Feng Hao closed the floating panel.
The capital was silent—not empty, but perfectly ordered. Millions of units stood ready, formations layered upon formations, imperial law flowing smoothly through every spiritual vein.
He did not hesitate.
"Use the Cultivation Improvement Card," Feng Hao said calmly.
The system responded instantly.
[Target Confirmed: Host — Feng Hao]
[Applying Semi-Immortal Grade Effect…]
Inside Feng Hao's dantian—
The Primordial Golden Core rotated once.
Then—
Cracked.
Not shattered.
Cracked open.
Golden fragments dissolved into pure Dao essence, pouring inward as a new core began to form—larger, denser, immeasurably more stable.
Nascent Soul.
A miniature Feng Hao condensed within the core, eyes closed, seated upon a faint Tao Pagoda phantom.
Early Nascent Soul.
There was no lightning.
No heavenly roar.
Because Heaven had already acknowledged him.
The breakthrough completed in a single breath.
Feng Hao opened his eyes.
The world felt… smaller.
Not because it weakened—but because his perception had risen above it.
Before the aftershocks could fade—
The dynasty resonated.
Hard.
Golden imperial law surged outward uncontrollably, sweeping across every unit bound to the Nine God Dynasty.
The system voice followed, sharp and absolute.
[Dynastic Cultivation Synchronization Triggered]
[Units affected by Imperial Realm Advancement]
Across the capital—
Divine Soldiers shuddered.
Late Half-Step Divine Bridge cultivators broke through simultaneously.
One after another—
Divine Bridge solidified.
Foundations stabilized.
Armor inscriptions ignited.
Divine Soldiers
→ Peak Divine Bridge (Stabilized)
Divine Cavalry roared as their war-beasts howled toward the sky.
Divine Cavalry
→ Mid Tao Pagoda.
Divine Captains straightened, their command intent condensing.
Divine Captains
→ Peak Tao pagoda
Divine Commanders' auras exploded outward.
Formations refined.
Command authority sharpened.
Divine Commanders
→ Early Golden Core
Divine Generals' territories expanded violently.
Dao domains thickened.
Divine Generals
→ Mid Golden Core.
Divine Marshals opened their eyes at the same moment.
Golden cores stabilized fully.
Laws deepened.
Divine Marshals
→ Early Nascent Soul
Dragon Guards—
Did not react outwardly.
But the pressure around them collapsed inward.
Dragon Guards
→ Early Nascent soul
The Elder Hall trembled.
Low-Level Elders surged.
Half-Step Unity Realm
→ Early Divine Transformation realm
Mid-Level Elders followed.
Mid Unity Realm
→ Half-Step Void shattering
High-Level Elders' auras stabilized frighteningly fast.
Early Divine Transformation
→ Late Void Shattering
The Supreme Elders opened their eyes together.
Void laws refined.
Half-Step Void Shattering
→ Early Body Integration.
No bottlenecks.
No resistance.
Imperial authority overrode cultivation logic.
The system updated silently.
[National Power Recalculated]
[Current National Power: 78.7 Trillion]
The air above the capital distorted.
Even space seemed to hesitate.
A Supreme Elder exhaled slowly.
"Soon..."
He murmured.
Feng Hao raised his hand slightly.
The surge stopped.
Everything stabilized.
Perfectly.
He turned his attention inward again.
"Deploy the Three Thousand Immortal Island," Feng Hao said.
The world answered.
Above the capital, a massive golden rift opened.
Not spatial tearing—
World separation.
A fragment of reality descended slowly, vast beyond measure.
Floating islands.
Endless seas of spirit qi so dense it condensed into mist.
Mountains formed of luminous jade.
Rivers glowing with innate essence.
A mini-world.
Three Thousand Immortal Island manifested.
The capital's spirit qi surged violently—then stabilized at a higher baseline.
Even Supreme Elders felt their breathing change.
"This spirit density…" one murmured. "A thousand times?"
Feng Hao stepped forward.
The moment he entered—
Time distorted.
Outside—
One breath passed.
Inside the Immortal Island—
Years awaited.
Feng Hao's gaze sharpened.
Feng Hao stood at the edge of the island, imperial aura steady, Nascent Soul seated calmly within his dantian.
He looked north once more.
The Northern Holy Emperor Court still existed.
For now.
But the machine had finished evolving.
And the next time it moved—
It would not be to suppress.
It would be to erase.
Feng Hao exited the Three Thousand Immortal Island.
