The Heavenly Realm was a hornet's nest of activity, yet in the far reaches of the Severing Emotion Cliff, Song Taiyi's world was nothing but the sky above and the cracked platform beneath his feet.
The Imperial Tribulation had reached its zenith. The air was so heavy that each breath seemed to weigh a hundred catties, and the spiritual pressure was enough to make even the mountains below groan.
Song Taiyi's body told the story of the battle so far. His silver hair hung in uneven strands, damp with sweat and blood. The faint remnants of his dragon form still clung to him—small patches of white-gold scales shimmered across his arms and neck, and the stubs of horns jutted from his brow like the crown of a fallen monarch.
He was mortal now—no qi, no spiritual root, no vast ocean of energy to call upon—yet he stood as though the will of Heaven itself could not force him to kneel.
Before him, the last two beasts of the trial hovered in the shattered sky.
The Golden Crow, a blazing sphere of fire and feathers, circled above in slow, deliberate arcs. Its every wingbeat unleashed waves of heat that turned the air into shimmering rivers of molten gold. To look directly at it was to risk blindness, yet Taiyi's blue eyes did not waver.
Beside it coiled the Golden Dragon, an embodiment of imperial majesty and sovereign wrath. Its scales were molten gold chased with streaks of pure lightning, and its eyes burned with the contempt of a being that had never known defeat. Each flex of its body rippled through the storm like a king shifting upon his throne.
From somewhere beyond mortal perception, the Hidden Voice spoke, low and edged with finality.
"Lord Guardian… it is beyond him now. The mortal shell cannot endure their combined might. Even the heavens do not demand such impossible defiance."
The Guardian stood on the cliff's distant edge, robes fluttering in the unnatural wind. His gnarled hands rested on the head of his staff, knuckles pale with strain. His gaze, though clouded by age, was locked unflinchingly upon the young man in the storm.
"You underestimate him," the Guardian said at last, voice like worn stone. "That child was born to defy the heavens."
The Hidden Voice chuckled darkly.
"Defiance is a fire that burns the one who carries it. Watch closely—you will see."
---
The Golden Crow struck first. It let out a cry like the shattering of the sun itself, and a torrent of solar flame descended. The fire did not simply burn—it consumed, erasing all that it touched. The very stones of the platform turned to glass in the inferno's embrace.
Taiyi did not move.
He raised both hands and caught the blaze as if wrestling a living thing. Skin blistered and split instantly, revealing sinew and bone beneath, but his fingers clenched tighter. The smell of burning flesh mingled with the metallic tang of his golden blood, filling the air with a scent that would have driven lesser beings to retch.
Through it all, he laughed.
It was a wild, almost unhinged sound—a laugh torn from the throat of someone who had walked through hell so many times that the flames no longer frightened him.
"IS THIS ALL?!" he roared, voice cracking yet filled with the weight of command. "HEAVEN HAS STRUCK ME A THOUSAND TIMES—AND STILL, I STAND!"
The flames parted for a heartbeat, revealing him hunched yet unbroken, arms still raised in defiance.
---
The Golden Dragon moved next. With a single lash of its tail, it struck the platform with the force of a mountain falling from the sky. The shockwave flattened the remaining pillars, sending the fragments of the ancient stone hurtling into the abyss.
Taiyi's body was hurled into the air like a ragdoll, ribs shattering, breath torn from his lungs. Yet even mid-flight, he twisted his battered frame and landed on one knee, head bowed for only a moment before he forced it up again.
The beasts' combined aura pressed upon him, threatening to crush every bone in his body. The world narrowed to the thundering beat of his heart and the burning in his lungs.
He spat blood—thick, luminous gold—and wiped it from his mouth with the back of his hand. His voice, hoarse and ragged, carried through the roaring winds.
"I… am the Emperor of Heaven. My body may break, but my will… will never bow!"
---
Meanwhile – The Eastern Gate
The heavenly banners over the Eastern Gate had already fallen. The Black Crow Clan swept through the breach in a storm of feathers and black steel, their wingbeats shrouding the battlefield in shadow. The defenders fought desperately, their spears and halberds glinting like fireflies in the gloom, but every charge was met with claws that ripped through armor as if it were paper.
The cries of the fallen were smothered beneath the screeching war calls of the invaders. In less than an hour, the once-proud gate lay in ruin, the corpses of celestial soldiers strewn across the blood-soaked stones.
---
The Northern Gate fared no better. The Dark Nightmare Clan came not with roars but with silence, bringing with them a tide of mind-shattering fear. Even the most seasoned generals fell to their knees, clutching their heads as phantom terrors clawed at their minds. Some died without ever lifting their weapons, their hearts giving out under the crushing weight of illusion.
A lone messenger staggered into the Celestial Palace, his armor cracked, his face pale and hollow.
"Prime Minister… both gates… have fallen. There are traitors among us—they opened the gates from within!"
The council erupted. The God of the Fox Clan's eyes burned with fury as she slammed her palm into the jade tiles, sending fractures racing across the polished floor.
"Name them! WHO dares betray Heaven in our hour of need?!"
The Prime Minister's face was carved from stone.
"Names will not matter if the realm falls. We hold the heart of Heaven or we are nothing."
He turned to the gathered gods.
"Rally every last warrior to the Celestial Palace. This is our final bastion. If the palace falls, Heaven falls with it."
---
Back at the Severing Emotion Cliff
The beasts circled above, their killing intent pressing upon Taiyi like the weight of a world. His legs trembled, his vision blurred, but the flame in his eyes burned ever brighter.
A faint pulse began deep within his chest, subtle at first, then growing into a steady, radiant thrum. The Guardian's eyes widened.
"So… he is going to use it after all…"
The Hidden Voice hissed.
"That power is forbidden. If it overwhelms him, there will be nothing left to bury."
But Taiyi did not waver. He raised his arms to the storm, and the light inside him exploded outward, scattering the clouds and sending shockwaves rippling across the heavens.
Every god and demon in the Six Realms felt it.
Every soldier on the battlefield paused.
Even the invading demon kings turned their heads toward the cliff, eyes narrowing.
The final clash of the tribulation had begun.