The ashes hadn't settled.
Even as the Bone Cult's corruption faded into blackened mist, the land itself was still shifting—reacting to the activation of a Sovereign Domain for the first time in centuries. Long Yan stood at the center of the ruined shrine, where the cracked altar pulsed with a faint orange glow. The Domain Stone—now tethered to him—resonated like a second heartbeat.
[System Notification: Sovereign Domain Anchored – Ashglass Ruins Bound]
Effect: Local aura density increased by 14.7%
Passive aura cleansing initiated – Abyssal influence reduced by 38% over 48 hours
New Module Available: Domain Construction Subsystem (Locked)
[Questline Branch Unlocked: Path of the Sovereign]
Track 1: Territory, Followers, Flame Lineage Activation
Luo Yanling leaned against a stone pillar nearby, quietly bandaging her shoulder. The fight with the Bone Cult had taken its toll, and yet she was already regaining composure—her breath steady, eyes alert, blade never far.
She watched Long Yan in silence for a time.
Then: "You've taken this place. Now what?"
He didn't answer at first.
Instead, he stepped up onto the cracked altar—into the center of the Sovereign Domain—and let his aura spread outward.
The ground responded.
The obsidian soil cracked and glowed faintly, like veins of slumbering fire running beneath the surface. The surrounding trees trembled—not from wind, but from his presence.
This place had been dead.
Now it was waking up.
Long Yan closed his eyes. "We build."
"Build what?"
"An empire," he replied. "A throne of fire."
They spent the next three days surveying the ruins, clearing the cult's remnants, and laying the groundwork for stabilization. Luo Yanling was meticulous, cataloging what remained of the shrine, mapping energy channels, and identifying natural aura wells hidden beneath collapsed stone.
Long Yan, meanwhile, delved into the Domain Interface—a new system tab that revealed a tactical overlay of the land itself.
[Sovereign Domain Interface Online]
Region: Ashglass Ruins (Sanctified Tier 1)
Aura Wells: 3 (Status: Semi-active)
Node Structures: 5 Ruined, 2 Dormant
Unique Feature: Emberroot Core Vein (Unclaimed)
Available Commands:
Fortify Domain Core
Claim Resource Node
Begin Flame-Kin Reconstruction Sequence (Locked – Requires Follower Count ≥ 3)
Long Yan sat cross-legged in the inner sanctum of the shrine, hands resting on his knees, breathing in the thickened air like it was wine. The aura here was not just dense—it was refined, shaped by centuries of spiritual warfare and divine sacrifice.
And now it belonged to him.
[New Skill Synthesized: Sovereign Presence – Passive]
Effect: +10% suppression effect within controlled territory
Enemies within Domain experience aura distortion and spiritual vertigo
[Warning: Unclaimed Domain draws attention from regional factions]
Good.
Let them come.
On the fourth night, as the moon hung low and red in the sky, Luo Yanling returned from scouting the southern perimeter.
She moved in silence but with urgency.
"They're watching," she said. "I found markings—fresh ones. Someone sent a scout sect."
Long Yan nodded. "Which one?"
She hesitated. "I think it's the Vermillion Talon Sect. Mid-tier, but aggressive. They specialize in fire-based spiritual techniques and blood-bonded beasts. They'll want the ruins."
"They'll want to take me alive," Long Yan added. "They'll think they can use the Domain through me."
Luo Yanling didn't respond.
But the look in her eyes was enough.
They both knew what had to happen.
[System Questline Triggered: Defense of the First Flame]
Objective: Survive or eliminate approaching scout team
Bonus Objective: Establish first Sovereign Construct (Tier 1) within Ashglass Ruins
Reward: Domain Fortification Options | Reputation Impact (Regional Cultivation Network)
The scout team arrived at dawn.
They came not in stealth, but in arrogance—six cultivators wearing fire-slick robes and carrying bound flame beasts at their sides. Their leader, a smirking man with a burn-scar across his face, stepped forward with the casual gait of someone who'd never lost a fight.
