I. The Emperor's Summons
The Vermilion Bird Empire's envoy arrived at dawn.
A fleet of crimson airships blotted out the sky, their hulls emblazoned with the imperial sigil—a phoenix wreathed in eternal flame. At their lead stood General Wu Tian, a mountain of a man clad in scalemail forged from S-rank Genomes, his SS-rank Emberclaw Gryphon perched on his shoulder like a king surveying peasants.
Xiao Chen watched from the academy's shattered gates, his Abyss-Shell Predator gnawing lazily on a Fiend's femur.
"Pathetic," Wu Tian boomed, his voice shaking the rubble. "Black Heaven Academy, reduced to rubble by a handful of cultists."
Headmaster Mo coughed blood into his sleeve but stood firm. "And yet, we survived. Unlike the Scarlet Viper Sect—or did the empire forget how you fed them to the Fiends last winter?"
The general's grin didn't reach his eyes. "The Emperor demands the boy."
Every gaze snapped to Xiao Chen.
Leng Xueyi's frost blade materialized in her grip. "Over my corpse."
Wu Tian laughed. "That can be arranged, little Xueyi. Your betrothal contract is already signed."
A scroll unfurled, stamped with the imperial seal.
Xiao Chen crushed it in his fist without reading.
"Try."
II. The Poisoned Feast
That night, the empire hosted a "celebration" in the academy's ruins.
Nobles in silk robes picked at Fiend-meat skewers, their Genomes preening under torchlight. Xiao Chen sat apart, his Void Fox shredding the meat into edible scraps—checking for poison.
Mei Ling pressed against him, her once-vibrant eyes now dull with venom-induced devotion. "The wine is laced with Soulbane Toxin," she murmured. "A single sip would melt your core."
Xiao Chen smirked. "Pour me a cup."
He drank it in one gulp—and locked eyes with Princess Luo Ying, the Emperor's youngest daughter, across the hall.
Her golden pupils dilated.
"Interesting," she purred, her SS-rank Solar Phoenix ruffling its feathers. "You really are immune."
Then—she lunged.
III. The Duel of Fates
Blades clashed in the banquet hall's center.
Princess Luo fought like a wildfire given form, her phoenix's flames scorching the air itself. Xiao Chen's Abyss-Shell Predator tanked the hits, its chaos-infused shell cracking but not breaking.
"You're strong," Luo Ying admitted, flipping her dusksteel dagger. "For a gutter rat."
Xiao Chen ripped a table from the floor and slammed it into her ribs.
"And you talk too much."
The nobles roared—this was the best entertainment they'd had in years.
General Wu watched, calculating.
Headmaster Mo whispered to Xiao Chen: "She's testing you. The Emperor wants to see if you're worth recruiting or killing."
Xiao Chen spat blood. "Let him try both."
Then—Leng Xueyi intervened.
Her frost blade froze the princess's ankle to the floor. "Enough. He's mine to kill."
Luo Ying laughed, shattering the ice. "Oh, Xueyi. Always so possessive."
IV. The Heavenly Demon's Whisper
That night, Xiao Chen dreamt of the abyss.
The Heavenly Demon loomed over him, its blade-fingers carving runes into his flesh.
"You resist me," it mused. "But your soul is already half mine."
Xiao Chen wrenched free. "I don't take orders from failed gods."
The Demon laughed, the sound like breaking bones.
"Then let's play, little Sovereign. The Fiend God stirs. And when He wakes…"*
Its voice faded, leaving one last whisper:
"Your women will die screaming your name."
V. The Tournament's Start
At dawn, the Grand Tournament of Ascent began.
Fifty cultivators stood in the Shattered Arena, their Genomes snarling.
Rules:
No alliances.
No surrender.
Last ten standing advance.
Leng Xueyi froze a man solid before he could blink.
Princess Luo burned three others alive.
And Xiao Chen?
He walked forward, his Abyss-Shell Predator growing larger with every step.
"Who's first?"
Chapter 5 End