In the infinite space of his spiritual sea, a quiet hush lingered.
Stars shimmered gently, divine abilities orbiting in perfect cadence, each one a living scripture etched by comprehension and trial. At the very center of it all, Su Mengtian floated in a lotus posture, his robes barely rippling against the vastness of spiritual pressure that had long since become part of his breath. The ten divine abilities—each distinct, each powerful—now moved in balanced synchronicity.
But even amidst that harmony, there was one thing yet unfinished.
"There must be a heart," Su Mengtian whispered to himself, his voice echoing like sacred thunder across the spiritual cosmos. "A temple at the center. A truth that binds the orbits."
He extended a hand, and in the center of his galaxy-like spiritual sea, a platform of obsidian and starlight began to rise. Upon it, marble columns formed, carved with ancient runes that pulsed in time with the Dao. Between the orbiting divine powers, the temple expanded—silent, sovereign, sanctified.
Su Mengtian stood upon the forming altar.
In reverence, he summoned the astral impressions of the three primordial bloodlines that defined his rebirth. A titanic silhouette of the Ancestral Void Ape God took shape, seated in meditation, its chains glowing with sacred sacrifice. Beside it, the Thunder Guardian Dragon reared skyward, wings folded behind a gaze that could shatter storms. And lastly, soaring above the two, the Kun-Peng descended—its wings eclipsing galaxies, its feathers dripping with space-warping resonance.
"You are not just powers," Su Mengtian whispered, hands in prayer mudra. "You are my roots. My memories. My legacy."
The statues solidified, locking into the center of the temple with an aura of quiet eternity.
With the final prayer etched into the starlit floor, the temple glowed with Daoic runes.
At the core of it all, the Celestial Orbit Codex of Daoic Harmony breathed into existence.
And Su Mengtian opened his eyes.
Outside the Heavenly Soul Palace,
The radiant gates of the palace groaned, and light burst outward like dawn breaching night. The golden runes scattered into beams, and the surrounding spiritual pressure dispersed like the final note of a heavenly song.
Thousands had gathered.
Disciples, elders, and cultivators of the Heavenly Spear Alliance stood shoulder to shoulder. The Ten Hallmasters stood in formation, each with eyes trained on the sacred steps.
Xu Tian, the First Guardian, stood closest to the gates.
Then, a single footstep echoed.
From the heart of the palace, Su Mengtian emerged.
His robes shimmered with residual light. Not gold, not silver, but the hue of celestial stillness. His eyes carried galaxies. His breath resonated like a string plucked in harmony with the Dao.
"He's here...!"
Gasps swept through the crowd.
Bai Yueying took a sharp breath and instinctively stepped forward.
Xu Tian narrowed his eyes. "...So this is what you become, child of stars."
Ji Yeyan was the first of the Ten Hallmasters to speak. "Your aura has changed. Not elevated. Transcended."
Rao Lin grinned. "I can't sense your cultivation level anymore. I either need to cultivate a thousand more years—or ask you to teach me."
Baojin raised his brows, shielding his eyes. "There's a dome of protection around your heart. Subtle. Alive. Divine."
Xuan Le's star-map flickered. "His presence caused three constellations to shift last night. We thought it was coincidence. It wasn't."
Mengtian stepped down each stair, silent until he reached the marble dais.
He placed a hand over his heart and bowed slightly to the gathered forces.
"To those who waited," he said, "thank you."
The crowd burst into a wave of cheers. Even elders of great power bowed lightly in return.
From the side, a familiar voice called:
"You look thinner. Did the heavens starve you?"
Bai Yueying stood with arms folded, but her eyes shimmered.
Su Mengtian chuckled softly. "Only until I remembered you promised to cook when I return."
She turned her head. "Hmph. I suppose I did."
Then she stepped forward—and hugged him.
Long Xuimei, Mengtian's mother, clasped her hands together, barely restraining her tears. Su Leilong stood beside her, his arms behind his back, expression stern—but pride leaking from every breath.
Su Leilong gave a single nod. "Welcome back, my son."
Long Xuimei added, her voice trembling, "You shine brighter than the stars, Tian'er. But I only ask that you remember—you are still our child."
