Haotian smiled faintly at the three sisters before leaving. They stood at the edge of the camp, their eyes still glistening with worry as they waved to him. He lifted his hand in return, sealing the image of their faces in his heart.
With a thought, space bent. His body vanished into the warp, reappearing far from the Sea Bridge so his movements would remain unseen. The night air bit sharp with salt and smoke as he descended toward the coastline, keeping his aura folded tightly within.
Step by step, he approached the bridge.
When his boots touched the scarred stone, the miasma shivered. The last traces of battle essence had long faded, leaving only the cold remnants of abyssal qi clinging to the broken pillars. His golden eyes swept the endless span of the Sea Bridge, vast and silent under the moon, until he came upon the shattered grand killing array etched across its surface.
He narrowed his gaze, summoning the Eyes of the Universe. Starlight flickered across his irises, revealing the Dao lines beneath the surface.
The formation was fractured, its channels splintered, its cores broken. But not destroyed. He studied its weave for some time, tracing each rupture and measuring its flaws. Slowly, realization dawned.
It can be repaired.
Hope flickered in his chest. If restored, the array could once more serve as a wall against the abyss.
But then, the silence broke.
A guttural roar split the night.
Haotian turned. From the depths of the abyssal fissures, thirty Demon Sovereigns surged forth. Their eyes burned crimson, their bodies dripping with corruption, their killing intent crashing down like a tidal wave.
"So much for reconnaissance…" Haotian exhaled softly, his aura still calm.
The thirty roared in unison and charged.
Haotian moved.
Every strike, every motion, carried precision. Their spiritual attacks—venomous curses, blazing hellfire, void chains—were swept aside, negated as if they had never been. His hands, his fists, his movements were absolute, dismantling their Dao as easily as scattering dust.
He had fought seven hundred and fifty Sovereigns in sparring. Thirty were nothing.
His body flowed through the storm, each strike infused with the Demon God Killing Martial Arts and the resonance of the Ten Elemental Daos. His blows carried thunder and fire, shadow and frost, each counter collapsing the sovereigns' techniques before they could even unfold.
Still, the fight dragged. He could not afford to summon more attention. He needed to finish this.
Haotian's stance shifted. His chi surged. The air around him trembled.
"Shura's Heavenly Slaughter…" he whispered.
His palm swept out.
The Eighteenth Strike detonated. A storm of annihilation erupted, laced with the full weight of the Ten Elements. Space shredded, time quivered, and in an instant—the thirty Demon Sovereigns were gone, bodies crushed and unmade by judgment itself.
Silence returned to the Sea Bridge.
Haotian exhaled, calm once more. He gathered the remnants of their corpses with a wave of his hand, sealed them into his ring, and without hesitation tore open space.
Back in the fortress camp, the sisters had only just begun to settle uneasily into bed when the air shimmered.
Haotian appeared before them. Untouched. His dragon armor still pristine.
Shuyue rushed to him immediately, her hands roaming frantically over his body. "You're not hurt? Not a scratch?"
Haotian smiled faintly. "Silent reconnaissance. Not a single wound."
Yinxue's eyes narrowed, then curved into a mischievous glint. "Prove it. Strip the armor. Let us inspect."
Haotian froze, stunned. "You want me to—"
Before he could finish, Ziyue's lips curved into a rare smile, her eyes shimmering. Shuyue's cheeks flamed but her nod was eager, hopeful.
Haotian chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Are you sure?"
Their answer was in their eyes.
With a playful growl, he lunged forward, catching them one by one and tossing them onto the bed. Their laughter filled the chamber as his armor fell piece by piece, then his clothes, his body revealed beneath the starlight glow of the dragon circlet.
"Now," Haotian said, his golden eyes warm, "it's only fair I get to inspect you."
The sisters blushed, but their smiles deepened. Slowly, teasingly, they began to remove their own armor, then their robes.
The chamber filled with laughter, whispers, and gasps. The night drowned in their embrace, their voices sealed away by the soundless barrier Haotian raised with a flick of his hand.
