"Are they... dead?" a commander whispered, taking a hesitant step back."Check them!" Shuyin ordered, her voice laced with a sudden, sharp tension.Cultivators rushed forward, kneeling beside the fallen bodies. Hands pressed against wrists, necks, and chests."Pulse present!" a sect disciple called out, bewildered."This one is breathing! It's faint, but he's breathing!" another shouted."Heartbeat is shallow but stable..... they're alive!"A collective wave of relief washed through the imperial guards. Soft murmurs of comfort began to spread. They had survived. The harvest had failed.I walked slowly past the cheering soldiers, my boots crunching softly on the debris, and stopped beside a young boy lying near a wooden cart. He couldn't have been older than ten. He looked entirely unharmed, as if he had simply fallen asleep in the middle of playing.I slowly knelt down. I reached out with a trembling hand and gently lifted the boy's left eyelid.My hand froze.My breath hitched in my

The chatter didn’t end there. They continued like they’ve been holding back those words all their lives. "You speak because you have never watched your own disciples butcher one another!" an elder from the Han Clan spat, his face dark with suppressed rage. "You speak of ethics while a sword hangs over the throat of every survivor in this city!""They are no longer citizens," another master declared coldly, pointing a trembling finger at the street. "They are demons in waiting. And demons are meant to be killed!"The atmosphere became increasingly oppressive.Finally, one Patriarch spoke again.“Very well. If preserving them creates danger… then we eliminate the source.”Several people looked toward him.“We destroy every vessel.”He slowly raised his sword.“Then we march into the Pagoda.”His killing intent surged.“And we kill Malphas.”A murmur of sudden, fierce agreement rippled through the Coalition."Yes!""We strike the head!"“We end it tonight.”“We have the Seven Coalition

Dawn arrived without warmth.A pale sun climbed above the eastern mountains, yet its light seemed unable to chase away the darkness lingering over the Capital.The arena stood silent.Hundreds of unconscious citizens lay upon the enormous stone grounds exactly where they had been placed the previous night.None had awakened. None had moved.They simply breathed. Slowly.Like puppets waiting for invisible strings to be pulled.The suppression arrays continued humming beneath the earth, golden inscriptions weaving across the arena floor like rivers of light. Spirit incense drifted through the cool morning air. Talismans fluttered softly against the stone pillars.Everything was ready.Everything except the hearts of the families. Word had spread before sunrise. News of the impending. judgment spread through the city like wildfire.The Seven Coalition would execute every citizen who had fallen during yesterday’s calamity.No announcement was necessary. The city had carried the news itse

For seconds, nothing moved.Then, chaos broke out in quiet, violent ripples.Someone dropped a sword. The weapon struck the stone with a sharp metallic clang.A guard whispered,“…Long Chen?”Another voice came from the crowd.“The ghost?”“The heir?”“He’s alive?”The whispers multiplied.They spread through the arena like fire through dry grass.I barely heard them. My eyes remained on Chen.The guards surrounding the arena were star struck to a spot. They had never imagined that Shen Luo, the guard they shared meals and went on patrol with was actually Long Chen, the sovereign. They looked utterly shattered.The head guard remained on his knees, his jaw trembling, his eyes wide as he stared up at the man he had ordered around for months. "Your… Your…” he stammered, the words foreign and heavy on his tongue.Chen finally looked at him. There was no humiliation in his eyes. No mockery. No attempt to make the man feel small.But there was no softness or warmth either."You did your

The Coalition immediately moved. Swords flashed. Spiritual energy erupted.The first Wraith came within several dozen meters of Chen, then its body froze in mid-air. Without Chen even lifting a finger, the creature convulsed and shattered into black ash. Another fell. Then ten more. They couldn't even exist within the radius of his aura. Their formless bodies shattered against the sheer weight of his presence before they could ever reach him.The remaining Wraiths crashed into the Coalition.The Patriarchs fought. The sect masters unleashed their techniques. The arena erupted into chaos.But I couldn’t look away from Chen.The Coalition had to fight them. Chen simply stood there. And they couldn’t approach him.Then he raised his hand. Casually.His fingers curled. The clouds above him twisted. Lightning gathered between the heavens.The violet sky brightened until the entire arena seemed to exist beneath a storm.I felt Chen’s spiritual pressure spread. It wasn’t merely surrounding