The atmosphere above the central plaza of Cloud Heaven City pulsed with a suffocating tension capable of cutting through breath itself, as if a dark cloud of death and destruction had suddenly descended to block out the sunlight and cast gloomy shadows over the hundreds of shops and spectators gathered in the background.
A few meters away, hundreds of soldiers clad in black armor and holding blazing lances completely encircled the area, their ranks forming an impenetrable iron wall.
At the forefront of this terrifying army stood Patriarch Zhao Tianxiong, the leader of the Zhao family who possessed a staggering cultivation at [Core Formation Stage – Level 8].
Mounted on a massive, dark-scaled spiritual beast, his eyes flashed with sparks and blind hatred as he locked his lethal gaze directly upon the youth standing with utter nonchalance in the center.
“You are the intruder who dares humiliate the Zhao family and desecrate our dignity in our own backyard?!” Zhao Tianxiong roared in a thunderous voice that shook the entire plaza, its echo rolling between the towering stone walls of the surrounding buildings.
“You white-haired bastard, even if you flee to the ends of the earth, today you will find no place to escape my wrath.
I will sever your limbs one by one and hang your head on the gates of the main palace as a warning to anyone whose mind even flirts with the thought of challenging the Zhao family!”
Dark did not move a single step.
His hands remained resting calmly within the folds of his robes, his pure, silver-white hair fluttering lightly against the cool wind gusts that accompanied the arrival of this army.
His pearl-crimson eyes, within which distant cosmic nebulae and stars spun, regarded Patriarch Zhao Tianxiong with a look akin to a great god gazing at a petty insect shouting loudly without grasping the reality of the cosmos around it.
In the depths of Dark’s sea of consciousness, the luxurious golden-arched screen glowed with a steady, serene radiance, clearly displaying the system’s tracking of the current situation and analysis of the opponent’s capabilities:
========================================
[ Primary Target Analysis – Sovereign Link Network ]
• Target: Zhao Tianxiong (Patriarch of the Zhao Family)
• Standard Cultivation Level: [Core Formation Stage – Level 8]
• Techniques and Carried Resources:
* Scarlet Tiger Cultivation Arts (Advanced Grade)
* Lunar Dragon Sword (High-Grade Weapon)
* 5,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones and Pure Silver Dragon Spirit Herb.
• Proposed Action: Crush resistance, link target to the Multiplication Network (100x), and plunder all resources and bloodlines.
========================================
Dark fully understood the nature of his unique evolution.
According to the sovereign rules governing his entity, his standard training level rose continuously and parallel to the absorption of surrounding energies and completed tasks.
However, the overwhelming Divine Elephant Technique operated on an entirely independent track unrelated to the limits of traditional cultivation levels in this world.
It was a purely physical technique relying on the awakening of 840 million dormant cells and particles within the muscular structure, where each new cell granted him massive destructive power transcending the constraints imposed on ordinary practitioners by leaps and bounds.
This rendered him capable of fighting and shattering levels with absolute ease, regardless of whether his current standard level had yet reached the peak of Core Formation.
“Patriarch of the Zhao family…” Dark finally spoke, his calm, deep voice carrying a cosmic resonance that made the hearts of thousands of onlookers tremble with terror.
“You think this army of five hundred fighters and three Core Formation elders gives you the right to scream before me?
In my eyes, you are nothing more than a group of ants gathered to play with fire, and fire is capable of incinerating you all in the blink of an eye.”
“You arrogant upstart!
Attack!
Kill him, tear him to shreds!” Zhao Tianxiong roared madly, unable to endure any further dismissal and coolness from this strange youth.
At the patriarch’s direct command, five hundred elite fighters of the Zhao family surged forward all at once like a terrifying black human flood.
Blazing lances were raised, and murderous spiritual energies surged to form a wall of flame and iron hurtling directly toward Dark with the intent to shred him into microscopic particles.