The golden sky above the Nine God Dynasty capital was clear, untouched—yet every soul beneath it felt the tension that lingered like a storm yet to arrive.
He turned his gaze north.
The Wildborne Court.
A Mortal Tier 11 Great Dynasty, older than mountains, older than rivers—its foundation had endured 150,000 years. A dynasty whose very name carried the weight of aeons, whose laws were etched into the fabric of the northern regions.
Below them, hundreds of Tier 10 dynasties bowed, fought, and strategized, bound by contracts, alliances, and fear. Beyond that, thousands of Tier 9 and lower forces swarmed the regions as vassals and pawns.
The northern region itself seemed to tremble beneath their might. Rivers of spiritual energy rippled across the plains. Mountains bowed. The air thickened, like breathing through molten gold.
Yet Feng Hao did not flinch.
He raised his hand slightly, and the Dragon Guards flanked him instantly, golden armor shimmering like molten sunlight. Divine Marshals stepped forward, their aura folding into the heavens. The Elder Hall trembled, the low and mid-level elders releasing waves of spiritual pressure, the Supreme Elders' void-shattering laws anchoring the dynasty like unmovable pillars.
The first scouts of the Wildborne Court arrived.
Half step Void Shattering Powerhouses with tens of thousands of elite soldiers all at the Divine Bridge.
Their flags fluttering like storm clouds, rode toward the Nine God Dynasty's borders, their auras sharp, precise, and confident. Tens of thousands of soldiers, war beasts, and war machines accompanied them.
Feng Hao's golden eyes scanned the formation.
"Open the gates," he said calmly.
The Dragon Guards' swords hummed, the Divine Barracks pulsed, and the thousand-mile formations rippled outward like liquid gold.
The two dynasties collided—not with words, but with presence.
The Wildborne Court's aura slammed into the Nine God Dynasty like a tidal wave. Spiritual laws bent, air split, and the plains shook. Yet Feng Hao's Nascent Soul-backed Primordial Golden Core anchored the dynasty, absorbing and redirecting the pressure effortlessly.
A single Supreme Elder stepped forward.
"Hao'er" he said quietly, voice resonant with "they are the Wildborne Court. A Tier 11 Great Dynasty.
150,000 years of foundation. Hundreds of Tier 10 forces below. Thousands of Tier 9 and lesser dynasties. Every step they take carries weight—this i one of the northern hegemon you've been warned about."
Feng Hao's lips curved faintly.
"Good," he said. "Let's see whose law shapes the north."
He raised his hand.
Golden formations ignited across the plains.
Golden qi pulsed, spreading outward, consuming space, bending spiritual laws around the Nine God Dynasty like molten chains.
The Wildborne Court paused. Their generals, each a Half step Void shattering master, narrowed their eyes. Their aura surged—but even their immense presence could not push back Feng Hao, which now thrummed like a heartbeat through every unit, every elder, every soldier.
And then the first exchange:
A Titan of a general charged—a mountain of spiritual energy, hundreds of meters tall atop his war-beast. The shockwave of his aura tore through the air.
Feng Hao raised a single palm.
Golden light erupted. A tidal wave of imperial law rolled forward. The general did not collapse. He did not falter. Yet his movement slowed. Every step became measured, restrained. His subordinate troops staggered instinctively under the pressure, their formations breaking subtly—almost imperceptibly.
"Deploy units," Feng Hao commanded.
Divine Soldiers surged like golden waves. Cavalry stampeded. Commanders adjusted formations mid-charge. Divine Generals extended authority over entire territories, stabilizing the land against the Wildborne Court's overwhelming aura.
The northern sky itself seemed to bend. Clouds twisted, not naturally, but in patterns that obeyed Feng Hao's law. The first clash of Mortal Tier 11 dynasties had begun.
The northern alliance, sent back to their territories, could only watch from afar, awe-struck. Even from hundreds of kilometers, they felt it: the Nine God Dynasty was no longer a rising force. It was a juggernaut. A dynasty whose presence alone bent the northern region's laws.
Feng Hao's golden eyes scanned the horizon. The Wildborne Court had yet to deploy its full force. Hundreds of Tier 10 dynasties waited behind, thousands of Tier 9 and lower forces primed to react.
Yet he did not flinch.
He had one thought:
"Let's see… who will bend first."
And above the battlefield, the heavens seemed to lean closer, as if watching a war of laws, authority, and will unlike any the northern region had ever seen.
The first clash of titans had begun.