The Azure Blossom Sect was awakened by the far-off blaring of horns. Across the horizon, smoke wreathed like a dark tide sweeping through the valleys—the Blood Saber Sect had mobilized, and it had not come with a scouting party, but with an entire army. Spears, swords, and qi-flared banners twisted like a living nightmare, black against the dawn, each unit trained to deliver death.
Li Xian stood on the middle gate tower, crimson fire roiling along his arms like molten armor. Beside him, Su Yao's silver flames burned, their energies braided, hearts beating in exquisite synchrony. The disciples of the sect bustled around them, setting arrays, readying for siege. Yet none of them held a candle to the presence that radiated from the two leadersirir presence was a sword, a storm waiting to be unleashed.
The Blood Saber army advanced relentlessly. Li Xian descended to the courtyard, every step igniting the earth with residual qi, every glance sending disciples encouraged. Su Yao moved beside him, two columns of energy cutting through the early skirmishes. Together, they formed the apex of the battlefield, unshakeable, terrifying, and unmatched in raw power.
The battle was immediate and vicious. Enemy sabers clashed with Li Xian's crimson fists, ringing as steel shattered. Su Yao's silver currents tore through the foremost lines, tearing formations apart like living scythes. Disciples reformed, invigorated by the auras of their masters, but the Blood Saber Sect would not be stayed— Elite troops flooded in, searching out every weakness.
Li Xian spun, catching a spear in flight and snapping it, using the man's own force to hurl him into the advancing tide of assailants. Su Yao's silver fire coiled around a cluster of enemies, swirling, tightening, and burning, leaving charred bodies in its path. Their abilities wove together in every strike, every movement, a vortex of flame and light that no mortal fighter could stand against.
Between battles, Li Xian stroked a hand down Su Yao's back, feeling the cadence of her energy. "Keep your center aligned with mine," he rasped, voice low and rough. She leaned in, chest to chest, and let their qi intertwine, shivering them both with strength. Their bond was an extension of the battlefield itself—every heartbeat, every grunt of exertion, a means of silent command.
Hours dissolved into chaos. The Blood Saber army faltered as the two of them carved a path of destruction through the ranks. Spears shattered, sabers bent, bodies hurled like rag dolls. Li Xian's red aura blazed, covering Su Yao as silver and red energies combined, creating a field of lethal force that sent enemy lines stumbling back.
And even as victory loomed, a shadow fell across the horizon. Out of the mountains beyond the valley, reinforcements arrived: the top generals of the Blood Saber Sect, war and qi masters, moving in precision, aura blazing brighter than anything else. Li Xian's eyes narrowed, the red flames burning more fiercely, curling into spikes and whips. Su Yao followed suit, silver light cutting sharper than any blade.
"We fight together," he growled, searing the ground with a blast of energy that sent the first wave stumbling back. She nodded, energy flowing into his, reinforcing every blow, every step, every devastating pulse. The battlefield erupted into a living storm of fire, steel, and darkness, every instant a maelstrom of motion, every pulse a hammer ringing out their supremacy.
And in the center of the chaos, their harem disciples watched, moths to flame, seeing the utter command of their master and the empress who would always stand supreme above the others. Even as new enemies fell, even as bodies fell and rivers of blood spilled across the stone, one thing was sure: Su Yao was impenetrable in his heart, the paramount female, the center of his power, the soul that was bound to his.
Under the cloak of darkness and as the valley burned, the Blood Saber generals regrouped on the mountaintops, eyes narrowed, pondering. Li Xian and Su Yao had repelled wave after wave, but this was only the beginning. The actual war—the maelstrom Mo Tian had promised—had not yet descended in full force.
Li Xian's crimson eyes raked the battlefield, locking onto the horizon. "Let them bring all," he growled, fists knotting with liquid flame. Su Yao bent close, silver flames cavorting with his, a vow of loyalty and flame. "We burn as one," she breathed.
"Yes," he replied, crimson and silver tangling, casting the valley in a storm of light and heat. "Together, we are invincible. Together, we are the tempest.".
Hidden eyes observed from the shadows, recording each movement, each strike, each intimate gesture, reporting to Mo Tian: the Azure Blossom Sect's pinnacle had revealed itself, and the final tempest was approaching.