The magnificent capital, the subject of countless poems and unconquerable for centuries, was now engulfed in flames. The massive walls protecting the city were riddled with breaches and debris, the streets stained crimson with blood, and countless corpses piled up in small hills. This land, once so captivating with its beauty, was now devastated by war.
This battle, raging without pause for days, was nearing its end. The victorious side had long since been decided. The palace gates had been breached, and the remaining resistance forces neutralized. An air of celebration already hung over the Demonic Cult; with smiles on their faces, they fought those who still refused to surrender. A desire that had never been achieved throughout the cult's entire history had finally become reality—under the leadership of the Heavenly Demon, they had seized the Central Plains. At least, that was what the low-ranking soldiers believed. Those with deeper knowledge wore grave expressions as they stared toward the palace, waiting for the true outcome of the battle.
Meanwhile, within the palace grounds, there was a completely destroyed area, as if struck by an earthquake. No one dared approach it. That was the battlefield of the Heavenly Demon; no one else in the city at that moment could have intervened in a fight of this ferocity.
"Why… WHY did so many people have to die?"
On that battlefield lay a middle-aged man, soaked in blood, roaring toward the sky with ferocity. He was in terrible shape—not only had he lost one arm, but the ribcage connected to it had been completely crushed. One of his eyes was blind, likely from a burn, yet injuries that would have killed an ordinary person seemed to mean nothing to him. With his single remaining eye, he glared fiercely at the man in the sky. If he could, he would grab his sword and throw himself at him—but his body could no longer obey his will.
"Haa…"
The man in the sky answered with nothing more than a breath. Though there was no obvious wound on his body, his entire skin was covered in cracks, from which an incredible amount of energy leaked, warping the light around him. Every few seconds, more cracks appeared. He looked quite young—black hair, purple eyes—more like a soul than a human, a notion reinforced by the violet energy radiating from him.
"With power like yours, you could have ruled the entire world directly. So why these massacres? Why? Answer me, Heavenly Demon!"
The man on the ground was losing more blood with each passing second, his mind slowly clouding, but he had no intention of dying without answers.
"Wuhan Jin… I am truly grateful to you."
The Heavenly Demon finally spoke. There was no emotion in his voice, as if everything that had happened meant nothing to him. Both his tone and his words startled Jin, but he quickly steadied himself.
"What are you talking about? Answer my questions. Soon after me, you'll be joining me anyway. Whatever you're trying to do, you won't succeed. Knowing that, why did you start this war? Why bring destruction to the Central Plains?"
Jin forced himself upright with his remaining arm, trying to see the expression on the Heavenly Demon's face—and froze in shock. There was a sincere smile there.
"I hope you can understand, Wuhan Jin. Haven't you always felt like your fate was written by someone else?"
"You… what—"
"Before you were even born, I paid a visit to your family and secretly tampered with your mother's body. This is how you were blessed with a physique perfectly suited for martial arts. Furthermore, every good and bad event you experienced after your birth was meticulously planned by me, leading you to your current strength."
Jin was horrified; he couldn't believe what he heard, but he couldn't find an argument to counter it. He had faced many hardships in his youth, but he had always emerged stronger. He had also encountered potions and spiritual herbs that were very suitable for him several times. The more Jin thought about it, the more convinced he became of the truth of this idea, but his mind couldn't accept it, or at least didn't want to accept it. The strongest martial artist in the Central Plains had actually been trained by the Heavenly Demon himself.
"You feel hopeless, don't you? I felt the same way when I ascended the throne as the Heavenly Demon. It was as if everything I possessed had been given to me. And my Dao was blocked. That's why I sought ways to break free from this shackle. Finally, thanks to you, I have attained the enlightenment I desired."
The Heavenly Demon's voice was no longer as emotionless; excitement now seeped through it. Jin had lost too much blood—his soul was beginning to fade. Sensing this, the Heavenly Demon stopped paying attention to him and lifted his gaze to the sky. The Heavens were filled with dark clouds, lightning arcs flashing from time to time, as if the sky itself had sensed the danger.
"Nothing can stop me today. I will break free from the shackles of the heavens."
As soon as he spoke, an overwhelming amount of Demonic Energy erupted from him. The cracks in his body rapidly widened, and his entire form shattered into pieces—but the released energy didn't stop; it only grew stronger. Accompanied by a terrifying laugh, the purplish energy surged upward toward the sky.
