The next husband approached me with slow, reluctant steps, as though each one had to be dragged out of him by Luo Xianling's will alone. His eyes flickered toward her — a quick, desperate glance — before settling on me with the resignation of a man already halfway to his grave.
I watched him wordlessly.
He shifted into his stance, careful and deliberate. Low posture, guarded centre, blade raised just enough to defend but not enough to threaten. A stance built for enduring blows, not giving them. His fear leaked through the cracks of his discipline, though he fought to suppress it. His knuckles whitened around the hilt, yet his grip remained steady — trained, obedient, hollow.
I recognised the style immediately:a man who had spent his life learning how not to die.
His breathing steadied, but the tension in his limbs betrayed him. He slid one foot back, turning his hips to present as little target as possible. Defensive to the core. A survivor's posture.
I almost pitied him.
He wasn't preparing to fight me.He was preparing to withstand me — for as long as she expected him to.
A life spent beneath her gaze had carved that into him.
For him, this battle was survival.For me… it was purpose.
I lifted the Blackdragon Blade, feeling the familiar weight settle into my hand, and let my aura tighten around me. My heartbeat stayed calm. My intent stayed sharp.
He steadied himself, because he must.I stepped forward, because I chose to.
I approached him without a word.
He stood there, trembling but unmoving, as if his fate were already sealed. He did not raise his weapon. He did not take a stance. He only looked at me with hollow acceptance — the look of a man who had spent too many years caged by a woman who no longer cared whether he lived or died.
Pathetic.
In a single step I closed the distance.
My blade pierced his chest before he even thought to breathe. His eyes widened, not in fear, but in something like gratitude — that final, desperate relief of a man being released from a life he no longer wished to endure.
I didn't let the moment linger.
I dragged the blade upward, cleaving him apart in a swift, merciless arc. Blood sprayed across the floor, warm against my cheek. His body collapsed before me, and I caught his head as it rolled free.
With the same cold precision as before, I hurled the severed head onto Luo Xianling's lap.
It landed with a dull, wet thump.
She glanced down at the fresh corpse resting against her silks and let out a quiet, bored sigh.
"How disappointing," she murmured. "He gave up before the fight even started."
Her fingers brushed a smear of blood from her robe, her expression utterly flat. "I expected at least a little entertainment… but I suppose this one was determined to die."
Her eyes lifted to me, sharp and hungry.
"Next."
The next one stepped forward.
Not dragging his feet.Not trembling.Not resigned.
No — this one intended to kill me.
His stance was solid, his breathing measured. The aura surrounding him sharpened like a blade drawn from a sheath. He was not here to die quietly. He wanted to prove something — to her, to himself, perhaps to the children he believed he could still return to.
Even Luo Xianling straightened in her seat.
Her fingers toyed idly with the hair of the head already in her lap, but her gaze fixed on this man with unmistakable interest — a softness she had not shown the others.
"Husband," she called sweetly, her tone smooth as warm silk, "please try not to die too quickly. I'd be so very sad to lose you."
He didn't look at her, but his jaw tightened.
She smiled, voice dipping lower, almost affectionate.
"After all… you're one of my favourites."She crossed one leg over the other, her amusement deepening."You even gave me strong children. It would be a waste to lose you."
Her "affection" was sharper than knives.
It wasn't love — it was possession.
He raised his weapon, and for the first time tonight, the killscent thickened in the air. He launched forward with murderous intent, every step a declaration:
He would fight.He would not break.He would win or die on his own terms.
I adjusted my grip on the Blackdragon Blade.
Good, I thought.A real fight, at last.
Our killing intent surged, colliding in the centre of the god-domain like two forces that should never meet.
His intent burst forth first — a hurricane, wild and unrestrained.It howled around him violently, tearing through the air in spiralling gusts, raw and desperate. The kind of killing intent born from fear, duty, and a stubborn refusal to accept death.
