Hovering above the cloud of merit, the True Dragon of Fate stared at the sword suspended in the sky.
With a mighty breath, it exhaled a stream of golden dragonfire onto the blade—refining it, tempering it in flames of pure fate.
Threads of merit, drawn from the cloud itself, gathered onto the sword.
From across the Five Great Realms, the threads of Heaven's law,emanating from the Celestial Law Net, also began converging toward the sword.
In addition, waves of public will from all over Great Yi merged into the weapon.
All these forces were refining the sword, sharpening its edge further with every breath.
Though it hovered only above Xuanhuang City,its presence could be felt throughout all of Great Yi.
"Incredible… What a sword—the Heavenly Son's Sword."
"Saint King Yi has suspended a sword over the heads of all the world's strongest—
a sword that sends chills down every back."
Inside a tavern, several figures raised their heads: Lü Dongbin, Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao...
Their eyes were fixed on the void, as if they could see the golden war sword glimmering overhead.
From beneath its presence, they all felt the same thing—
Death.
A danger so palpable it was suffocating.
This sword was no ordinary artifact. It had begun absorbing:
National fate
Merit
Public will
Heavenly edicts
The longer it existed, the more terrifying it would become.
It would grow with the fate of the dynasty.
And eventually, it would become a sword of peerless authority, terrifying even to gods.
This was the sword of the Son of Heaven, no doubt.
But Yi Tianxing looked up at the sword and slowly shook his head:
"The Son of Heaven?
No… Great Yi is a Dao Dynasty, not a Heaven-bestowed one.
I shall not be restrained by the title of 'Son of Heaven'.
This sword shall be named: Heavenly Emperor Sword."
"It is my ambition for Great Yi to become the Heavenly Court,and for me to become its Heavenly Emperor,to suppress all enemies beneath the heavens."
This sword—though invisible to the common man—was a symbolic national artifact.
Only cultivators who had reached a certain level of insight could perceive it.
Its existence served multiple purposes:
To deter criminals and rogue gods,
To frighten monsters, demons, and spirits,
And most importantly—To protect the imperial bloodline.
If anyone were to harm the princes or princesses of the Yi Clan using sinister means,the Heavenly Emperor Sword would descend from the void and strike them down.
No matter the creature—demon or deity—they would be turned to dust.
Even if someone merely plotted against a royal child, the sword would silently mark them.
This sword was protection,but not privilege.
For fair battles and open challenges, the sword would not interfere.
That was a restriction Yi Tianxing had intentionally placed on the blade.
If a descendant of Yi fell in battle—then it was due to their own lack of strength.
They must struggle, suffer, and even despair.
Only in the most dire situations would the sword protect them.
It was a shield, not a crutch.
Suddenly—
On the blade, two ancient characters appeared:
Heavenly Emperor (天帝)
Though it was not yet a true Heavenly Emperor Sword,one day—it would be.
And when that time came—
It would hang over all creation.
A deterrent to the Nine Hells and beyond.
At the Immortal Academy, within the Confucian School,the old scholar paused mid-lecture and looked toward the sky.
The students stared at him in confusion.
"What is it, Master? What did you see?" one asked.
The old man stroked his beard and smiled:
"I saw the Holy King… his ambition to swallow the heavens,his heart to stand proudly above all eternity."
"With such a ruler, how can Great Yi not rise?"
Elsewhere, a butterfly fluttered through the red dust of the mortal world and sighed softly:
"Enfeoffing earth deities and gods of nature—
This is something only a Heavenly Court should be able to do.
Yet Great Yi dares…
Such vision. Such boldness.
Yi Tianxing truly bears the aura of a Heavenly Emperor."
Throughout the lands of Great Yi, countless hidden powerhouses had emerged.
Some who had come from ancient gatherings now wandered among the populace.
The longer they stayed, the more they witnessed the changes sweeping the land.
With each passing day, Great Yi was evolving.
