Three days passed like a heartbeat.
The imperial capital held its breath. Rumors spread faster than wildfire: the Thundercloud Sect was coming for revenge. Their Saint Ancestor remained in closed-door cultivation, but they had mobilized every available expert — three Nascent Soul elders, twelve Core Formation powerhouses, and over a hundred Foundation Establishment disciples.
At noon on the third day, the sky above Hanlong City darkened with roiling thunderclouds. Lightning cracked like whips as a massive flying warship descended, its sails embroidered with crackling purple thunderbolts. The Thundercloud Sect had arrived.
I stood alone in the central imperial square, black robes fluttering, spirit sword at my waist, God Rock pulsing warmly in my Spatial Storage Ring. Li Qing watched from the royal balcony above, her hands clenched tight, phoenix eyes burning with worry and pride. Emperor Li Tianlong sat on his elevated throne, flanked by his own Nascent Soul guards, observing silently.
The warship landed with a thunderous boom. Its ramp lowered.
Leading the delegation was Thundercloud Sect's Grand Elder Lei Wuji — early-stage Nascent Soul, aura like a raging storm. Behind him marched the remaining two Nascent Soul elders and the full force of Core Formation experts. Their collective pressure made the ground tremble and ordinary citizens flee in terror.
Lei Wuji's eyes locked onto me like twin lightning bolts.
"Ye Tianhen!" his voice boomed across the square, amplified by thunder qi. "You murdered my son Lei Batian and butchered our disciples in cold blood. Today you will pay with your life. Hand over the God Rock and the Time Dao fragment, then kneel and beg for a swift death. Refuse, and we will erase you and everyone who shelters you."
I drew my spirit sword slowly, the blade humming with newly mastered Imperial Dragon Sword Art. Lightning danced faintly along its edge — Sword Dao fused with Lightning Dao.
"No," I said simply. "You came for blood. You will receive it."
Lei Wuji laughed coldly. "Arrogant child. Elders — kill him!"
The two Nascent Soul elders attacked first.
One unleashed Thundercloud Palm — a massive hand of crackling purple lightning that could flatten mountains. The other summoned Storm Dragon Strike, a roaring lightning dragon that tore through the air with destructive force.
I held the God Rock and watched.
Time slowed around me as the fresh Time Dao insights surged. Their techniques became crystal clear — every meridian flow, every weakness. I copied both instantly.
Space folded.
I vanished from where I stood and reappeared between the two elders. My sword moved like a silver phantom.
First strike — infused with slowed Time and spatial compression.
The blade sliced through the Storm Dragon Strike as if it were paper, then continued upward, severing the second elder's right arm at the shoulder in a fountain of blood and lightning. The arm flew away still crackling with residual thunder.
The elder screamed.
Second strike — I fused the copied Thundercloud Palm into my sword and drove it straight into the first elder's chest. Lightning exploded outward from the wound, but it was my lightning now. His golden core shattered with an audible crack. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body convulsed and collapsed, lifeless.
One Nascent Soul elder dead. Another crippled in under five seconds.
The square erupted in shocked gasps. Even Emperor Li Tianlong leaned forward, eyes narrowed in disbelief.
Lei Wuji roared in fury. "All disciples — attack! Overwhelm him with numbers!"
Over a hundred Foundation Establishment and Core Formation experts charged at once, unleashing a storm of lightning techniques — Thunderbolt Rain, Lightning Chain Prison, Sky-Splitting Thunder Sword.
I smiled coldly.
The God Rock drank it all in.
I activated the Imperial Dragon Sword Art at full power, fusing it with Space, Time, and the newly copied Lightning Dao. My sword became a blazing storm of silver and purple light.
I moved like a ghost through the battlefield.
Every spatial blink let me appear wherever I wished. Time strands slowed enemy strikes just enough for me to dodge or counter. Lightning from their own techniques now answered to me.
Slash after slash.
A Core Formation elder lost both legs at the knees, screaming as he toppled. Another took a vertical cut from crown to groin, his body splitting open in a gruesome spray of blood and organs. Foundation Establishment disciples fell in droves — heads rolling, arms and legs severed, bodies bisected cleanly.
Blood painted the imperial square crimson. The air filled with the metallic scent of slaughter and the ozone of spent lightning.
Lei Wuji could no longer watch. He descended personally, aura exploding to its peak.
"Die, you monster!"
He unleashed his ultimate technique — Heavenly Thunder Judgment. A colossal bolt of purple lightning shaped like an executioner's axe descended from the darkened clouds, powerful enough to threaten even a mid-stage Nascent Soul expert.
I raised my sword with both hands.
All the copied techniques fused into one strike.
Space compressed the distance. Time slowed the falling axe. Lightning Dao amplified my power. Sword Dao gave it killing intent.
"Dragon Severing Slash!"
My blade met the thunder axe head-on.
For one frozen heartbeat, the entire square went silent.
Then my sword cut straight through the axe.
The lightning shattered like glass.
The residual force slammed into Lei Wuji's chest, carving a deep, cauterized gash from shoulder to hip. Blood and charred flesh flew outward.
He staggered back, eyes wide with disbelief and terror.
I blinked forward one final time and drove my sword through his heart.
Lei Wuji gasped once, blood bubbling from his lips, before his body went limp. I yanked the blade free, letting his corpse crumple to the blood-soaked ground.
Silence.
Absolute, deafening silence.
Over a hundred Thundercloud Sect experts lay dead or dying across the square — limbs scattered, heads severed, bodies torn apart in rivers of blood. The three Nascent Soul elders were among the fallen.
I stood alone in the center, black robes drenched crimson, sword dripping, chest rising and falling evenly.
Not a single scratch on me.
From the royal balcony, Li Qing's voice rang out first — clear, proud, and filled with fierce love.
"My husband is invincible!"
The imperial guards erupted in cheers. Even the Emperor rose slowly from his throne, clapping once, twice, then applauding openly.
"Ye Tianhen," his voice carried across the square, "you have proven yourself beyond doubt. From this day forward, you are the Imperial Sword Marquis of the Great Han Dynasty. The royal library is yours. My daughter is yours in marriage. And the Thundercloud Sect… will be dealt with."
I sheathed my sword and looked up at Li Qing, meeting her radiant gaze.
She blew me a kiss, eyes shining with heat and devotion.
Tonight, I knew, she would reward me in the most passionate ways possible — her body pressed against mine, whispering how proud she was while we lost ourselves in each other until dawn.
I turned to the Emperor and bowed slightly — the second show of respect I had ever given.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. But remember my words. This is only the beginning. The 3000 Grand Daos await me. When I master them all, entire universes will tremble."
The God Rock pulsed warmly in approval, already digesting every new technique and Dao strand I had copied during the slaughter — more Lightning, more Sword perfection, deeper Space and Time insights.
The Great Han Dynasty now knew my name.
And soon, the entire continent — then the starry sky beyond — would learn it too.