And so the Sea Bridge claimed its thirty Sovereigns. But in the fortress camp, the only sounds were those of joy, intimacy, and love.
The pavilion stirred with dawn light when a sudden uproar broke the calm.
A team leader burst from her chamber, talisman clutched in hand. "Commander—! His name—it's at the top of the list!"
"What?!" several disciples rushed forward."Top of the individual rankings?!""First place is Haotian—second is Taixun!""Last night his name wasn't even on the board… did something happen?"
More voices joined in, excitement and confusion spreading as disciples crowded around the glowing jade board. Haotian's name shone clear at the very top.
The doors to the commander's chamber opened.
Haotian stepped out with Yinxue, Ziyue, and Shuyue at his side. Their presence immediately drew silence, though the disciples' eyes still flicked back and forth between their commander and the board in disbelief.
"What's going on?" Haotian asked calmly.
One of the team leaders bowed, then quickly explained. "Commander, your name… it's suddenly ranked first. You jumped straight to the top overnight. Everyone saw it!"
The sisters turned in unison to look at him, their eyes narrowing.
Haotian remained expressionless, only nodding once. "I see."
The disciples erupted again in questions, speculation rising louder by the second. "Did he kill Sovereigns in the night?""Could he have gone to the front lines alone?""No… it must be an error—right?"
Before the whispers grew louder, Haotian lifted a hand. His calm voice cut through the noise. "Enough. Rankings are just numbers. What matters is the mission in front of us. Return to training."
Though reluctant, the Phoenix Legion obeyed, dispersing back into the courtyard, murmurs trailing after them.
As soon as the space cleared, the sisters' gazes locked onto Haotian.
"Inside," Yinxue said sharply.
The door closed behind them.
Inside the chamber
The silence was heavy, but their eyes were sharper than blades.
"First place doesn't appear overnight," Yinxue said coldly."Not unless you killed twenty Sovereigns or more," Ziyue added.Shuyue's voice trembled, eyes watering. "Haotian… you promised us."
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It was silent reconnaissance. I swear it."
Their stares didn't soften.
"But then," he admitted, "that silence was broken—by the eyes of thirty Demon Sovereigns."
All three froze.
"I fought them. I killed them quickly, before others noticed. And then I left. Aside from thirty Sovereigns dying, I maintained my reconnaissance. As promised."
The sisters gasped, their relief mixing with fury.
"You reckless—" Yinxue began."You nearly—" Ziyue snapped."Do you even care how we felt—?" Shuyue sobbed, cutting herself off by clinging to his arm.
Haotian opened his mouth, but before he could explain further, Ziyue and Shuyue each seized an arm and dragged him toward the bed.
Yinxue's lips curled mischievously. "Time for punishment."
The door closed firmly, sealing away the sounds within.
One hour later
The three sisters emerged, their faces glowing, their steps light, their smiles unshakable.
The disciples who caught sight of them blinked in confusion. If that had been "punishment"… then why did they look so radiant?
No one asked aloud. And the truth of what happened at the Sea Bridge remained known only to Haotian and his three girls.
The jade ranking board shimmered high above the Blood Trial fortress, its light impossible to miss. Names shifted and glowed as kills were recorded across the continent, the top ten burning brightest for all to see.
At the very peak, one name now stood alone.
1st – Haotian.
The fortress erupted in uproar.
Taixun's Quarters
Inside his private chamber, Taixun's fists slammed against the table, shattering it into splinters. His chest heaved, his eyes bloodshot.
"Impossible!" he roared. "That bastard wasn't even on the list yesterday!"
His attendants bowed low, not daring to meet his gaze. But one managed to stammer: "M-my lord… the board does not lie. For him to leap so high overnight, he must have slain at least thirty Sovereigns."
The words only made Taixun's fury worse.
