A colossal maelstrom, a vortex of perpetual motion, relentlessly devoured the ethereal mists unique to the Cloud Sea Starfield. These swirling vapors coalesced above, birthing a roiling, nebulous realm – a vortex shrouded in mist.

This battle, a thunderous clash against the Outer Realm’s ancient star-vessels, delivered a devastating blow. The fervent zeal of the Outer Realm’s warriors was quenched, replaced by a stark, chilling awareness – their losses were immeasurable!

Dozens of tribes were utterly extinguished, not a single invader who dared to breach the Inner Realm surviving the bloody ordeal.

The Fire Sparrow Clan’s Elder perished, as did the revered Southern Zhao Ascendant, and even the dreaded Lord of the Celestial Punishment Hall of the Everlasting Assembly met his doom! Over a hundred thousand warriors lay slain, their souls claimed by the soil of the Inner Realm.

A pall of grief descended upon the ancient star-vessels of the Outer Realm. The thick sorrow slowly transmuted into a burning ember, a raging inferno of vengeance! Fueled by this fury, more and more tribes clamored for renewed war. In response to the swelling chorus, the Everlasting Assembly decreed a period of intense preparation, a harbinger of the Second War.

The entire Outer Realm mobilized, poised and ready, yearning for the moment of retribution.

Ancient and formidable beings, those who had slumbered for tens of thousands of years, stirred from their secluded havens – the very entities of whom the Azure Dream Dao Lord had spoken. Their gazes, cold and unforgiving, pierced the veil toward the Inner Realm, radiating an aura of murderous intent!

The name of the Sealed Lord, Wang Lin, was etched anew into the memory of every Outer Realm warrior. It was a brand of hatred, a whisper of gnashing teeth and boundless animosity. This Wang Lin had slain the Fire Sparrow Elder, extinguished the Southern Zhao Ascendant, and destroyed both the avatar and the island-realm of the Grand Overseer of Cloudfall, leaving his fate uncertain.

It was *he* whose poisonous sea and monstrous swarms became a waking nightmare for the Outer Realm’s legions!

It was *he* who had slaughtered countless warriors and shattered the Outer Realm’s confidence in their invasion!

He was the Sealed Lord, and he *must* die!

The Everlasting Assembly disseminated Wang Lin’s likeness throughout the Outer Realm. Every warrior knew his face. An unprecedented bounty was declared, offered solely for his head!

…Meanwhile, the Cloud Sea suffered unimaginable losses. A mere few thousand survived, bearing the weight of a shattered world. The entire Cloud Sea was left a ruin, devastated by the cataclysm.

The wholesale slaughter of its warriors left many of the Cloud Sea’s sects empty, populated only by the weak and unskilled.

These surviving thousands took upon themselves the mantle of educators, dispersing across the land to nurture future generations. They united the previously fragmented factions, forging the future Ten Sects of the Cloud Sea! Fortunately, the strength of the Divine, Demonic, and Ghastly Sects had been largely preserved, allowing them to hold the line, however precariously.

The Cloud Sea Starfield was irrevocably scarred. Rifts in space, like gaping wounds, tore through the heavens, making travel treacherous and fraught with peril.

Despite this, the Demonic Sect dispatched nearly seventy percent of its forces to guard the site of the First Battle – a desolate, empty expanse at the very edge of the Inner Realm.

With the Great Formation of Sealment shattered, the area, while still plagued by vortexes and black holes, had become a gateway into the Inner Realm!

The Ghastly Sect, too, deployed a significant contingent to fortify this crucial location. As for the Divine Sect, under the leadership of Mu Bingmei, they marshaled their forces, establishing a strict blockade, vigilant against the inevitable Second War.

Warriors of Zhaohe remained, a vanguard led by the comely, middle-aged woman, silently entrenched outside the swirling mists.

Likewise, the warriors of Luotian left a token force, the remainder returning to their homelands, quietly preparing for the coming storm.

The Kunxu Starfield, conspicuously absent during the First Battle, dispatched a thousand warriors led by a woman in azure robes after the fighting ceased.

The woman was strikingly beautiful, yet possessed a chilling demeanor. The coldness in her eyes sent a shiver down the spine of every warrior stationed near the vortex, as if they were standing atop a frozen mountain.

During the First Battle, the Grand Overseer of Cloudfall, an Outer Realm entity, had caused immense disruption amongst the defenders, especially to Hong Shanzi. His presence had crippled the Inner Realm’s ability to deploy their formations.

The Grand Overseer’s tactical brilliance and calculated maneuvers had left a lasting impression upon Hong Shanzi and the others. Had Wang Lin not slain his avatar, the war would have been far more devastating. Even with the reinforcements from Zhaohe and Luotian, the death toll would have been staggering!

The Inner Realm rarely saw such grand conflicts. Over millennia, their warriors had become inexperienced in such matters. This battle was a harsh lesson, one that underscored the vital need for a skilled commander to lead the armies, lest they become a disorganized rabble.

For this very reason, Nan Yunzi had sought out the woman in azure robes from Kunxu. Not only would she lead Kunxu’s forces stationed outside the vortex of mist, she would also command *all* the Inner Realm warriors gathered there!

In the wake of this brutal war, the name of the Sealed Lord, Wang Lin, echoed throughout the Inner Realm. Nearly every warrior knew of his heroic deeds!

Slayer of the Fire Sparrow Elder, vanquisher of the Outer Realm Ascendant of Southern Zhao, and killer of the Grand Overseer of Cloudfall!

