A perfected Nascent Soul at the absolute peak of power… was dead.

  Killed in the time it took that young woman to open and close her eyes.

  The entire Great Xuan Academy fell into deathly silence. The ground had cracked open into a deep crater, jagged earth flung outward like the claws of some ferocious beast.

  Nan Yuefeng’s corpse knelt on the ground, a single crimson dot between his brows—not even a trickle of blood escaped.

  All life had fled his body. Skin that moments ago glowed like warm jade now withered and crumpled like dead branches stripped of moisture.

  He knelt in perfect posture, as though in final repentance.

  No one dared breathe.

  The fall of a Nascent Soul was always earth-shattering news. A single Nascent Soul could found an entire sect.

  Back then, the battle between Overlord and Zhou Haisheng had shaken the world. Overlord had dragged the dying Zhou Haisheng into exhaustion and death, earning fame that echoed across Tianyuan.

  But that fight and this one were nothing alike.

  Overlord had overwhelmed Zhou Haisheng through sheer endurance, wearing the old man down until his lifespan ran out.

  The girl in the sky had crushed Nan Yuefeng outright.

  A man far stronger than Zhou Haisheng had been erased without the slightest chance to resist—one finger through the forehead.

  The Golden Core disciples of South Dou Mountain trembled uncontrollably.

  One of them shot forward, staring at Nan Yuefeng’s lifeless body and shaking like a leaf.

  “You…”

  “You actually killed our supreme elder?!”

  He glared at Zhulong, who now hovered in the sky with her eyes closed once more.

  Zhulong tilted her head slightly, her exquisite face turning toward him—as if to say, And why shouldn’t I?

  Dantai Xuan was already stunned senseless by her power.

  This was the ultimate thigh to cling to!

  Hug it tight, and Great Xuan would never fear another soul. Anyone who came would die!

  The students of the academy could barely contain their excitement.

  What kind of peerless goddess was this?

  A land immortal like Nan Yuefeng—crushed like an insect.

  The Azure Dragon coiled proudly and let out a low roar: Big Sis is invincible!

  Zhulong remained ice-cold.

  Eyes closed, lashes trembling faintly, she ignored the world.

  She had killed Nan Yuefeng only because he dared dream of butchering a dragon.

  As if dragons were so easy to slaughter.

  “Thank you, young lady, for saving us!” Dantai Xuan rose, covered in blood and looking wretched, yet unable to hide his exhilaration. He cupped his fists in deep gratitude.

  Zhulong ignored him too. She turned to the Azure Dragon, lifted her smooth chin, and spoke softly:

  “Too weak. Come to Buzhou Peak. Train.”

  Short, direct, and unmistakable.

  The Azure Dragon coughed up another mouthful of blood, dark-golden eyes flashing with refusal.

  But the memory of that single finger piercing Nan Yuefeng’s brow crushed all resistance.

  He couldn’t say no.

  Down below, the South Dou Golden Cores snapped out of their shock and fled in every direction, golden light exploding from their cores as they bolted from the academy.

  This place was cursed—a graveyard where a perfected Nascent Soul had fallen!

  Dantai Xuan’s expression changed—he wanted to stop them, but Great Xuan had no means to hold Golden Cores.

  Everything depended on Zhulong and the Azure Dragon.

  And Dantai Xuan had zero control over either.

  Zhulong paid the fleeing cultivators no mind.

  She stepped lightly through the air, robes fluttering, walked straight to the Azure Dragon, grabbed its tail, and dragged it toward the dragon gate.

  The Azure Dragon wanted to protest, but the terrifying aura rolling off Big Sis silenced it.

  It gave up.

  With one last shred of dignity, it lifted its head high and allowed itself to be hauled through the gate.

  Little Yinglong’s old miserable life was about to have company.

  Mo Ju clutched his chest—he’d taken internal injuries—and hurried to Dantai Xuan’s side.

  “Your Majesty, are you alright?”

  He paled at the sight of all the blood.

  Dantai Xuan, covered in gore, waved energetically.

  “I’m fine! This isn’t my blood—it’s the dragon’s.”

  He had simply followed the Azure Dragon’s example and made himself look a little more pitiful.

  “Your Majesty… those South Dou survivors will spread the news fast,” Mo Ju warned.

  “Let them,” Dantai Xuan said with a carefree laugh. “After today, who would dare look down on Great Xuan?”

  “Even if the young lady didn’t act purely to protect us… that’s the story we’re telling.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  His eyes gleamed.

  Buzhou Peak lay within Great Xuan’s borders, didn’t it?

  Therefore, the young lady was Great Xuan’s young lady!

  “And don’t forget—I bear imperial dragon qi. We’re practically family,” he added with a grin.

  Mo Ju was speechless.

  Your Majesty… have some shame.

  …

  Word spread like wildfire: Nan Yuefeng of South Dou Mountain had invaded Great Xuan under the pretext of “dividing Dragon Gate quotas,” intending to seize the imperial dragon qi.

