The sky broke.
Not metaphorically.
A jagged fissure stretched across the heavens, splitting the stars apart as though someone had taken a blade to the night itself.
Thousands of heavenly executioners stood beyond the crack.
Their armor reflected no light.
Their faces remained hidden.
At the center of their formation floated the Broken Mandate.
It was enormous.
A golden seal nearly as large as a mountain, covered in ancient characters that shifted whenever Longtian looked directly at them.
The seal had been designed to destroy bloodlines.
Yet now it was cracking.
Ao Longtian stared upward.
His expression was almost amused.
Lady Yue wasn't amused at all.
"Everyone inside the clan."
Her voice carried across the courtyard.
"Move."
Ao Lian looked at her.
"You're giving orders in our home?"
Lady Yue didn't even glance at her.
"If you want your home to remain standing, yes."
Ao Lian's eyes narrowed.
Longtian raised a hand.
"She's right."
Ao Lian looked at him.
"You trust her?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because she knows what that thing does."
Longtian pointed toward the Broken Mandate.
Lady Yue looked at him.
"You're learning quickly."
"I've had an interesting day."
"That isn't what I mean."
Her gaze settled on his chest.
"The symbol."
Longtian looked down.
The golden twelve-star mark was still there.
"What about it?"
"That symbol should not exist."
"Yet here we are."
Lady Yue's expression hardened.
"It means something has recognized you."
Longtian smiled.
"I've noticed."
"No."
She stepped closer.
"You don't understand."
Her voice dropped.
"Recognition is not the same thing as acceptance."
Longtian's smile disappeared.
"What recognized me?"
Lady Yue looked toward the heavens.
"The old inheritance."
A thunderous sound erupted above them.
The Broken Mandate cracked again.
One of the heavenly executioners shouted.
"THE SEAL IS FAILING!"
Another screamed:
"ACTIVATE THE SECONDARY FORMATION!"
Thousands of soldiers moved simultaneously.
Golden chains appeared across the sky.
They connected to the Broken Mandate from every direction.
The seal stopped cracking.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then the ground beneath Longtian began glowing.
A circle appeared beneath his feet.
Ao Lian immediately stepped forward.
"Longtian!"
He looked down.
"That's new."
Lady Yue's expression changed.
"Move."
"Why?"
"Because they're not attacking you."
Longtian looked at her.
"Then what are they doing?"
"They're anchoring you."
His eyes narrowed.
"To what?"
Lady Yue looked upward.
"The heavens."
Longtian immediately understood.
He stepped outside the glowing formation.
The circle moved with him.
He stepped backward.
It followed.
He jumped.
The formation appeared beneath him in midair.
Longtian stared.
"Annoying."
Lady Yue nodded.
"It's designed to prevent escape."
Longtian looked at her.
"Can you break it?"
"No."
"Can the formation be broken?"
"Perhaps."
"Can you do it?"
Lady Yue smiled.
"I could."
Longtian waited.
She continued:
"But then every heavenly soldier here would attack."
Longtian glanced upward.
"How many?"
"Approximately three thousand."
He nodded.
"That's inconvenient."
Lady Yue laughed.
"Now you're beginning to understand."
The first heavenly commander descended.
His armor was different from the others.
Black plates covered his body.
A red line ran across his helmet.
He carried a massive sword.
When he landed, the entire courtyard shook.
He pointed the sword toward Longtian.
"Ao Longtian."
Longtian looked at him.
"Yes?"
"By decree of the Heavenly Tribunal, you are ordered to surrender."
Longtian looked around.
"Is that the polite version?"
The commander said nothing.
Longtian smiled.
"What happens if I refuse?"
"You will be erased."
"That sounds unpleasant."
The commander raised his sword.
"You have ten breaths."
Longtian glanced at Lady Yue.
"Do they always give people ten breaths?"
"Only when they want to make an example."
Longtian looked back.
"Then I'm flattered."
The commander began counting.
"Ten."
Longtian stretched his neck.
"Nine."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Eight."
Ao Lian stepped beside him.
Longtian glanced at her.
"You shouldn't be here."
She crossed her arms.
"Neither should you."
"Fair."
"Seven."
The commander continued.
"Six."
Longtian looked at the clan.
"Everyone evacuate."
Ao Lian frowned.
"And you?"
"I'm staying."
"Of course you are."
"Five."
Ao Lian looked at him.
"Don't die."
Longtian smiled.
"I'll try."
"Four."
She turned.
"That's not reassuring."
"Three."
Ao Lian began organizing the clan.
"Two."
Longtian's smile vanished.
"One."
The commander lifted his sword.
Longtian raised his hand.
Demonic Qi exploded outward.
The courtyard vanished beneath black energy.
The heavenly commander swung his sword.
A blade of golden light descended.
Longtian met it with his palm.
The collision created a shockwave.
The walls cracked.
Trees were uprooted.
Several heavenly soldiers were thrown backward.
Longtian's feet sank into the stone.
Blood flowed from his palm.
The commander stared.
"You should not be able to withstand heavenly power."
Longtian looked at his bleeding hand.
"I'm having a surprisingly good day."
The commander attacked again.
Longtian dodged.
The sword struck the ground.
The entire courtyard split.
Longtian appeared behind him.
One punch.
The commander blocked.
The impact sent both of them flying apart.
Longtian landed.
His expression became serious.
"You're stronger than the others."
The commander raised his sword.
"I am the Ninth Heavenly Executor."
"That sounds important."
"It is."
Longtian smiled.
"Then losing to me will be embarrassing."
The executor charged.
Their battle tore through the courtyard.
Longtian couldn't rely on conventional cultivation.
Every movement demanded control.