He clenched his spear, his knuckles white. "First, he shamed me before the fortress. Now this?!" His teeth ground audibly, veins bulging across his temple. "I'll crush him. If I have to burn my own Dao, I'll—"
He cut himself off, realizing the tremor of fear in his own voice.
Within the Northern Sect Camps
The news spread like wildfire. Sect halls buzzed with disbelief as envoys and elders gathered around projection stones repeating the same impossible truth: the Eternal Yin Orchid Sect's commander, the same youth who pressed Taixun to kneel with a hand, now sat first place on the Blood Trial rankings.
"This must be false.""The board doesn't lie. If he's first, he killed more Sovereigns than anyone else.""More than Taixun? Overnight?"
The shock gave way to fear.
"He's already leading seven hundred Sovereigns under his banner. If his strength alone surpasses every ranker…""Then how do we control them? How do we control him?"
Whispers turned sharp. Some urged alliances before the Phoenix Legion became too strong. Others muttered that he should be quietly eliminated before his influence shattered the balance of power. But none could agree, and beneath every scheme lingered the same dread: if Haotian could kneel Taixun with a touch, and now slay Sovereigns at will—what hope did any of them have?
Across the Northern Continent
Beyond the fortress, rumors swept through every stronghold. Cultivators huddled in taverns and training halls whispered in awe and terror:
"First place in one night. Who else could do that?""He humiliated an Emperor's disciple… now this. Is he even human?""The Phoenix Legion might dominate this entire trial."
The awe mixed with resentment. Other sects saw their own disciples pushed down the rankings. Jealousies festered. Old rivalries burned hotter.
And through it all, Haotian's name blazed brightest.
In the Phoenix Legion's camp, the disciples watched the board with pride swelling in their chests. They didn't know the truth of what had happened at the Sea Bridge. All they knew was that their commander had taken first place.
Their cheers rang into the morning air.
But across the continent, in whispered councils and clenched fists, the seeds of fear and resentment grew deeper.
The rise of the Phoenix Legion could no longer be ignored.
The fortress gates opened with a thunderous groan. Beyond lay the northern horizon, shrouded in mist and dark clouds — the path to the demon-infested ruins of the Moon Lotus Sect.
The Phoenix Legion gathered in the courtyard, seven hundred fifty Sovereigns in gleaming phoenix armor. The silver-blue plating shimmered with rainbow refractions, each movement scattering light like wings unfurling. Their phoenix dao swords pulsed faintly in their grips, runes glowing with recognition, their wills bound to their wielders.
As the Legion fell into rank, the air grew heavy with power.
Each strike team activated the Ten Elemental Body Physique, merging flame and frost, wind and lightning, earth and shadow. Auras swirled like storms, merging and weaving with practiced rhythm. Some Sovereigns could already maintain five or six merged Daos, while the most talented were pushing toward seven and beyond.
The sky itself seemed to bend beneath their unity.
Haotian walked at the head, his dragon armor blazing with tranquil starlight. The mantle flowing from his waist shimmered like the heavens themselves, galaxies rippling in its folds. Each step carried authority so absolute that even the ground seemed to firm beneath his feet.
He raised his hand, and the Legion shifted formation.
Rows of five tightened into long, glimmering lines. The disciples raised their phoenix dao swords in unison, their runes bursting alive with multicolored flame. As their blades rose, the ancient rhythm of the Moon Lotus Codex resounded in their minds, their footwork and swordplay moving as one.
The Codex had once been a defensive scripture. But under Haotian's guidance, it had become something far greater: a war-formation.
Fifty blades moved as one. Then a hundred. Then seven hundred fifty. Their voices rose with the chant of the Codex, their dao merging into vast formations of light and death.
Fire wrapped around frost, creating storms of searing ice. Lightning threaded through shadow, striking from unseen angles. Earth bent under the weight of wind, crushing and scattering the miasma that lingered in their path. Each combination shone brighter than the last, like the ten elements themselves sang through their armor and swords.
The ground trembled as they marched.