Mine rose more slowly — but far more dangerously.
Not a storm.Not a roar.
But flames.
Silent, merciless flames that erased whatever they touched.Flames that did not rage; they consumed. They spread with a calm, deliberate inevitability, a quiet promise of annihilation rather than a threat.
His hurricane thrashed violently, trying to carve open space, trying to hold its ground.
My fire simply advanced.
No struggle.No effort.Just inevitability.
The difference between us was unmistakable.
He fought to overwhelm me.I simply erased what he sent.
He felt it first — the pressure of approaching heat, the invisible weight of destruction pressing against his chest.
Then everyone else felt it.
Even Luo Xianling's eyes brightened, her smile widening, as though the taste of clashing intent was a delicacy she hadn't enjoyed in far too long.
The man opposite me tightened his grip on his weapon.His jaw clenched; his breath turned uneven.His killing intent spiralled ever higher, desperate to drown out the flames swallowing the domain.
But the fire continued to rise — and I had yet to release even half of it.
My killing intent wasn't even at its peak.
What he had felt from me before was nothing more than embers — the faintest whisper of what lay beneath. So I allowed it to rise, only slightly.
The effect was immediate.
The flames stirred.
Then spread.
Real fire — not illusion, not projection — bled into the god-domain. Dark flames, black as the void between stars, crawled over every surface. They crept along the marble floor, licked up the pillars, and clung to the air itself. Wherever one looked, the domain was swallowed by a quiet, devouring glow.
And all of it came from me.
His hurricane of killing intent surged in response, climbing higher and higher. He fought to hold his ground, fought not to be smothered beneath the heat that pressed against him like a living creature. His aura roared like a storm thrashing to tear apart the inferno.
But my fire continued to rise.
Just a little more.A fraction.Only enough for him to understand the gap between us.
The flames curled toward him as if alive — hungry, patient, inevitable.
He gritted his teeth, eyes wide with disbelief and something dangerously close to terror. Yet he didn't break. He drove his killing intent higher still, refusing to yield, refusing to bow.
The god-domain trembled beneath the collision of our wills, cracks of pressure rippling through the air.
And still — I held back.
I had to.
Everyone was watching, especially her.The last thing I needed was to reveal my peak in front of Luo Xianling.
"My suspicions were right," Luo Xianling murmured at last, her tone soft, almost affectionate.
Her hands drifted lazily over the two severed heads resting in her lap — one on each thigh, their lifeless faces tilted at odd angles against her flowing robes. Blood had dried in thin, dark trails across the silk, but she didn't seem to mind. She stroked both heads with the same gentle, absentminded care one might give a pair of sleeping pets.
"You are his descendant."
Her gaze rose to me, sharp and bright as a needle.
"I've heard the stories… read every ancient fragment left behind. Emperor Genesis — the creator of our realm. A man with no cultivation, and yet worshipped like a true god. Loved by countless people… desired by even more."
The glow of my black flames reflected in her eyes as she smiled faintly.
"And only someone from his bloodline could produce killing intent like this."
She shifted slightly, the two lifeless heads rolling a little in her lap as her fingers rested atop them with casual ownership.
"It seems," she said, almost purring, "that I was right from the very beginning."
Madam Yuelin of the Blooming Blooms Brothel regarded her with a measured, suspicious look.
"And what," she asked calmly, "makes you say such a thing?"
Luo Xianling didn't answer at once. Instead, she lifted her gaze to him — to the blade in his hand. Dark, gleaming, alive with a quiet menace.
"Look at his weapon," she said at last, her voice soft but carrying. "A black dragon… forged into a blade."
She traced its shape with her eyes, admiration and certainty flickering across her face.
"You've read the records as well, Madam Yuelin. You've heard the legends."Her fingers tapped lightly on the two lifeless heads resting in her lap as she leaned back.
"Emperor Genesis rode a black dragon so vast no scholar could measure its size. A creature said to coil around mountains, to eclipse the heavens themselves."
