EPISODE 17: RIPPLES ACROSS THE QI DYNASTY (III)
"Back to another demons association elders who are already at the other fallen demon's association sect to check whether the rumors they heard was true"
The elders whispered hurriedly among themselves, their voices trembling as though each word might carry the weight of a curse.
"The Qi Dynasty must be warned," one finally muttered.
"No," another countered sharply, "If word spreads too soon, panic will swallow the empire before the true danger even arrives."
But panic was already spilling like cracks in frozen glass.
The young cultivators who had followed their masters to the Demon Association headquarters now stood pale-faced, their once confident hearts shivering. Some had never seen such devastation; others had never felt the suffocating weight of death press down on their souls so completely.
One disciple broke down, dropping his weapon with a clatter, muttering incoherently. His master slapped him across the face, more from desperation than discipline.
"Stand firm, boy! Do you think weakness will save you when the clans fall?"
Yet the truth was clear: none of them felt safe anymore.
Far away, at the borders of the Frozen Abyss where the association King had taken his last step, the skies began to shift unnaturally. The blood moon receded, but in its place came streaks of greenish-black lightning that danced across the heavens like veins of corruption.
Villagers in the northernmost provinces fell to their knees, praying to ancestors and gods alike, for their souls knew instinctively that something vast and unspeakable had been stirred.
Children cried in their mothers' arms, and old men muttered tales of the "Endless Night"—an omen spoken of only in fragmented scrolls, which claimed that when the world's frozen crown cracked, the dead would sing and the living would be devoured.
Meanwhile, in the inner halls of the Qi Imperial Palace, Emperor Qi Yun sat rigid on his throne, his sharp eyes narrowing as a stream of trembling messengers delivered fragments of the disaster.
"The Demon Association headquarters… destroyed."
"None survived but the few who fled."
"The northern skies… changed unnaturally, Your Majesty."
The Emperor did not move for a long moment. Then, slowly, he dismissed the court. Only the Prime Minister and a handful of shadow guards remained.
He whispered, almost to himself:
"The last step has been taken. The association King has died—but his death was no end. It was a key… a seal broken."
At that same moment, far from imperial eyes, the secret clans hidden in the world's forgotten folds stirred uneasily.
The Clan of Blazing Sun in the southern deserts lit their eternal flames higher than ever before, chanting mantras that had not been spoken for millennia.
The Clan of Verdant Rivers sealed their sacred lakes with jade talismans, fearing that the waters would turn black with corruption.
And deep beneath the earth, where the Clan of Silent Stones slumbered, their oldest ancestor awoke from a centuries-long meditation, his first words rumbling like an earthquake:
"It begins again."
And yet, amid the chaos, there were those who smiled.
In hidden chambers across the land, dark figures cloaked in shadow raised their heads to the stormy skies, their lips curling with anticipation.
"The association King was but the herald," one figure murmured.
"The true heir of destruction has yet to rise."
"BACK TO QI DYNASTY COUNCIL MEETING"
"And Back to the Qi dynasty council meeting who are also getting prepared for a battle since they were only able to destroy one of the demon's association in the qi dynasty, they knows the demons will surely retaliate..."
The vision still burned in the skies, its golden light searing itself into every heart. The titanic beasts, the seas of fire, the mountains collapsing—every clan elder, every sect master, every sovereign saw it. And above it all, the youth cloaked in dragonlight, standing alone against the storm.
For a moment, silence reigned. Then came the eruption.
Chaos Among the Clans
> "It's a sign!" cried an elder from the Blazing Vermilion Clan, his robes igniting in sparks of flame. "The heavens themselves have shown us! That youth is the one destined to stand against the end times!"
> "Nonsense!" snarled a minister of the Qi Dynasty, slamming his fist upon the council table so hard it cracked. "The heavens do not choose children! This vision is nothing more than a trick of the Concord Stone!"
> "And yet the Stone has never lied in ten thousand years…" whispered a voice from the Black Tortoise Hidden Clan, cold as the abyss.
