Dayu Dynasty, the Royal Capital Armory.
"Ha-aaa—"
Ash Ink stood before the towering gates of the Royal Capital Armory and let out a long, dramatic yawn.
"Slacking off truly makes one whole..." He stretched lazily, a thoroughly relaxed look painted across his face.
This past half-year or so had easily been the most peaceful and tranquil era since the very founding of the Dayu Dynasty. Externally, there were no savage Yao Beasts wreaking havoc across the borders; internally, having freshly undergone the baptism of a desperate war, the populace was fiercely united, focusing all their vitality on rebuilding their broken homes.
The entirety of Dayu was flourishing with renewed life.
Ash Ink couldn't help but chuckle softly to himself as a handsome, sharp-featured youth surfaced in his memory. To be able to enjoy such a rare, tranquil peace in this chaotic world was entirely thanks to that monstrous brat!
With this thought in mind, Ash Ink turned his head to look at the grand plaza adjacent to the Royal Capital Armory.
There, a colossal statue stood at the absolute epicenter of the Royal Capital, towering majestically as it received the unspoken reverence and love of every single passing Martial Artist and secular commoner.
The Martial God of Dayu, Li Xuanxiao—who within the borders of this land did not know that name now?
Almost every single day, Ash Ink watched as transient Martial Artists stopped to bow deeply before the stone effigy, their faces filled with unyielding admiration. There were also local families out for an evening stroll; whenever they happened to pass beneath the shadow of the monument, parents would inevitably halt, pointing upward as they narrated the epic tales of that apocalyptic war to their wide-eyed children.
"How envious! To reach such heights as a Martial Artist, one could truly die in this life with zero regrets."
Pah, pah, pah!
Ash Ink lightly slapped his own cheek twice, scolding himself under his breath: "My treacherous mouth, I really don't know how to speak properly!"
Having finished his stretches, Ash Ink was about to turn back inside when his peripheral vision caught a graceful, slender figure.
A female Martial Artist, clad in tight-fitting, efficient martial attire with her hair bound into a sharp, high ponytail, was standing in absolute silence before the base of the statue.
"That girl from the Si Family... just how many times has she come here this past half-year..." Ash Ink let out a soft, understanding sigh and quietly walked over.
Si Miaoyin gazed silently at the chiseled features of the statue above, a faint, bittersweet smile playing upon her lips.
For the past six months, she had spent the vast majority of her waking hours confined within the walls of the Royal Court Martial Academy, relentlessly tempering her martial path under the direct guidance of the Palace Sword Master, Ming Yanxia.
Thanks to her own exceptional natural talent, combined with the almost doting accumulation of rare resources poured into her by the academy, her cultivation tier had skyrocketed! She had leaped from the Fifth Layer of the Xuan Realm all the way to the Seventh Layer of the Mystic Realm at an unimaginable, reality-defying speed!
In less than a single calendar year, Si Miaoyin had not only crossed an entire major boundary, but her internal foundation was denser than it had ever been. Such terrifying breakthrough speed left countless male Martial Artists flushing with profound shame, openly acknowledging their inferiority.
If this had been the past, Si Miaoyin would have surely harbored a bit of youthful pride. But now, after witnessing the true heights of the world, there was only a deep, unyielding peace within her Dao Heart.
Si Miaoyin traced the stone contours of the statue's face and gave a light, playful huff.
"That kid... since when did they make him look this handsome in stone?"
"He's clearly just a fool who, back when he was in the Xuan Realm, managed to fall straight from the sky and land face-first in the dirt!"
Whispering her private complaints about Li Xuanxiao's most embarrassing youthful blunders, Si Miaoyin's eyes couldn't help but crinkle into soft, beautiful crescents.
"Girl Miaoyin, you're standing here again?" Ash Ink's familiar voice drifted from behind her.
If this had been half a year ago, Si Miaoyin would have blushed and stammered. But now, after months of rigorous battlefield tempering and martial refinement, what she had gained was far more than just raw cultivation tiers and physical strength! She had forged a resilient courage, a clear Dao Heart, and a absolute understanding of her own spirit.
Compared to her past self, she could now face her deep feelings for Li Xuanxiao with absolute tranquility. There was no longer any need to hide her heart, nor any need to speak deceptive words that went against her intent.
"Miaoyin greets Lord Ash Ink~"
Si Miaoyin cupped her hands in a flawless, crisp martial salute, her movements efficient and sharp—a stark contrast to her previous, sheltered girlish posture.
Ash Ink nodded approvingly, a wave of emotional nostalgia washing over him as he looked at the almost completely transformed young woman. A girl truly changes beyond recognition once she steps onto her own path! Compared to the Si Miaoyin he saw at her Coming-of-Age Ceremony, who still carried the delicate, sheltered air of a noble daughter, she now looked like someone who had undergone a total marrow-cleansing rebirth. Not only had she grown taller, but her overarching temperament radiated an elegant, composed reserve.
How Mystic... Ash Ink mused internally. Everyone is charging ahead on their own paths. Meanwhile, only my legendary fishing skills have completely stagnated...
