Boom. Boom. Boom.
A heavy war drum echoes in from the distant sky, pounding as if it strikes straight against every heart present. To the east, a massive shadow blots out the sun as it approaches. Fleet after fleet of colossal war vessels, each one packed with armour-clad, powerfully imposing Azure Sun Sect disciples. Banners bearing the words Azure Sun flutter and snap in the wind, forming a massive military formation, with over a hundred war vessels in total surrounding the entire city of Bluestone completely.
A terrifying air of bloodshed and violence converges together, condensing above the city into a sea of blood-red clouds.
A complete mobilisation. The Azure Sun Sect, just to deal with one insignificant junior, has deployed the entirety of its strength.
On the most magnificent flagship at the very centre, a middle-aged man in a purple dragon-embroidered robe stands with hands folded behind him, dignified without needing to raise his voice. It's sect master Alistair Vane of the Azure Sun Sect. Beside him stand several elders, their auras equally unfathomable. Every one of them a Core Formation Realm powerhouse. A lineup like this could easily flatten ten cities like Bluestone.
"Sect master, that's the city right below." A venomous voice speaks up.
Julian steps out from behind Alistair Vane. In just one night, he seems to have aged decades. His once black hair is now streaked with strands of silver. The after-effects of burning his faded fortune have already begun to show. Yet his eyes gleam with a frightening intensity, burning with a mad fire within.
"Ethan, that monster. He's in the city."
Vane looks down at the city below, small and insignificant before this armada of war vessels, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Pass my order. Anyone in the city connected to the Reed family will be dealt with severely. Anyone harbouring Reed remnants will be expelled from the sect. Anyone who resists will have their cultivation stripped."
The icy command travels via spiritual energy, spreading to every corner of Bluestone City. Wails and despair fill the streets. This is the tyranny of a top tier sect. In their eyes, mortal lives are worth no more than weeds.
"Julian." Vane turns to the man beside him. "You're certain this Ethan has a heaven tier treasure."
This is the real reason he's mobilised his entire sect.
"I swear it on my Dao heart. Not a single word of it is a lie." Julian's answer is firm and unwavering. "It's an incredible suit of dragon-shaped armour. Its grade so high, I've never seen anything like it in my life."
Fervent greed erupts in Vane's eyes. If we can obtain that armour, the Azure Sun Sect will instantly become the strongest sect for ten thousand li in every direction.
His tone shifts. "As for you, you've already burned your fortune, your foundation ruined. No further progress possible in this lifetime. But since you've offered up this treasure, this sect master will grant you a chance for revenge."
"Thank you, sect master." A savage grin spreads across Julian's face.
He bites down hard, splitting his tongue, spraying essence blood into the empty air before him. "With my body, I ignite my source. With my soul, I burn my potential. I stake everything, every last drop of fortune I've gained since my rebirth, for the power of one final battle. Secret art. The Blood Fire Rite."
As he chants madly, his already fading aura surges upward in a way that defies belief. His body grows taller, his shrunken muscles refill, and his greying hair returns to jet black. A terrifying pressure, far beyond even early stage Core Formation Realm, erupts violently from within him, edging close, however faintly, to the threshold of late stage Core Formation.
This is his final trump card. The last battle he's prepared just for you.
"Ethan, come out and die!" Julian howls up at the sky, his voice dripping with mad exhilaration.
Just then, the gate to the run-down courtyard in the Reed estate creaks open, swinging slowly wide. A figure in black, bathed in sunlight, steps out unhurried.
It's you.
You look up, glancing once at the dark, sprawling army above, then once at the aura-surging, half-mad figure of Julian, your expression showing not a hint of concern, as if this spectacle, one grand enough to make heaven and earth pale, is nothing more to you than a swarm of flies buzzing around.
You step forward once, and your figure is already hovering above the Reed estate, facing off against that colossal armada from a distance.
"Come at me together. I'm in a bit of a hurry, and this way I can deal with all of you at once."
Your utterly flat voice carries clearly across the sky into the ears of tens of thousands of Azure Sun disciples. And yet this calm, casual tone strikes them as even more absurd, even more infuriating, than the wildest arrogance would be.
"Deal with us? Deal with what exactly? Deal with our hundred plus war vessels, our tens of thousands of elite disciples, our sect master, and every one of our elders?"
"Has he gone mad? Or is he simply a fool?"
"Insolent. Even at death's door, he dares run his mouth. Kill him. Avenge Elder Thorne. Wipe the entire Reed family out of Bluestone City."
After a brief silence, the fleet erupts into a roar loud enough to shake mountains and roil seas.
Yet up on the flagship, Vane does not give the order. He stares fixedly at you below, an unease growing stronger and stronger in his chest. This young man is far too calm. Not the calm of an ant about to be crushed by an army, but the calm of a god looking down at a farce playing out among mortals. Especially that gentle clenching of his fist. No ripple of spiritual power detected at all. And yet it sends even a late stage Core Formation master like Vane into a moment of visceral unease.
"Sect master, don't let him rattle you." Julian's frantic voice cuts in, already fully consumed by the fires of vengeance, his reason gone entirely. "He's definitely bluffing. With my source power boosted, my strength is multiplied a hundredfold. Killing him will be effortless. Ethan, come die!"
Julian can wait no longer. He roars, charging forward to attack first.
He presses both hands together at his chest, the burning phantom of fortune behind him solidifying into a vivid form. A blurred figure dressed in imperial robes, wielding an emperor's blade, slowly materialising.
"Destined for sovereignty. The Sovereign Dragon Fist."
Accompanied by a sky-shaking dragon roar, that imperial phantom, carrying a will to judge all beings, to rule the world with supreme authority, unleashes a punch, a golden aura at the peak of splendour, transforming into a five-clawed golden dragon that tears through the sky, roaring straight toward you.
This single punch carries the fortune he's stolen, the last remnants of destiny he's clung to. Its power far exceeds the boundaries of the Core Formation Realm. Wherever the fist's force points, space fractures inch by inch. Below, the countless formations and wards protecting Bluestone City's buildings shatter violently under this pressure.
This is Julian's strongest strike. The one he staked absolutely everything on. He believes this single punch is enough to shatter you completely, armour and all.