Huaxia, deep within the Kunlun Mountain Range.
It was late at night.
Dark clouds obscured the moon, hiding the stars, and darkness swept over the area like a tide, swallowing all light.
Even though it was a desolate wilderness, it was eerily quiet, with not a single bird call to be heard, hinting at an indescribable strangeness.
A group of strangely-attired black-clad individuals stood in the endless gloom. They wore matching black outfits, and on the chest of each outfit, a strange and complex pattern was embroidered with silver thread, resembling an exquisite mansion.
There were no sources of light, yet everyone was lined up in perfect order, standing solemnly and tensely behind a tall, opulent, dark throne.
The sound of "shuffling" occasionally broke the silence, coming from the throne.
The Night Watch Division troops behind the dark throne couldn't help but swallow, secretly admiring the Overlord's courage while staring intently at the cliff in front of the throne.
Below the cliff was a chasm, wider than ten thousand meters and of unknown depth. As time ticked by, a mysterious and terrifying aura seemed to be awakening deep within the earth.
A man in the crowd, his forehead covered in cold sweat, couldn't contain himself. He respectfully bowed to the dark throne and said, "My Lord, the predicted world-destroying object may be about to appear."
The figure on the throne gestured to stop him, remaining silent, and was engrossed in flipping through a book.
The man, relying on his night vision, saw the four large characters "Douluo Continent" on the cover, and his mouth twitched. He looked anxiously at the cliff below but dared not say anything more to the figure.
As the aura within the chasm gradually revived, the rocks on the cliff tumbled, and even the entire Kunlun Mountain Range trembled violently.
The figure on the throne finally turned to the last page at this moment, slowly closed the book, and stood up. A peerless face, as if a celestial being had descended, was revealed in the darkness.
Long, black, and straight hair, slanting, heroic eyebrows, slender black eyes filled with sharpness, thin, tightly closed lips, a sharply defined outline, and a tall, slender figure. He was like an eagle in the eternal night, aloof, solitary, and yet imposing.
"My Lord!"
The Night Watch Division members all respectfully cupped their hands in greeting. While they were amazed by the other party's extraordinary aura, they felt an inexplicable sense of relief upon seeing the youth finally rise, even amidst the earth-shattering tremors.
Luo Yu, the most talented and gifted young master of the Night Errant Censor clan, was also the youngest Overlord in the history of the Night Watch Division.
At the young age of eighteen, he had obtained the recognition of the ancestral Blazing Demon Banner and could freely command the Seventy-Two Ancient Beast Sovereigns sealed within it.
Relying solely on a Soul-Suppressing Hammer and a Soul-Shocking Gong, he had defeated all the extraordinary individuals within the Night Watch Division, leaving both new and old experts breathless. He forcefully ascended to the position of Overlord, commanding the more than a thousand members of the Huaxia Night Watch Division.
"Old Fifth," Luo Yu said in a calm tone.
"Present!" A figure stepped forward, speaking with deference and humility.
"Whirr."
Luo Yu slammed the "Douluo Continent" into the figure's hand.
"This?" The figure looked up, bewildered.
The young man's handsome, elegant eyebrows furrowed, and he spoke with some dissatisfaction, "Later, send this author a small gift for me."
"A small gift?"
Luo Yu frowned, turning his head to look at the deep chasm that was the source of the intense energy fluctuations. Unfazed, he reached out a hand towards the void.
A large, azure-black banner, crackling in the wind, appeared out of thin air. The banner emanated a powerful aura, as if from the primordial era. The extraordinary surface seemed to depict ten thousand beasts in motion, radiating a majestic and awe-inspiring presence.
"Why couldn't you write something else? Why the cruelty!!!"
The banner burst forth with brilliant light, revealing intricate lines that depicted strange beasts. In an instant, illusory figures of beasts that could devour the heavens and earth materialized, emanating a terrifying aura as they broke free from the banner and roared towards the restless depths of the chasm.
Boom!
Dazzling energy sparks bloomed in the black night. Amidst the shaking earth, a mushroom cloud of exploding screeches suddenly rose from the bottom of the deep pit.
"Ugh..." Old Fifth, holding a book, was now covered in cold sweat. He silently mourned for the novel's author, and began pondering the choice of small gifts.
Razor blades? Pliers? A spiked mace? A star-shattering hammer?
Forget it, let's get a box of each!
Seeing the imposing and overbearing Luo Yu, who seemed to still have some lingering anger, Old Fifth shivered nervously.
How about going directly to the military and asking them to dispatch a bomber to circle the author's house, and have him change the script?
Da-da-da
The sound of high heels echoed.
A tall, curvaceous woman, whose figure was as hot as could be, with barely any fabric on her, swayed her seductive body and approached Luo Yu. Her alluring eyes, filled with a captivating admiration, gazed at the man.
The woman opened her red lips, about to speak.
"Stay away," Luo Yu said coldly.
The woman retreated with a look of grievance, but then extended her crimson tongue, licking her moist lips. Looking at his indifferent profile, the admiration in her eyes intensified.
Luo Yu raised his hand, and a powerful force appeared out of nowhere in the darkness, brushing away the dust between the canyons. He then observed the ground below. His straight black hair moved in the wind, and his stunning looks caused the woman's beautiful eyes to shine with wonder.
"Buzz!!!"
After a brief moment of silence, terrifying fluctuations emanated from beneath the canyon, and an unparalleled, earth-shattering array rapidly shot up into the sky from the ground.
The massive array illuminated the void, instantly brightening the night.
Endless mountains and rivers were revealed, vast and imposing; birds, beasts, insects, and fish leaped and soared, their scales and claws visible as they moved, while the sun, moon, and stars presided over the center of the array, an unparalleled spectacle.