With a single axe-stroke, he halted the Outer Realm’s third wave of invasion, deterring tens of thousands of warriors from daring to advance!

With his own might, he stemmed the tide of Outer Realm warriors desperate to flee the conflict, preventing their escape!

These deeds instilled a sense of confidence and ardent reverence in the hearts of the Inner Realm’s warriors. They remembered Wang Lin’s name, and they embraced the title of Sealed Lord!

Wang Lin’s reputation surged throughout the Inner Realm, eclipsing even that of Hong Shanzi, and solidifying his position as the recognized spiritual leader of all within the Inner Realm!

Moreover, it was the Sealed Lord, Wang Lin, who unleashed his Nether Beast, crushing the last vestiges of the Outer Realm’s invasion. The vortex of mist was his creation!

Those who doubted the tales would venture to the Cloud Sea. And there, faced with the staggering sight of the colossal, swirling mist, they would fall silent, a fervent awe growing within them.

Nearly every warrior stationed near the vortex of mist, upon arriving, would silently stare at the awe-inspiring phenomenon. After a long moment of contemplation, they would bow in reverence before departing.
Should any yet remain in disbelief, let their words never reach the ears of the Cloud Sea cultivators, especially not the thousands who clawed their way back from the jaws of death. For these souls, each was a fervent zealot of the Sealed Exalted, Wang Lin, and would brook no disrespect of his name. In their hearts, the Sealed Exalted Wang Lin was the entirety of their glory!

Even the closest of friends from other star domains, should they utter but a single ill-considered word against him, would find their bond shattered, becoming instant enemies!

The name of Wang Lin had become a legend throughout the Realm Within. Yet, a legend shrouded in mystery, vanished without a trace. No one knew if he lived or died…

Crimson Pine and others had once joined forces, weaving spells to seek out Wang Lin, but their efforts yielded naught but empty space. Even the Nether Beast, shrunk to the size of a mustard seed, seemed lost to all searching, as though it had undergone some strange and unknowable transformation.

But the cultivators of the Cloud Sea still believed, “The Sealed Exalted lives!”

Lu Fuzi believed, “The Sealed Exalted lives!”

Xi Zifeng of the Luo Tian Starfield, Xie Qing upon the Spirit Consolidation Star – they held firm, “Our Master lives!”

Shen Gonghu, Zhan Konglie – they too, believed.

The still unbroken soul imprints of Spirit Consolidation Venerable and Zhou Jin, lingering within the Cloud Sea Starfield, and the presence of the mutated, venomous mosquito beasts, lent further credence to the belief that the Sealed Exalted lived!

Mu Bingmei, who had risen to become the Sect Master of the Divine Sect by virtue of the Sealed Exalted’s decree, held a glimmer of hope within her eyes. She steadfastly believed that Wang Lin still lived!

Si Tu Nan, consumed by grief within the Rain Realm, had forsaken cultivation. He drank goblet after goblet, alone and silent, before erupting in a mad laughter towards the heavens. But his laughter soon dissolved into uncontrollable tears. He wept for three days, laughed for three days, and drank for three days, before finally resolving to leave the Rain Realm in search of his sworn brother!

As he departed, Zhou Ru, her eyes brimming with tears, yet filled with both determination and supplication, joined him on his quest.

The day after Si Tu Nan’s departure, Da Tou, along with Lei Ji, also set out. They would seek their master.

But the first to leave the Rain Realm was not Si Tu Nan, but Thirteen. Clutching a statue of Wang Lin, he departed without hesitation the moment he learned of the disappearance, alone in his pursuit!

Many searched for the Sealed Exalted Wang Lin, yet despite their most fervent efforts, they found not a single trace. “…Where are you?” echoed in the Kunxu Starry Skies, as Si Tu Nan and Zhou Ru gazed upon the boundless cosmos.

“…Where are you?” whispered from within the Luo Tian Starfield, as Xi Zifeng, Xie Qing, and others silently watched the stars.

Within the Divine Sect, Mu Bingmei, weary from attending to the affairs of her sect, sipped a restorative potion and gazed silently at the sky beyond her pavilion, muttering to herself.

“…Where are you?” A woman dressed in a water-blue dress, stood outside the swirling mists of the Cloud Sea vortex in the pitch-black starry sky. After a long time, sighed mournfully.

Thirteen, traversing the star-strewn void, spoke not a word. His resolute face bore a fierce determination, guided by a faint, intangible sense, and the lingering aura emanating from the statue, he sped through the cosmos, searching endlessly.

Even the mosquito beasts sought Wang Lin. Numbering in the countless thousands, imbued with poison from their merging with the venomous seas, they did not attack any cultivators. Instead, they swarmed and howled, searching tirelessly, their mournful cries echoing like lost children calling for their parents, instilling a profound sadness in the hearts of all who heard them.

Any cultivator who witnessed the passing of the mosquito beasts would pause, bowing their head in silent respect.

In the Kunxu Starfield, or rather, the Alliance Starfield, far to the northernmost reaches, lay a chaotic region of shattered asteroids. And within this boundless debris, amidst the endless fragments, existed a single rock, no larger than a fist, and as insignificant as dust.

The surface of this small stone was riddled with holes, and inside.. was the Nether Beast, shrunken down to the size of a mustard seed. It was hiding here, utterly terrified by the storm that had destroyed it before. Given its cowardly nature, it had decided that it would rather die than leave this place, as it found the outside world to be far, far too frightening.