Inside the Hall of Arbitration, the star chart shook violently.
Not drifting.
Not misaligned.
But refusing correction.
The Immortal Arbiter stood at the center of the hall, his expression darker than it had ever been.
"Confirmation complete," he said slowly."Target classification—"
He paused.
Then spoke each word clearly.
"Su Wan. Empress of the Mortal Realm.Designation: Erasure-Class Target."
The hall fell into dead silence.
Someone swallowed."Reason?" a voice asked quietly.
The Arbiter replied without hesitation.
"She is no longer a variable."
"She has become the central node between mortals and the world itself."
"If she lives—the path of mortal cultivation can never be closed again."
That single sentence sealed her fate.
This was no longer observation.No longer containment.No longer testing.
This was execution.
That Night
Moonlight vanished behind thick clouds.
Above Fengyi Palace, a裂隙—a crack too subtle to be called a rift—slowly opened.
It was not a teleportation array.
Not a spell.
It was rule-level deployment.
A mechanism designed for one purpose only:
Erasing anomalous existences from reality.
Inside Fengyi Palace
Su Wan was teaching the concubines how to regulate their breathing while sweeping.
"Slow.""Don't rush.""The ground isn't going anywhere."
Suddenly—
She stopped.
Her phone flashed red.
[Erasure-Class Intervention Detected][Target: Host][Threat Level: EXTREME]
The concubines were still sweeping.
Unaware.
Su Wan lifted her gaze toward the night sky and sighed softly.
"So it finally came."
The Descent
An invisible force slammed downward.
It wasn't pressure.
It wasn't spiritual suppression.
It was deletion.
Above Fengyi Palace, space itself began to collapse.
Brooms clattered to the ground.
"What's happening?!""I— I can't breathe!"
Panic spread.
Su Wan stepped forward, positioning herself in front of everyone.
She didn't dodge.
She didn't retreat.
She raised her hand.
Her phone unfolded completely—
not into functions,but into permissions.
[World Node Confirmed][Defensive Authority Activated][Coverage Range: Fengyi Palace]
HUM—
A translucent barrier wrapped the entire palace.
The erasure force struck it.
No explosion.No shockwave.
It simply—ceased to exist.
Above the Clouds
The Immortal Eraser's expression changed instantly.
"Failed?!"
"That's impossible!"
"This was a world-level deletion protocol!"
Before he could react—
A golden torrent of fate surged upward like a reversed heavenly river.
"Did you ask me,"a voice thundered across the sky,"before touching her?"
Xiao Xuanyin stood atop the highest tower of the imperial city.
His dragon fate no longer restrained.
Fully unleashed.
At that moment—
He was not merely an emperor.
He was the sovereign of the mortal world.
The Eraser groaned, forced backward by sheer authority.
Only then did he realize—
The Empress was not alone.
Behind her stood an emperor already beginning to establish a Dao of his own.
That night—
The Immortal Realm's assassination attempt failed.
The Following Morning
Inside the imperial city, something small—but profound—occurred.
A teenage boy was brought into the palace.
Low-born.A former errand runner who delivered vegetables to the inner court.
But during the activation of Fengyi Palace's defenses—
When erasure descended—
He hadn't collapsed.
No one protected him.
He stood on his own.
Now, kneeling in the hall, he pressed his forehead to the ground.
"This commoner, Shen Yan," he said, voice steady,"offers this life in loyalty to Your Majesty."
Xiao Xuanyin studied him carefully.
For the first time—
he truly examined an ordinary person.
"What did you see last night?" the emperor asked.
Shen Yan raised his head.
His eyes were clear.
"I saw that heaven and earth rejected no one."
"There were only people who were never taught how to stand."
At the Side of the Hall
Su Wan's phone vibrated.
[High-Compatibility Individual Detected][Source: Civilian][Traits: Comprehension-Type · Stability · Loyalty]
She smiled.
The first one had appeared.
Elsewhere in the Inner Palace
The concubine who had once "found rhythm while sweeping" rushed in, pale-faced.
"Your Majesty… I think I can guide others' breathing now.Without tools. Without instructions."
She hesitated.
"Does that mean I—"
Su Wan looked at her and nodded.
"Yes."
"You too."
That Night
Xiao Xuanyin and Su Wan stood side by side, overlooking the city.
Ten thousand lights burned below.
After a long silence, the emperor spoke.
"I want to establish a sect."
"One that exists within the Immortal Realm—yet never leaves the mortal world."
Su Wan tilted her head, smiling.
"Without leaving the mortal world?"
"What do you think?"
She smiled wider.
"Have you chosen a name?"
Xiao Xuanyin looked toward the horizon.
"The Mortal Sect."
That night—
No edict was announced.No plaque was hung.
But between heaven and earth—
A brand-new cultivation lineage belonging solely to humanityhad already begun to take shape.