The heavens roared as Haotian and Yangshen clashed again and again. Spear arcs lit the clouds, fists shattered the air, and shockwaves carved rippling craters into the mountainsides.
Then, with a sudden surge, Haotian's aura shifted.
A thunderous crack split the sky as his Ten Elemental Body Physique erupted outward. Flame surged across one arm, ice crystallized along the other. Wind coiled around his legs, lightning crackled across his skin. His chest glowed with radiant light, while his back shimmered with shadow. Earth hardened his stance, gravity weighed his strikes, crystal pulsed in his veins, and chaos wrapped around all — his body becoming the nexus of ten elements harmonized.
"Impossible…" one disciple gasped, shielding her eyes. "He… he has ten?! Senior Brother Haotian has ten elemental physiques?!"
The sect erupted in cries of disbelief, awe flooding every corner of the courtyard. Elders themselves trembled — none had even conceived of such a physique.
Yinxue's lips parted, her aura shivering despite herself. "Ten elements… in one body?"
Ziyue's eyes narrowed, her heart pounding. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, knuckles whitening. So this is the true weight he's been hiding…Shuyue clasped her hands to her chest, stunned tears glimmering in her eyes. "Haotian…"
Below, the other ancestors watched intently, their voices deliberately audible to the women and elders gathered.
Meiyun's lips curved in rare amusement. "So. He's released it. His Ten Elemental Body Physique. No wonder he can force even Yangshen back."
The sect went still at her words. Elders gasped, disciples covered their mouths. Yinxue, Ziyue, and Shuyue all turned pale, then flushed — for they knew only the Yin Body Physique, aligned with water and ice. To wield even two elements was rare. To embody ten was beyond comprehension.
Above, Yangshen grunted as Haotian's strikes pressed him harder and harder, each blow a storm of multiple elements resonating together. Sparks flew, ice shattered, fire burned, lightning crackled — all within a single seamless assault.
Meiyun's smirk widened. "At this rate… Yangshen will lose."
Yangshen's fist faltered against Haotian's sweeping spear, his laugh cut off by the force behind it.
Jinhai snorted, crossing his arms. "Hah. Then let's tip it back, shall we? I want to see how far the boy can really go."
With a leap, his body blurred into the air, dragon qi surging as he joined the battle.
"What?! No fair!" disciples shouted below, eyes wide. "Two against one?!"
Even Yinxue's icy composure cracked, her voice sharp with outrage. "They can't—!"
But Yuying's calm voice cut through the cries, carrying across the courtyard. "It will be fine."
She smiled faintly, her gaze never leaving Haotian. "He has sparred against all four of us before. When he was still only at Core Condensation Realm."
Gasps filled the air.
Yuying continued, serene but certain. "We held back, of course. But he learned. He understands our tactics, our styles. This is no unfamiliar storm. Watch closely — he is not the same boy who once trailed behind us. He is the one who now stands as our equal."
The disciples fell silent, every gaze fixed upward as the battle intensified.
Now it was two against one.
Haotian's golden eyes blazed, the Fenlong Spear spinning arcs of light, his Ten Elemental Body Physique roaring in full fury. Yangshen and Jinhai pressed him together, fists and claws crashing, dragon qi thunder booming — and yet, Haotian met them head-on.
The heavens themselves shook, the sect below breathless.
Chaos had become legend.
The skies cracked with thunder as Haotian, Yangshen, and Jinhai collided again and again. Fist met spear, claw rent air, elemental storms tore through the heavens.
But then Haotian's aura surged once more, a deeper resonance shuddering through his bones.
His skin shimmered faintly with golden light, scales flickering into view beneath his flesh. His muscles hardened like tempered steel, his marrow glowing with qi. A low dragon's roar reverberated from within him.
"The Undying Dragon Body Physique…" Meiyun whispered below, her eyes widening.
At once, Haotian's fighting style shifted. No longer did he dodge or weave to avoid every strike. Instead, he pressed forward with unwavering steps, even as blows landed.
Jinhai's palm crashed against his ribs — sparks burst, but Haotian's body absorbed it, spear countering in the same motion.Yangshen's kick slammed against his chest — Haotian staggered half a step, then swung his spear, carving a blazing arc that forced Yangshen back.
Then came the moment that shook the skies.
Yangshen roared, his fist blazing with dragon qi as he drove it straight into Haotian's stomach.
The heavens echoed with the impact — but Haotian didn't move. Not a flinch, not a step back. His golden eyes burned steady.
Then his fist shot upward, lightning-fast, and smashed squarely into Yangshen's nose.
CRACK.
Yangshen stumbled, eyes wide in shock as blood trickled down.
The entire sect below froze. A Saint Dragon… bleeding?
Yangshen touched his nose, then barked, "Such a barbaric fighting method!"
