The sky above Kun Island swirled with fading chaos. Now that the subterranean storm had been quelled and the monstrous pressure from the sealed chamber vanished, the air felt strangely new—like the island itself had taken a long breath after millennia of tension.
In the secret realm.
At the heart of the calmed ruin, Su Mengtian stood atop the broken obsidian altar where the Storm Parasite had once raged with enough fury to collapse dimensional barriers. Now, that being kneeled before him—not in chains, not with resistance, but in surrender.
It was a thing of dreadful beauty: once a vessel of tempest and cataclysm, the Storm Parasite was now coalesced into a form both humanoid and elementally fluid. Its frame shimmered like dark clouds lit by violet lightning, and its eyes—once storms themselves—now held calm intellect, reverence, and awe. A creature formed from heaven's wrath now bowed to a boy barely eighteen.
Su Mengtian took a step forward. His companions—the nine Hallmasters, the elite members of the Heavenly Spear Alliance, and a few trusted cultivators—watched in a reverent silence. None dared breathe too loud.
The young sovereign of the future raised a hand. "You were born of violence and chaos, sealed here by fear and misunderstanding. But you recognized what sleeps deeper than rage within me."
The Storm Parasite lifted its head slightly, the trace of a bow lingering in the shape of its shoulders. "That bloodline... it eclipses even primordial essence. The Ancestral Void Ape God... it carries truths lost before time had a name. Even I, forged in sky-fire and divine fury, felt only reverence."
Mengtian's tone remained calm. "You've shown wisdom. Not all monsters must remain monsters."
He looked up at the roiling ceiling of the chamber, where arcs of energy still flickered like the dying heartbeats of a sealed era. Then back down.
"Henceforth," he declared, his voice carrying the resonance of command, "you shall no longer be nameless, nor bound by the chains others placed upon you. From this day, you are Xu Tian. The Storm Sovereign of the Island, and its first Administrative Authority."
Gasps rippled among those present. Even the Hallmasters' brows lifted. Su Mengtian was not merely subduing a being of ancient dread—he was elevating it. Naming it.
Xu Tian blinked. For a moment, lightning shimmered in the shape of tears beneath his spectral eyes.
"Xu Tian..." he murmured. The name echoed in the realm like prophecy. He bowed again, deeper. "Then I shall serve not as a guardian of storms... but as your will made manifest upon this island. I accept."
A flash of radiant energy surged between them, sealing the pact. Xu Tian's form condensed more cleanly, the raging aura around him dissipating. His feet touched the ground fully, and his new form stabilized. No longer was he merely an imprisoned spirit. He now bore the crest of the Void Ape God on his back—etched in lightning—and a new role in history.
Su Mengtian turned to the gathering.
"What happened here today should be kept secret from the whole world. Until the right time comes, Xu Tian's real identity should never be revealed. He will be introduced to the world as the island's Guardian for now, for the safety of the Heavenly Spear Alliance and the Kun Island."
"Let this mark the beginning of the next phase. Kun Island is not a battlefield. It will be our bastion—a sacred realm under my banner and Xu Tian's watch."
The Hallmasters bowed deeply.
Rao Lin, proud and ever-militant, placed his fist to his chest. "The Hall of Valor recognizes Xu Tian's authority. His presence will guard the integrity of this sanctuary."
Xuan Le of the Hall of Astral Command offered a tactical nod. "He will anchor our dominion here. This alliance between beast and sovereign elevates our position in the world stage."
Kai Chan, ever attuned to the subtleties of spirit, murmured, "The resonance between Xu Tian and the island itself... it's already stabilizing the leyline fluctuations. He was always meant to be more than a prisoner."
Xu Tian stepped beside Mengtian and surveyed the chamber.
"There is a sanctum within this island," he said, voice now calmer and more coherent. "Even I was denied access while sealed. It lies at the intersection of four elemental veins. Only the Void Ape God can unlock it."
Mengtian's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then that will be our next step."
Before they departed, Su Mengtian made sure to seal the former chamber with Void Ape sigils—both as a mark of dominion and protection. With Xu Tian's help, the atmospheric balance of Kun Island rapidly began shifting. Where once the sky roared in pain, now clouds parted with reverence.
Their return to the surface was slow but meaningful. Xu Tian took to his new role immediately, his storm-born senses syncing with the pulse of the island. He reactivated ancient channels, cleared corruption from hidden ravines, and began marking territories.
By the time they returned to the summit where the factions once clashed, everything had changed.
From a distance, envoys of the rival factions observed cautiously. Whispers passed through camps like wildfire.
"Is that... that's the Spirit of Kun Island walking beside him."
"Impossible. That thing nearly shattered spatial reality hours ago!"
"Why is it... calm?"
"Is it... obeying him?"
Su Mengtian stood upon the cliffs, wind rustling his black-and-violet robes. He cast his gaze down the mountainside where the factions—Bai family of the Celestial Snow Pavilion, the Jin family's Golden Chamber, Feng clan's Crimson Flame Court, Long family's Dragon Soul Court, and others—stood in tense silence.
His gaze was serene. Commanding. Absolute.
"Let it be known," he said aloud, his voice carried by Xu Tian's amplification winds, "Kun Island belongs to none. But its stewardship falls under the Heavenly Spear Alliance. And Xu Tian, its guardian, shall enforce its sanctity. Those who seek harmony, opportunity, and alliance may step forward. Those who seek conquest... will find themselves facing a storm that bows to me."
Xu Tian flared briefly with lightning, his form casting a towering shadow across the fields.
The factions did not reply at first. But slowly—inevitably—envoys began to kneel.
One by one.
Su Mengtian turned, walking back toward the great tree where his command post would soon be raised.
He had turned a cataclysmic force into a loyal sovereign.
And Kun Island was now his dominion.