Thunder roared as Shen LiuYan stepped in to the ninth and the final trial.
The Void trial chamber was bathed in blue flame. At the middle of the room, there was the magnificent, heavenly sword "Azure Dragon's sword" floating in its dormant state. The voice of the sword whispered in her mind.
"To master me is to master yourself. The last trial lies within"
Darkness surrounded her. Not the kind that merely stole light- but the kind that silence the soul.
To ascend the mantle of the 'Supreme Field Martial', it wasn't enough to conquer enemies, one must conquer oneself.
Shen LiuYan stood motionless, armored in obsidian black and war-gold, her sword pulsing faintly at her side. The wind of the chamber howled around her, dragging shards of memories through the air like broken glass pieces.
A phantom appeared in distant, wreathed in shadow, crowned in fire. It bled malice.
"You wear strength like a crown, general. "
The shadow whispered. What followed was a sinister laugh.
"But I know what's beneath."
She LiuYan narrowed her eyes. The shadow in front of her twisted- its face changing.
The Emperor
The Empress
Shen LiuHua
And then, herself
Each face a blade that cuts her deep. Each memory a wound that would never heal.
The trial wanted to break her. But it didn't know it was already too late for that.
She LiuYan clenched the hilt of her sword as the fire surged upward and swallowed her.
18 years ago…
In the 12th year of the silver blossom reign, the night skies over the imperial palace wept blood red rain upon the golden roofs of the palace.
Some said that the heaven wept for the Empress of ice and flame- born of the sacred Long bloodline, rightful heir to the throne. Other whispered that the rain was no rain at all, but the blood of a phoenix slain by a coward's blade.
A storm of demonic energy roared above the dragon court, curling like serpents through the clouds as the ancestral wards shattered one by one. Screams echoed from the outer walls. The once- immaculate white marble glisten with blood.
At the heart of it all- beneath the shattered sky- stood the dragon Empress, Long XiaoYue.
Clad in her golden armor, now dulled with blood and scorched by flame, the empress wielded her Azure dragon's sword against the tide. Her silver - blue sword, roared with ancient power. Her breath was raged. Her golden core dimming, flickering.
Behind her, clinging to a collapsed pillar, a small girl with tangled black hair and tear streaked cheeks watched. Her eyes wide, unblinking.
Shen LiuYan, barely 5 years old.
"Stay hidden, my baby "the Empress had whispered minutes ago, tucking a fragment of her divine powers into her beloved child's chest.
"Be safe. And remember, mother will always love you two, so much".
Now the empress stood alone at the middle of the grand throne hall, her back to the burning ruins of the Phoenix corridor, where LiuYan was hiding.
In front of her- his blade coated in dark energy- stood the Emperor, Shen JinHai.
Once a noble of the Shen clan, now just a hollow husk. His golden robes shimmered with corruption, and beside him stood the smirking demon princess in red silk, "MengYuan"
"You murdered him..." the Empress whispered, her voice cracking not from fear — but heartbreak.
Shen JinHai tilted his head. "That bustard was a weakness," he said coldly. "He stood between me and my throne, my destiny, my power, my goal. I merely claimed what should have been mine."
"You never wanted me. You only wanted the crown I refused to wear."
"You gave it to me willingly," he said, a twisted smile on his face. "Your greatest mistake. Not my fault."
The Dragon Sword pulsed in the empress's grip, sensing her pain and fury. But she stumbled — her knees buckling as a sharp jolt surged through her meridians. Her golden core, the source of her might, was locking — the timing was perfect. Her spiritual veins were seized, making her unable to use her spiritual powers.
The Blood Moon is an ultimate curse on a field marshal," the Demonic Princess murmured beside the emperor, her voice laced with satisfaction. "She won't last long."
Still, the Empress stood tall.
"You plotted this from the beginning. Even our child… you were never a real father to her"
JinHai expression darkened. "That child never bore my sigil."
The Empress turned her head slightly — as if sensing her daughter's presence — and her expression softened for a breath.
