that would determine the fate of the city's power balance.
Inside the Dragon-Vein Bamboo Estate, Li-Wen sat cross-legged on the marble platform, his eyes closed in quiet meditation.
Within his dantian, the vast ocean of Northern Frost Qi was circulating with terrifying, flawless precision. The Ancestral Northern Rune on his chest pulsed softly, syncing with the rhythm of the wind, the earth, and the sky.
He was not preparing to defend. He was waiting for the storm to arrive—so he could shatter it into pieces.
See you in next chapter.....