All hegemonic and noble clans possessed a form of Soul Link, enabling them to track the life and death of their members. However, with those clans numbering in the tens of thousands at least, not all deaths rang the alert gong. Elders, clan leaders and valued descendants were the only ones whose fall alerted the entire clan. Naturally, the Divine Palace's changes wreaked the True Dragons' peace. The clan master and 24 remaining elders, 3 of which stood at the Empyrean Monarch Realm, gathered in the main hall. Wrath and uncertainty twisted their looks.
But as they discussed the possible reasons behind this sudden turn of events, a ringing blast shook the Dragon Domain—alarming the gathered elders.
"Master, master, hurry and activate the Formation! We are under att--" a mental message echoed in the dragon lord's mind, but the owner could never finish his words. Based in the middle of the Second Heaven, the Dragon Domain, ancestral land of the eponymous clan, could no longer compare to its past glory three million years ago, when the overbearing Primordial Dragon led the Divine Four.
But despite their decline, the True Dragons remained at the helm of the 33 Heavens' powers, holding sway over the Second, Fifteenth, and Thirty-First Heavens. With dual cultivation as their primary path and source of progress, they quickly rebuilt their clan's numbers, and stood tall across three eras. In that time, never had anyone launched a direct attack on the Dragon Domain. And while they believed the assault connected to the failed marriage deal, the leaders of the dragon clan couldn't comprehend the root of this attack.
Not that it mattered. The Dao Reserves, one Demi-Emperor and five peak-level Empyrean Monarchs, awoke from their torpor, and the dragon lord's gaze hardened.
"Who and why doesn't matter. It is time we remind the world...of the might of the dragon clan," he declared, and alongside his elders, rose to meet the invaders.
Later that day, unprecedented news shocked the 33 Heavens. Leading a group of three elders, the junior dragon lord dove into the Divine Palace, and demanded the hand of Agiri and Dilnaz's only child in marriage. Unwilling to challenge the dragons, the elders of the Empyrean clan cowered, and unanimously pushed their late lord's daughter into a fiery pit. Enraged, the God-Empress brandished her sword, slaughtered both the dragons and Empyrean elders, then launched an unprecedented attack on the True Dragon clan's headquarters in the Second Heaven—slaughtering them to the last baby.
In that battle, the God-Empress demonstrated a terrifying battle-power that put even Demi-Emperors in awe—butchering the dragon clan's leadership before they could activate the clan's formation. Seizing the dragon clan's resources, Dilnaz sentenced them post-mortem of over 100 crimes against women, and as the blood of over 100,000 still stained her blade, proclaimed the creation of the Saint-Empress Court, welcoming all resentful fairies and Goddesses of the 33 Heavens to join her banner. She then returned to the Highest Heaven, put her clan's remaining Dao Reserves on trial and...beheaded them all—thereby seizing absolute control of the Empyrean clan's resources. Imperial Princes of two generations gave up all claim to the throne, pledging on their Dao to serve the new sovereign.
Following Dilnaz's announcement and shocking deeds, hundreds of fairies and Goddesses abandoned their various houses and factions to head toward the former Divine Palace, and become the first disciples of the Saint-Empress Court. Undeniably, this event would become one of the most successful sect establishment of the Ten-Thousand Sect War.
…
Meanwhile, Harun focused on his cultivation. Incarnation Seeds took various shapes depending on their owner's life and soul, but the color marked the grade. Just like Ascension levels, from lowest to highest, Incarnation Seeds were ranked as blue, purple and golden seed. By the time he completed his Holy Conversion and became a True Saint, on cultivation alone, Harun could match a late-stage Celestial Kin.
But as he sat crossed-legged in meditation, unaware of the mighty waves sweeping the world, Harun received an early visit. Jiyan appeared at his door—waving her hands in greetings.
"Hi, I need a place to crash for an...indefinite period of time," she said with a bright smiling face, and no shame whatsoever.
"Huh." The words took Harun by surprise. Granted, he'd given Jiyan a free pass to his abode, he didn't expect her to put it to maximum use so soon. Reckoning that something must have happened in the Divine Palace, Harun didn't bother with trifles, and spread out his arms in a theatrical, welcoming stance.
"Welcome home. We don't have any proper bed here, so you will have to suffer for a bit. As for space division..." At first, Harun maintained the tone and serious look of a seasoned administrator. But here he dropped the pretense and reverted to the roguish wolf he kept hidden behind his innocent face.
"I think we're past that step so...let's just overlap," he said with a wolfish grin. But instead of floundering at the words, Jiyan met him with an equally dastardly smile.
"Now, now, I hope you can live up those words," Jiyan replied, and set up a cultivation mat beside Harun. The two closed their eyes, falling into silent meditation, with Harun focusing on his Holy Conversion and Blood Refinement while Jiyan merely dispelled the stress of the supreme elder's soul strike.
