The Outer Reaches
The Second Realm was not made of stone and soil—it floated.
Continents suspended in sky, tethered by pulses of raw qi and ancient chains of energy left behind by gods or monsters, no one knew which.
Zaxton arrived in the Outer Territories—a wild, unstable edge of the realm where the "civilized" empires of the core dumped exiles, experiments, and war-forged castaways.
It was said even the sky bled here.
And to the people of this place… a First-Realm cultivator was barely above a beast.
He heard it in their voices:
> "Scrap-tier."
"Skyless mutt."
"Will die in the First Gate."
Zaxton only smiled.
---
The Death Trial Tournament
Held once every ten years, the Trial of Dominion was a savage, sacred bloodsport.
1,000 cultivators entered.
Only 100 survived the First Gate.
Only 10 reached the Final Ascension Stage.
And only one was permitted to carve out land and form a recognized "Guard State."
The reward was power. Recognition. Legitimacy.
Zaxton saw only a foundation.
> ZAXTON (to himself):
"I will not beg for respect.
I will carve it into their bones."
---
The Arena of a Thousand Suns
The tournament opened with thunder.
Literally.
The First Gate was a ring of ten thousand golden spears hanging mid-air. You were dropped into it blindfolded, while beasts of lightning hunted through the fog.
Zaxton landed silently.
Around him, cultivators screamed, burned, fell.
He never drew his blade.
He just listened.
Moved like a memory.
When the light cleared—eighty-eight remained. Zaxton among them.
Eyes calm. Shirt torn. A spear lodged in his shoulder like decoration.
The crowd noticed.
> "He didn't even activate a domain…"
"He walked through the Spears of Judgment?"
"No First-Realm scum should—"
> ANNOUNCER:
"Stage Two. Begin."
---
The Bloody Rise
The second and third stages were even worse.
In the Labyrinth of Broken Time, Zaxton manipulated fractured spiritual echoes, turning enemy attacks on themselves.
In the Beast Crucible, he tamed a feral Void Lynx mid-battle, riding it to tear through three opponents simultaneously.
By the fourth stage, crowds started chanting his name.
Not out of love. Out of fear. Fascination.
They called him "the White Flame"—a nod to his pale appearance and the way he burned without smoke.
---
Final Ascension
Ten remained.
The final trial?
Kill the other nine.
Or make them kneel.
One stepped forward, laughing, a prince of a minor sect.
> "You think this makes you royalty, First-Realm swine?"
Zaxton didn't answer.
His Void Lynx growled. His eyes gleamed.
Nine minutes later, he stood alone.
One alive, one kneeling, weeping in shame.
The crowd erupted.
A symbol was seared into the sky:
> "Zaxton of Don – Recognized Stateholder."
---
The Don Guard State
The Outer Reaches gave him land.
Zaxton built his capital atop the arena's ruins, using the very bones of the Trial as the foundation.
He called it Ashguard Keep.
From there, he raised a new order of warriors: The Don Guard — born of First Realm grit, Second Realm savagery, and his own vision.
And at its gates, he mounted the spear from the First Gate — still crackling with judgment.
---
End of Chapter Foreshadowing
In distant chambers, the High Clans of the Core Realms whispered:
> "He cannot be allowed to rise further."
"Send an envoy. Or a killer."
"No First-Realm whelp should be spoken of in the same breath as the Nine Moons."
But in Ashguard Keep, Zaxton stood before his kneeling Guard, voice like lightning:
> ZAXTON:
"This is only the beginning.
The stars have not yet seen our full shape."
Ashguard's Dawn
Zaxton stood at the peak of Ashguard Keep, overlooking what was once a field of corpses and broken stone. Now, it was a city.
Not just a city—a sovereign power.
In the shadow of Second Realm disdain, Zaxton did what few dared:
He declared himself a head of state.
Not a king.
Not an emperor.
But something new.
> ZAXTON:
"Titles rot. Power decays.
I will be the Will of Ashguard.
And any who walk these lands shall have their say—
if they've the spine to earn it."
---
The Ashguard Compact
In the first year, Zaxton called a gathering of survivors, migrants, discarded sects, and wandering cultivators.
He offered them a deal:
Citizenship, regardless of background, realm, or bloodline.
Land and rights, proportionate to their contribution.
Protection, from beasts, bandits, and tyrants.
One Law: Any who betray Ashguard, betray its people. And betrayal was death.
What followed wasn't peace.
It was growth.
By the end of five years, Ashguard's cracked bones were a bustling city.
By ten, its borders were etched on Second Realm maps.
> Ashguard Population: 100,000
Major Cultivators: 4,500
Defensive Formations: 17 tiered rings
Spirit Beast Guilds: 3 official branches
Gatekeeper Academy: Rebuilt, Ranked 3rd in the Realm's Outer Sectors
And quietly… beneath its earth…
Gold.
Zaxton discovered it in the third year, veins of celestial-grade ore woven deep beneath his territory. Enough to fund a thousand wars. Or forge ten nations.
He said nothing.
He mined silently, exporting only small amounts under different names, laundering through carefully selected trade routes.
---
The Four Trade Alliances
With wealth came diplomacy.
Zaxton brokered four separate trade pacts with outer-state powers:
1. Jinrei Caravan Union – for high-speed transport beasts.
2. Vortan Steel Brotherhood – weapons in exchange for low-tier cultivation manuals.
3. Miren Glass Sect – spirit-tech and lenses in exchange for refined qi crystals.
4. East Sky Builders' Syndicate – architectural wonders for Ashguard marble and crafted beast bones.
Each partner was led to believe they were receiving exclusive access.
None of them knew of the gold.
None of them knew the full scale of Zaxton's defenses.
None of them dared question his sovereignty after his Gatekeeper division erased an attempted assassination squad in under ten breaths.
---
The Government of Ashguard
Zaxton formed his Council of Ten, each member representing a vital pillar of his state:
1. Military & Defense – General Jyn of the Lilac Order.
2. Spiritual Affairs – Elder Marru, a First-Realm cultivator turned scholar.
3. Beast Mastery – Commander Sura, the first female twin-bond tamer in history.
4. Trade & Commerce – Lady Keir of the Vortan Pact.
5. City Welfare – Councilor Henn, a civilian cultivator who earned his seat by healing over 2,000 plague victims.
6. Education & Gatekeeping – Headmaster Vellin of the Ashguard Academy.
7. Foreign Relations – Ambassador Ro, exiled prince of a dead sect.
8. Mining & Resources – Overseer Dai, loyal only to Zaxton.
9. Law & Judgment – Magistrate Theo, who once sentenced his own brother for treason.
10. Zaxton Himself – the Will of Ashguard.
---
Legacy Begins
Even the Core of the Second Realm began to shift their tone.
Whispers changed from mockery to caution.
> "He governs like he fights."
"We cannot afford to make him an enemy."
"He will rise to the center eventually."
But Zaxton had no interest in thrones.
Only balance. Power. Purpose.
And so, Ashguard stood, the youngest power in the Second Realm—but already more respected than many old ones.