The empress scoffed, said while pointing at the throne.
"That's mine. That was- and always will belong to the dragon clan. You are nothing but a mere replacement"
Then she charged.
Her sword met JinHai's blade in a cascade of sparks and fury. The courtyard exploded with light and darkness clashing as divine steel battled demonic energy. The Empress fought like a dragon unleashed — graceful, wrathful, unrelenting — but her strength was fading fast. Her sword-light dimmed, her steps slowed.
One final strike — she raised the Dragon Sword toward Jinhai's throat.
But he was faster.
With a burst of dark qi empowered by the Blood Moon, the Emperor plunged his demonic blade into the Empress's chest.
The courtyard froze.
Blood stained her robes. The Dragon Sword fell from her hands with a distant clang, its light extinguished. The Empress gasped her face pale, her voice barely audible.
"...Zhaohan... I'm sorry..."
Her body collapsed.
LiuYan's scream never left her throat. Her tiny hands covered her mouth, and her body shook violently, first from shock then from rage.
The demonic princess stepped towards where LiuYan was hiding. A sinister smile tugging at her ugly face. "Now, time for the little bitch" then turn to the emperor and said "kill her".
JinHai hesitated.
"She's just a child," he muttered. "She's... powerless."
"She's hers," the demon hissed. "That alone makes her a threat."
He glanced toward the shadows — and locked eyes with LiuYan.
"Yeah, she isn't mine to begin with anyway". The emperor silently muttered which was left unheard by LiuYan.
Shen LiuYan stepped out of the place where she was hiding all this time. She glanced at her mother's lifeless body, then at the man in front of her, with bloodshot red eyes.
The child was barely 5, yet her gaze made the demonic princess shiver.
"Coward" LiuYan screamed at JinHai.
"You won't be able to say that again" said the emperor before striking his sword toward LiuYan.
But before the blade could fall—
A sudden burst of radiant golden energy erupted from Liuyan's chest.
A glowing sigil, shaped like a coiled dragon, ignited over her heart.
The fragment of her mother's soul — a secret sliver of divine energy implanted by her minutes ago— had awakened.
It flared outward, forming a luminous barrier of white-gold light. Jinhai's blade struck it — once done, it shattered like brittle glass.
The demonic princess screamed and tried to cast a spell to break it —
But a mother's love infused in the shield, pure and boundless, reflected her curse, sending it rebounding into her own body. Even after her death, the empress had managed to protect her beloved child.
The courtyard exploded in light. Wind howled. Time itself seemed to still.
Then, the fragment pulsed once more. Before the demons attack the little princess-
A rune flared underneath Shen LiuYan, activating a teleportation talisman drawn from the last bit of the Empress's power — a final safeguard etched in secret.
Shen LiuYan vanished in a beam of light, tears frozen on her cheeks.
Deep underground, beneath the old meditation chambers once used by the Empress, a hidden door opened silently. The teleportation talisman deposited five-year-old LiuYan into the chamber, collapsing gently onto silk mats surrounded by glowing lanterns. Beside her LiuYan had a fragment of her mother's broken sword.
Rushing toward her were Lady Ruohua, the Empress's loyal chief maid, and Shadow Commander Xie Yuan, leader of the elite Black Phoenix guard. Behind them, there was a young maid holding a bundle wrapped in warm silks, the empress's one-month-old baby girl and Shen LiuYan's younger sister— Shen LiuHua.
Lady Ruohua knelt, tears spilling down her aged face.
"Your Highness, you are safe"
Xie Yuan bowed his head in respect "We were ordered to stay here and guard the little princess. Until we get a signal". Xie Yuan said, looking at LiuYan solemnly.
Shen LiuYan was too young to understand what was going around her. But she knew she had to take responsibility of her sister and her own self from onwards.
"Mother…. She had…fallen" LiuYan's voice came out, barely above a whisper.
Ruohua embraced her, wailing.
"You must survive, Princess. For her. For the truth. And one day... for vengeance."