Watching the snowy mountains transform into oceans, and the seas turn into mulberry fields, an array that seemed to encompass the changes of the heavens, the Night Watch Division members widened their eyes, their bodies trembling.
"The Starry Sky Array?"
Luo Yu stared intently, recalling ancient texts in his mind, a look of shock on his brow, his lips parting slightly. "No! There's also a trace of the Primordial River Luo Array!!"
"This is... several ancient arrays that guarded the heavenly court, all mashed together???"
"Then what the hell is being suppressed down there??? Could the predicted destruction be real?"
After a brief burst of brilliance, the supreme array in the sky seemed to be fading, its aura growing weaker.
"Night Watch Division, heed my command!" Luo Yu roared, his brow furrowed.
"Yes, sir!"
"Leave Kunlun immediately!"
"What about the mission?" the others asked, hesitant and worried.
"Enough talk! Get the hell off this mountain! I'll hold them off!"
Luo Yu seemed to sense a great terror approaching, urging everyone to retreat swiftly.
The Blazing Demon Banner flew from his hand and hung behind him. A Soul-Suppressing Hammer, emanating an ancient aura, and a Soul-Shocking Gong, covered in intricate gold patterns, appeared in his hands simultaneously.
A dense, mysterious night energy began to coalesce around him, and his already extraordinary demeanor underwent a dramatic transformation...
Crack, boom!
As the ancient array withered, a sound like a shattering of shackles echoed from deep underground, and two beams of light, one gold and one silver, shot up into the sky, erupting forth.
Everyone else had left to avoid being a burden, leaving Luo Yu alone.
Outside the Kunlun Mountain Range, the Night Watch Division troops stared worriedly at the distance.
Within the Kunlun Mountains, a golden sun, capable of melting the heavens and earth, seemed to rise in the distance, and a cold, clear moon, capable of freezing ten thousand miles, seemed to appear. Their auras grew stronger as they broke free.
"Suppress!" A domineering voice suddenly resounded from the Kunlun Mountains, echoing endlessly.
A woman covered her red lips and said, "What kind of monster is it? To force the Lord to awaken his bloodline?"
Someone stepped forward and said, "No matter what it is, once the Night Errant Censor's bloodline awakens in the dark, he can control the power of the night and transform into an Overlord of the night. Who can be his match?"
The sky radiated a majestic heavenly aura, with the Bright Sun seemingly transforming into a golden dragon ascending, and the Crescent Moon turning into an ice phoenix spreading its wings. Amidst the earth-shattering dragon roars and ice phoenix cries, they ultimately merged into one, forming a single Yin and Yang symbol in the sky.
"Damn it all! Now that I'm the head of the Night Watch Division and have taken on this responsibility, it seems I'm destined for an early death!"
A furious roar echoed out. An figure, exuding an immensely powerful night force, transformed into a soaring black-scaled great dragon and resolutely crashed into the Yin and Yang symbol.
"Crack!!"
As if some balance had been broken, Yin and Yang were reversed.
The sky shattered at that moment, cracking like a mirror, and a deep, dark spatial black hole briefly appeared before everything returned to stillness.
Between the broken ridges of the Kunlun Mountain Range, the landscape was filled with the marks of destruction. A group of people pursed their lips, their expressions grim. The fiery woman was the most heartbroken, weeping bitterly. Their Overlord of the Night Watch Division had vanished in the battle.
Douluo Continent,
Outside the Sunset Forest, in the Heaven Dou Empire, in a desolate area.
It was already evening, and the setting sun's faint glow colored the clouds in the sky.
A figure, battered and unconscious, smashed heavily out of a black hole created by a temporal-spatial disturbance.
Within the pit where the figure lay, low-level Soul Beasts occasionally passed by. A Gale Mantis with triangular eyes and bloodthirsty, saw-toothed mandibles had just approached when it was frightened off by the terrifying light emanating from the figure's hand.
One half of the figure was shimmering gold, radiating limitless heat, while the other half was gleaming silver, emitting an absolute zero cold. Between the distinct golden light and cold gleam, a mysterious, ancient black luster seemed to flow, desperately protecting the man's body.
Eventually, all the light slowly faded. A golden Bright Sun appeared in the figure's left palm, and a silver Crescent Moon appeared in the right palm. A dragon's roar seemed to echo from the gold, and a phoenix's cry never ceased from the silver.
The Bright Sun and Crescent Moon disappeared simultaneously, and the outskirts returned to peace, with only a lone figure in tattered clothes lying there.
"Clunk, clunk—"
The sound of a carriage came from afar, accompanied by a young girl's clear and melodious voice.
"Grandpa Hua, you said that this time I found a second spirit ring that suits me, so I shouldn't be afraid of the Blazing Fire Academy challenging our Skywater, right?" The speaker was a beautiful girl with long, water-blue hair and a fair complexion adorned with delicate features.
The girl sat in the carriage, her body, still budding, exuding a sense of spiritual beauty, purity, and a hint of cold, noble elegance.
The old man driving the carriage, with a kind face and a hunched figure, turned his head and smiled. "Miss Bing'er is much younger than Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu of the Blazing Fire Academy. Doing well is already very strong!"
Shui Bing'er frowned, her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowing, but her gentle words revealed determination. "Skywater Academy absolutely cannot lose to Blazing Fire Academy under my leadership. Since I'm the captain, the academy's dignity and honor should naturally be defended by me."
The old man nodded with a smile, "Miss Bing'er certainly can."
"Hmm??" Before he could finish speaking, a soft sound of surprise came out.
"What's wrong, Grandpa Hua?" Shui Bing'er asked.
The old man stared intently at the black shadow lying diagonally to the side of the carriage as it moved. After some thought, he seemed to recall something, hesitated for a moment, and finally shook his head.
"It's nothing, let's keep going."
(End of Chapter)