Every attack consumed demonic Qi.
The executor's heavenly energy was cleaner.
More refined.
More stable.
Longtian's advantage was adaptability.
He changed constantly.
He stopped trying to overpower the man.
Instead, he studied him.
Three steps before every sword strike.
Left shoulder drops.
Right foot turns.
Breathing changes.
Longtian noticed the pattern.
The next attack came.
He stepped aside.
The sword passed his chest.
Longtian grabbed the executor's wrist.
"Got you."
He released a burst of demonic Qi directly into the man's armor.
The armor cracked.
The executor staggered.
Longtian kicked him through a wall.
Silence.
The heavenly soldiers stared.
The executor slowly stood.
Blood flowed from beneath his helmet.
He removed it.
His face was surprisingly young.
Longtian raised an eyebrow.
"You're younger than I expected."
The executor wiped his mouth.
"You're stronger than the records claimed."
"Your records need updating."
The executor smiled.
"Perhaps."
He raised his hand.
The heavenly soldiers behind him suddenly stepped backward.
Longtian frowned.
"What are they doing?"
Lady Yue shouted:
"Longtian!"
He looked upward.
The Broken Mandate was glowing.
The executor smiled.
"We never intended to defeat you."
Longtian's expression hardened.
"Then what?"
The executor pointed toward the seal.
"We wanted to wake it."
The Broken Mandate descended.
The entire planet trembled.
Longtian's twelve-star mark burned.
Pain exploded through his body.
He dropped to one knee.
Ao Lian shouted his name.
Longtian gritted his teeth.
"Don't."
The mark spread across his chest.
Golden lines entered his veins.
His demonic Qi began disappearing.
Not being destroyed.
Being absorbed.
Longtian stared at the seal.
Then he understood.
"They're using me as a key."
Lady Yue's face went pale.
"Yes."
"For what?"
She didn't answer.
Longtian looked at her.
"For what?"
Lady Yue whispered:
"The sealed inheritance."
The earth beneath the clan cracked.
An enormous ancient formation appeared.
It stretched for miles.
Twelve pillars rose from the ground.
Each pillar carried one of the symbols from the treasure.
War.
Trade.
Knowledge.
Law.
Faith.
Medicine.
Industry.
Information.
Entertainment.
Agriculture.
Crime.
Mortal.
Longtian stared.
The twelve gates.
They weren't merely trials.
They were pieces of a formation.
The treasure hadn't been teaching him how to build an empire.
It had been teaching him how to activate one.
Longtian laughed.
Lady Yue looked at him.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because I finally understand the joke."
"What joke?"
Longtian stood.
Blood ran from his nose.
"The heavenly guards didn't send me the treasure."
Lady Yue froze.
"What?"
"They sent it because they couldn't open this themselves."
The executor's expression changed.
Longtian pointed toward the twelve pillars.
"You needed someone compatible."
His eyes became crimson.
"And you chose me."
The executor shouted:
"ACTIVATE THE MANDATE!"
The Broken Mandate descended.
Longtian raised both hands.
Demonic Qi exploded from his body.
The formation beneath him answered.
One pillar lit up.
Then another.
Then another.
All twelve began glowing.
Lady Yue stared in horror.
"Stop."
Longtian looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because you don't know what you're activating."
Longtian smiled.
"Neither do they."
The executor's confidence vanished.
"Impossible."
Longtian turned toward him.
"You made one mistake."
"What?"
"You assumed I wanted to escape this."
Longtian's demonic aura expanded.
"I don't."
The executor stared.
Longtian's smile became cold.
"I want to know what happens if I let it open."
The twelfth pillar ignited.
Mortal.
The Broken Mandate shattered.
A wave of energy exploded across the planet.
Every heavenly soldier was thrown backward.
The executor disappeared into the sky.
Lady Yue was knocked to one knee.
Ao Lian grabbed a pillar to remain standing.
Longtian remained at the center.
Completely still.
Then—
a voice spoke.
Not from the heavens.
Not from the treasure.
From beneath the planet.
"Twelve inheritances recognized."
Longtian's eyes widened.
Another voice answered.
"Bearer identified."
The twelve pillars began sinking into the earth.
"Way of the Mortal…"
The ground shook.
"…initiated."
Longtian's smile slowly returned.
The heavenly soldiers began retreating.
But Longtian wasn't watching them.
He was looking toward the horizon.
Something enormous was rising.
Not a mountain.
Not a monster.
A city.
An ancient city buried beneath the planet for countless years.
Its gates opened.
A black banner emerged.
Twelve stars surrounded a single word.
MORTAL.
Ao Lian stared.
"What is that?"
Longtian looked at the ancient city.
"I don't know."
Lady Yue slowly stood.
Her expression was filled with dread.
"I do."
Longtian looked at her.
"What?"
She swallowed.
"That's the city my brother found."
Longtian's expression changed.
"The city he was erased for?"
Lady Yue nodded.
Then the city bells began ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Across the ancient walls, countless figures appeared.
They were not soldiers.
They were not cultivators.
They were ordinary people.
Farmers.
Merchants.
Doctors.
Blacksmiths.
Scholars.
Children.
Old men.
Women.
Thousands of them.
Millions.
And all of them turned toward Ao Longtian.
Then they knelt.
Longtian stared.
One ancient voice echoed across the planet.
"The successor has returned."
Longtian's expression hardened.
"I've never been here."
The voice answered:
"Not this life."
The ancient city opened its central gate.
Beyond it stood an empty throne.
Beside the throne was a woman Longtian recognized.
The same woman from the treasure.
She smiled.
"Welcome home, Ao Longtian."
And somewhere far beyond the heavens—
something woke up.