The ashes of the former sect master scattered into the wind, carried away like a forgotten memory. The remaining elders and disciples of the Desolate Thunder Sect stood frozen, their eyes wide with disbelief. Some trembled, their knees buckling beneath them, while others turned pale, unable to comprehend the power they had just witnessed.
Shao Xian stood amidst them, untouched by the fear and despair that had settled over the sect. His golden eyes flickered with indifference as he surveyed the trembling figures before him.
"Do you understand now?" His voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority that pressed upon their souls. "Your strength, your titles, your sect—none of it matters in my presence."
An elder, his face contorted in desperation, fell to his knees. "W-we submit, great one!" he stammered. "Please, spare us!"
As if a dam had broken, others followed suit. The once-proud elders and disciples of the Desolate Thunder Sect knelt one by one, their heads bowed low, not daring to meet his gaze.
But not all submitted so easily.
From the depths of the sect, a furious roar erupted. A figure clad in deep purple robes shot forward, surrounded by crackling arcs of violet lightning. His aura surged, shaking the very earth as he landed before Shao Xian with a thunderous impact.
"You dare destroy my sect master and demand our submission?!" the man bellowed. His long hair billowed, and his sharp eyes burned with defiance. "I, Elder Qin Tao, will never bow to the likes of you!"
Shao Xian's gaze shifted to him, but there was no amusement, no surprise—only indifference.
Qin Tao clenched his fists, the lightning around him growing wilder. "You may have suppressed the sect master, but I am different. I have comprehended the Heavenly Thunder Dao! Do you truly believe you can suppress the very laws of heaven?!"
He raised his hand, summoning a massive bolt of divine lightning that coiled like a dragon above him. The sky darkened, and an oppressive force descended upon the sect. The gathered disciples gasped in awe and terror.
Shao Xian remained still.
"Pathetic," he murmured.
Qin Tao unleashed his attack, the massive lightning bolt roaring toward Shao Xian with enough power to incinerate an entire mountain range. The air trembled, and the very space around them cracked under the might of the divine energy.
But as the lightning struck, it… vanished.
Not dispersed. Not blocked. Simply erased from existence.
A horrified gasp escaped Qin Tao's lips. "I—impossible…"
Shao Xian lifted a single finger. "Heavenly Thunder Dao? You think your comprehension of lightning is worth anything before me?"
With a flick of his hand, the very lightning that had once been Qin Tao's weapon turned against him. Bolts of violet energy surged from within his own body, wrapping around him like chains. His screams echoed as his own power tore through his flesh, burning him from the inside out.
"You are not even worthy of serving as a stepping stone," Shao Xian stated coldly.
With a final, agonized cry, Qin Tao's body exploded into a storm of lightning that dissipated into the heavens.
Silence fell once more.
The gathered elders and disciples no longer harbored even the thought of resistance. Their strongest had been obliterated as if they were nothing.
Shao Xian turned his gaze back to them.
"I will ask only once." His voice was soft but carried through the entire sect. "Kneel, or be erased from existence."
There was no hesitation.
As one, the entire sect fell to their knees, pressing their foreheads against the ground in absolute submission.
Shao Xian stepped forward, walking past them without a care. He ascended the grand steps of the sect's main hall, entering the throne room where the sect master once ruled. The throne of the Desolate Thunder Sect, adorned with inscriptions of storm and lightning, stood before him.
Without pause, he sat upon it.
From this moment forth, the Desolate Thunder Sect no longer belonged to the weak.
It belonged to him.