The Sovereign's Hall was not quiet; it was volatile. The last three weeks had been an unprecedented crisis, a catastrophic unraveling of the Immortal Cloud Continent's political and spiritual foundations. News arrived hourly: the Azure Sea Sect was crippled by a massive, sealed spiritual wound; the Mountain Dao Sect had fallen to a vicious fire invasion; and the Black Sun Sect itself, the aggressor, was now engulfed in a bloody, impossible civil war. The entire southern region, the core resource base of the continent, was a strategic wasteland.
Grand Sovereign Chen, nearing the Grand Unity Peak, stood at the head of the assembly, her face etched with cold fury. "The chaos is no longer random!" she declared, her voice echoing with the authority of the Cloud Heavens. "This is a coordinated, surgical purge! Someone is dismantling the very foundation of our power, element by element!"
The elders, all powerful Grand Unity Immortals, murmured in fearful agreement. They had spent weeks guarding their own archives against the fabricated "Ascendant" threat, exactly as Lin Tian had planned.
"The source of the chaos is the same signature that shattered the Azure Sea Vein—the same Divine Purity the Venerable Qiao reported!" cried Elder Hu, head of security. "We have been played! This is not external interference; this is a hostile takeover!"
Grand Sovereign Chen slammed her hand down on the jade table, cracking the surface. "We have allowed our fear to paralyze us. We know the pattern: The rogue force targets a major elemental sect, steals their essence, and uses the chaos to conquer the territory. They have taken Fire, Earth, and Water!"
Chen turned to the assembly's most ancient and powerful strategist, a cold, calculating man named Elder Wei Xu. "Wei Xu! You know the core of this strategy. What is the final target?"
Elder Wei Xu's eyes, sharp with analysis, fixed on the map of the continent. "The pattern is elemental completion, Sovereign. They require the final element, Wind. That power is locked within the Sky Wind Temple—the most isolated and well-defended fortress. They will strike there next to complete their Elemental Body."
Unbeknownst to the Sovereign's Hall, Mei Lan had already completed the Wind acquisition in Chapter 38.
Chen's fear galvanized into action. "Then we will use the Sky Wind Temple as our trap! We will mobilize our most powerful enforcement unit—the Grand Unity Enforcers. They will stabilize the Temple's defenses and await the attack. We will neutralize this rogue entity and put an end to this treasonous chaos!"
The Grand Unity Enforcers—the apex martial force of the Sovereign's Hall, composed of five highly coordinated Grand Unity Immortal Stage 5 experts—were immediately dispatched. The trap was set, but it was set for an attack that had already occurred.
Miles away, in his hidden cave, Lin Tian had ended his cultivation of the Grand Unity Immortal Stage 1. He had sensed the sudden shift in the Sovereign's political posture and the movement of their peak martial force.
[Observer's Eye Activated. Target: Sovereign's Hall Deployment. Status: Grand Unity Enforcer Unit Mobilized (5x Stage 5). Destination: Sky Wind Temple.]
Lin Tian smiled. The Sovereign's Hall had finally reacted, and they had reacted exactly where they thought the logic demanded: the Sky Wind Temple. This was perfect. The strongest security force on the entire continent was now flying toward an empty, neutralized target.
He contacted his puppets, Elder Mu and the First Elder of the Black Sun Sect. New Command. Elder Mu: Disperse and secure the newly conquered Fire and Earth resources. First Elder: Maintain the political chaos.
Lin Tian had no intention of letting the Sovereign's forces return. He needed to cripple the Sovereign's Hall permanently, and the only way to do that was to eliminate their apex martial strength.
He needed a sacrifice. He needed to launch a strategic attack at the Sky Wind Temple to ensure the Enforcers believed their target had arrived, then lure them into a prepared ambush.
Lin Tian began channeling his massive Grand Unity Immortal Qi, now perfectly infused with Fire, Earth, and Water elements. He prepared a single, terrifyingly potent technique that he had synthesized from the Ancient Divine Records—a technique designed for planetary destruction.
Lin Tian created a massive, chaotic spiritual decoy—a crude, violent imitation of the Innate Sword Soul's signature, but amplified to simulate the power of a Grand Unity Immortal on the verge of a breakthrough. He launched the decoy toward the Sky Wind Temple, ensuring it would collide with the pre-set defensive formations.
[Decoy Launched. Trajectory: Engaging Grand Unity Enforcers in two hours. Ambush Site: The Void Fault Line.]
Lin Tian rose from his seat. He would not send a puppet for this task. He needed to be physically present to execute the ambush with the devastating precision required to destroy five Grand Unity Immortal Stage 5 experts simultaneously. This was his first major martial battle in the Cloud Heavens, and he needed to ensure his dominance.
He was still only nine months old, but he moved with the absolute authority of a being who controlled the strategic destiny of the entire continent. He was no longer just the General's son. He was the invisible, controlling force—the Heaven-Shaking Daoist.