"You're trespassing," he called out.
Long Yan stood on the steps of the shrine, arms folded. He didn't speak.
The leader glanced around. "These ruins are property of the Vermillion Talon Sect. I'm offering you one chance to surrender your claim and join as a subordinate. You'll be rewarded, of course. Your aura is… interesting."
Still, Long Yan said nothing.
The man narrowed his eyes.
"I'll take your silence as a no."
He raised his hand.
The five sect members behind him moved in practiced unison, their flame beasts roaring as they surged forward—tiger-shaped, scaled, burning with spiritual fire.
Luo Yanling leapt from the shadows.
Her blade struck the first beast in the eye.
It howled—and died instantly.
[Companion Aura Synchronization: +3% Efficiency]
Long Yan exhaled slowly.
Then raised his hand.
[Command Activated: Emberroot Surge]
The land beneath the shrine cracked open—and fire erupted upward in a controlled, spiraling burst.
Two of the attacking cultivators were caught mid-lunge, their spiritual shields shattered instantly as sovereign-tinged flame reduced their robes to ash and left their corpses twitching.
The leader cursed, summoning a wall of burning feathers to block the second wave—but it wasn't enough.
Long Yan vanished.
[Skill: Emberstep – Active]
He reappeared behind the leader, claws forming mid-motion. A sweeping strike sent the man flying into a stone pillar. It cracked behind him, and blood sprayed from his mouth.
"I warned you," Long Yan said.
The man coughed, laughing bitterly.
"You think you're strong?" he spat. "You've claimed a tomb and think it makes you a king? The sects will crush you. We'll burn this whole forest down."
"No," Long Yan said, stepping closer.
"I will burn them."
His hand ignited.
The leader screamed once.
Then silence.
[Quest Complete: Defense of the First Flame]
Reputation Updated: Ashglass Sovereign – Feared
Domain Construct Unlocked: Ashbound Totem (Tier 1)
They used the bodies to feed the land.
Luo Yanling didn't ask questions—she watched quietly as Long Yan carried the slain cultivators to the Emberroot Vein and released their spiritual essence into the soil.
The ground glowed, briefly.
Then the central totem rose.
A twisted structure of obsidian and draconic bone, carved with fire-script and sealed with sovereign intent.
[Ashbound Totem Activated – Domain Pressure +12% | Detection Radius Extended]
New Sovereign Title: "Ashglass Lord" Recognized Regionally
Regional Broadcast: "Unknown cultivator has claimed a Sovereign Title within disputed ruins. Sects advised to investigate or challenge within 3 moons."
Luo Yanling walked beside him after, arms crossed.
"You're drawing attention faster than expected."
"I want them to come."
"You want war."
"No," he said calmly. "I want acknowledgment."
She raised an eyebrow. "Same thing, in this world."
That night, under the stars, she approached him again—quietly.
He was meditating near the Ashbound Totem, its red glow casting shadows across his sharp features. His dragon blood was more prominent now—his irises slitted fully, scales faintly visible along his neck and hands.
"You're changing," she said softly.
He opened one eye.
"I'm becoming."
She sat down beside him.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then she said, "I had a brother. He always wanted to rise. Kept pushing past limits. Said power was freedom. He died to someone like you."
Long Yan's gaze didn't waver. "And yet you're still here."
"I'm not here for revenge."
"I didn't assume you were."
She exhaled. "Then why do you trust me?"
"I don't."
Her lips curled slightly. "Then why do you let me follow?"
"Because you don't lie to yourself," Long Yan said. "And you're stronger than you know."
She went quiet.
And for the first time, there was no distance in their silence.
Far beyond the Ashglass Range, a cloaked girl knelt before a silver pool in the Jade Sky Pavilion.
Her master watched the ripples in the water.
"A Sovereign has risen," the master murmured.
"But the Sovereign is not one of us."
"No," the girl said. "But perhaps he can be made to kneel."
The master smiled faintly.
"Or perhaps… he is the one we must kneel before."