Thunder rumbled across the heavens as the final stage of the Nine-Sect Summit Tournament began.
The arena had been transformed.
The ordinary circular stage was now replaced with an ancient floating battleground—a wide, suspended landmass carved with old divine runes, high above the clouds. It was known as Starfall Plateau, a remnant of the last celestial war, and a sacred place where divine beings once fought to the death.
Ten sect banners hovered, fluttering in unseen winds. Beneath them, the remaining contestants stood—each a prodigy of their generation.
Among them, Li Xuantian stood at the edge, calm, distant.
Across from him, Hei Xun waited—dressed in pitch-black robes, his face partially masked, with cold, silver eyes like dying stars. No spiritual energy radiated from him. No presence. It was as if he simply… didn't exist.
A judge stepped forward.
> "This is the final round. The winner will receive the Crown of Aeons, and the right to ascend the Legacy Pavilion."
But everyone knew this was more than that.
This battle would decide who the cultivation world would follow in the years to come.
---
Round 1: Li Xuantian vs Hei Xun
The judge's hand dropped.
Xuantian didn't move.
Hei Xun lifted a finger.
In an instant, the world darkened.
> "Void Domain – Starless Silence."
The arena shifted into a shadow realm—colorless, cold, and suffocating. Even the audience outside the formation could only see a black mist swallowing everything.
Inside, Xuantian stood alone.
Whispers crawled at the edge of his mind.
> "You are nothing."
"You failed. You stagnated for a million years."
"The heavens abandoned you."
Hei Xun's voice echoed.
"Your soul is ancient. Strong. But cracked."
"You've seen too much. Suffered too long. You carry a broken legacy."
From behind him, a hand emerged—translucent, made of shadows, aiming for Xuantian's core.
Xuantian closed his eyes.
And smiled.
"I've fought in darker places."
The void cracked.
One strike.
A golden sword slashed across the illusion—pure, unshackled qi erupting outward.
The Void Domain shattered.
Hei Xun stumbled back, a gash across his mask.
He was breathing—shocked.
"Impossible," he whispered. "You shattered it without using your soul fire... Who are you really?"
Xuantian looked up. "I was once called the Voidbreaker. Do you want to find out why?"
---
Meanwhile, far above the battlefield…
In the Sealed Hall of Crowns, high elders watched the fight nervously.
One of them, the Grand Seer, clutched an old scroll, her face pale.
"It's happening again," she said. "Just like the prophecy."
"What prophecy?" a sect master demanded.
The Grand Seer slowly turned the scroll.
It revealed a painting of two figures—one cloaked in black void, the other radiating golden light, standing beneath a crumbling sky.
> "When the Void Child awakens and the Lost Flame returns, the Crown shall choose its bearer—one to break the cycle… or end all paths."
---
Back in the arena, Hei Xun dropped his mask.
His face was young—too young. Barely a teen in appearance, yet his eyes told a story of ancient sorrow.
"Why do you fight, old relic?" he asked.
"You've already been abandoned. Time forgot you."
Xuantian walked forward, each step pressing heavy spiritual pressure.
"Because I remember what others have forgotten."
He lifted his sword.
"And because I'm not done yet."
> "Heaven-Cleaving Sword Art – Eternal Flame Form."
The sword ignited—not with fire, but with a million years of compressed will.
One slash.
The arena split.
Hei Xun dropped to one knee, his robes shredded, blood dripping from his mouth.
But he laughed.
"You are stronger than I thought… But you've done exactly what they wanted."
"What do you mean?"
Hei Xun stood slowly, summoning a black sigil over his chest. It pulsed—matching the rhythm of the Crown of Aeons, which hovered above the arena now, awaiting its next master.
"You broke the seal."
Above them, the Crown began to tremble violently.
Golden light flickered… then turned black.
> "It was never meant to choose a leader," Hei Xun whispered.
"It was meant to release the sealed soul inside it."
Suddenly, a scream echoed—not from the living, but from across time.
A rift tore open above the arena.
Darkness poured out—like liquid shadow.
A form began to descend. Ancient. Monstrous. Divine.
---
The Awakening of the Crown
The elders panicked.
"The Crown's spirit is awakening!"
"Stop it! Seal the arena!"
But it was too late.
A voice boomed from the sky—one older than the mountains, deeper than the sea.
> "You who dare wear the face of kings… kneel before the true Sovereign of Aeons!"
Lightning struck. The barrier protecting the spectators shattered. Sky turned black.
In the center of the storm, the Crown fused with the rift, forming a humanoid shape—a towering being clad in spectral armor.
> "I am Aeon Sovereign. Your false cultivation ends now."
Hei Xun collapsed, drained. "Run… he used me as a vessel… I was never meant to win…"
Xuantian clenched his sword.
"This wasn't part of the tournament."
"No," said a voice from behind. It was Yan Ruyue, holding a scroll. "This is the final trial. The world doesn't need a winner. It needs a protector."
She tossed the scroll.
It ignited midair, sending a divine pulse into Xuantian's soul.
> "Your path was sealed not because you were weak. But because your power would have broken the cycle too soon."
Suddenly, the golden lotus in his soul flared.
Chains snapped.
The page of the ancient tome flipped open again:
> "Break the crown, end the curse."
---
Final Clash
The Aeon Sovereign lifted its hand—dozens of ethereal blades raining from the sky.
Xuantian roared, releasing his full qi.
His body glowed—not with modern cultivation, but with something older… deeper… Primordial Essence.
He dashed forward.
Clashed.
Clashed again.
Each strike sent shockwaves for miles.
> "You are a mistake," the Aeon Sovereign hissed.
> "No," Xuantian shouted. "I'm the correction."
He leapt into the sky, twisting midair.
> "Heaven-Cleaving Sword Art – Final Chapter: Flame Beyond Time!"
He slashed downward, through the clouds, through the rift.
Through the Crown.
Light exploded.
Then… silence.
---