But Haotian only grinned, spear flashing in his hand. "Barbaric or not — this is the first time I've seen you bleed! After all the beatings you laid on me since I was young, this brings me joy, old man!"
Yangshen's shock broke into booming laughter, blood dripping down his face. "Hahahaha! Good! That's the spirit, boy!"
He surged forward again, his fist blazing brighter than before, Jinhai flanking at his side.
The sky exploded in chaos as the duel intensified.
Below, Yuying and Meiyun exchanged looks — then burst into laughter themselves, their voices carrying across the courtyard.
"To think Yangshen would bleed first," Meiyun smirked."And from Haotian, no less," Yuying added, her smile serene.
But among the disciples and elders, awe twisted with fear.
"He's fighting two Saint Dragons… equally?""Even with his body unbreakable… how long can he endure?"
Yinxue's hands tightened on her robes, Ziyue's gaze burned like a blade, Shuyue's lips trembled. Every part of them wanted to leap forward, to stand with him.
But deep down they knew — none of them could match this battlefield.
If they entered, they would not aid him. They would only be a burden.
So they stood, breath held, hearts pounding, watching as Haotian's laughter and fury shook the heavens in a duel that even dragons remembered.
The sky thundered with chaos. Haotian, Yangshen, and Jinhai collided in a storm of fists and spear arcs, each blow tearing open the clouds. But then Meiyun leapt into the fray, her qi cascading like a tidal wave, her strikes sharp and elegant as a blade of winter glass.
Now it was three against one.
The explosions shook the very foundations of the sect. Waves of force rolled down into the courtyard, pressing disciples flat to the ground. Some cried out, others clung to the earth as the air itself grew too heavy to breathe. Even seasoned elders staggered.
A group of younger females buckled under the pressure, their knees slamming into the stone as they gasped for breath.
At last, Yinxue's eyes flashed cold. Her aura flared.
"I won't stand here and watch!"
She leapt into the sky, robes snapping like icebound banners, her dao surging. Frost, ice, love, piercing, sword, time, and space — all seven fused into a single strike. Her blade flashed with a brilliance that seemed to freeze the heavens themselves.
Disciples gasped. Elders shielded their faces. Even Ziyue and Shuyue's eyes widened in awe.
But before the strike could land, a serene voice rippled across the battlefield.
"Enough."
Yuying lifted one hand, her expression calm. A spectral dragon of pure qi burst from her palm, its roar shattering the air. It collided with Yinxue's all-dao strike, the clash exploding in a wave of light and thunder.
BOOM!
The shockwave blasted Yinxue back down from the sky. She hit the ground hard, skidding across the courtyard stones, her breath ragged as she staggered to her feet.
Gasps echoed across the sect. "Sect Master Yinxue!"
But before outrage could rise, Yuying's laughter rang out, clear and melodic.
"Not bad at all." Her smile carried the weight of praise that could not be mistaken. "Your strength and dao are already on par with an initial-stage Saint Realm expert. Very good, to cultivate this far already."
Yinxue froze, her lips trembling at the words.
Yuying tilted her head, eyes glinting mischievously. "Tell me, girl… are you one of his dao companions? Or perhaps… his lover?"
The courtyard went silent. Hundreds of gazes turned at once, disciples' mouths dropping open, elders stiffening in shock.
Yinxue's composure shattered; her face flushed scarlet, her aura stuttering in embarrassment.
Yuying's smile widened, her voice playful. "And judging by your reaction…" She chuckled, eyes gleaming. "Bingo."
The courtyard erupted. Disciples whispered furiously, elders exchanged stunned glances. Ziyue's hand twitched at her sword, Shuyue buried her face in her hands, while Yinxue stood trembling between outrage and mortification.
Above it all, Haotian clenched his spear, his golden eyes narrowing as the laughter of dragons and the whispers of disciples clashed in the air.
And still, the battle raged overhead — three dragons pressing down against one man who refused to bow.
A sharp, ringing crack split the air.
Every eye turned upward just in time to see Haotian's Fenlong Spear — the weapon he had carried since his youth — snap in two under the crushing palm of Meiyun. Her strike didn't stop there; her hand slammed into his chest, and the force blasted him backward, his body carving a line of turbulence through the clouds.
Gasps tore from the disciples below.
In the air, Haotian twisted mid-flight, landing hard on one knee upon a fragment of shattered qi platform. His gaze locked on the broken halves of his spear tumbling beside him. For a heartbeat, he said nothing. Then his voice rose, incredulous and raw:
"HEY! You broke my spear!"
Meiyun actually paused mid-battle, her eyes widening. She gave a half-apologetic laugh as she and the others tightened their encirclement. "Ah… apologies, Haotian. I didn't mean to."
