The Nine Flames Heavenly Clan's skies had grown unnaturally quiet. No more coalition armies dared to march, no sect banners rallied resistance. Fear had spread across the continent like a plague, silencing even the boldest. Yet it was not peace that lingered, but a stillness heavy with foreboding. Everyone knew it was only the pause before a storm.
That storm arrived one moonless night, carried upon a ship of glowing jade. From the eastern horizon, it floated across the skies like a fragment of Heaven itself, its hull carved of emerald crystal, humming with ancient seals. On its decks stood rows of white-robed attendants, their posture flawless, their gazes brimming with arrogance. At the prow stood a youth draped in jade robes, his bearing regal, his aura vast and unshakable. His eyes, flecked with strands of gold, burned with divine authority.
He was Prince Yuan Jihao of the Immortal Jade Dynasty, a prodigy exalted by birth, a bearer of Heaven's blessing. For his dynasty, he was their chosen spear. For the world, he was the hand of balance sent to confront the rising shadow in the east.
As the ship descended, his voice rolled like thunder across the land. "Feng Xuanlong! I, Yuan Jihao of the Immortal Jade Dynasty, come not to quarrel but to warn. The heavens have marked you. Your shadow threatens the balance of the world. Kneel, and accept my dynasty's chains of repentance. Resist, and be erased."
In the Nine Flames grand hall, his words reverberated like a slap. Some disciples trembled in rage, others in awe. Yan Ruyan sneered. "Chains of repentance? He dresses shackles as gifts. Such poetry."
Meiyu's smile was sharp. "Master, shall I cut his words apart as easily as his throat?"
Feng Xuanlong rose slowly from his throne. The chains coiled about his form rattled like drums of doom, each clink heavy with dread. Crimson eyes blazed, devouring the faint jade radiance seeping into his domain.
His reply was cold, carrying across the heavens as easily as breath. "Yuan Jihao. You cross into my shadow and dare speak of kneeling? Do you mistake me for Heaven's pet?"
The chains writhed and surged upward, blotting out the jade ship's glow.
Prince Jihao's expression darkened. With a flick of his hand, jade aura spread across the sky, transmuting air and earth alike into crystalline glow. Even the grass below glittered as though carved from precious stone. Time itself seemed to slow beneath his will. "Submit," he declared, "and my dynasty will shield you from Heaven's wrath. Resist, and even your throne of chains will crumble."
Feng Xuanlong laughed, the sound rolling like thunder through the land. "Heaven's wrath has already struck. I devoured it whole. Tell me, Prince—what shield can your dynasty offer, when I devour you next?"
The golden glow in Jihao's eyes sharpened. Behind him, runes unfolded into the shape of a colossal jade lotus, its petals radiant with divine light. Without hesitation, he raised his hand. A spear of jade light shot forth, tearing across the horizon, splitting mountains and boiling rivers. It was a killing strike, pure and merciless.
But the villain did not flinch. Chains roared from his back, weaving into the form of a serpent wreathed in black flame. It devoured the spear mid-flight, crunching through its brilliance, and surged toward the jade ship.
The prince's lotus flared, erecting barriers of glowing scripture. Explosions thundered across the night as serpent and lotus collided, but still the chains pressed closer.
On the ground below, Xuanlong's disciples burned with eagerness. Yan Ruyan leaned forward. "Master, let me break their ranks. One cut, and their attendants will scatter."
"My shadows will drag the ship into the abyss," Meiyu whispered hungrily.
Qiao Ling rested her hand on her sword. "Grant me permission, and I will sever the lotus itself."
But Xuanlong raised a hand. "No. This taste is mine alone. Watch, and learn what it means to break Heaven's chosen."
The jade lotus spun violently, runes blazing brighter, as though an entire dynasty's will poured into its rotation. Yet with each step forward, Xuanlong's chains shattered petals and cracked scripture. The oppressive aura of a foreign dynasty bent and crumbled beneath his stride.
Prince Jihao's composure faltered. His golden eyes burned with humiliation. He had crossed realms to deliver Heaven's judgment, yet his lotus wavered before this villain's advance. For the first time, disbelief flickered across his flawless face.
But then, a thin smile crept to his lips. "You devour my strikes, Feng Xuanlong. But let us see if you can devour this."
He snapped his fingers. The jade ship shuddered, seals along its hull igniting in blinding light. From its depths, a second aura stirred — heavy, vast, ancient. The roar of a guardian spirit split the skies, shaking the land itself.
The prince had not come alone.
And the true battle had only just begun.