The flames from the god-domain crackled, reflecting off the blade's obsidian surface like molten stars.
"And now," Luo Xianling continued, her smile slow and knowing, "that same draconic aura coils around him."
She tilted her head.
"Tell me—what other explanation is there?"
Madam Yuelin's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Did you not say," she murmured, "that his blade carries the same aura shown in Emperor Genesis's portrait… the one Empress Lingxi preserved?"
Luo Xianling nodded, her fingers idly brushing the cold hair of the two lifeless heads resting on her lap.
"I did."
Her gaze drifted toward his weapon — different in shape, different in colour, different in craft — yet unmistakably familiar.
"The blade itself is not the same," she said softly. "Not even close. The Emperor's weapon in the portrait was coloured like bloodwine — stained by the countless foes he cleaved. This one is darker, sharper… like a black dragon given form."
She tilted her head slightly.
"But the aura… the presence… that is identical."
Madam Yuelin's breath caught.
Luo Xianling continued, voice quiet but certain.
"In Empress Lingxi's painting, the Emperor's dragon curled behind him — vast, ancient, impossible to measure. Its aura was so immense that even a portrait felt alive. Lingxi captured that depth perfectly."
Her eyes flicked back to the blade in Shen's hand.
"That same aura radiates from him now. The form differs. The steel differs. But the soul of it…"Her eyes brightened, almost delighted."…is exactly the same."
She lifted one of the severed heads from her lap and let it fall with a soft, dull thud.
"And these men truly thought they had the right to challenge him."
Madam Yuelin spoke again, her voice low with intrigue.
"You sent those two to their deaths without hesitation. What makes this even more interesting," she continued, eyes glinting, "is Nagini's history with him. She was very protective of him — obsessed, I would say. Are you certain you wish to provoke her wrath? She is stronger than you."
Luo Xianling only smiled faintly, fingertips drumming idly atop the remaining head in her lap.
"I'll be fine," she said, utterly unbothered. "I'm not worried about her in the slightest."
"Thinking about it," Luo Xianling said, her voice drifting with casual certainty, "when Lingxi disappeared, I believe she went to seek him — Emperor Genesis. He was her idol of strength. She always wanted to face him. After all, he created this realm… so he created everything that dwells within it. Our families, our clans — all of it began with him."
"After all, he disappeared as well — even in our era," Luo Xianling continued, absently resting her hand on the cold forehead of the head in her lap, while the other lay discarded at her feet like refuse. "His countless lovers were heartbroken. Their grief caused such destruction that entire regions collapsed. They came from every ancient clan imaginable."
Her eyes glinted with something between curiosity and disdain.
"Even Nagini was one of his lovers. She told me that long ago, when we were… considerably closer than we are now. I always suspected she might be the ancestor of the Ancient Serpent Clan, but she never confirmed it."
Luo Xianling gave a thoughtful hum.
"Her assassin guild is called the Serpentines, after all… and she herself is known as the Slytherin Serpent."
A thin smile curved her lips.
"Everything about her screams lineage."
"Thinking about it again," Luo Xianling murmured, brushing a strand of hair from one of the severed heads in her lap, "perhaps that's why she's so close with him. If he's a descendant of her lover… it would explain a great deal."
Madam Yuelin arched a brow.
"Have you considered another possibility?" she said quietly. "With that level of power, it wouldn't be impossible for him to reshape his identity entirely. He may not be a descendant at all."She leaned forward slightly. "He could be the man himself."
Luo Xianling's eyes narrowed with interest.
"Why don't we confirm that with Nagini?" she replied. "I've already invited her."
She said it almost casually — yet the air in the domain tightened at the name.
Nagini approached with the silence of a stalking serpent. For a heartbeat, her pupils narrowed into thin slits before settling back into a human shape.
"What do you want, Luo Xianling? I'm busy."
