With the capital secured, Kai finally asked the Emperor about the high tower in the sky.The question came after the morning court had ended.The throne hall was quieter now than it had been when Kai and Abigail first arrived. Gone were the loud ministers who shouted before thinking, the greedy officials who hid behind rank, and the dignitaries who believed law was only useful when it protected their own pockets. The court still carried tension, of course, because no government became calm after having half its rotten bones broken and removed, but the silence now was sharper, cleaner, and much more useful. Reports were being handled quickly. Orders moved without delay. The Emperor still sat on the throne, but everyone knew the real pressure in the hall came from the two figures standing to the side.Kai stood near one of the tall pillars, arms folded, looking up through the open ceiling formation toward the distant tower that pierced the clouds above the Heavenly Capital. From the fir

Fist met claw.The impact blasted dust, stone, and spiritual mist outward in a violent wave. For the first time in a long while, Kai’s arm trembled slightly from the force, and his feet sank a few inches into the ground. Not enough to hurt him badly, but enough to make his smile deepen.“Nice.”His awakened bloodline pulsed.A heavy, ancient pressure rolled out of his body, and the stone lion’s claw cracked from paw to shoulder. Kai twisted, drove another punch into the joint of the beast’s leg, and shattered the entire limb apart. The lion roared and lowered its head to bite him, but Abigail’s sword flashed.Her strike was quiet.Cold reached the lion before the blade did. The golden runes across its neck slowed, freezing under her intent, and then the physical slash landed. The lion’s head separated from its body and crashed into the ground, sending broken stone across the path.The jade serpent attacked Abigail immediately after, releasing a thick wave of green poison mist. Abigail

Seeing that they were trapped, the elders revealed themselves.The silver-gray mist in the valley twisted slowly, then split apart in several places as figures stepped out from the hidden folds of the formation. They did not appear like ordinary cultivators rushing into battle. They came out with the calm confidence of people who believed everything had already been decided before their enemies even understood the board. Old men and women in ancient clan robes stood on the ridges, on stone platforms, among the dead trees, and around the mist-covered entrance behind Kai and Abigail. Each one carried a different bloodline aura, thick and old, some heavy like stone, some sharp like metal, some burning quietly beneath the skin like sealed flame.Above them, the seven mountain ridges glowed.Runes lit along the cliffs, forming massive chains of light that connected one ridge to another. The mist below rose higher, circling the valley like a closed bowl, and the sky itself darkened as a sea

The ancestor did not respond to them and instead, his eyes locked on Kai then on Abigail and then back to Kai.“You are the one who forced the continent to kneel?”His voice was dry, old, and calm, but every word carried enough weight to press against the chest.Kai smiled. “I had help.”Abigail said calmly, “He did most of the beating.”Kai turned to her. “That sounds supportive.”“It was factual.”The ancestor stared at them for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his old face. “Interesting. You are less afraid than I expected.”Kai rolled his shoulders. “You are less dead than I expected.”The arena went silent and several elders nearly lost their balance.The ancestor’s smile widened by a tiny amount. “Good. If your strength matches your mouth, this duel may be worth waking for.”Kai’s eyes brightened slightly. “Finally. Someone with proper attitude.”The ancestor raised one hand and the entire arena changed.Burial Qi rose from the ground in black waves, not rotten like corp

Far away, back on Earth, Emily stood panting.Her poison whip hung from one hand, dripping with dark blood.The battlefield before her was covered in bodies.Some belonged to the intruders and others did not.Broken weapons, torn armor, and pools of blood covered the ground around the portal fortress. The air was thick with smoke, poison, sweat, and the bitter smell of burned flesh. Several sections of the outer wall had collapsed during the battle, while defensive barriers flickered weakly overhead, their light unstable after being struck too many times.Emily’s chest rose and fell heavily.Her clothes were torn in several places, and blood stained one side of her face. Some of it belonged to her. Most did not. The poison whip in her hand pulsed faintly, its dark surface still carrying traces of the toxins she had forced into the last wave of enemies.She stared at the bodies before her.Then at the portal in the distance.The portal remained open and that was the problem.It stood l