"Didn't mean—?!" Haotian barked, half furious, half laughing as blood trickled down his lip. "That was my favorite!"
He rose slowly to his feet, chest heaving. His hands flexed, no longer armed, his aura raging like a storm.
The three ancestors moved as one. Their bodies blurred, their qi surged, and from each of their palms a massive spectral dragon roared to life. Three colossal flood dragons streaked across the sky, scales of pure qi gleaming, their jaws wide as they descended on him.
The heavens howled.
But Haotian didn't run. He surged forward barehanded, his fists blazing with the resonance of all his daos layered together — fire, ice, shadow, light, wind, earth, gravity, crystal, chaos, lightning — everything condensed into his blows.
His punch detonated against the incoming dragons. The skies ripped apart.
The clash hurled him backward, blood spraying from his mouth, his body smashing through a wall of cloud. He staggered mid-air, wiped the blood from his chin with his sleeve, and smiled grimly.
"Alright," he growled. "Backlash or not… I've got one hour to make you all eat dirt."
The three Saint Dragons froze, eyes widening.
"Impossible…" Jinhai whispered.
Even Yuying's composed smile faltered, concern flashing across her gaze. "Is he planning to—"
Before she could finish, Haotian's aura erupted once more.
A third light flared — this one between his brows. The Sea of Consciousness Core burst open, the third star in his Heaven Sundering Trinity Scripture.
The roar that followed wasn't just sound. It was the echo of ninety-nine dragons within him, their bellows shaking the very marrow of every living being. The roar cascaded through the heavens, blasting Yangshen, Jinhai, and Meiyun backward with sheer spiritual force.
The ground itself split, waves of energy rolling like a tsunami.
"Haotian…" Yinxue whispered in disbelief, staggering as her robes whipped in the gale."Mid… Sovereign Realm…" an elder croaked, barely able to breathe.
Haotian's aura climbed higher, higher, until the entire sky trembled under it. His golden eyes burned like suns, his body radiating the strength of a dragon god.
Before awe or terror could settle, he moved.
One step — and the heavens shattered.
He charged forward like a comet, fists burning with boundless qi.
Yuying leapt into the air at once, her aura flaring as her dragon form shimmered behind her. "Then I'll join too!"
Now it was four against one.
The sky above the Moon Lotus Sect became a battlefield of gods. Every strike lit the heavens, every clash tore the land below. Mountains quaked, rivers turned to steam, and the disciples could no longer see the fight — only blinding flashes of light and the unending roar of dragons.
And hidden in the tree line beyond the sect, cloaked figures watched with wide, terrified eyes.
Spies from rival sects.
One whispered, his voice trembling, "That aura… sovereign realm…?!"Another fell to his knees, his body quivering. "In the Moon Lotus Sect…? We're doomed. We're all doomed…"
The color drained from their faces. None dared move. None dared speak further.
Because in that moment, the truth was clear — the Moon Lotus Sect housed a monster that even sovereigns might fear.
The sect courtyard was chaos. Disciples clutched their chests, struggling to breathe under the pressure of the Sovereign aura radiating from above. Elders staggered, their faces pale. Some fell to their knees outright, unable to withstand the dragon roars that shook their souls.
Yinxue's lips trembled, her composure shattering for the first time. "He's… Sovereign. Haotian…"
Ziyue gripped her sword hilt so tightly her knuckles whitened, her usual sharp eyes wide in disbelief. So this is what he's been carrying all along.
Shuyue's eyes shimmered with tears, her voice breaking. "He's already stepped into Sovereign Realm… Haotian…"
Around them, disciples wept openly, shouting, cheering, crying his name into the storm.
"Senior Brother Haotian!""Make them bow!""Senior Brother is unstoppable!"
But Haotian didn't stop for the cheers.
In the skies above, he dragged the battle further and further away from the sect, his aura sweeping the four Saint Dragons into the higher skies. The heavens themselves bent as all five unleashed their power.
This was no sparring match. This was war.
Haotian struck with fists blazing, each blow carrying the weight of ten elements and ninety-nine dragons roaring in unison. His determination burned clear: to pound all four into the ground, to make them taste the dirt they once made him eat.
But the ancestors were not without their own strengths.
Yangshen, Junhai, Meiyun, and Yuying fought with perfect synergy — fists and claws weaving together, defenses layering, their attacks overlapping to cover every gap. When one staggered, the others shielded. When one faltered, the others struck.
The battle raged. For nearly an hour, the clash thundered across the heavens, the world itself holding its breath.
Then, at the peak of the storm, Haotian's aura faltered.
He shouted, his voice booming across the broken sky: "Stop!"
His cultivation collapsed like a wave breaking, bleeding away. Within moments, his power fell — from Sovereign Realm… down, down… until at last it steadied again at Dao Comprehension Realm.
