“How… how is this possible?” Commander Han Fu’s eyes glazed over, the Ancient Array Disk in his grip flickering out as the Spatial Array Patterns around them fractured and dissolved. The Heaven-Burning Spear had him impaled, pinning him to the void itself. A wretched smile twisted his lips as he looked at Ji Fuyao.
“Killing me won’t make you think you can challenge my Northern Plains Imperial Court, will it? I’m merely a minor figure within the Imperial Court, a stepping stone at best…” Han Fu’s voice was laced with scorn, even in his dying moments. “Many have tried to challenge the Imperial Court, but all have met their end in foolish fantasy. I offer you a chance, a clear path: abandon this hopeless rebellion, pledge fealty to Her Majesty the Ice Frost Empress, and your future will be boundless.”
He didn’t get to finish. With a subtle flick of Ji Fuyao’s crystalline jade palm, the Heaven-Burning Spear ripped free from his body. Commander Han Fu’s eyes went wide, then blank, as his life force extinguished. Boom! His lifeless body plummeted from the sky, a stark testament to her ruthless efficiency.
At the sight of their commander’s swift, brutal end, the entire Ice Flame Army shattered like glass. Their battle intent evaporated, replaced by raw terror. Even their three most powerful commanders had been annihilated with such ease! They were utterly powerless to reverse the tide.
“Flee!”
“What monstrous power is this?”
“Her Majesty the Ice Frost Empress will never forgive you!”
What followed was a massacre. Three hours later, the last of the Ice Flame Army outside Luocheng had been cut down. Utterly annihilated. Wang Man and Qing Yan immediately set about clearing the battlefield, their teams collecting the spoils. The haul was staggering—the Storage Rings of the Ice Flame Army soldiers overflowed with cultivation resources.
Just then, Wang Jiang Chen Yan, his life force flickering like a dying candle, was helped forward by the people of Luocheng. Gasping for breath, he bowed deeply to Ji Fuyao. “Thank you for your aid, Daoist friend. May I inquire about your esteemed faction and how I may address you?”
Ji Fuyao replied, her voice calm but resonant, “The Fuyao Dynasty! And I am Ji Fuyao!”
A ripple of shock went through the people of Luocheng. An Imperial Dynasty? Here, in the Northern Plains? Their Fire Alliance had struggled for ten millennia, yet only ever dared to call themselves an “Alliance.” For years, the Northern Plains Imperial Court had systematically crushed them, never quite annihilating them, but slowly bleeding them dry. Since the Heaven and Earth Change, the Fire Alliance had been in a steady decline, not dead, but a fading ember.
With trembling hands, Chen Yan retrieved an ancient jade token from his Storage Ring, engraved with the character for “Fire”—the symbol of a Fire Alliance Wang Jiang. Of their seven great Wang Jiangs, three had already fallen. He was the fourth, and his end was near. He resolved to pass this token to the formidable woman before him.
“Daoist friend,” Chen Yan rasped, “I acknowledge your immense power, but the Northern Plains Imperial Court is simply too vast, too terrifying. Their foundation spans eight epochs, backed by Supreme Old Ancestors—a force that could crush any of the Five Domains!”
Not far off, Wang Man strode forward, his blood-soaked axe gleaming. “A mere Imperial Court? What’s there to fear?” he boomed. “Under Her Majesty the Empress’s leadership, the Imperial Court is nothing but brittle paper!”
The people of Luocheng gasped, their eyes wide. Her Majesty the Empress! To declare oneself Empress and establish an Imperial Dynasty in the Northern Plains was a direct challenge, a mortal offense to the Ice Frost Empress! Such arrogance, even before the Imperial Court was overthrown?
“So, Daoist friend,” Chen Yan asked, his voice weak but hopeful, “what is your plan now?”
Ji Fuyao’s eyes glinted with fierce resolve. “We march on the Imperial Court!”
Chen Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief. This was the very ambition that had burned in the Fire Alliance’s heart for generations, yet they had never dared to voice it, let alone act upon it.