From the walls of the fortress, other sect disciples and elders watched in silence. Whispers carried in the wind:
"So this is the Phoenix Legion…""Seven hundred fifty Sovereigns… moving as one.""They shine like an army of gods."
Haotian's golden eyes never wavered. His gaze was fixed on the horizon, where the ruins of the Moon Lotus Sect awaited.
As the march continued, the Legion's aura fused tighter and tighter. The phoenix armors blazed like a single vast set of wings stretching across the battlefield, and the dao swords burned like a storm of rainbow fire.
It was no longer seven hundred fifty individuals. It was one force.
One Legion.
The Phoenix Legion.
Haotian raised his sword high. The rainbow fire flared in reply, and the Codex's sword formation locked into place.
"March," he said simply.
The roar of their voices shook the sky.
"Phoenix Legion!"
The ground split under the weight of their power as they advanced. Toward the ruins. Toward their stolen home. Toward the demons who had dared to claim it.
The march ended at dusk.
The ruins of the Moon Lotus Sect rose before them, twisted by miasma and blackened stone. Once, these halls had gleamed with moonlit pavilions and lotus ponds. Now, they were broken spires and corrupted roots, wrapped in demonic vines that pulsed like veins of the abyss.
At the shattered gates, Haotian raised a hand. The Phoenix Legion halted, their formation locking into silence.
For a moment, they only looked.
"This was our home," Yinxue whispered, her frostfire aura flickering with grief and rage.Ziyue's eyes narrowed, lightning crackling faintly around her blade. "We take it back."Shuyue pressed her palms together, her voice quiet but resolute. "By fire and rebirth—we rise."
Haotian's golden gaze swept the ruins. He could feel them—the Sovereigns lurking within, the Lords hidden deeper in the halls, the endless tide of lesser demons ready to flood out at any moment.
He drew his phoenix dao sword.
"Form up," he commanded.
The Phoenix Legion answered as one.
Their phoenix armors burst with light, rainbow flames streaking skyward like a storm of divine wings. The robes flowed like feathers, tight-fitting plates gleamed silver-blue, and their circlets pulsed with the image of soaring phoenix heads. The ground trembled beneath the united resonance of seven hundred fifty Sovereigns.
Their blades lifted in unison. The runes carved along each phoenix dao sword ignited, scattering sparks of elemental flame.
Fire and frost fused into frostfire storms, searing white and blue across the battlefield.Wind and lightning coiled into tempest spears, crackling arcs that split the air.Earth and shadow merged into shattering pulses, collapsing demon wards before they could rise.Light and water spiraled into cleansing waves, washing away miasma as they advanced.
At the very front, Yinxue, Ziyue, and Shuyue each unleashed their unique Daos.
Yinxue's frostfire storms swirled like heavenly blizzards set aflame.Ziyue's dual blades bent the battlefield with space and time distortions, each strike displacing demons half a breath into the past or future before severing them.Shuyue's sword sang with harmony, her Ten Elemental Dao merged with the Seven Virtues, her strikes blazing like galaxies collapsing into flame.
The gates shook as the first demons rushed out—thousands of snarling beasts, their claws dripping with poison, their eyes burning with abyssal hatred.
"Forward!" Haotian roared.
The Phoenix Legion surged.
Their sword formations from the Moon Lotus Codex tightened into a spear array. Rainbow firestorm wings erupted behind them as their combined aura crashed forward, carving into the horde like a blade through silk.
The clash was cataclysmic.
Demons shrieked as phoenix swords split their bodies apart. Frostfire storms burned them to ash. Tempest spears ripped open the sky, blasting entire waves into nothing. Shattering pulses collapsed their ranks. Cleansing waves erased their corruption.
For every Sovereign demon that dared step forward, ten Phoenix blades met it. Their armor glowed brighter with each strike, flowing like living phoenix wings in the twilight.
From the fortress walls in the distance, rival sects and rankers who had followed to watch stood frozen.
"This… this isn't a sect," one whispered."It's an army. A true army of Sovereigns," another murmured.