The factions began to form like stormclouds. Some rallied behind Xiao Kai as the destined savior. Others called him a calamity incarnate. The whispers grew darker. If the youth is the cause of the storm, then should he not be killed before it begins?
"Threats of Assassination"
Xiao Kai stood still, his eyes fixed on the fading light of the vision. He felt none of their words; only the weight of inevitability pressing down on him. But Cheng Xiao, standing close behind him, gritted her teeth, hand already on her sword hilt.
> "Say one more word about killing him, and I'll cut out your tongue," Cheng Xiao spat at a sneering Vermilion elder where were you all when we fought against the demons in their association?
The council flared with killing intent. Elders rose to their feet, qi pressing down like mountains. The very arena trembled under the clash of a hundred wills.
Patriarch Long Tian's voice finally boomed, silencing the storm for a heartbeat:
> "Enough! This is the Council of Clans, not a marketplace brawl. If any of you believe yourselves capable, then challenge Xiao Kai by the laws of the arena. Let strength speak for destiny."
All eyes turned to Xiao Kai.
The First Challenger
From the Blazing Vermilion Clan, a youth stepped forward. He wore crimson armor etched with phoenix wings, his long hair burning like fire, his aura radiating the scorching pride of his bloodline. Huo Ling, hailed as the Vermilion Clan's foremost prodigy, and a half-step Dou Huang at only twenty years of age.
He pointed his blazing spear toward Xiao Kai, the air distorting around its tip.
> "If you are truly chosen by heaven, prove it. Stand against me in the Concord Arena. Let all clans see if your fate is yours to claim, or if it ends beneath my spear."
Cheers erupted from some factions. Others murmured with anticipation. A duel sanctioned by the Council—there could be no retreat.
Xiao Kai raised his head, eyes steady. His lips curled into a faint smirk.
> "Very well. If the heavens will it, let them decide here and now."
The Concord Arena Ignites
The runes of the central dais flared, expanding into a battlefield of light. The Concord Arena, bound by the laws of the Stone, ensured no outsider could interfere once combat began. Only strength, will, and destiny mattered here.
Huo Ling stepped onto the field first, his spear dragging trails of flame across the ground. Each step he took, the air shimmered with unbearable heat.
Xiao Kai followed, his hands empty, his aura calm. Yet beneath the surface, the dragon qi radiating like a storm restrained, waiting to break free.
The Duel
The moment the runes sealed the field, Huo Ling roared, his spear blazing into a sun. He lunged forward, thrusting with the force to pierce mountains.
The arena shook as flames erupted, a wave of heat searing through the barriers.
Xiao Kai did not move until the last instant. His palm rose, and with a twist of qi, he redirected the spear's trajectory with nothing more than the brush of his fingers. The flames hissed, broken apart by invisible dragon currents.
Gasps filled the stands.
Huo Ling snarled, spinning his spear into a vortex of phoenix fire.
> "You mock me? Then burn in Vermilion flames! You little dou qi cultivator"
A phoenix manifestation burst forth, wings spanning across the field, diving toward Xiao Kai with a shriek that split the heavens.
Xiao Kai's eyes narrowed. He stepped once. The ground cracked beneath him, dragon qi surging upward. His fist clenched, glowing with azure light, and he struck upward.
The phoenix shattered into sparks. The shockwave blasted across the arena, forcing even elders watching to shield themselves.
The Revelation of Strength
Huo Ling staggered, disbelief in his eyes. He was a prodigy among prodigies, but this youth… this Xiao Kai… his strength was monstrous, far beyond the Dou Wang stage.
Xiao Kai's voice rang clear, steady, unshaken:
> "Strength is not proven by burning everything before you. Strength is proven by enduring what cannot be burned."
The dragon qi around him thickened, coiling into the shape of a serpent winding around his form, its eyes gleaming with ancient majesty and boom through the power of the orb he reaches the level of a dou huang again leaving everyone shocked.
Huo Ling roared again, refusing to yield. His spear blazed brighter, his blood igniting as he burned his very life force. The Vermilion's forbidden technique—Blood of the Phoenix.