"I meant to ask. Where do you see yourself in the 10,000 Sect War?" Jiyan asked. Not knowing that her ability to see tokens branded her as the Hunter didn't stop Jiyan from understanding the unique position Harun was currently in. Would he seek a force to join and take control of bits by bits, establish his own faction, or just avoid the clash altogether?
Again, her words startled Harun. And the question rang his alert bell. In Jiyan's eyes, Harun should be nothing more than a Celestial Kin. What business did a Celestial Kin have with the 10,000 Sect War when Heavenly Gods, Empyrean Monarchs and Demi-Emperors controlled the stage? Considering his strength and already precarious position, the question wasn't relevant. Did Jiyan speak such words because of the tokens he publicly received from the Serpent clan? Or did she somehow find out his secret status?
If it was the second option, lies were meaningless. Ten-thousand thoughts swirled in Harun's mind. Since he set foot on the cultivation road, his life was riddled with hardship, and he didn't easily trust anyone. Only after reaching Crossed Vicissitude, getting rid of his enemies, and dominating all powers of his native world did he relax. But even then, there weren't many he could genuinely call friends.
After all, when he was weak, he had half the world against him. When he rose to prominence, all naturally groveled. In-between the two, how many could he put his faith in? The 33 Heavens weren't much different. But early on, Jiyan proved to be the exception; carefree and refreshing, that one person Harun always felt at ease around. She was like a captivating bird in flight, unwilling to let the strongest of cages tie her down. Harun's senses told him that how he chose to answer this question would determine the future course of their relationship.
Little did he know that while he floundered, Jiyan too suffered internal struggles, wondering if she hadn't said too much too soon, and with those few words, put their growing bond at stake. Didn't she resolve to keep her ability a secret? Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut?
"Haha, I heard that you received seven tokens from the Serpent clan leaders. Although they aren't necessarily trustworthy, that still makes you a sect master. So I was wondering what you were going to do after…" Jiyan started in a nervous tone, scratching her head with every word. But before she could finish, Harun cut in.
"My position is different from others. Even if I don't want to fight, I must. It's not about glory. If I don't win, I die. And since my life is at stake, triumph is my only road." The straightforward answer left no room for interpretation. What token Harun held never mattered. From birth, he only had two roads before him: victory or defeat, life or death.
He couldn't avoid one calamity after the other. Only by seizing the initiative and suppressing his foes could he regain freedom from the weight of his eyes. This...was the only answer, and Jiyan knew it well. The two had reached a crossroads. They could keep enjoying one another's company for the rest of the week, but unless they settled this one point, past that, different paths awaited them. And Jiyan felt that, without someone to cross it with, the world was a lonely place...
"It just so happens that I'm officially homeless and looking for a job. What do you have for me?" She spoke the first words that crossed her mind.
"At least an elder position. Future rank and perks depend on your performance," Harun replied, and his lips curved into a smile.
"Then I guess I must accumulate some merit by cutting down the enemies of our unnamed sect," Jiyan chortled. So while Dilnaz established her authority and prepared her sect establishment ceremony, Harun and Jiyan formed their partnership, making the latter the first member of Harun's faction.
…
Meanwhile, in a faraway land, the white-haired youth that placed the Golden Token in Harun's brain crossed a colossal palace of imperial jade walls rippling with an ancient, malevolent force.
With a step, he vanished, appearing in a valley where a tall, black-robbed man lounged on his side, surrounded by auspicious clouds and an enrapturing formation of angelic and demonic beauties that moved in sensual dances to please his cold-blue eyes. Harun could recognize him as the figure he saw in the Life and Death Revolution Stele, while the three experts that announced the war knew him as its true instigator.
"Old man, so this is where you were hiding? I've been looking for you everywhere. Whose life are you ruining today?" The fake prisoner started. Judging from their facial features, the two were undeniably close kin. But mortals would mistake them as brothers, instead of the father-son pair they were.
"Don't you call me 'old bastard' at my back? Might as well continue," the black-robed man said, making the youth break into a cold sweat.
"Haha, we have a tacit understanding. I can mess around in foreign places, but before you, I have to behave," the youth said with a forced smile, and fiddled with his hands like a mischievous child caught red-handed.
"Good that you know," the black-robed man casually replied. All along, he'd never shifted his focus from his dancing beauties.
"Old man, I've been meaning to ask. Why did you bother helping them and give the Golden Token to that brat?" The youth asked. Though Harun's comprehension of the Life and Death Stele awed the 33 Heavens, in his eyes, it was a negligible feat. Within their lineage, anyone could accomplish it.
If his old man sincerely wanted to help the 33 Heavens avoid their calamity, there were many more straightforward ways to handle the job. But more importantly, that old bastard of his didn't understand the meaning of charity.
However, the youth never expected his old man's words to be:
"Help? Don't be silly. I only care for the brat. He's different from you, freeloaders."
Coming from that devil, such an appraisal could startle a myriad of worlds. And the youth couldn't help but ask:
"How?"
He got no answer.