"Cheat Inventory" Kaelen has amassed while everyone else thought he was just a lazy guard, followed by the next escalation in the story.
Kaelen's Secret Treasury (Inventory)
Because Kaelen has been "AFK Farming" (standing still) for months, his system has been dumping high-level loot into his private spatial dimension.
[Weapon: Heaven-Shattering Halberd]: A black iron weapon that grows heavier based on the user's silence. Currently weighs 50,000 kilograms.
[Armor: Seal of the Nine Heavens]: His "dented" suit is actually a Divine Artifact. It absorbs 99% of all magical damage and converts it into physical strength for Kaelen.
[Pill: Breath-Suppressing Jade]: Automatically hides his cultivation. To a God, he looks like a mortal. To a mortal, he looks like a rock.
[Manual: 10,000 Miles in One Step]: A movement technique that allows him to "blink" to any location within his sight instantly.
[Consumable: God-Slaying Wine]: A single drop restores all stamina and doubles strength for 60 seconds. (He has 400 bottles).
The news of the three messengers' deaths spread through the Silver Moon Sect like wildfire. By noon, the "Hundred-Flower Banquet" had turned from a celebration into a funeral wake.
The Great Hall was filled with sect leaders from across the province. They sat behind low tables laden with spirit fruit and jade-colored wine, but no one was eating. All eyes were on Empress Yue, who sat on her high throne, her face a mask of cold silk.
And behind her, like a shadow cast by the throne itself, stood the Silent Sentry.
"Empress Yue," a portly man from the Iron Mountain Sect stood up, his voice trembling. "The Blood-Scythe Sect Leader, Old Man Ghost-Blade, has reached the Nascent Soul Realm. He can level a mountain with a sneeze! You... you killed his disciples? You've signed our death warrants!"
"I did not kill them," Yue said calmly, though her heart was drumming against her ribs. "The Heavens protected this palace."
She glanced back at Kaelen. He was staring at a pillar, looking as if he were daydreaming. Is he really going to just stand there? she wondered. The strongest man in the province is coming to kill us, and he's checking for dust on his gauntlets?
Suddenly, the sky outside turned a bruised, sickly purple.
BOOM!
The roof of the Great Hall was ripped away by an invisible hand. The guests screamed, diving under tables as a terrifying pressure descended. High above, standing on a cloud of literal blood, was an old man with long, jagged white hair and eyes that glowed with a murderous crimson light.
Old Man Ghost-Blade. Nascent Soul Stage.
"Who... killed... my... children?!" his voice echoed like thunder, vibrating the very bones of everyone in the room. Some of the weaker disciples began to vomit blood just from the sound.
Empress Yue stood up, her white robes fluttering in the violent wind. "They came with threats, Ghost-Blade. They met the justice of the Silver Moon."
"Justice?" The old man laughed, a sound like grinding stones. "I see no justice here. Only a beautiful woman who needs to be taught her place. I will kill everyone in this city, then take you back to my sect as a furnace!"
He raised a hand. A massive, 100-meter-long saber made of blood-red energy formed in the air, aimed directly at the palace.
"Die!"
The guests wailed. The Empress closed her eyes.
Clang.
The sound wasn't an explosion. It was the sound of metal hitting metal.
Everyone looked up. The massive blood-saber hadn't hit the palace. It had been caught.
Kaelen was no longer standing behind the throne. He was standing on the air—not flying on a sword like a normal cultivator, but simply standing on the atmosphere as if it were solid ground. He had caught the 100-meter energy blade with his bare, iron-clad hand.
[System Prompt: Extreme Arrogance Detected from Enemy.]
[Counter-Measure Activated: Hand of the Void.]
[Current Objective: Erase the threat without sweating.]
The Old Man's eyes bugged out. "What?! You... a mere guard?! Break for me!"
Ghost-Blade poured all his Nascent Soul Qi into the blade. The ground beneath the palace cracked. But Kaelen didn't move an inch.
Inside his helmet, Kaelen yawned. He was bored. He looked at the Old Man, then slowly—very slowly—clenched his fist.
CRACK!
The blood-saber shattered into a million sparkling red petals.
Kaelen then raised his other hand and performed a simple, downward flick of his finger.
[Skill: Heavens' Gavel]
An invisible weight, equal to the mass of the entire Silver Moon Mountain, slammed down onto Old Man Ghost-Blade. The "mighty" Nascent Soul expert didn't even have time to scream. He was hammered out of the sky and slammed into the courtyard, creating a crater fifty feet deep.
Kaelen drifted back down, landed behind the Empress, and resumed his "Statue" pose.
The silence in the hall was absolute. You could hear a needle drop.
The Empress turned around, her jaw slightly open. She looked at the crater, then at her guard. She walked up to him, grabbed his iron visor, and tried to lift it.
"Show me," she whispered, her voice shaking with a mix of fear and intense attraction. "Show me who is behind this iron."
[System Warning!]
[If the Empress sees your face now, the "Divine Marriage" quest will trigger, and you will lose 50% of your 'Hidden' bonus!]
Kaelen gently but firmly took her hand and moved it away from his helmet. He then pointed to a plate of grapes on the table.
He was hungry. He hadn't eaten in six months.
The Empress stared at his hand, then at the grapes. "You... you just saved the entire kingdom from a Nascent Soul monster... and you want a snack?"
Kaelen gave a tiny, almost invisible nod.