The Verdant Wind Tribe felt it before they saw it.
The wind that had protected them for seventy thousand years… changed direction.
High above the Twin River Valleys, emerald banners snapped violently as if resisting an invisible tide. Spirit beasts howled. Totem poles etched with ancient runes cracked down the middle.
At the heart of the tribe, on the Wind Ancestor Platform, an old man opened his eyes.
Wind Ancestor — Luo Qingshan
Cultivation: Half-Step Divine Transformation
His pupils contracted.
"Imperial suppression…"
The air itself felt heavier.
Elders rushed in, panic barely concealed.
"Ancestor! Our scouts report—Crimson Hawk has submitted. Azure Sky Sect has been Forced to submission. Iron Fang—no survivors confirmed."
The ancestor rose slowly, wind qi roaring around him.
"Submission?" he scoffed. "We are a tribe, not a sect. Our bloodline predates their dynasty."
The sky darkened.
A Spacial Gate Was opened.
One figure stepped out.
Robes plain.
Aura restrained.
Yet the moment his feet touched the ground—
The wind died.
Every leaf froze mid-air.
Every elder felt their cultivation sink by half a realm.
A voice echoed, calm and absolute.
"Verdant Wind Tribe."
"I am Supreme Elder Feng Yi of the Nine God Dynasty."
"I am here to register you."
The elders erupted.
"Arrogant!"
"Suppress him!"
The Wind Ancestor stepped forward, eyes sharp.
"Divine Transformation?" he said coldly. "So the emperor finally sends someone worthy."
Mo Cang looked at him.
"Half-step," he corrected. "You are."
The ancestor laughed.
"Then you are not enough."
The wind screamed.
The heavens split.
The Verdant Heaven Wind Domain erupted—an ancestral domain refined over tens of thousands of years. Mountains blurred. Rivers reversed. Wind blades capable of shredding Unity Realm cultivators filled the sky.
Mo Cang stepped forward once.
"Domain."
He lifted his hand.
The wind… stopped.
Not dispersed.
Frozen.
The ancestral domain cracked like glass.
"What—?!" Luo Qingshan's face twisted.
Mo Cang's eyes were ancient.
"Your Dao is wind."
"My Dao," he said calmly,
"is authority."
He pressed his palm down.
Heaven-Suppressing Seal.
The sky collapsed.
The ancestor was slammed to the ground, blood spraying as his cultivation trembled on the verge of collapse.
Elders screamed, kneeling instantly.
"Ancestor!"
Luo Qingshan struggled, veins bulging.
"I will not submit—!"
Mo Cang flicked his finger.
A golden mark burned into the ancestor's chest.
His cultivation stabilized—not destroyed.
But sealed.
Half-Step Divine Transformation → Peak Unity Realm
Mo Cang spoke again.
"Submission."
"Or your bloodline ends today."
Silence.
The wind whispered.
Luo Qingshan closed his eyes.
Then—
He bowed.
The entire tribe followed.
"We submit," he said hoarsely.
Golden light descended.
Totems re-etched.
Spirit veins realigned.
The land itself exhaled.
Golden characters formed above the valleys:
— Tier 9 Force: Verdant Wind Tribe — FORCED SUBMISSION —
Feng Yi turned, already leaving.
"Your pride is intact," his voice echoed.
"Your future belongs to the Nine God Dynasty."
Far away, Feng Hao watched another region turn gold.
Three forces.
One map.
No resistance left worth mercy.
Only higher tiers remained.
And they would not submit so easily.
[Nine God Dynasty — Dynasty Status]
Territory:• Total Controlled Area: ≈ 9,000,000 km²
(Initial Core + 2,000,000 km² Unclaimed Assimilation + Tier 8 Force Annexation)
Level: Mortal Tier 7 Heavenly Dynasty
National Power:
• Previous: ~489.5 Billion
• Increase (Territory + Tier 8 Submission): +210.4 Billion
• Current National Power: ~699.9 Billion
Feng Yi vanished into the spatial gate, leaving the Verdant Wind Tribe's valleys bathed in golden light. Totems, spirit veins, and ancestral relics aligned perfectly, humming with the Nine God Dynasty's authority. The entire tribe, from elders to apprentices, now bore the Feng surname—an unbroken thread linking them to their emperor.
Feng Hao's golden eyes scanned the newly acquired territory on the Mountain and Seas Map. Every village, every plateau, every river that had once been independent now pulsed with his dynasty's qi. Submission, assimilation, harmonization—complete.
But even as the eastern and northern fronts glimmered under the Nine God Dynasty's control, Feng Hao's gaze drifted farther. Beyond the mapped regions, far beyond the Twin River Valleys and the Verdant Highlands, something stirred.
The Northern Holy Emperor Court.
Ancient, sprawling, and steeped in power, the court's influence stretched across countless territories. Its vassals were vast in number and terrifying in strength. The map illuminated clusters of Tier 10–11 forces, each a peak in their own right—empires and sects bound under the court's banner, their cultivation levels reaching the heights of Half-Step Divine Transformation and beyond.
