After days of enduring wind and toxic rain in the wastelands, Prince Seiryu finally arrived at the city gates. He pulled his tattered gray cloak tighter, trying to blend in with the flood of rogue cultivators.
But the city was buzzing with only one topic.
"Did you see the Divine Son? He suppressed Sequence Five with one stomp!" "Ryuzaki Haruto is a monster. He didn't even use his full strength."
Seiryu stopped in the middle of the street. The chatter felt like physical blows.
"He... he is even stronger than before," Seiryu whispered, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his spear. "I feel like an ant trying to shake a giant tree."
Inside the Panlong Ring, the ghostly voice of the Ancient Dragon Master echoed.
'Calm your mind, Seiryu. Panic is the enemy. Haruto has resources, but you have destiny. If you obtain the Ancient Dragon Bone in the Secret Realm, your [Azure Dragon Transformation] will reach the Fifth Stage. You will have the power to tear him apart.'
Seiryu took a deep breath, forcing the despair down. "You're right, Master. I was confused. I must seize this opportunity."
He walked toward a cheap inn, his back straight, unaware that a pair of eyes was watching him from the shadows.
Princess Kaguya, shrouded in a secret technique that made her invisible to all but Saints, sighed softly.
"Seiryu... you are so brave, yet so foolish," Kaguya murmured. "But don't worry. I will clear the path for you."
She looked toward the Sky Palace floating in the center of the city, her eyes narrowing.
"Ryuzaki Haruto... I acknowledge your strength. But if you try to hurt Seiryu, you will face the full might of the Panwu Imperial Family."
The Phenomenon in the Forest
The Great Desolate Forest (Taihuang Forest).
A thousand miles south of the city, the ancient forest was usually a place of silence. But today, the earth groaned.
RUMBLE.
A massive tear appeared in the fabric of reality above the forest canopy. From this rift, wisps of eerie Gray Fog began to leak out.
It wasn't normal mist. Wherever it touched, the trees withered instantly, turning into black ash. The spirit beasts in the forest—Giant Tigers, Iron-Hide Boars, Wind Eagles—inhaled the fog and immediately went berserk. Their eyes turned blood-red, their bodies mutating with bony protrusions, and they began to tear each other apart in a frenzy of violence.
High above the forest, the Elders of the Great Factions hovered in the void, observing the phenomenon.
"This... this doesn't look like a normal Secret Realm opening," the Grand Elder of the Way of the Void frowned, stroking his white beard.
"That fog..." Fujiwara Kage, the protector of Fujiwara Gen, narrowed his eyes. "It feels like Dark Matter from the Otherworld."
The mention of the "Otherworld" caused a ripple of unease among the Elders.
The Otherworld was the eternal enemy of the Nine Heavens. A realm of chaos and corruption. Dark Matter was their weapon—a substance that could corrupt the Dao Heart and turn living beings into monsters.
"It is similar," Ryuzaki Kenshin said, his eyes glowing with divine light as he analyzed the mist. "But it is diluted. It is not true Dark Matter. It looks like the Void Supreme trapped a fragment of it in his realm eons ago."
"Hehe," a sneering voice cut in. "If the Ryuzaki Clan is afraid, you can go home and hide under your bed."
The speaker was an elder with blue dragon horns, wearing azure robes. Elder Azure of the Ancestral Dragon Nest.
Kenshin glanced at him coldly. "What? You green-skinned lizard. Do you want to follow in the footsteps of the Nether Dragon?"
Elder Azure's face turned purple. The death of the Nether Dragon Supreme by the Ryuzaki Ancestor was a sore spot. He snorted and looked away. "Hmph. We are not afraid."
"So, do we proceed?" asked a beautiful, mature woman in Taoist robes. She was Elder Minamoto, representing the Minamoto Clan.
"Of course," Fujiwara Kage said immediately. He wanted his young master, Gen, to shine. "A little fog shouldn't stop true geniuses. This is a trial. If they die here, they were trash anyway."
The Elders nodded in agreement. The decision was made.
"Open the seal!"
The Departure
Southern Sky City.
The tremors from the forest reached the city. The sky turned a sickly shade of gray.
Ryuzaki Haruto stood on the balcony of the Sky Palace. The wind whipped his white robes, but he stood immovable like a statue.
"Is it finally beginning?" Haruto whispered, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Behind him, Minamoto Sayaka walked out. She looked pale but determined.
"That fog..." Sayaka said, clutching her chest. "My Dao Embryo hates it. It feels... wrong. Like it's the antithesis of the Dao."
"It's corruption," Haruto explained calmly. "But don't worry. Stay close to me. My Sacred Body is the nemesis of all evil."
He turned to his followers. Ryuzaki Kenji, Ryuzaki Yukino, and the recently subdued Ryuzaki Raijin stood ready.
"Listen up," Haruto ordered. "Once we enter, we might be separated by the spatial turbulence. Your priority is survival. If you find Ryuzaki tokens, gather them. If you see Prince Seiryu... don't kill him yet. Report his location to me."
"Understood!" they shouted in unison.
The Western District.
Fujiwara Gen (The Little Saint) stepped out of his pavilion. His golden arm pulsed with light, repelling the gray gloom of the sky.
"The time has come," Gen smiled confidently.
He touched the storage ring on his finger. Inside was the Ancient Map and the Key he had found in the Academy's forbidden library.
"While they fight the beasts in the fog," Gen thought, "I will walk the secret path straight to the core. The Void Emperor's Scripture belongs to me."
"Let's go. I will show the world that the Fujiwara Clan has returned to the throne."
The City Gates.
Prince Seiryu finished his bowl of cheap noodles at a roadside stall. He wiped his mouth, grabbed his spear, and stood up.
"Master, let's go."
'Careful, kid,' the Dragon Master warned. 'That fog is dangerous. Use the Dragon Fire to protect your body.'
"Got it."
Seiryu merged into the crowd of cultivators rushing toward the forest. He looked like just another piece of cannon fodder. But in his eyes burned a fire that could burn down the heavens.
"Ryuzaki Haruto... Fujiwara Gen... I'm coming for you."