Just then, a young man standing before Chen Yan spoke up, “Father, have you forgotten the prophecy?”
A collective buzz resonated through their minds, a flash of realization. The ancient prophecy of the Northern Plains Imperial Court: The melting of the glaciers will be destroyed by fire! It spoke of a supreme expert who would shatter the Imperial Court, and when that day came, the entire Northern Plains would melt. And the powerful figure before them wielded the terrifying Dao of Spirit Fire!
At this thought, Chen Yan’s face flushed with a final, desperate surge of vitality. In a last burst of energy before death, he pulled out another Ancient Jade Token, carving intricate Quasi-Dao Supreme Dao patterns onto its surface. His voice, though weak, carried the weight of his final will: “All members of my Fire Alliance shall cooperate with Daoist friend Ji Fuyao to overthrow the Northern Plains Imperial Court! Fight with all your might!” He knew Ji Fuyao’s combat power far surpassed any of the Fire Alliance’s Quasi-Dao Supremes. If she could topple the Imperial Court, the Fire Alliance would gladly pledge allegiance to the Fuyao Dynasty.
Chen Yan passed the Ancient Jade Token to Ji Fuyao. “Our Fire Alliance once had seven Wang Jiangs,” he explained. “With my demise, only three will remain. This token will ensure their cooperation with the Fuyao Dynasty.”
Ji Fuyao took the token and nodded. Chen Yan then turned to the young man. “Chen Bing, you must follow Empress Fuyao! When her Imperial Dynasty shatters the Imperial Court, remember to tell your father at the family altar!”
Tears streamed down Chen Bing’s face as he clutched his father’s hand. Wang Jiang Chen Yan’s breath grew fainter, until he finally closed his eyes, a faint, peaceful smile gracing his lips. Soon after, Chen Bing buried his father within Luocheng. With that done, he dropped to his knees before Ji Fuyao. Thump! His face was alight with fierce battle intent. “I pledge to follow Her Majesty the Empress and conquer the Northern Plains Imperial Court!”
At his words, the assembled cultivators of Luocheng knelt as one, a surging tide of desperate hope. “We pledge to follow Her Majesty the Empress and conquer the Northern Plains Imperial Court!” There was no turning back now. No retreat. Only the fight alongside Ji Fuyao. Success or glorious death. For the first time in generations, Ji Fuyao had given them a glimpse of hope.
Ji Fuyao gave a faint nod. “Rise,” she commanded.
Chen Bing and the others slowly rose, their expressions grim. “Empress,” Chen Bing began respectfully, “we must quickly rally the remaining Fire Alliance forces. The Northern Plains Imperial Court is simply too formidable, and our Fuyao Dynasty’s numbers are still too few! Intelligence suggests they command at least twenty Three-rotation Quasi-Dao Supremes—and those are just the ones we know about!” Their current strength, with only Ji Fuyao as a Two-rotation Quasi-Dao Supreme, was a stark, almost insurmountable disparity.
Ji Fuyao nodded. “You will be responsible for contacting the other Fire Alliance factions.”
“Empress,” Chen Bing continued, his brow furrowed with worry, “there’s another pressing matter. Rumor has it that the Ice Frost Empress has already reached out to Outer World Supreme Old Ancestors. If they intervene, our Fuyao Dynasty will be utterly overwhelmed!”
Wang Man scoffed, a dismissive wave of his hand. “If any Supreme dares to interfere, the Northern Plains Imperial Court will fall even faster!”
The others stared, bewildered. “Commander Wang Man, what do you mean?”
Wang Man burst into laughter, his voice echoing with fierce pride. “Because Her Majesty the Empress also has someone backing her!” he declared. “Their Northern Plains Imperial Court may boast eight Supreme Old Ancestors, but behind our Empress stands the longest river, the highest mountain—an invincible expert, Suppressing All Eras, capable of shattering myriad realms with a mere flick of a finger, casually roaming the River of Time!”
The crowd was utterly stunned into silence. Chen Bing, his voice trembling with excitement, finally managed, “I… I had no idea Her Majesty the Empress was backed by such formidable power!”