Dragon Continent Calendar, Year 7622. Winter.
Life comes and goes. In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed. Long Fengge was now nearing the age of eighteen. At this point, he was a renowned son of heaven; furthermore, he was the esteemed crown prince! A peerless genius who stood among the great dragons.
Standing amidst the Royal Palace's grassy fields, Long Fengge gazed into the distance. To the peerlessly handsome man's side, there was a scarlet-robed nation-shattering beauty.
This beauty was naturally the grown-up little scarlet-robed Zhi Ruo. The famous childhood sweethearts were supposed to be hailed as the most legendary pairing of the millennium. The two had grown up together; furthermore, their cultivation bases were similar. However, to the public's surprise, no word of possible engagement had been heard.
In reality, Long Fengge was concealing his true cultivation base when under the guise of the crown prince. In the eyes of the outsiders, he was a scholar-like cultivator at the Nascent Soul level. In other words, the equivalent of a Crystal Dragon realm cultivator.
In the Long Kingdom, innumerable beauties had fallen in love with the legendary crown prince. The legends regarding the noble crown prince were countless. In the households of citizens, it was a lively common occurrence to tell the tale of the crown prince's childhood as a popular children's story.
Behind the golden-eyed, black-robed Long Fengge, there were countless of his loyal subordinates. In just a little over ten years, he had gathered the cream of the crop: the best of the best. With his unparalleled bearing, he had succeeded in raising the strength of the Secret Legion to the level of a continental superpower.
In the Secret Legion, every single member had an incredible backstory. In some way or another, their lives had been saved by this black-robed youth. Long Fengge smiled to himself, "Soon, my job will be over."
"…" Zhi Ruo saw her childhood sweetheart's melancholic look, and she clenched her snowy teeth, but she did not say anything. The black-robed man was wearing a mask; however, she could still see through his emotions with ease.
Throughout the past decade, the little scarlet-robed girl had gradually understood Long Fengge's character. With her trembling red lips, Zhi Ruo's beautiful phoenix eyes softly quivered in the wind.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Long Fengge swiftly rose to prominence. Lifting his mother up from the status of a meager concubine to the lofty position of empress. Swiftly shocking everyone who once disdained him! However, Zhi Ruo was not happy. Instead, she grew more forlorn day by day watching her one love seemingly trying to fulfill an unknown 'mission.' From the beginning, she had only wanted to create a bright future for the two of them.
But after time, Zhi Ruo discovered that the once childlike Long Fengge had seemingly a whole other world on his mind. Within his thoughts, there was absolutely no room for love. In her life, no one had managed to escape the enticement of her heavenly beauty, but the one person she desperately wanted to enchant was completely immune. What happened to not keeping secrets? Why couldn't he fully trust her?
"Hong long long~"
Lifting his palm, Long Fengge smiled. With a thought, he caused a massive distortion in the air. Opening a fully pitch-black portal, he stepped inside, and he chuckled to his friends, "Let's go."
"Yes, Master!"
After his words, the entire Secret Legion humbly bowed, and the members all followed respectfully. Long Fengge thought, "This should be the final major enemy that the Long Kingdom will have to face for a while."
Long Fengge's golden eyes turned sharp, and he frowned, "The actions of the Holy Sect have been too overbearing recently. I should humble them before things get out of hand."
* * *
Emerging on the other side of the portal filled with endless darkness, Long Fengge examined the vast, magnificent abode of the Holy Sect. Across the deluxe hall, there were incredible statues of numerous mythological deities.
Flowing man-made waterfalls, rows of beautiful golden decks, and the benches on the side were topped with numerous priceless magic treasures. Upon his grand entrance, numerous worshippers of the Holy Sect spotted the black-robed man wearing an exquisite, black cherry-blossom mask.
"It's the Secret Legion!" Inside the vast church, worried cries resounded everywhere. The devout worshippers of both men and women began fleeing with haste. The Holy Sect had numerous hubs for worship, but the one Long Fengge invaded was the head church containing the top followers!
