"ROAR~~~!"
The Scarlet Serpent threw its head back and released a soul-piercing scream—a howl of pain, unwillingness, and the fury of imminent death.
Even in its final moments, it retained its monstrous pride. It refused to die like prey, humiliated and caged.
But far above Ji Clan's inner city, hidden amidst drifting clouds, a shadow stirred—a Winged Serpent, a Xiantian-level Direbeast from the lake that bore its name.
"ROAR~~!"
Its hearing—razor-sharp and honed by instinct—caught the dying cry immediately. This was no ordinary noise. This was its child.
It had been circling high above the city for some time, but from several li away, its vision had failed to locate anything exact. Now, with that final shriek, it had direction, distance—and purpose.
With a shriek of rage, the Winged Serpent folded its wings and dove toward the Ji Clan's West Prefecture.
Inside the cage…
Ji Ning stood over the serpent's massive corpse, sword in hand.
"Since you insist on dying, so be it."
One strike. Swift, precise. The sword light flashed—and the Scarlet Serpent's skull was pierced clean through.
Ji Ning lowered his blade, eyes scanning the carnage.
"The Blazing Thunderfire Sword Technique is brutally effective," he thought. "That one blast nearly ripped the creature in half."
Then, he mentally compared the others:
Heartless Flowing Water—a technique of fluid speed, elegant and elusive.
Lightning Flash Swordplay—raw, unrelenting velocity.
Dripping Water Piercing Stone—not as fast, but surgical in penetration. That's the one that had cracked the serpent's skull.
He knelt to inspect the wound. That's when the sky itself screamed.
The Winged Serpent—a hundred meters long, wings slicing through the air—dropped like a living storm. Ji Ning looked up in horror.
"Human! You murdered my child—YOU WILL DIE!"
The killing intent rolling off the beast was suffocating. Ji Ning's chest tightened. Its aura dwarfed his.
"Not good—escape!" He spun around—only to smash into the thick bars of the iron cage.
Trapped.
"Father!" he roared, his voice echoing. He leapt, striking the reinforced chains above with all his strength.
But he knew. His father, Ji Yichuan, was fast—just not fast enough. Not faster than a wrathful Winged Serpent closing in for the kill.
"You'll pay with your life!"
The Winged Serpent screamed again, a crimson blur of fury plummeting through the sky. Ji Ning's instincts screamed at him.
"I can't run… I have to fight."
He gritted his teeth. Houtian level, both in body and energy refinement. Against a Xiantian Direbeast, that wasn't even a contest.
But survival wasn't about fairness. Ji Ning launched into motion.
"No. I won't die—not like this!"
He had been reborn into this world—granted parents, a healthy body, a clear path toward immortality. Everything had just begun.
He refused to fall here.
"DODGE!"
With a desperate yell, Ji Ning exploded into motion, body flickering as he unleashed the Windshadow Steps.
The wind howled. His figure blurred—flickering like mist, vanishing and reappearing unpredictably.
[Bound cultivator Ji Ning has comprehended Windshadow Steps. Comprehension of the Law of Wind: Origin increases. You have grasped the First Level of the Wind Domain (Desolate Era's Wind True Intent).]
Wei Wen blinked. "Wait… what?"
Wind Domain. A complete domain-level comprehension. Among Planet-rank cultivators, that was basically myth-tier talent.
In the Swallowed Star universe, Universe-level warriors who grasped domains were common enough. But on the Planetary level? Practically nonexistent.
Hong, the strongest man on Earth, was unrivaled precisely because he had grasped a Domain.
Even Thunder God, with his immense physique and strength, couldn't touch him.
And now Wei Wen—by sheer proxy of Ji Ning's enlightenment—had achieved a Domain.
He nearly laughed aloud.
"With this… even Hong won't be able to beat me."
His physical burst power had already passed 10x baseline. His mental force amplification was now 18x—leagues above any Earthborn fighter.
Thunder God? Already beneath him.
But as the rush faded, a calm clarity returned. Excitement passed. Wei Wen reminded himself—his path wasn't Hong's. Wasn't Thunder God's either.
They wanted to reach Astral Rank someday.
He intended to become Undying at the bare minimum.
Maybe even reach Universe Strongest. Or beyond—to Lord of Primal Chaos, like in the Origin Continent.
Big dreams. But for now, he had to act.
He turned to look at Ji Ning—desperate, bloodied, dancing through the wind to survive.
"Time to end this."
Wei Wen raised his hand.
A streak of blood-red energy cut across space like a blade.
The Winged Serpent whipped its tail—lashing out instinctively. It grazed Ji Ning, but struck only rock. The boy had dodged again.
The beast snarled.
"Lucky once. Let's see you dodge again!"
Its wings flared. Its tail—wide as a house—swept toward Ji Ning again.
"I can't—" Ji Ning realized. His body couldn't outrun this strike. The tail blotted out the sky.
"I'm done—"
THUD.
The strike never landed.
The ground shook. Ji Ning stared.
The Winged Serpent collapsed before him, its colossal body crashing down like a falling mountain. It didn't even know what killed it.
As the dust settled, Ji Ning looked up and saw Wei Wen—calm, composed, already turning away.
Far away, on the sparring platform of Ji Clan West Prefecture—
Ji Yichuan stabbed forward with his long green sword. Beside him, his wife Yuchi Xue sat watching.
Both turned at the same time.
Something had shifted. A ripple in the wind, a disturbance in the air.
"The cage." Ji Yichuan's eyes narrowed.
They vanished in twin blurs of light, leaping across rooftops toward the Dragonfort.
What they saw stunned them.
A giant flying Direbeast—the Winged Serpent—lay dead over the Dragonfort. Below it, drenched in blood, stood their son.
They weren't fast enough to intervene. Yuchi Xue's eyes filled with tears.
But then… they realized something stranger.
This Winged Serpent wasn't unfamiliar to them.
To kill it—cleanly, in one blow—would require Purple Palace level cultivation at minimum.
And that level… was exceedingly rare.
Even among the entire Ji Clan territory, Purple Palace experts were few.
In all of Yan Mountain, only a handful existed.
Ji Yichuan's eyes narrowed.
"Who killed it?"
Someone strong had appeared.
And they weren't from the Ji Clan.