The valley became silent.
Not normal silence.
The dangerous kind.
The kind that happened right before kingdoms changed.
Snow fell slowly between us.
Ghost flames burnt blue across the battlefield.
Thirty thousand royal soldiers watched.
Ten thousand ghost soldiers waited.
And in the centre—
Two brothers stood facing each other with enough family issues to qualify as a natural disaster.
Honestly—
very unhealthy.
Very poetic.
I stood with the ancestral spear in my hand, black armour stained with ash and snow, staring at the man who had spent half my life deciding whether I deserved to exist.
Chen Lie.
Third Prince.
Father's favourite son.
The empire's chosen heir.
Annoyingly handsome.
Terrible personality.
A tragedy, really.
Across from me, he stood calm as winter.
Black-and-gold robes.
Royal sword in hand.
Silver-black spiritual qi moving around him like something alive.
No wasted movement.
No dramatic anger.
That was what made him terrifying.
Men who shouted could be predicted.
Men like Chen Lie?
They wrote history and let other people call it fate.
Hu Mei whispered from the ridge behind me,
"Master."
I sighed without looking away.
"Yes."
"If you die, can I keep the spear?"
I considered it.
"No."
She nodded.
"Worth asking."
Fair.
Very fair.
Chen Lie slowly raised his sword.
The pressure in the valley deepened instantly.
Even the Ghost Legion shifted.
Bai Wuchen's blue flames burnt brighter.
Feng Yuehuang's phoenix fire rose like instinct.
Everyone understood.
This was not prince versus prince.
This was the centre of the war.
Chen Lie spoke first.
His voice was calm.
"You always talked too much."
I smiled faintly.
"And you always listened too little."
That almost made him smile.
Almost.
Then—
He moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
One second, he stood there.
The next—
His sword was already in front of my throat.
I barely raised the spear in time.
CLANG!
The impact shattered frozen earth.
My entire body screamed.
Pain.
Everywhere.
Excellent.
The man greeted people as if there were an assassination attempt.
Classic royal etiquette.
I twisted sideways and countered.
The spear shot forward like lightning.
He blocked.
Steel screamed.
Snow exploded.
We moved again.
And again.
Sword.
Spear.
Clash.
Retreat.
Strike.
No wasted words now.
Only intent.
His style was clean.
Perfect.
Every movement is refined by palace masters and battlefield discipline.
Royal swordsmanship.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Annoyingly efficient.
Mine?
Improvised.
Violent.
Built from surviving people who wanted me dead.
Much more relatable.
He cut high.
I stepped inside.
Shoulder strike.
He blocked with his elbow.
Countered instantly.
His knee slammed into my ribs.
I coughed.
Very rude.
I stabbed low.
He stepped over it.
Then his sword came down again as if judgement itself had personal opinions.
BOOM.
The spear blocked.
My knees hit the ground.
Not ideal.
Very not ideal.
He stood above me.
Calm.
Cold.
"This is the difference."
His voice was quiet.
"Between rebellion…"
The sword pressed harder.
"…and inheritance."
I gritted my teeth.
Then laughed.
Because obviously.
He frowned slightly.
Good.
Confusion was useful.
I pushed upward.
"This…"
Qi exploded from my meridians.
Ghost flames answered.
"…is the difference between someone handed a throne…"
I forced myself to stand.
Painfully.
Dramatically.
Correctly.
"…and someone willing to build one."
For the first time—
His eyes sharpened.
There.
That mattered.
I attacked again.
Faster.
The spear spun like stormlight.
Three strikes.
Five.
Seven.
He blocked all of them.
Rude.
Very rude.
Then—
He used that sword art.
I felt it before I saw it.
The valley itself changed.
Spiritual qi gathered around his blade like the world had agreed to help him cheat.
Feng Yuehuang's voice from behind me—
sharp.
"Move!"
I did.
Barely.
The sword descended.
Imperial Severing Art.
A black crescent of destruction split the battlefield.
The ridge behind me exploded.
Stone vanished.
Ghost soldiers shattered.
Half the mountain politely stopped existing.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even Hu Mei looked personally offended.
"...That was my favourite rock."
Reasonable complaint.
I stared at the destruction.
Then at Chen Lie.
Then back to the destruction.
Honestly—
rude.
Extremely rude.
He lowered the sword slowly.
"You are still alive."
I nodded.
"Disappointing for both of us."
That—
actually made him laugh.
Short.
Cold.
Real.
And for one dangerous second—
It reminded me of when we were younger.
Before exile.
Before politics.
Before family became war.
I hated that memory.
He saw it too.
His expression shifted.
Only slightly.
Then vanished.
Gone.
Back to steel.
Good.
Cleaner that way.
He stepped forward again.
"No one survives forever, Fifth Brother."
I spun the spear.
Blood on my hands.
Snow on my shoulders.
Ghost fire behind me.
"No."
I smiled.
"But some people survive long enough to become your problem."
Hu Mei shouted,
"That should absolutely be on a flag!"
Excellent idea.
I approved.
The myth system flashed violently.
[High-Level Enemy Pressure Detected]
Host combat growth is accelerating
Special Reward Triggered:
Myth Summon Card ×1
Ah.
Perfect timing.
Near-death rewards.
My favourite customer loyalty programme.
I smiled.
Chen Lie noticed.
He hated it when I smiled during violence.
A good habit.
I pulled the glowing summon card from the system space.
Golden.
Ancient.
Powerful.
His eyes narrowed.
"What now?"
I looked at him.
Then at the battlefield.
Then smiled wider.
"Brother…"
I crushed the card.
"…let me introduce another family problem."
Golden light exploded into the sky.
The heavens trembled.
The Phoenix fire paused.
Ghost flames bent.
Even Chen Lie took one step back.
Good.
Excellent.
From the storm of divine light—
A figure began to descend.
Elegant.
Terrifying.
Ancient.
Female.
Of course, female.
Because fate enjoyed watching my life become more complicated.
Hu Mei screamed from the ridge,
"ANOTHER ONE?!"
Yes.
Another one.
And judging by the pressure—
This one was absolutely going to create new emotional problems.
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
I looked at Chen Lie through the storm of divine light and smiled.
"Third Brother…"
I pointed upward.
"…the sword was impressive."
The heavens cracked.
"…but I brought better backup."