An unease, cold and clammy, blossomed within Lie Yunzi’s breast, growing with alarming speed. He heard the pronouncements of the new Sacred Emperor, and a shadowy premonition whispered in his ear.

It was especially the gazes of the four withered elders at the Emperor’s side, their eyes like chips of obsidian, that troubled him most, causing a ripple of disquiet to spread across his face.

The armored figure of the Emperor regarded Lie Yunzi, a slow smile creeping across his masked face. The smile widened, transforming into a booming laughter that filled the grand hall, causing the very fire essence of the heavens and earth to swirl and dance with sudden, violent force.

The elemental energies of the entire hall responded, pulled into the Emperor’s vortex of power. Within the tumultuous energies, crackling arcs of light danced and pulsed, a symphony of destructive force that echoed through the hall.

Lie Yunzi’s mind reeled. He rose unsteadily to his feet, stepping back a pace, his gaze fixed upon the armored Emperor. “Sacred Emperor,” he said, his voice tight with apprehension, “What is the meaning of this? If it concerns Wang Lin…”

He never completed the sentence.

“Wang Lin,” the armored Emperor interrupted, his voice resonating with a strange inflection. “He is said to be a Prime Lightning Immortal of your Luo Tian. Is it *you* who seeks him, or is it the Hall of Lightning Immortals?”

Lie Yunzi frowned, his brows furrowing. “He is indeed a Prime Lightning Immortal of Luo Tian, but… While it is I who seeks him this day, it is equally the will of the Hall of Lightning Immortals.”

The armored Emperor regarded him, the smile on his face causing the plates of his armor to shift slightly. “Indeed? And what is the transgression of this Wang Lin, against you, against Luo Tian?”

The unease within Lie Yunzi deepened, twisting into a knot of dread. He hesitated, then spoke. “His transgressions against me, against the Hall of Lightning Immortals, are numerous and weighty, too many to recount fully. But against myself… this Wang Lin stole a treasure of my Zhan family. Naturally, I must reclaim it.”

“Ah, so that is the cause. Understood, it is only natural you would seek Wang Lin.” The armored Emperor nodded slowly. The four withered elders flanking him exchanged peculiar glances, but remained silent.

“I would implore the Sacred Emperor’s indulgence,” Lie Yunzi said, a measure of his composure returning. “For Luo Tian and the Four Sacred Sects share a common enemy: The Alliance of Cultivators!” He may have been arrogant and overbearing, but even he dared not offend the Four Sacred Sects, their roots running deep, a force even Luo Tian had to consider.

“You claim this Wang Lin stole a Zhan family treasure. I confess, this matter has not come to my attention,” the armored Emperor replied, his words striking Lie Yunzi like a blow.

Before Lie Yunzi could fully process the meaning, the armored Emperor rose to his feet. His right hand swept across the mask covering his face, and a voice, cold and filled with deadly intent, echoed through the hall. “You seek Wang Lin, Lie Yunzi? Look closer! See who stands before you!”

In an instant, the mask vanished, dissolving into shimmering waves that dispersed into the air. The image revealed in its wake was none other than Wang Lin!

“You… Wang Lin!” Even Lie Yunzi’s formidable self-control faltered. He gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief. Instinctively, he staggered back, his mind struggling to reconcile the reality before him.

“Impossible! You cannot be the Sacred Emperor of Vermillion Bird! It cannot be!” Lie Yunzi gasped, his breath coming in ragged bursts, his pupils constricting to pinpoints. He could not accept this impossible truth. He saw Wang Lin as an ant, a worm he could have crushed beneath his heel at will.

The stark contrast, this impossible reversal, shattered the limits of Lie Yunzi’s imagination. He stared at Wang Lin, his face a mask of disbelief, but beneath it, terror and shock churned.

“Insolence!” One of the four elders, guardians of Wang Lin, stepped forward, his voice like the grinding of stones. “Even representing the Luo Tian Hall of Lightning Immortals, you have no right to speak of the Emperor of the Vermillion Bird Sect in such a manner!”

With that step, a wave of energy, born from the shattered Void, emanated from him, an invisible force that slammed into Lie Yunzi.

Caught unprepared, stunned by the unfolding revelation, Lie Yunzi spat a mouthful of blood, staggering back again. His face was pale, but the weight of the undeniable truth was pressing down on him. He could not escape the impossible reality.

“You…”

“Lie Yunzi,” Wang Lin’s voice cut through the chaos, laced with ice. “Have you come to congratulate Wang Lin on his ascension as Sacred Emperor? Or have you arrived solely to defile Wang Lin and demand that I bow before you within my Sacred Vermillion Bird Sect? Your request is absurd in the extreme!”

“Wang Lin would do no less than send for the Yan Lei Zi from your Hall of Lightning Immortals, Lie Yunzi! Explain yourself, or you will not leave the Vermillion Bird Sect today, and Luo Tian shall suffer the price tomorrow!”

“This is not a false accusation from Wang; Fellow Daoist Mo Zhi from the Kingdom of Rising Clouds can attest to this!” Wang Lin gave Lie Yunzi no opening, his words a volley of thunderbolts.

Lie Yunzi’s mind was still reeling. Hearing Wang Lin’s pronouncements only caused him to cough out more blood, and just when he was about to speak, Mo Zhi opened his mouth.