Luo Xianling answered without words. She lifted the second severed head from her lap and tossed it casually onto the floor — the head rolling to a stop near her own bare feet, blood streaking the polished ground around her toes.
"Welcome," she said coolly. "Sit with us. I have a question."
Nagini sat without hesitation, showing neither interest nor discomfort.
Luo Xianling leaned back slightly, her gaze sharp."Is that boy actually Emperor Genesis?"
Nagini didn't flinch. Not a twitch of surprise crossed her face.
"No," she replied flatly. "He is not. He is merely a descendant of his. That's all."
Her gaze shifted briefly towards you before returning to Luo Xianling."You already suspected that… didn't you?"
Nagini's eyes narrowed, a faint, knowing smile touching her lips.
"And," she continued, "you already suspect me of being the ancestoer of my ancient serpent clan… right?"
She let the words hang in the air, heavy and deliberate.
"You've wondered about it for years — my bloodline, my abilities, my age."
Her voice remained calm, smooth, and dangerously steady.
"You believe I'm the origin of the ancient Serpentine line… the first ancient serpent. The one your ancestors warned you never to provoke."
She leaned back slightly, her expression unreadable — still, composed, almost regal in its restraint.
"And yet, you still invited me here."
A soft, cold smile curved her lips.
"Careful with your questions, Luo Xianling. Some truths aren't yours to claim."
The Madam spoke again.
"You two — how about some tea? Shall we?"
Madam Yuelin had already prepared a fresh pot. Pouring the cups with quiet, practised grace, she lifted her own first and took a slow sip, watching them over the rim.
She waited patiently for the two of them to pick up their tea.
Eventually, they both did.
Nagini watched Ren as he fought, and for a brief moment she began to see through him — glimpses of who he had once been. Emperor Genesis. His past identity flickered before her eyes in this realm: his thick, long, heavy blood-wine hair, the striking face framed by it, and those unmistakable blood-wine eyes.
But then another memory surfaced.The day she had seen his true face.
Ren Blackdragon himself — not the emperor, not the myth, but the man beneath the names. His thick, long white hair, pale as winter frost, and those red-black eyes burning like living fire. A handsome face, yes, but always unreadable… indifferent… a mask even she, with all her years and instincts, could never quite decipher.
Black flames curled and rippled around her feet as she stared across the battleground, watching him clash fiercely with one of Luo Xianling's husbands.
Luo Xianling glanced at her.
"What are you thinking about so deeply, then?"
Nagini didn't even turn her head.
"None of your business," she replied coldly.
Luo Xianling scoffed at Nagini's cold dismissal.
Nagini didn't bother to look at her as she continued, her voice smooth and edged with quiet provocation.
"How about we speak of Empress Lingxi instead? Have you finally worked out where she went? Or have the nine families of the fallen Genesis Empire fallen short even on that?"A faint smile touched her lips."Where could she have gone… searching for Emperor Genesis himself, I wonder?"
Luo Xianling did not answer at once. A long moment stretched between them.
At last, she exhaled.
"No. Neither I nor the other seven ancestors have found her yet."
Luo Xianling was deep in her thoughts until a sudden scream split the air.Her head whipped toward the arena.
One of her favourite husbands was burning alive — wrapped in my killing intent.
My dark flames clung to him like shadow-spirits, chewing through flesh, bone, and soul alike. Every breath he took fed the fire further, yet the man did not fall.
He did not even hesitate.
Even as the black flames ate into him, he forced himself forward, hurling his hurricane-like killing intent straight at me. His aura was wild, frantic, unrestrained — a storm raging against the inevitable.
He was dying, yet he refused to stop.
His killing intent thrashed in every direction, desperate to tear through my flames, desperate to reach me. And still… the fire devoured him inch by inch.
From where I stood, blade lowered at my side, I watched him fight through agony that should have shattered any sane man.
He burned.
But he came at me anyway.