An inexplicable wave of sorrow hit him. It must be a structural flaw with the bamboo fishing rod! It can't be me!
"You two... is this stone effigy cast in the exact likeness of the deity you foolishly place your faith in?"
An abrupt, freezing voice pierced the air right beside them, sounding so close it felt as if the speaker was breathing directly into their ear canals.
Si Miaoyin's martial instincts flared instantly; she executed a flawless footwork maneuver, stepping back several paces in a defensive blur. Meanwhile, Ash Ink practically detonated away from the spot, vaulting into the air like a cat experiencing a violent stress response!
The two of them snapped their gazes toward the intruder.
Standing before them was a figure clad in dark red, blood-tinted monastic robes, displaying a visual style that was utterly alienated from the common monks of the orthodox sects. His eyes were the most disturbing feature—they were pools of pure, ink-like blackness, devoid of any sclera or whites whatsoever!
Though he wore the traditional garb of the Buddhist sect, the aura radiating from his flesh was miles away from any concept of Buddhist compassion. Instead, he exuded a profound, suffocating sense of sinister strangeness that seeped into the surroundings.
The fine hairs on the back of Ash Ink's neck stood up involuntarily. His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he hissed: "Who are you, Your Excellency?"
As a seasoned Origin Realm Martial Artist, even when he wasn't actively expanding his divine sense to scan his surroundings, his passive spatial awareness was incredibly formidable. It should have been mechanically impossible for anyone to walk right up to his blind spot without triggering a single internal alarm!
To approach him this silently, there were only two terrifying possibilities...
Either the opponent was a fellow Origin Realm master who practiced a logic-defying Breath-Concealment technique, or... the opponent's absolute cultivation tier was hovering far above the boundaries of the Origin Realm!
Compared to Ash Ink's calculated caution, Si Miaoyin's reaction was far more direct. No matter how reserved she had become, her youthful blood still ran hot; her immediate response to this abnormal threat was to lock her palm firmly onto the cold hilt of her blade.
The monk in the dark red robes paused, his ink-black eyes unfocused as if he were drifting through deep, ancient thoughts.
"In the forgotten past... the mortals of this world used to call me Venerable Nilun..."
"But my secular identity has long since ceased to matter. I have already welcomed a glorious, absolute Rebirth!"
"Now, I am a proud Child of God!"
The moment he muttered the words Child of God, an unhealthy, sickly flush rushed to Venerable Nilun's face. Though his expression was filled with an intense, fanatical devotion, the sight of it was deeply unnatural, causing one's skin to crawl with instinctual revulsion.
Child of God? What kind of unholy, ghostly title is that supposed to be?
Ash Ink didn't comprehend the terminology, nor did he care to parse it. This fellow was clearly mentally unhinged and spiritually warped; the immediate priority was to clarify his true strategic intent for infiltrating Dayu.
"Venerable... Nilun, for what exact purpose has your presence descended upon our Dayu Dynasty?"
Venerable Nilun did not answer immediately. Instead, he violently slammed the heavy iron Khakkhara staff in his hand into the stone pavement, the rings chiming discordantly as he began to low-mutter a series of bizarre, rhythmic incantations.
"God has decreed... that an apocalyptic calamity is about to break over the skies of Dayu, and catastrophic Demon troubles shall violently arise from every corner of this soil!"
"My journey across the mortal realms this time is executed under the absolute command of my Lord—I am here to save the weeping commoners of Dayu from their impending doom!"
He spoke with such absolute conviction and solemn gravity that it sounded like an objective law of the universe.
Ash Ink merely curled his lip in profound disdain. So it's just another traveling evil monk looking to fabricate a crisis for free temple offerings and mortal worship!
Demon troubles breaking out everywhere? What a joke!
Li Xuanxiao had long since forged an ironclad, blood-sworn agreement with the supreme Dayu Demon Venerable, dictating that the monster clans must not cross the border to invade Dayu for a minimum duration of ten years! Not even a single year had passed since that covenant was struck!
And... even if the Dayu Demon Venerable truly chose to unilaterally tear up the treaty tonight and launch a reckless, desperate invasion... the current Dayu Dynasty was no longer the weakling of the past!
Thanks to the profound insights and customized manual pathways for the Origin Realm left behind by Li Xuanxiao before his departure, the high-tier military strength of Dayu had undergone an explosive evolution. The dynasty now boasted roughly thirty genuine Origin Realm Martial Artists within its ranks!
Furthermore, the Palace Sword Master, Ming Yanxia, had recently forced a breakthrough to the Origin Realm Sixth Layer in record time, sitting a mere hair's breadth away from the Late Stage of the Origin Realm!
In an incredibly brief window of time, Dayu had systematically leaped from being the absolute dirt at the bottom of the Three Kingdoms to occupying the undisputed pinnacle of the regional power balance!
With such a dense concentration of martial blades backing them, there was absolutely zero fear of those local Yao Beasts attempting to stir up trouble!