The crowd erupted in shock. No prodigy risked such a technique lightly.
The phoenix flames soared higher than before, threatening to incinerate the entire arena.
Xiao Kai stood still, his smirk vanishing, replaced by a calm so deep it felt like the eye of a storm. He lifted his hand, and from his palm surged a sphere of condensed dragon qi—the faintest echo of the Orb of Eternity.
The phoenix met the orb.
Silence followed. Then—an explosion like the birth of a new sun.
When the light faded, Huo Ling lay unconscious, his spear shattered, his flames extinguished. Xiao Kai stood alone in the center of the arena, the dragon qi fading back into stillness around him.
The Concord Stone pulsed once more. Its voice echoed:
> "The child of fate walks the path of dragons. His trial has begun."
The council fell silent again. No elder, no sovereign, no minister could deny it now. Xiao Kai had stepped into the storm of destiny, and none could turn their eyes away.
But in the shadows of the stands, assassins cloaked in darkness tightened their grips on hidden blades, their orders clear: If fate cannot be controlled, then it must be ended.
And so, while the world cheered, Xiao Kai's greatest dangers had only just begun...
The cheers of the clans still echoed through the Concord Hall as Xiao Kai stepped down from the arena. The runes sealing the battlefield faded, leaving only scorched stone and the scent of burnt qi.
Cheng Xiao, Du Fan, and Li Han Xiao rushed to his side. Cheng Xiao slapped his shoulder with a grin.
> Cheng Xiao: "You just had to humiliate him in front of everyone, didn't you?"
> Xiao Kai: "He challenged fate. Fate didn't favor him."
Yet behind Cheng Xiao's smile, his eyes scanned the elders in the stands. Not all looked impressed. Some glared with venom, their expressions like blades hidden beneath silk. After that suppression shown by Xiao Kai the grand Marshall was confused he is not someone he can trampled and further recognized Xiao Kai as the child of grace who ended a dou zun
Further conversations took place and finally the gathering came to an end
Murmurs of Murder
Far above, in the shadowed balconies, voices whispered.
> "He's too dangerous."
"That power… no one at his realm should have it."
"If he grows unchecked, no sovereign will be able to chain him."
A hooded figure leaned closer, his voice a soft hiss:
> "Tonight. Before dawn. Strike when he is alone."
Several cloaked heads nodded in unison, their eyes glinting with murderous resolve and that's the demons in the shadows.
Nightfall in the Neutral Quarters
The Neutral Quarters of the Council city were reserved for prodigies of lower rank. Xiao Kai and his companions had been given chambers on the outer edge, away from the gilded halls where noble heirs slept.
Moonlight spilled through the lattice windows. Cheng Xiao had collapsed on her bedroll, her sabers beside her. Du Fan was already half-asleep in a chair, while Li Han Xiao polished the fractured edge of her halberd with quiet care.
Xiao Kai sat cross-legged in silence, the faint pulse of the Orb resonating within his chest. He tried to steady his breath, but the vision of the Concord Stone haunted him still—the endless tide of destruction, the beastly roars, the light of dragons. Was it truly fate? Or a warning of chains yet to come?
The Orb hummed, neither answering nor denying.
Shadows in the Courtyard
Then came the sound—too soft for mortal ears, but Xiao Kai heard it clearly. A faint rustle, like cloth against stone. His golden eyes opened instantly.
Without a word, he stood and pushed open the door to the courtyard. The night air was still, the moon silver above.
And then… the shadows moved.
Figures slipped from the darkness, cloaked in black, masks gleaming faintly. Their qi was suppressed, but the killing intent rolling from them was suffocating. At least a dozen assassins, each aura pulsing at the level of 3 stars Dou zong or higher.
The Ambush Unleashed
Steel whispered as blades slid free. The assassins spoke no words; they moved as one, their killing strikes aimed directly for Xiao Kai's heart.
But Xiao Kai was already gone.
A gust of dragon qi scattered across the courtyard, his silhouette blurring like mist. His fist slammed into the chest of the nearest assassin, sending the man flying into the courtyard wall with a crunch.