Su Mengtian bowed his head. "Always."
From the side, Kaisen, Hallmaster of the Hall of Dawnriders, stepped forward.
"You may have reached new heights, Su Mengtian, but the world waits. And it grows darker. Are you prepared to lead your storm beyond this alliance?"
Su Mengtian met his gaze. "Not to lead alone. To rise with all of you. I did not climb to stand above. I climbed to carry those behind."
Xu Tian, who had remained silent, now approached.
"What did you see in that chamber? What... did you become?"
The crowd hushed.
Su Mengtian smiled faintly, gaze distant.
"A cultivator," he said, "who built a galaxy."
Silence reigned.
And then the heavens thundered—cloudless and loud.
As if the sky itself had bowed to its new star.
As the cheers and celebrations gradually faded into the background and the crowd began dispersing under the guidance of the elders and department heads, Su Mengtian quietly gestured to Xu Tian. The Voidstorm Spirit had remained a solemn, watchful figure even amid the rejoicing—a presence like a thundercloud waiting above still waters.
"Guardian Xu Tian," Su Mengtian said with quiet weight, "Will you walk with me for a while?"
Xu Tian gave a slight nod, the wind parting around his form without resistance. "Of course. There are things we must speak of."
The two drifted away from the central dais, passing the garden bridge that arced over the ethereal lotus stream. They entered the shadowed grove behind the Heavenly Soul Palace—a place where only the most trusted could tread, sealed from outside senses.
Here, the wind fell silent. Stars shimmered faintly overhead despite the daylight.
Su Mengtian spoke first. "They all saw the light, the storm, the thunder. But no one knows what truly happened inside. Not even the Hallmasters."
Xu Tian's eyes gleamed with ethereal lightning. "I know. And I also know—what you accomplished should not have been possible."
Su Mengtian turned, his robes brushing against the windless grass. "Ten divine abilities. Three primordial bloodlines. All battling for dominance."
Xu Tian said nothing. He merely watched.
Su Mengtian's voice dropped. "I nearly died. Not from outside forces. But from inside. My own power sought to tear me apart."
Xu Tian stepped forward, his face half-lit by a spiritual wisp. "And yet... you did something no record ever mentioned. You tamed them. You didn't suppress or dominate. You orchestrated."
Su Mengtian's hand extended to the sky. "The galaxy. The orbits. The temple. A harmony built not from chains, but balance."
Xu Tian exhaled slowly. Thunder murmured far off.
"Do you understand what you've done?"
"Not completely," Su Mengtian admitted. "But I call it the Celestial Orbit Codex of Daoic Harmony. And it is only the beginning."
Xu Tian finally spoke with gravity. "Su Mengtian, in all the long epochs since Kun Island's founding, there have been monstrous talents and great warriors. But none—none—have created scripture from chaos, from self, without guidance."
He stepped closer. The Voidstorm around him seemed to tremble.
"What you created may rival the oldest scriptures of this world. The Celestial Orbit Codex... that name will shake empires."
Su Mengtian's gaze stayed steady. "It's not for glory. It's the only path forward for me."
Xu Tian finally smiled—not the cold calculation of a guardian, but something older. Proud.
"Then let it be known between us," he said. "The world sees you as a rising storm. A youth destined for command. But I see what they cannot. You are no longer merely a cultivator."
Xu Tian's form flickered—momentarily becoming a swirling silhouette of void, thunder, and celestial wind.
He placed a hand over Su Mengtian's shoulder.
"You are a scripture. And one day, this world will kneel not to your blade... but to your resonance."
Su Mengtian didn't reply immediately.
Instead, he bowed—not in formality, but in genuine respect.
"Thank you, Xu Tian. For always watching."
Xu Tian turned, stepping into a swirl of void mist that rose from the ground.
"My duty was to protect the Kun Island. That duty has now changed. From this day forward... I will walk behind you. Not as guardian. But as the storm that answers your call."
And with that, he vanished into wind.
Su Mengtian stood alone in the grove.
No longer a Sovereign.
But the eye of a new celestial order.