The night was eerily silent, yet the air was thick with tension. Shao Xian stood on the edge of a jagged cliff, overlooking the vast expanse of the battlefield that had yet to be stained with fresh blood. He could feel it—the shift in the world's balance, the trembling of those who once ruled without challenge. The so-called supreme elders were scrambling, their desperation palpable even from afar.
He exhaled slowly. The wind howled through the mountains, carrying with it whispers of impending war. This was no longer a conflict between sects or dynasties. It was a reckoning, an inevitable collapse of an old era to make way for the rise of an absolute sovereign.
Shao Xian's eyes flickered with cold amusement as he felt a presence approaching. He did not turn, nor did he speak. He simply waited.
A moment later, a figure clad in black armor landed a few feet behind him, kneeling instantly. It was Bai Ren, one of the commanders of his growing force.
"Lord Shao," Bai Ren said, his voice steady but filled with an urgency that was hard to suppress. "The elders have begun mobilizing their forces. The Seven Grand Sects have formed an alliance, and their combined armies march toward the Eastern Wastes."
Shao Xian smirked. "As expected."
"They number in the millions," Bai Ren continued, his tone laced with both awe and concern. "Elite cultivators, war formations, divine artifacts… they are prepared for total war."
"And yet," Shao Xian mused, "they still fail to understand what they are up against."
Bai Ren hesitated before speaking again. "Shall we intercept them before they reach our borders?"
Shao Xian finally turned, his gaze piercing into his subordinate's soul. "No," he said simply. "Let them come."
Bai Ren stiffened. "But, my lord—"
"They march because they believe they have a chance," Shao Xian interrupted, his tone calm yet absolute. "If I strike first, they will cling to the illusion of resistance. But if I allow them to arrive, to see for themselves how insignificant they truly are…" His lips curled into a faint smile. "Their despair will be absolute."
Bai Ren bowed deeply. "I understand, my lord."
Shao Xian waved his hand dismissively. "Send word to our forces. I want the battlefield prepared, but no one is to engage until I give the order."
"As you command."
With a flicker of movement, Bai Ren vanished into the darkness, leaving Shao Xian alone once more.
He closed his eyes, extending his divine sense outward. Even at this distance, he could feel the pulse of countless cultivators moving like a tidal wave toward his domain. But beyond them, hidden in the shadows of the grand sects, were figures far more dangerous.
The true masterminds. The ones who had orchestrated his fall in his past life.
A low chuckle escaped his lips.
"Fools," he murmured. "You should have stayed hidden."
His fingers curled slightly, and in that moment, the space around him trembled. Unseen forces bent to his will, responding to his presence like an extension of his very being. The universe itself recognized his sovereignty.
And soon, so would they.