“Mo can confirm this. Lie Yunzi was unreasonable from the start, daring to demand the Sacred Emperor within the Vermillion Bird Sect! Mo’s words carry the weight of the Kingdom of Rising Clouds!”

The voluptuous woman of the Corpse Yin Sect flashed a mischievous glance, giggling. “I, too, have taken part in this and can testify that Senior Lie Yunzi is truly absurd!”

Lie Yunzi could not get a full breath. Upon hearing Mo Zhi and the Corpse Yin Sect woman’s words, he spurted out even more blood before raising his head.

A cold smile spread across Wang Lin’s face as he sat back down. He lifted his right hand to look at it, as if studying the fine details of his fingerprints. He paid no attention to this Lie Yunzi; this was the Vermillion Bird Sect, and Lie Yunzi would not escape from his grasp.

Wang Lin would not have done this if he had not made the absurd request, but that was no longer the case. Not only him, but the four elders around him also had cold gazes in their eyes as they stared at Lie Yunzi.

The surroundings were silent. Mo Zhi looked at Wang Lin from time to time, and admiration appeared in his eyes. He did not expect that his old friend that his master spoke of was Wang Lin.

Recalling the first time he met him on Vermillion Bird Star, it was in an old temple on a rainy night. At that time, he had just gained the enlightenment and was in the Transformation Realm. Although they had just met, Mo Zhi remembered Wang Lin from the Dao discussion on that rainy night.

The voluptuous woman from the Corpse Yin Sect was also silent as she watched Lie Yunzi, a playful smile on her face as if she was watching a show.
A hush fell, broken only by the ragged breaths of Lie Yunzi as sweat beaded upon his brow. He knew in his heart, with grim certainty, that his meager cultivation afforded him no escape from the Four Sacred Sects. Moreover, that viper, Wang Lin, had invoked the very name of the Celestial Thunder Palace of Luo Tian! This was no longer a personal matter; it had become an affront to the entire Palace, a stain upon the honor of the Vermillion Bird Sacred Emperor!

Such blatant disregard was anathema to the very spirit of Luo Tian.

“This old one acted rashly,” Lie Yunzi finally croaked, his face a mask of bitter defeat. Despite the raging fire of resentment within his breast, he bowed his head towards Wang Lin, saying, “This was a personal matter, and has naught to do with Luo Tian!”

The inferno of his rage could have consumed mountains. But the humiliation! It gnawed at his very soul. He remembered the days when Wang Lin dared not meet his gaze, when a single beckon would send him scrambling, eager to decipher the secrets of the Battle-Word scrolls.

Wang Lin had been his pawn, destined to forever unravel the mysteries of those ancient texts.

Were it not for the meddling of that Clear Water, Wang Lin would have long been his puppet. Now, however, Lie Yunzi was forced to bow, to grovel, to retract his words in disgrace. How could he bear this?

Yet, to refuse was to court certain death within the very heart of the Vermillion Bird’s domain.

“Insulting the Sacred Emperor,” those four words were a cage from which there was no escape.

Wang Lin, however, acted as if Lie Yunzi had not spoken, his gaze fixed upon his own hand. The veins in Lie Yunzi’s temples throbbed, and he battled to contain his fury. The presence of the four Shattered Nirvana elders surrounding Wang Lin sent shivers down his spine. After a long, agonizing silence, he forced a semblance of respect into his voice, bowing once more. “I beg the Sacred Emperor to forgive my ignorance. There was no intention of insult.”

“Ignorance?” Wang Lin asked, his voice soft and dangerous. “I asked you plainly, was this your will, or that of Luo Tian? Your answer, I recall it well. Tell me, what matters of the Thunder Palace of Luo Tian have I now been embroiled in?”

“You dare!” Lie Yunzi snarled, but quickly suppressed the rising tide of his rage. He dared not unleash his fury. Were it not for the presence of the woman from the Corpse Yin Sect and the astute Mo Zhi, he would have thrown himself into a desperate battle. Though death would be certain, he would die for Luo Tian, and vengeance would surely follow.

But now, they clung to his earlier folly. And with witnesses present, even Luo Tian would hesitate to ignite a war with the Four Sacred Sects and the entire Cultivation Alliance over his reckless actions.

The chilling glances Wang Lin sent his way convinced Lie Yunzi that any further outburst would be his death warrant.

“Sacred Emperor… this matter… this Zhan…” he stammered, finally choking out the words, “Was a mistake!” Lie Yunzi’s hands clenched into fists, his body trembling. In all his years, he had never known such utter humiliation.

“I want all the Battle-Word scrolls of the Zhan family! Give them to me, and this matter is closed. You have half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to consider my offer.” Wang Lin lowered his hand and fixed Lie Yunzi with a piercing stare.

With a flick of his wrist, Wang Lin summoned the fiery Yuan power around him, condensing it into a single, tangible incense stick that floated in the air.

As the incense burned slowly, the silence stretched, heavy and suffocating.

Lie Yunzi wrestled with his pride. As the last tendrils of smoke curled from the dying ember, the invisible weight of Wang Lin’s will pressed down on him. Finally, with a grim nod, he relented.

With a gesture, he tore a rift in the very fabric of space before him. From within the void emerged three ancient scrolls, radiating a palpable aura of battle that washed over the surrounding area.