— — —
Everyone in the city watched the rising demonic energy. Those from the Demonic cult quickly knelt down upon sensing the energy.
"LONG LIVE THE HEAVENLY DEMON!"
"LONG LIVE THE HEAVENLY DEMON!"
"LONG LIVE THE HEAVENLY DEMON!"
Near the city walls, a temporary command area had been set up, occupied by the senior members of the Demonic Cult. All of them gazed longingly at the ascending Demonic Energy. Among them was a man dressed in scholar's robes—the cult's strategist, one of the few who knew the war's true purpose. He let out a deep sigh and bowed slightly toward the woman nearby.
"Saintess, please act."
The woman, addressed as the Saintess, had a look of displeasure on her face, but she still pulled a feather fan from her waist and walked toward the sacred flame placed in the center of the headquarters, singing hymns along the way. With each step, the sacred flame blazed. When she reached the fire, she threw the fan into it and knelt before it.
Instantly, the sacred fire detached itself from its dwelling, swallowed the woman, and then moved on to the others. With each one it devoured, it grew larger, slowly taking on a serpentine shape. Members of the demonic cult kneeling throughout the city were also swallowed before they could understand what was happening. Civilians, surrendered soldiers, and even dead corpses could not escape this fate. By the time the flame had consumed all living things in the city, it had already taken the form of a silver dragon. The dragon moved directly toward the rising demonic energy and began to circle around it.
"TUMP… TUMP…"
From within the dense Demonic Energy came the sound of a deep heartbeat. Then the energy began to spin like a vortex, accelerating with every second until its dark purple hue gradually turned golden. The vortex twisted and took the form of a Golden Dragon. The two dragons began circling each other in a strange harmony. At their center stood the silhouette of the Heavenly Demon—no longer as imposing as before, now transparent, like a cloud of dust that could scatter with the slightest breeze. Yet the determination and excitement in his eyes had not diminished.
With the appearance of the second dragon, the sky could no longer endure it. Lightning began striking the dragons relentlessly.
"Futile."
The Heavenly Demon began stepping into the sky as if climbing invisible stairs. At the same time, the dragons parted the sea of lightning to clear his path. With each step, the heavens grew more violent, yet the two dragons protected him at the cost of their own existence. This continued until the Heavenly Demon rose above the thunderclouds. At that moment, he stood higher than any human who had ever existed in history. He had reached the legendary place beyond clouds and winds—the Boundary of the Heavens. A realm where nothing existed except the searing heat of the sun.
After savoring the brief calm, the Heavenly Demon glanced at the dragons and saw that they had already shrunk to half their original size. Overcoming the storm had not been as easy as it looked. He wanted to take a deep breath—but his lungs had long since evaporated.
"I will free myself from everything that binds me. This is my Dao—the Dao of my freedom."
In response to his words, the two dragons began devouring each other with terrifying hunger. Whenever one tore off a piece of the other, it consumed it and grew larger—only for the other to do the same in return. They entered an endless cycle, until their energies gradually intertwined and merged into a single dragon. This new dragon, formed from the intermingling of gold and silver, was wildly unstable and likely wouldn't last long. Even so, the Heavenly Demon was satisfied.
At his will, the dragon opened its jaws and bit into the sky. To its surprise, it met resistance—as if its mouth had truly clamped onto something solid.
The air trembled, and cracks began to appear. The Heavenly Demon watched the scene with utter seriousness. This dragon had been formed from his own cultivation and the energy gathered from the sacrifice of an entire city. If even this wasn't enough, then finding more energy would be impossible. Even he felt a trace of anxiety. In that moment, seconds felt like hours. With each passing second, the dragon's jaws closed further, more cracks spreading across the sky—yet the dragon itself visibly shrank at a rapid pace.
"KRAAAM—"
Finally, when the dragon had shrunk to the size of a human, its jaws closed, and the cracks in the sky merged together in a terrifying explosion. A rift darker than anything known appeared, absorbing all the light around it. The Heavenly Demon was filled with excitement, but he had no time to celebrate, for the rift was rapidly closing. He immediately manipulated the remaining energy in the dragon, separating it into threads. Then the threads enveloped him in a cocoon, and he entered the rift before it closed completely.