At the same exact moment, the three great elders of the Zhao family—all at advanced stages of Core Formation—leaped from atop their mounts, unleashing their most formidable offensive techniques from above.
Dark did not draw a sword, nor did he take a single step back.
All he did was unleash a single deep breath, synchronizing with the continuous flow of the connection and multiplication network (100x) that fed him Qing’er’s energy and previously plundered resources, driving the Divine Elephant Technique cells within his body to reach 65 awakened cells.
BOOM!
The space surrounding Dark exploded in a terrifying cosmic shockwave colored in blood and silver.
It wasn’t just an ordinary energy wave, but the embodiment of absolute sovereign aura pressure.
When this aura collided with the advancing flood of soldiers, the movement of all five hundred fighters abruptly froze, as if time itself had stopped!
In a fraction of a second, their steel armor shattered into thousands of fragments, thick blood gushed from their chests, and they all collapsed to the ground unconscious or dead from the immense physical pressure their bones failed to withstand.
As for the three elders descending from above, they felt as though a gigantic hammer forged from stars had slammed directly onto their heads.
Their spiritual energy barriers shattered in a flash, and their bodies were flung in opposite directions like autumn leaves in a fierce gale, crashing into the ground with shattered bones and total unconsciousness.
A terrifying, chilling silence blanketed the entire central plaza; not a single soul among the watching crowds dared even breathe.
The youths, men, and women who had been following the battle dropped their jaws in disbelief, their eyes trembling with panic at the horrifying sight.
An entire army of five hundred fighters and three free elders had been neutralized in a single instant and without the opponent even touching them with a weapon!
Patriarch Zhao Tianxiong stood atop his spiritual beast, his arrogant features transformed into a mask of utter paleness and bitterness.
His hands, gripping the hilt of his sword with desperate effort, trembled as a shaky, disbelieving voice escaped him: “Impossible…
Who…
who on earth are you?!
How can a practitioner at the Foundation Establishment stage possess such world-shattering destructive power?!”
Dark looked at him with a cold gaze, taking a single step into mid-air.
He ascended to the patriarch’s elevation without the aid of a spiritual mount or conventional wings, relying entirely on the absolute power of the Divine Elephant cells, which granted him complete mastery over gravity and space.
“My standard cultivation level has indeed risen to reach the threshold of [Core Formation Stage – Level 3],” Dark spoke calmly as he approached step by step toward the terrified patriarch, “but remember this well, Zhao Tianxiong…
the Divine Elephant technique I cultivate has absolutely nothing to do with the cultivation levels of this pathetic world.
It is a technique that defies laws, and every single cell I awaken equals the power of an entire army.”
Before the patriarch could raise his sword to defend himself, Dark extended his right hand and seized Zhao Tianxiong’s wrist with fingers resembling pure steel.
CRACK!
The patriarch’s wrist snapped with effortless ease, and a terrifying scream of pain echoed across the horizon of Cloud Heaven City.
At that exact moment, a brilliant green flash erupted from the system, announcing the successful linking of the patriarch and the instant draining of all his resources, bloodlines, and techniques into Dark’s reserves.
========================================
[ Sovereign Link & Plunder Report – Patriarch ]
• Target Linked: Zhao Tianxiong successfully.
• Extracted and Integrated: [Scarlet Tiger Cultivation Arts] -> Evolved technique into [Chaotic Divine Tiger Fist].
• Completely Plundered Resources:
* 5,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones.
* Pure Silver Dragon Spirit Herb.
• Awakened Divine Elephant Technique Cells: [ 78 / 840,000,000 cells ] Get faster updates on g.com.
• User Standard Training Level: [Core Formation Stage – Level 3] (with actual combat prowess easily crushing advanced and late Core Formation stages).
========================================
Dark felt a mighty torrent of pure energy flood his veins, pushing his standard training level and cellular vitality to unprecedented heights.
