The northern wind cut like a blade.Its howl swept across the camp, cold and sharp as steel.
The scout's report struck the command tent like a boulder thrown into calm water—shattering the brief peace that had followed yesterday's victory.Three thousand ironclad soldiers, still flushed with pride after witnessing Li Tianyuan's three straight duels, now fell into uneasy silence.
General Qin Yue rose to his feet, armor clinking as he straightened to his full height. His eyes were hard as tempered iron."The Prince of Yan?" he growled. "He has guarded Youzhou for years, loyal and steady. Why would he suddenly move his armies?"
The scout, still kneeling, his cloak heavy with dust, spoke quickly."My lord, the prince has begun mustering his cavalry—thousands of them. He's been seen consorting in secret with tribes beyond the northern plains. Border beacons burn night after night. Several outposts have fallen silent. Signs of rebellion are clear!"
The tent rippled with alarm.
Scribe Fu Yuan's gaze darkened. "This is no simple mutiny," he murmured. "The demonic cult has been stirring beneath the surface. The Inverse Spirit Sect moves in shadow—and now, the prince's sudden unrest? Someone is fanning the flames."
Mu Changfeng frowned deeply. "If the Prince of Yan truly rebels, that's a hundred thousand cavalry under his command. We have barely three thousand men—how can we stand against that?"
Murmurs spread through the ranks of officers, unease seeping into every face.
Li Tianyuan clenched his fists silently. Just last night he had won the army's respect; now fate was already testing him anew.He felt the weight of it, but also—somewhere deep inside—a strange calm, as if destiny itself were pushing him forward.
Three days later, the reports grew worse.Outside Youzhou, the Prince of Yan personally led drills for his army, proclaiming,
"The court is corrupt! The realm must be reborn through strength and order!"
Rumors whispered through the north—of black fog over his camps, of monstrous cries echoing at night, of a thing being worshiped in secret.
Fu Yuan's eyes blazed with fury. "The Inverse Spirit Sect! Their corruption runs deeper than I feared—even the lords of men have fallen to their poison."
Qin Yue's voice was cold and clipped. "The prince has long harbored the heart of a wolf. This rebellion was inevitable. The demons merely gave him an excuse."
Li Tianyuan asked quietly, "If he marches south and the capital still reels from the chaos—how will we hold the line?"
Qin Yue exhaled, each word hard as stone."The north cannot fall into ruin. I've already sent for reinforcements and a message to the capital. For now—we hold with what we have. Even three thousand iron men can buy us time!"
The command tent thrummed with the sound of resolve. Li Tianyuan looked at Qin Yue and, for a fleeting moment, saw not just a general—but a lion of war, standing unbowed against the storm.
To uncover the truth behind the uprising, Qin Yue ordered a covert mission into Youzhou.
Li Tianyuan stepped forward. "This concerns the fate of the realm. I'll go."
Mu Changfeng's eyes widened. "You've only just earned your place among the army. The risks are—"
"All the more reason to lead by example," Li Tianyuan interrupted, voice steady. "If I retreat now, why should any man follow me?"
A murmur of approval swept the tent.Fu Yuan studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "You're beginning to master the power within you. Perhaps this journey will temper it further."
Thus, Li Tianyuan, Fu Yuan, Mu Changfeng, and Mu Xueyin led a hundred riders under cover of darkness, bound for Youzhou.
Night cloaked the city like a shroud.The gates were sealed.A thin black mist drifted across the fields, and the fires of the camps burned with an eerie stillness.No shouts, no laughter—only silence, heavy and wrong.
Li Tianyuan drew his horse to a halt. The air itself seemed to whisper—low, mournful murmurs rising from the dark.He felt a chill creep along his spine.
"This doesn't feel like a military encampment," Mu Xueyin whispered, pale as moonlight. "It feels like a… shrine for the dead."
Fu Yuan's face was grim. "The Inverse Spirit Sect has laid their sigils here. They're infecting the hearts of men. If we don't sever this blight, the entire north will fall."
Li Tianyuan gripped his spear.The energy within him—his cauldron force—thrummed in answer. Something vast and unseen was calling to him from within the city.
They slipped through side alleys and entered Youzhou unseen.Shops were shuttered, streets empty, faces hollow with fear.Patrolling soldiers passed like ghosts—their eyes blood-red, their steps unnaturally stiff.
Li Tianyuan's breath caught. "They're not human anymore."
The group crept through the shadows until they reached an old temple at the city's heart.The doors were closed tight, but a line of crimson light leaked through the cracks.
Fu Yuan raised a hand, murmuring, "The altar lies within."
Just as they moved to enter—the gates exploded outward.
Dozens of armored guards poured forth, eyes gleaming with demonic red.Their leader stepped into view—the captain of the prince's personal guard.
"Who dares trespass upon the sacred rite?" he thundered.
Li Tianyuan's gaze turned to ice. He leveled his spear, golden light blooming along its shaft."Sacred rite?" he said coldly. "You mean corruption."
The clash was instant.
Steel rang, sparks flew.The guards fought like men possessed—literally. Each strike carried the madness of the damned.Li Tianyuan's spear swept through them in arcs of golden light, bodies bursting into mist—but the black fog only reformed again, taking shape anew.
"They don't die!" Mu Changfeng shouted, his armor slick with blood.
Fu Yuan hurled a talisman, sigils flaring across his palm. "They're blood-forged puppets! We must destroy the altar!"
Li Tianyuan's eyes sharpened. He turned, sensing the pulsing heart of evil deeper within the temple. The very air was vibrating with dark energy.
They broke through the defenders and burst into the main hall.The massive doors slammed open—
And there he stood.
The Prince of Yan.
He was a towering figure clad in black-gold armor, eyes glowing crimson, a mark burning at his brow. Shadows coiled around him like living smoke.
His voice was deep, resonant, and utterly cold.
"The empire is rotten. Heaven's mandate is broken.Only under the demon's blessing can a new order rise."
Li Tianyuan's grip tightened on his spear.The power within him roared, straining to burst free.
Fu Yuan's face was ashen. "He's no longer himself—the Inverse Spirit Sect controls him completely!"
The prince stepped forward, each stride heavy with crushing force.
"By the will of the Inverse Spirit—none shall stand in my way!"
The temple shook. Black mist erupted skyward, blanketing the city.
Li Tianyuan met the prince's gaze. Their wills clashed in the air—light and darkness colliding like thunder.
He knew, in that moment, that this battle was no longer about one city.It was a reckoning for the entire north.