At the front, Haotian moved like the calm axis of the storm. His dao sword blazed with starlight, the Dao of the Universe flowing through him like a tide. He cut silently, his blade shattering formations before they could coalesce, his armor shimmering like constellations above the carnage.
The Phoenix Legion roared as one, their voices shaking the ruins:
"Reclaim the Pavilion!"
The battle for the Moon Lotus Sect grounds had begun.
The march ended at dusk.
The ruins of the Moon Lotus Sect rose before them, twisted by miasma and blackened stone. Once, these halls had gleamed with moonlit pavilions and lotus ponds. Now, they were broken spires and corrupted roots, wrapped in demonic vines that pulsed like veins of the abyss.
At the shattered gates, Haotian raised a hand. The Phoenix Legion halted, their formation locking into silence.
For a moment, they only looked.
"This was our home," Yinxue whispered, her frostfire aura flickering with grief and rage.Ziyue's eyes narrowed, lightning crackling faintly around her blade. "We take it back."Shuyue pressed her palms together, her voice quiet but resolute. "By fire and rebirth—we rise."
Haotian's golden gaze swept the ruins. He could feel them—the Sovereigns lurking within, the Lords hidden deeper in the halls, the endless tide of lesser demons ready to flood out at any moment.
He drew his phoenix dao sword.
"Form up," he commanded.
The Phoenix Legion answered as one.
Their phoenix armors burst with light, rainbow flames streaking skyward like a storm of divine wings. The robes flowed like feathers, tight-fitting plates gleamed silver-blue, and their circlets pulsed with the image of soaring phoenix heads. The ground trembled beneath the united resonance of seven hundred fifty Sovereigns.
Their blades lifted in unison. The runes carved along each phoenix dao sword ignited, scattering sparks of elemental flame.
This time, the combinations spread further than ever.
Fire, frost, lightning, and wind merged into thunderfire blizzards, storms of white-blue lightning snow.
Earth, shadow, water, and light twisted together into shattering mirages, waves of crushing illusions that broke both body and mind.
Six-element merges fused flame, frost, lightning, wind, shadow, and earth into phoenix storm pulses, explosive wings that detonated entire ranks of demons at once.
The most gifted Sovereigns balanced five or six elements seamlessly, their attacks carrying the weight of miniature worlds in every swing.
At the very front, Yinxue, Ziyue, and Shuyue each unleashed their unique Daos.
Yinxue's frostfire storms swirled like heavenly blizzards set aflame.Ziyue's dual blades bent the battlefield with space and time distortions, each strike displacing demons half a breath into the past or future before severing them.Shuyue's sword sang with harmony, her Ten Elemental Dao merged with the Seven Virtues, her strikes blazing like galaxies collapsing into flame.
The gates shook as the first demons rushed out—thousands of snarling beasts, their claws dripping with poison, their eyes burning with abyssal hatred.
"Forward!" Haotian roared.
The Phoenix Legion surged.
Their sword formations from the Moon Lotus Codex tightened into a spear array. Rainbow firestorm wings erupted behind them as their combined aura crashed forward, carving into the horde like a blade through silk.
The clash was cataclysmic.
Demons shrieked as phoenix swords split their bodies apart. Frostfire storms burned them to ash. Tempest spears ripped open the sky, blasting entire waves into nothing. Shattering pulses collapsed their ranks. Six-element phoenix pulses vaporized swaths of the horde.
For every Sovereign demon that dared step forward, ten Phoenix blades met it. Their armor glowed brighter with each strike, flowing like living phoenix wings in the twilight.
From the fortress walls in the distance, rival sects and rankers who had followed to watch stood frozen.
"This… this isn't a sect," one whispered."It's an army. A true army of Sovereigns," another murmured.
At the front, Haotian moved like the calm axis of the storm. His dao sword blazed with starlight, the Dao of the Universe flowing through him like a tide. He cut silently, his blade shattering formations before they could coalesce, his armor shimmering like constellations above the carnage.