This moment left a devastating impact upon the minds of all residents of Cloud Heaven City, who realized that the venerable Zhao family had completely fallen, and a new absolute sovereign had claimed the throne of power uncontested.
In the background, Qing’er stood with shining eyes and overwhelming awe, witnessing how the city’s largest family collapsed beneath her master’s feet, while her own energies multiplied at an astonishing rate thanks to her continuous bond, propelling her toward new horizons of strength and sovereignty.
The following days passed like a destructive storm across the entire Cloud Heaven Province.
The fall of the Zhao family and the destruction of the Sword of Radiance Sect were merely the prelude to a sweeping earthquake striking all sects and noble families in the region.
Dark did not stop at crushing the Zhao family; he completely dismantled their palace, transferring all their hidden treasuries, resources, and ancient hoarded treasures into his personal reserves, utilizing the eternal copying and absolute comprehension features to master every secret technique those families had guarded for centuries.
On a sunny day, inside the luxurious palace Dark had claimed as his new headquarters in the heart of Cloud Heaven City (formerly belonging to the Zhao family before turning into Dark’s absolute property), tranquility filled the sprawling halls adorned with crystal stones and ancient paintings.
Dark sat upon an exquisite black sandalwood chair, his pristine white hair cascading over his shoulders with a striking silvery sheen, while his pearl-crimson eyes monitored the luxurious system window still displaying details of the link network’s expansion and the growing number of linked targets.
Directly beside him stood Qing’er with absolute respect and loyalty, having advanced through the continuous flow and 100x multiplication into an advanced stage of Foundation Establishment.
The Cold Wind aura swirling around her body shimmered with a pure, awe-inspiring glacial delicacy.
“Master…” Qing’er spoke in a low voice carrying a tone of anticipation and deep respect: “Intelligence reports have reached us indicating that the news of what transpired in Cloud Heaven City has entirely crossed provincial borders, reaching the ears of major sects in the neighboring Great Sky Province.
It is said that the ‘Great Heaven Gate’ sect has begun sending scouting and reconnaissance teams to verify the identity of the entity that destroyed the Zhao family and overthrew the Core Formation elders’ authority with such ease.”
Dark’s facial features did not shift with any annoyance or tension.
He merely offered a cold, sarcastic smile and spoke in a deep voice:
“The Great Heaven Gate?
Their arrival is a bit overdue.
I thought they would move faster than that.” Dark rose to his full height, feeling the entire cave or palace tremble beneath his sovereign prestige, and continued: “Those major sects in the Great Sky Province consider themselves the rulers of this world, yet they fail to realize they are nothing more than a fresh batch of prey prepared by fate to enter our linkage network and expand our cellular power.”
Dark turned his head toward Qing’er and gave a decisive command:
“Prepare yourself, Qing’er.
We will not wait for them to knock on our palace doors.
We shall set forth, and we will be the ones knocking on the door of the ‘Great Heaven Gate’ to see if their sonic techniques and so-called physical bodies are truly worthy of being added to our rising family’s reserves.”
Qing’er bowed her head in respect and loyalty, speaking in a firm voice filled with absolute confidence:
“As you command, Master!
Wherever you walk, my path shall be your path.”
And thus, on that bustling morning in the history of the martial arts world, Dark and Qing’er departed Cloud Heaven City, heading toward the larger and more perilous province, bearing strict retribution for anyone daring to stand against an entity that believed neither in fate nor in heavenly laws, stepping together into a new and terrifying chapter of blood and absolute power that would change the face of history forever.
”Thank you for reading Chapter 8!
As the shadow of the sovereign turns toward the Great Sky Province, will the ancient sects tremble before the rising storm, or will they throw themselves into the fires of their own destruction?
Add it to your library so you never miss a new update!
If you enjoyed the chapter, feel free to leave a vote to support the novel.
Writing is a journey, but your support is my ultimate motivation to keep creating!
Share your thoughts, theories, or ideas for the story in the comments below!”