  The aristocratic families and powers of the Five Phoenixes were outraged—yet powerless.

  South Dou Mountain was a top second-tier force, and Nan Yuefeng a perfected Nascent Soul. Even nearing the end of his lifespan, he was terrifying.

  Great Xuan was doomed.

  Seizing the imperial dragon qi and turning it into Tianyuan’s fortune seemed inevitable.

  The atmosphere across the Five Phoenixes grew heavy with oppression.

  Tianyuan cultivators still feared White Jade Capital and refrained from outright slaughter, but in the scramble for resources, Five Phoenixes practitioners were left only scraps.

  Everyone endured, knowing strength was the only answer—only strength would let them stand as equals.

  Then, just when all believed Great Xuan would fall…

  A shocking rumor exploded outward, carried by the terrified, fleeing Golden Core disciples.

  Nan Yuefeng was dead.

  He had died kneeling in the Great Xuan Academy, as if begging forgiveness.

  The entire world quaked.

  A perfected Nascent Soul—dead in Great Xuan?

  Did Great Xuan truly possess such power?

  More details followed quickly.

  “It was a mysterious young woman of unparalleled grace—she killed Nan Yuefeng with a single strike, as if she could overturn heaven and earth!”

  A young woman?

  The world erupted.

  Tianyuan, which had grown increasingly brazen, received the greatest shock.

  “The Five Phoenixes has a Nascent Soul?”

  “No… someone who can kill Nan Yuefeng can’t be ordinary. Could she be Infant Transformation?”

  “Infant Transformation? Besides White Jade Capital, does the Five Phoenixes even have one?!”

  The news shook both sides.

  The long-suppressed cultivators of the Five Phoenixes felt new life surge through them.

  Tianyuan’s arrogance was suddenly reined in.

  Nan Yuefeng’s death was a warning—even in Tianyuan, he had been among the elite.

  Wolong Ridge.

  Beneath a black robe, Li Sansi listened in a daze.

  A mysterious young woman who slew Nan Yuefeng.

  “Zhulong…”

  His murmur was soft beneath the hood.

  Resolve hardened in his eyes. He had to grow stronger—much stronger.

  Without hesitation, he stepped toward the Third Prison Gate.

  Nie Changqing and Jing Yue heard the news too. They knew Zhulong—that quiet girl who loved playing the flute.

  But they had never imagined she could annihilate a top-tier Nascent Soul.

  Jing Yue gripped his Jing Tian Sword and sighed, “Worthy of a cub the Young Lord chose.”

  Then urgency gripped him—he had to get stronger, fast.

  He shouldered his sword and charged deeper into the prison gates.

  Within the Nine Prisons Secret Realm, the third gate had been breached.

  Zhong Nan still led the pack.

  Overlord and Nie Changqing followed close behind.

  Jing Yue and Feng Yilou vied for fourth and fifth…

  Everyone felt the shifting tides—Tianyuan’s pressure—and burned to break through, to become the pillars that could hold the sky for the Five Phoenixes.

  …

  Dongyang Prefecture, outside the majestic city by the Red Dragon Gate.

  Rosy clouds filled the sky.

  One figure after another descended—Nascent Souls from every force in Tianyuan except the four holy lands.

  Twenty to thirty in total.

  They had formed an alliance—not just to divvy up Five Phoenixes resources, but to create a power that could rival the holy lands.

  They elected an alliance leader: the Valley Lord of Thunder Sound Valley, Lei Liushui.

  Half a step into Infant Transformation, and unlike Nan Yuefeng, he was far from his lifespan’s end.

  He was the cultivator most likely to become the fifth Infant Transformation expert in Tianyuan.

  “Valley Lord Lei… a mighty Nascent Soul capable of slaying Elder Nan Yuefeng has appeared in Great Xuan. We cannot ignore this,” the South Dou Mountain sect master said gravely.

  Lei Liushui wore a black-and-white checkered robe, long beard flowing, face fair. A blue dot glowed faintly on his brow, crackling with restrained lightning.

  He only smiled, saying nothing.

  The other alliance Nascent Souls voiced their concerns.

  “Valley Lord Lei, the Five Phoenixes has abundant resources, but previously lacked even a single Nascent Soul. Now one has appeared—and a supreme one at that—who killed Elder Nan Yuefeng and reignited their morale…”

  “This is bad for our plan to fully control their resources.”

  Lei Liushui kept smiling.

  Finally he turned north, toward Great Xuan.

  “You all speak wisely.”

  A glint flashed in his eyes.

  “In that case… why don’t we pay Great Xuan a visit together? Greet this Nascent Soul, make a new friend.”

  “The Five Phoenixes and Tianyuan were once one. The birth of a Nascent Soul there is cause for celebration.”

  “We can invite her to join our alliance…”

  The gathered Nascent Souls’ eyes lit up.

  Invite her to join?