> Xiao Kai: "Assassins, in the heart of the Council? Bold. Or desperate."
The rest surged forward. Daggers gleamed, whips cracked, qi arrows hissed through the air.
Xiao Kai's palm rose, summoning a crescent of azure qi that sliced through three arrows at once. With his other hand, he snapped a chain mid-swing and hurled its wielder into the ground.
But more kept coming.
Companions Awaken
The crash had roused Cheng Xiao. She burst into the courtyard, sabers flashing, eyes wide.
> Cheng Xiao: "What the hell—? Assassins?!"
Du Fan followed, already melting into the shadows with his twin daggers. Li Han Xiao stormed out last, halberd sweeping in a wide arc that forced two assassins back.
The courtyard exploded into chaos.
Battle in the Moonlight
Cheng Xiao fought like a storm, her sabers carving bright arcs of steel, each strike fueled by fury.
> Cheng Xiao: "You cowards pick the wrong night to sneak around!"
Du Fan vanished and reappeared behind enemies, his daggers biting into exposed throats before shadows reclaimed him.
Li Han Xiao's halberd spun in brutal circles, every strike accompanied by bursts of blue qi that shattered stone and bone alike.
And Xiao Kai—he was the storm's eye. Calm, steady, every motion measured. His fists glowed with dragonlight, each strike collapsing barriers, each step shaking the ground.
But the assassins were no ordinary killers. Their coordination was flawless. Each time one fell, another pressed in, blades aimed at blind spots, chains whipping to bind limbs, arrows raining to break focus.
The Trap Revealed
One assassin finally spoke, his voice like gravel:
> "The heavens marked you, boy. That is why you must die."
As he spoke, the courtyard flared crimson. Seals etched into the very stones erupted, forming a cage of burning light around Xiao Kai and his friends.
Li Han Xiao slammed her halberd against the barrier, but it didn't budge.
> Li Han Xiao: "A sealing formation!"
The assassins closed in, their blades gleaming with poison qi.
> Assassin Leader: "Tonight, the child of fate dies in silence."
"The Orb's Whisper"
For the first time that night, Xiao Kai's calm cracked. He felt the barrier pressing, the assassins circling like wolves, and the pulse of the Orb flaring hot within his chest.
A voice brushed against his mind—not his own, not human. A low, ancient murmur.
> Release me… and none of them will leave alive.
Xiao Kai's hand tightened over his chest. The last time he unleashed the Orb's domain, entire realms trembled. But here, in the heart of the Council… could he risk it?
The assassins lunged. Then as more pressure keeps surging, Xiao Kai unleashes the third stage of the orb power to reach the level of a peak 9 star dou zong and fought against the demon assassins.
Finally the space froze from a very powerful breathe of a power beyond a peak 9 star dou zong but at the same time not a dou zun, it's the power of demon elder Hei Xuan who is said to be a peaked 9 star semi saint level dou zong (a level more comprehendible and powerful by 5 times than a peak 9 star dou zong) cracks opened and he arrived with him arriving with Hundred-Eyed Devourer beast whose power is said to rival a 5 star dou zun but through special demon techniques they can control the beast. His first move was to attack Xiao Kai who was already on the verge of killing a 5 star dou zong assassin, Xiao Kai got hit and not injured just from one attack and his friends ran over to help him.
The demon elder Hei Xiao said to Xiao Kai that his proudness got him to be down tonight as they take the fight to the next level, Xiao Kai knowing he can't fight both as he can't open the orbs power to reach a dou zun level was left speechless but at the same time his believe never wavers as he uses another technique from the orb to get his clones summoned. He summoned 2 clones plus him to make 3 against the demon elder and the hundred eyes devourer beast, the 2 clones faces the beast while Xiao Kai himself faces the elder.
Swords meets from both sides and techniques clashes as well as the four friends are seems to be on the losing side...
What happens next stay updated as episode 18 comes in with new more events and mysteries, decisions thank you for reading...
Episode 18: The wonder kid of heaven and earth refusing to kneel to dark sides...