Every newly annexed realm was now being rapidly stabilized.
As long as a Celestial City was anchored there,Great Yi's institutions would take hold—
And in short time, what was once chaos would become peaceful, ordered, and flourishing.
The miasma of killing, the lawlessness, and the fear—all vanished in the presence of Great Yi's governance.
The newly integrated Four Great Realms were now bustling with life.
Masses of resettled civilians thrived there.
Hope for a better life burned in their hearts.
They cherished the safety and order Great Yi provided.
Even the common folk understood:
life in chaos was hell.
But life under Great Yi—was a dream come true.
Countless eyes turned toward the heavens—
Toward Xuanhuang City—
Toward the sword that now hovered there.
…Meanwhile…
"Damn it. Bastard… They resolved it?
How could the 封神 (Fengshen) ceremony purify all the spirit energy like that!?"
Draped in a green robe, a man stared, stunned.
His jaw hung open in disbelief.
Creating spiritual intent pollution from spiritual energy was supposed to be unbreakable.
It wasn't poison—it shouldn't have been removable!
Who could've predicted that just a few Divine Seals would turn the tables so thoroughly?
It was like the energy had betrayed him.
"What is this…? Delivering a gift across a thousand miles…?"
"This is unacceptable!"
"Old Green, don't take it too hard,"White Robe walked up, sighing as he patted his shoulder.
"We've all failed against Great Yi before.
It's not that we're incompetent—
The enemy is just too damned clever.
This isn't your fault."
Indeed, they had all tried before—
Some with brute force, others with subtle schemes.
But none had succeeded.
Instead of harming Great Yi, they had only made it stronger.
This time was supposed to be a flawless opportunity—
One that could shake Great Yi to its foundation.
But with a single Fengshen ceremony, Great Yi had turned disaster into fortune.
Their plans—shattered.
Their hopes—obliterated.
"We're Hydra, dammit!
Backed by the entire Eternal Night world!
We have infinite resources—
And we still can't break a single Great Yi!?"
The insult was unbearable.
Of course, if Eternal Night had truly launched a full assault,even a Sacred Court like Great Yi would have been crushed.
But right now, Eternal Night couldn't act directly—
They lacked the strength to intervene in the Eternal World.
"I heard Eternal Night's not peaceful either,"Red Robe said grimly.
"Some mysterious force called the Myriad-Evil Hall (万邪殿) suddenly emerged."
"Its base is unknown, utterly untraceable."
"They have a Eternal Evil Spirit Rankings.
Join them, leave your True Spirit mark,
and even if you die, you can be resurrected."
"They've already used this to revive ancient demon powerhouses."
Their first public act?
Assassinating a top elder of the Blood Demon Clan—and they succeeded.
The entire Eternal Night world was shaken.
"They take contracts. Assassinations, treasure hunts, exploration… anything.
No limits. No restrictions."
"Pay the price, and they'll even try to kill a demon god."
That declaration spread like wildfire.
And the Eternal Evil Spirit Rankings was proven real.
The result?
Countless strong beings flocked to join them.
Some wanted resurrection.
Others sought power.
And some sought vengeance.
The revived top-tier assassins could each lead an entire faction.
And the Myriad-Evil Hall remained completely hidden—
No one knew its location.
Contact was possible only through a Myriad-Evil Token.
Their assassins were fearless, unafraid of death.
Why fear death, when you could be resurrected again and again?
"What if we commission a hit?"White Robe said suddenly.
"Have them assassinate Great Yi's top officials—maybe even Yi Tianxing himself."
The others paused. Then nodded.
"It's worth a try." Red Robe agreed.
If nothing else, they could drag the Myriad-Evil Hall into this war.
It was a risk-free gamble—
If successful, they'd weaken Great Yi.
If not, they'd still gain a powerful ally against Great Yi.
And so—
The four Hydra leaders vanished again, fading into the shadows.
But not before whispering one final promise:
"We will return."