Golden threads traced their locations:
• Frostpeak Sanctum (Tier 10) – Half-Step Divine Transformation to Peak Body Integration Realm. Core cultivators: 120,000. Strategic fortresses aligned along jagged northern ridges.
• Celestial Lion Sect (Tier 11) – Peak Unity Realm To Half Step Sky Devastating 90,000 elite combatants spread over seven valleys. Spirit veins abundant, territory fortified by ancestral formations.
• Azure Sun Empire (Tier 10) – Late Divine Transformation To Mid Body integration Coastal fortresses and inland plateaus guarded by elite generals and dragon-blooded lineages.
• Windborne Court (Tier 11) – Peak Divine Transformation To Half step Mortal Transcending.
Vast network of sub-sects; territory and spiritual lines rivaling those of a small dynasty.
Feng Hao's lips curved in a faint smile.
"They think the north is untouchable," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "But no empire stands above the Nine God Dynasty forever."
His fingers hovered above the map, golden qi radiating from each fingertip. For the first time, he traced not just unclaimed land or Tier 8–9 forces, but the peaks of Tier 10–11 powers.
A subtle hum resonated through the world—a silent warning, a prelude to imperial authority reaching beyond the known horizon. The Nine God Dynasty had grown too fast, too precise, and now, all eyes in the north would feel the weight of its rise.
Feng Hao turned his gaze inward, toward the back-mountain pavilion. His aura, already the size of a small continent in its influence, pulsed outward, threading through generals, Dragon Guards, and elders alike.
The next campaign was no longer a series of gentle submissions.
It would be a reckoning.
And at the heart of it all, the Northern Holy Emperor Court—and the many Tier 10–11 dynasties under its jurisdiction—would finally learn the true meaning of the Nine God Dynasty's reach.
Dawn broke over the Nine God Dynasty.
The sky above the imperial capital did not glow with sunlight—but with order.
Feng Hao stood atop the Heaven-Command Platform, hands behind his back, robe unmoving despite the roaring spiritual tide beneath his feet. The dynasty itself seemed to be holding its breath.
Inside his sea of consciousness, two notifications descended simultaneously.
[Daily Summon Available]
[Daily Sign-In Available]
He did not hesitate.
"Summon."
The ground answered.
Barracks — Full Deployment Summon
The Divine Barracks tore open.
Golden formation circles stacked atop one another, expanding outward like overlapping heavens. Each circle represented absolute loyalty—souls forged directly from the dynasty's authority.
The first wave descended.
375,000 Divine Soldiers stepped forth.
Armor humming. Qi cores blazing.
Their cultivation surged the instant they manifested.
Mid Qi Sea — stabilized, unified, flawless.
They knelt in perfect synchronization.
The second wave followed.
37,500 Divine Cavalry emerged atop spectral warbeasts.
Hooves cracked the stone. Space rippled beneath their charge.
Late Qi Sea — bodies sharpened beyond mortal limits.
Not a single breath out of rhythm.
Then—
18,750 Divine Captains descended like falling stars.
The moment their feet touched the platform—
Their auras bridged realms.
Half-Step Divine Bridge
Their gazes were calm. Calculating. Every one of them capable of commanding ten thousand troops alone.
The sky darkened.
3,750 Divine Commanders manifested next.
Their presence did not explode outward—it connected.
Formations aligned automatically across the capital. Spiritual signals linked army to army.
Early Divine Bridge
They saluted as one.
Then came weight.
360 Divine Generals appeared, each arrival bending the air.
Their bodies radiated battlefield authority—territory-level pressure.
Mid Divine Bridge
Cities far away trembled.
Finally—
Silence.
The heavens parted.
60 Divine Marshals descended.
No aura leaked.
No pressure spilled.
Yet the moment they appeared, even the wind ceased.
Peak Tao Pagoda
Living pillars.
Embodiments of imperial will.
They knelt.
Imperial Guard — Dragon Guards
A second gate opened behind Feng Hao.
Twenty figures stepped out.
No formation.
No announcement.
Just presence.
Dragon Guards ×20
Their cultivation synchronized instantly.
Peak Tao Pagoda
Their souls resonated directly with Feng Hao's own Dao.
Absolute loyalty.
No morale.
No fear.
They did not kneel.
They stood behind him.
Elder Hall — Morning Manifestation
The Elder Hall responded next.
Not summoned forcibly—acknowledged.
Golden light spilled from the ancestral hall as figures emerged.
500 Low-Level Elders
Mid Nascent Soul
Qi streams twisted around them instinctively.
240 Mid-Level Elders
Late Nascent Soul
Their combined aura blanketed the capital.
60 High-Level Elders
Late Unity Realm
Space stabilized in their presence.
Then—
The sky dimmed.
18 Supreme Elders stepped forward.
No domain.
No flexing of power.
Yet the earth lowered itself.
Half-Step Divine Transformation
National Power : Previous National Power 489.5 billion
Current National Power: 825.5 Billion