  They exchanged glances and saw the sharp intent in one another’s eyes.

  Lei Liushui was no saint.

  Anyone who reached Nascent Soul had a complicated heart.

  If he truly meant well, why bring the entire alliance?

  Twenty-seven Nascent Souls—even an Infant Transformation expert would hesitate.

  None of them believed Zhulong was truly Infant Transformation. That realm was not so easily attained.

  Lei Liushui clearly intended to overwhelm her with numbers.

  …

  The next day.

  Red Dragon Gate, Dongyang Prefecture.

  Twenty-seven Nascent Souls gathered—robes fluttering, auras majestic, each a living immortal.

  Led by Lei Liushui, they rose into the sky, laughing and chatting as they flew north toward Buzhou Peak.

  They did not conceal their presence.

  Terrifying auras rolled across the land. Clouds tore apart, mountains trembled.

  In every city they passed, cultivators looked up in awe and fear—twenty-seven blazing suns crossing the heavens.

  To mortals and lower cultivators, flying Nascent Souls were gods.

  When word spread where they were headed…

  The world exploded.

  “Are all these Nascent Souls going after the mysterious young woman in Great Xuan?”

  The Five Phoenixes cultivators, who had only just regained a spark of pride, burned with righteous fury.

  Tianyuan’s intent was clear: crush the Five Phoenixes completely.

  Wolong Ridge.

  Overlord frowned and stepped out of the Nine Prisons Secret Realm, clad in Tyrant King Armor, axe-shield on his back, radiating terrifying might.

  Nie Changqing and Jing Yue emerged behind him.

  Sima Qingshan followed, book box on his back, refined and gentle.

  They exchanged glances and, without a word, raced north.

  They all knew what twenty-seven Nascent Souls meant.

  They intended to suppress Zhulong.

  The Five Phoenixes had finally produced a Nascent Soul—Tianyuan felt threatened and moved to smother it, to crush their rising momentum.

  Overlord and the others would not stand idly by.

  Not just them—cultivators from both Five Phoenixes and Tianyuan rushed toward the north.

  Tiandang Mountain, Star-Plucking Peak, before the Cloud Dragon Gate.

  Li Sansui stared at the black-robed Li Sansi.

  “You’re really going?”

  “Against Nascent Souls, you’ll be exposed.”

  “Once they see what you are, they won’t let you live. To them, your constitution is evil.”

  Her daoist robe fluttered as she spoke earnestly.

  She didn’t want him to throw his life away.

  Li Sansi was strong now—enhanced by the vine demon body, stronger than she could guess.

  But against Nascent Souls? He would be at a disadvantage.

  The figure in black robes smiled.

  “If she needs help, I can’t sit by.”

  That was all he said.

  Then he stepped through the Cloud Dragon Gate, heading for the Azure Dragon Gate.

  He still didn’t dare take the direct route through Buzhou Peak.

  Li Sansui watched him vanish and sighed.

  …

  Atop Tail Ridge.

  Dantai Xuan read the intelligence report, eyes bulging with rage. He slammed a palm on the table.

  “The absolute nerve!”

  His chest heaved.

  “These Tianyuan Nascent Souls think they can bully us forever! Twenty-seven of them heading here together—what, they want to kill Lady Zhulong?!”

  Fury blazed inside him.

  The Five Phoenixes had only just begun to rise—and they couldn’t wait to stamp it out, relying on superior numbers.

  “Xue Tao!”

  Xue Tao rushed in and saluted.

  “Muster a thousand Xuanwu Guards! We ride for Buzhou Peak! We will not lose in momentum! They want a numbers game?!”

  “YES, SIR!”

  Xue Tao’s eyes burned with the same fire.

  Mo Ju fanned himself silently.

  A thousand Xuanwu Guards wouldn’t even register against one Nascent Soul.

  The gap was too vast.

  Numbers meant nothing here.

  …

  The twenty-seven Nascent Souls flew swiftly.

  From Dongyang to northern Buzhou Peak—majestic, unstoppable, shaking the world.

  On Buzhou Peak.

  Zhulong remained unaware of the storm coming.

  The Azure Dragon lay swollen and bruised, panting miserably.

  Zhulong sat cross-legged on the green stone, bamboo flute to her lips, playing a clear, lingering melody.

  At the foot of the mountain.

  Dantai Xuan arrived with a thousand Xuanwu Guards, saber across his lap, sitting proudly beneath the peak.

  Zhulong’s flute paused. Her brows furrowed slightly—she didn’t quite understand what Dantai Xuan was doing.

  Then she sensed it.

  Immense auras approaching.

  She lifted her closed-eyed face toward the horizon.

  There…

  Clouds ripped apart.

  A massive vortex of wind and storm formed.

  Figures stepped out of the sky—one, two, three…

  Twenty-seven supreme cultivators floated in a ring around Buzhou Peak.

  The terrifying pressure rolling off them shredded the spiritual energy cloaking the mountain.