At the forefront of the church, there stood six magnificent archbishops with unfathomable cultivation bases. To become an archbishop, the minimum requirement was to be a high being of the Nascent Soul realm!
In the Dragon Continent, only one in a thousand people were suitable for cultivation. It primarily depended on the aptitude of one's soul. Furthermore, in that pitiful number, there were only a select few who could even reach the Foundation Establishment stage! Therefore, it could easily be discerned how hard it was for the common man to reach the revered Nascent Soul realm.
Upon seeing the mysterious black-robed man, the faces of the archbishops turned grim. In their eyes, this was a legendary being who stood above everyone else. In the Dragon Continent, none could escape his wrath.
"Sire, what is the reason for your visit? If we can help with anything, please do say." One of the holy-robed archbishops respectfully inquired from the black-robed man. With evident fear, he even lowly bowed. As an archbishop with an incredibly high status, he had never been so deferential.
"Shut up. Who gave you the right to speak?" Fatty Wei sneered at the holy-robed archbishop. The plump twenty-year-old man had droopy eyes. Usually, he appeared very kind, but at the moment, he had the look of pure evil.
The holy-robed archbishop had a look of reluctance due to the fatty's blatant disrespect, but he held himself back. Instead, he respectfully looked toward the black-robed man.
A legendary transcendent of the Dragon Continent. It was this single black-robed being who threatened the entirety of their magnificent Holy Sect! Never in its ten-thousand years of history had the Holy Sect been under such great peril. The church existed before the Dragon Continent Calendar itself.
"Enough. The Dragon Continent has allowed the brainwashing of the Holy Sect to go on for far too long. Today, I'm here to give the Holy Sect a warning. If your scheming actions continue, don't blame me for being even more ruthless." The black-robed man calmly stated with an incomparably cool voice. The deep husk in his voice could attract the hearts of countless maidens with a single word.
"Crash!"
In a flash, the black-robed man released his incomparably dense domain. Within a split second, the six archbishops collapsed on their knees drenched in overflowing sweat. Long Fengge snorted, "I'm being benevolent. I'll only crush this one church. It's not even close to the number of lives the Holy Sect has ruined. Be grateful."
Within the domain, Long Fengge controlled everything. He was the sole ruler of life.
"Or would you rather me crush the entire Holy Sect?" Seeing the extreme unwillingness in the eyes of the six archbishops, Long Fengge casually questioned.
"No… no, sire. We're grateful for your benevolence." The six archbishops spoke through clenched teeth with a 'willing' look.
"Good, good. I hope this will be the first and final warning." Long Fengge smiled.
"Boom!" The sound of falling rubble from the church violently resounded. With a wave of his black sleeves, Long Fengge had reverted the church back to the stone age.
Within the Holy Sect, there were a total of twenty archbishops. In other words, these six archbishops were the very roots of the Holy Sect. With each loss, the overall power of the Holy Sect would drastically decline!
"Your six old lives will somewhat redeem the Holy Sect for all the mess it has caused. So, take comfort in the fact that your lives weren't worthless." Long Fengge calmly stated.
"If I see a mere trace of the Holy Sect's former conducts, I will completely tear apart the Holy Sect!" With a wave of an unseen hand, Long Fengge gently brushed the Nascent Soul bodies of the archbishops.
Fully controlling the laws of the world, Long Fengge began disintegrating their cultivated bodies from the particle level!
With wide eyes filled with infinite reluctance and anger, the six archbishops faded into nothingness without the gall to retort even a single word. Their entire lives had been spent on building the Holy Sect, after all. The loyal archbishops could not drag the entire sect down with them.
Even with their deaths, the six archbishops were unaware that the mysterious black-robed man was the legendary crown prince of the Long Kingdom!
"Clean up the mess. If it's a regular worshipper, allow them to live." Looking at the enormous rubble, Long Fengge calmly commanded his Secret Legion.
"Yessir!" The Secret Legion accepted, while Zhi Ruo had a complex gaze looking at her beloved.