The throne room of Azura gleamed with white marble and sapphire inlays, the symbol of its thousand-year reign. Yet the air that day was not calm. A suffocating darkness pressed in from the edges of the chamber as the doors creaked open, and figures cloaked in black walked inside.
At their head strode a tall man, clad in shadow-forged armor, his presence sharp enough to pierce stone. His eyes glowed with malevolence, like pits of eternal night.
The Shadow Clan Master had come.
The Azure King did not rise from his throne. His golden aura flared subtly, filling the hall with pressure that pressed down on even the generals standing nearby. Still, his voice was calm.
"You walk into my kingdom uninvited. Speak your purpose."
The Shadow Clan Master's lips curled. "I come not as enemy, but as ally. The Shadow Clan has no quarrel with Azura… so long as you recognize our dominion over the coming war. Swear allegiance, share your armies, and in return we will grant you a place in the new era."
Whispers swept through the court. The sheer audacity of the offer was an insult.
The king leaned forward on his throne. "A contract, then? To kneel beside vultures who bleed the weak? Tell me… are you proposing an alliance, or are you threatening me?"
The Shadow Clan Master chuckled low. "If you see it as threat… perhaps it is."
The king's aura erupted like a golden storm, shaking the marble beneath their feet. "Then hear my answer. Azura kneels to no shadows."
The smile faded. "So be it. Then you die as enemy."
And with those words, the hall exploded into chaos.
---
The War Breaks Out
From the shadows of the palace, assassins poured forth, blades gleaming with dark qi. Azura's guards drew steel, clashing against them in a storm of sparks and blood. Martial techniques roared through the air—fire meeting shadow, steel meeting poison.
The Azure King leapt from his throne, his blade of pure light manifesting in his hand. The Shadow Clan Master answered with claws of black flame, their first strike shattering the floor as if the world itself could not contain them.
Every soldier in the hall stumbled back, forced away by the sheer force of their clash.
And in the center of it all, Kael stepped forward.
---
Kael vs. the Vice Master
Through the chaos, one figure approached Kael—a man cloaked in scars, his eyes cruel with memory.
"Ah," the Vice Master of the Shadow Clan sneered. "The little rat who slipped death before. Do you remember me, boy? I nearly carved you apart before your master intervened."
Kael's aura flared, his veins glowing as he channeled the power of Tier Four. His eyes burned with a fire deeper than rage.
"I remember," Kael said coldly. "And I remember my promise. It's about time I paid that debt."
The Vice Master laughed, his killing intent swelling like a tide. "Then come! Let me finish what I started!"
The two collided, their first blows shaking the walls. The Vice Master's shadow blades screeched against Kael's blazing fists, sparks cascading like stars. Kael's aura flooded outward, a technique he had honed through relentless training—aura farming. Every exchange refined his control, siphoning strength from his opponent's pressure and feeding it back into his own core.
The Vice Master snarled as Kael's strikes grew heavier, sharper. "What trick is this?!"
Kael's voice cut through the clash. "It's no trick. It's the will of someone who refuses to bow!"
Their fight tore across the chamber, crashing through pillars and scattering combatants around them. Guards and assassins alike gave them space, unable to step between the fury of Tier Four combatants.
---
Every Strike Described
The Vice Master's palm burst into a storm of shadow spears, lancing toward Kael in a deadly wave. Kael twisted, his body blurring with speed, fists glowing with condensed qi. He shattered spear after spear, but one sliced across his shoulder, blood arcing through the air.
"Too slow!" the Vice Master barked, spinning with a sweeping kick that erupted in a crescent of black fire.
Kael dropped low, his own leg whipping upward in a counter-kick. The two forces collided midair, the shockwave hurling debris across the hall.
Kael staggered back, chest heaving. His fists clenched, glowing with crimson light as he pushed aura into his muscles. His aura farming technique surged, siphoning fragments of the Vice Master's attack and weaving them into his next strike.
With a roar, Kael lunged, his punch a comet of burning force.
The Vice Master blocked, but the impact cracked his armguard, the shock rattling his bones. For the first time, his smirk faltered.
"This boy… has grown."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "I've lived a thousand deaths to stand here. You will not take this life."
---
The Tide Turns
But the Vice Master was still stronger. He gathered his qi, body exploding with shadow flame, and drove Kael into the wall with a crushing strike. Stone shattered, dust choking the air.
Kael staggered, blood running down his chin. The Vice Master approached, savoring the moment.
"This is where you fall, boy."
Kael wiped the blood away and stood tall. "Not today."
Summoning the last of his strength, he unleashed his aura farming to its peak. Every flicker of energy around him, every strike from his foe, every scrap of killing intent—he devoured it all, refined it, and burned it as fuel. His aura blazed brighter, towering upward like a flame that defied extinction.
The Vice Master's eyes widened. "Impossible—"
Kael roared, charging forward, fists like meteors. Their clash shook the hall once more, equal ground finally met.
---
Reinforcements Arrive
Just as the Vice Master prepared a killing blow, the air split with a golden slash. A figure stepped between them, blade flashing, knocking the attack aside.
"Enough," a voice thundered.
Kael staggered back, gasping. His eyes widened. "Master…"
His teacher stood before him, aura vast and unyielding. Her presence pressed even the Vice Master back a step.
The Vice Master snarled. "You again…"
But another aura surged into the hall—immense, overwhelming. The Academy Master had arrived, his presence shaking the palace foundations.
The Azure King broke from his duel with the Shadow Clan Master, landing beside him.
The Academy Master clasped his arm. "Brother."
The Azure King's lips curved. "Junior brother. You came at last."
The hall froze. Generals and elders stared in shock—two of the greatest powers of the age, revealed as kin.
The Shadow Clan Master hissed, shadows writhing around him. "So the Azure King and Academy Master are bound by blood… then I shall cut both roots in one strike."
Kael stood between the academy master and his Master, his aura still blazing. "Not if I strike first."
---
The Battle Expands
The chamber erupted into chaos once more—king and academy master against shadow clan master, Kael and his master against the Vice Master of the Shadow Clan.
Each blow carved deep scars into the palace, every technique clashing like storms of light and shadow. The fate of Azura balanced on the edge of their blades.
And for Kael, this was not just war.
This was more experience.