Haotian cursed aloud, chest heaving. "Damn it… even at Sovereign Realm, I couldn't make you eat dirt!"
The four Saint Dragons landed one after another, their robes fluttering, their bodies marked by exhaustion.
Junhai's grin was strained. Meiyun's arms hung loose at her sides. Yuying's serene smile was thinner, her breath unsteady. But Yangshen… Yangshen coughed hard, blood staining his chin.
Then he threw back his head and laughed, the sound booming like thunder.
"Hahahaha! This is great! Such power… such madness! Alter was right. He's still only eighteen — and already, he has surpassed us!"
The words struck like lightning.
The courtyard fell deathly silent.
"Eighteen?!" disciples screamed, their voices cracking. "He's… he's only eighteen?!"
Elders' jaws slackened. The air rippled with disbelief. No one in the sect had ever asked Haotian's age; his poise, his presence, his calm wisdom — everything about him radiated the maturity of a man in his mid-twenties at least.
Yinxue staggered back a step, her breath catching. "Eighteen…? No. I thought… I thought you were older, Haotian…" Her voice trembled with shock, a faint flush of something unspoken beneath.
Ziyue's hand loosened from her sword, her voice low, stunned. "All this time… I believed you were far older than me. And yet…"
Shuyue gasped, tears running freely now. "So young… and yet he carries so much…"
The disciples erupted again, no longer just awestruck but shaken to their cores.
Eighteen. Their Senior Brother Haotian was only eighteen.
Above them, the boy they thought was already beyond mortal comprehension stood bloodied and weary, yet unbowed. A sovereign's aura had burned from his body, but in its place lingered something even heavier: the undeniable truth that he had already surpassed them all.
The sky fell silent at last. The clouds were torn open, sunlight streaming through the rents where heaven itself had been split. Qi still shimmered faintly in the air, the lingering echoes of dragon roars fading into the distance.
Then the sect erupted.
"Senior Brother Haotian!""Get him down safely!""Move aside, give him space!"
Disciples surged forward, panic and relief tangling in their cries as Haotian descended slowly, his robes torn and his chest heaving. He still stood tall, but blood streaked his sleeve where he had wiped his mouth.
The younger girls reached first, their hands trembling as they tried to steady him. "Senior Brother, are you alright?" Tears welled in their eyes, seeing him like this for the first time.
Before he could answer, three figures burst through the crowd.
Yinxue's face was pale, her icy aura flaring as she grabbed his arm to steady him. "Haotian! Don't push yourself—" Her voice caught, half scolding, half trembling with fear.
Ziyue was on his other side, her hand bracing his shoulder, eyes sharp but wet with unshed tears. "You reckless fool… even dragons would fear what you did. Why must you always carry everything alone?"
Shuyue pressed close, gripping his sleeve with both hands, her voice breaking. "You're bleeding… Haotian, you're bleeding…" She buried her face against his arm, her small frame trembling.
Haotian managed a faint, wry smile. "I told you… I had one hour. And I used every breath of it."
The disciples fell to their knees around him, hundreds bowing at once. Their voices rose like a tide.
"Senior Brother Haotian!""Our pillar!""Our Sovereign!"
The ground trembled not from battle, but from the cries of devotion.
Then heavy footsteps approached.
The four Saint Dragons landed in the courtyard, their presence dimmed from battle, their robes torn and breath heavy. Yangshen wiped the blood from his chin, his grin wolfish even as fatigue weighed his frame.
"Hah… boy," he rasped, his voice like gravel. "You fought all four of us. And you stood. You even made me bleed. That hasn't happened in a hundred years."
Junhai crossed his arms, his grin less boisterous but eyes gleaming with pride. "That spear of yours might be gone, but your fists spoke plenty. You've already surpassed the strength we dreamed you would one day achieve."
Meiyun's cold smile softened, just barely. "Eighteen years old… and already at Sovereign's edge. The world isn't ready for you."
Yuying's voice was the last, her tone warm, carrying across the bowed disciples. "Haotian. You carry more than yourself now. This sect, these women, this world… their faith rests in you." Her gaze flicked knowingly toward Yinxue, Ziyue, and Shuyue pressed against him. "You are no longer a lone cultivator. You are their pillar."
The sisters flushed at the words, but did not move away. Instead, they held tighter.
Haotian straightened slowly, his golden eyes dimmed but steady. He looked across the courtyard — at the bowed disciples, at his sisters beside him, at the ancestors who had pushed him to his limit.
And though battered, though his strength had collapsed back to Dao Comprehension, he stood taller than he ever had before.
For in that moment, the Moon Lotus Sect had seen it with their own eyes.
Their Senior Brother Haotian had faced four dragons — and not one could break him.