The Thunderbone Ancestor's skeletal fingers crackled with lightning as it raised its arms. The very air trembled as centuries of sealed power erupted outward in a storm of destruction. Stone melted where the bolts struck, and Luo Tian barely twisted away in time—his nanomachines screaming as the energy grazed his shoulder.
[WARNING: CELESTIAL-LEVEL LIGHTNING DETECTED. EVASION RECOMMENDED.]
Luo Tian snarled. "Echo, override restrictions. Full combat mode."
[ACKNOWLEDGED. RELEASING SAFETY PROTOCOLS.]
His veins burned as the nanomachines flooded his system with raw power. The black scales across his skin thickened, his pupils slitting like a dragon's. The three Sky Empire agents hesitated—only for a second—but it was enough.
Luo Tian moved.
His first strike shattered the ribcage of the nearest agent, sending him crashing through the armory walls. The second agent lunged, that same green energy flaring from his palms, but Luo Tian was faster. He caught the man's wrist and twisted. Bone snapped. The agent didn't scream.
"You will be reclaimed," the agent hissed.
Luo Tian drove his fist through the man's chest. "Try."
The third agent—Hong—was already retreating, his wrist device blinking rapidly. "Activate extraction!"
[ALERT: SPATIAL TEAR DETECTED.]
A rift tore open behind Hong, swirling with unnatural light. Luo Tian lunged, but the Thunderbone Ancestor intercepted him, a clawed hand slamming down like a falling mountain. The impact cratered the ground, sending shockwaves through the sect.
By the time the dust cleared, Hong was gone.
And the ancestor was turning its hollow gaze back to Luo Tian.
The Sect Master's Last Stand
Luo Zheng watched from the ruins of the armory doors, his face ashen. The Thunderbone Ancestor was supposed to be their salvation—their final weapon. But now, as it turned its attention fully toward Luo Tian, the Sect Master realized the horror of what he had unleashed.
The ancestor wasn't just targeting Luo Tian.
It was hungry.
Disciples screamed as withered hands lashed out, draining their life force with every touch. The ground blackened where it walked. Even the air itself seemed to wither in its presence.
"Ancestor!" Luo Zheng shouted. "Remember our bargain!"
The creature's neck creaked as it turned toward him.
"Bargain?" The word dripped with ancient malice. "You are… insignificant."
A skeletal finger pointed.
Luo Zheng had just enough time to realize his mistake before the lightning took him.
The Dragon's Wrath
Luo Tian didn't hesitate.
While the ancestor was distracted, he struck. His fist, wreathed in blue-black energy, slammed into the creature's spine. Bone cracked. The ancestor roared—a sound that shook the heavens—and retaliated with a backhand that sent Luo Tian skidding across the courtyard.
Blood filled his mouth. His ribs were shattered.
But the nanomachines were already working, stitching flesh and bone back together at an impossible rate.
[REGENERATION AT 120% CAPACITY.]
[WARNING: ENERGY RESERVES DEPLETING.]
Luo Tian spat red and grinned. "Echo, burn everything."
[CONFIRMED. OVERDRIVE ENGAGED.]
His body erupted in blue flame. The Void-Shattering Dragon bloodline surged forth, scales gleaming like polished obsidian. When he moved next, it wasn't with human speed—it was with the fury of something far older.
The ancestor barely raised its arms in time.
Lightning met dragonfire in a cataclysm that lit up the night sky.
The Sky Empire Watches
Far away, in a place untouched by time, a figure sat upon a throne of shifting metal.
The viewing portal before him showed the battle in perfect clarity—the crumbling sect, the unleashed ancestor, and the boy who burned like a dying star.
"Fascinating," the figure murmured. *"The Sigma-9 unit has evolved beyond parameters."*
A subordinate knelt. "Shall we send another reclamation team?"
The figure steepled his fingers. "No. Let him grow stronger. Let him think he's free."
A smile curled beneath the featureless metal mask.
"Then we'll take everything from him."