The golden morning light in the Celestial Capital belied the tension rippling through the imperial court. Under the magnificent domes of Spiritsteel and Whitejade, whispers turned to murmurs, and murmurs brewed into fear. As Tianming sat in quiet contemplation within the Azure Pavilion, a jade slip arrived in silence, borne by a royal falcon with violet eyes. It was sealed with the sigil of the Dreamseer.
He broke the seal.
> "The serpent coils tonight. The scales you must strip lie beneath silver armor."
Tianming turned to Zhao Yueyin. "The corrupted general. He'll act tonight."
She didn't question him. "Then we move first."
---
Imperial Hall of War – That Evening
Grand General Feng Zhen was a national hero. Draped in silver and crimson, his reputation echoed across the borders of the Celestial Empire. Statues bore his likeness, and poets sang his victories. But tonight, behind those gleaming pauldrons and the intricate phoenix-and-dragon breastplate, hid a man consumed by something… else.
As he stood before the war council, his voice rang clear and bold.
"Our eastern borders grow restless. We must mobilize the Crimson Legion."
Several generals nodded, but a few hesitated. One elderly commander voiced what others dared not. "With respect, General Feng… the eastern tribes signed the Moonlight Accord just last month. There's no provocation."
Feng's face remained calm, but his fingers curled ever so slightly.
"The Accord means nothing if it weakens our readiness."
Just as the council considered the order, the heavy doors opened. Tianming entered with Zhao Yueyin and Lan Mei at his sides.
"Apologies for the intrusion, but I bear a royal warrant," Tianming said, presenting the emperor's seal.
Feng Zhen's gaze narrowed. "The boy who dances with stars."
"And you, the serpent who dreams of blood," Tianming said, loud enough for the council to gasp.
Feng laughed. "Careful, child. You play a dangerous game."
Tianming stepped forward. "You mobilize troops based on false reports. You've diverted spirit stones meant for border defenses. And last month, your estate received a gift from the northern alchemists—voidroot incense."
A cold wind swept the chamber.
"Preposterous!" Feng Zhen bellowed.
"Then explain this."
Tianming tossed a crystal orb onto the jade floor. It burst with a flicker of light, revealing a projected memory: Feng Zhen in his private quarters, kneeling before a shrouded figure who whispered in a twisted tongue.
The room erupted into chaos. Guards drew weapons. Council members shouted.
But Feng Zhen's face darkened, no longer human. His eyes flickered with shadow.
"So be it," he growled.
---
Battle Beneath the Jade Dome
Feng Zhen's form twisted. From his back sprouted blackened wings laced with void veins. His aura exploded, dark and suffocating. Imperial guards were flung aside by the pulse alone.
Tianming drew his blade—Starpiercer. A lattice of starlight wove around him, anchoring his soul.
Zhao Yueyin unleashed her Crimson Phoenix Art, shielding the council behind a wall of flame.
Feng Zhen moved with brutal speed. A single wingbeat sent him crashing toward Tianming. Steel clashed with void.
"You think yourself chosen?" the general hissed. "You are a spark. I am the night."
Tianming summoned the Stellar Dominion Array. Constellations whirled around him, each strike pulling from a different celestial body.
Stars met darkness. Sparks flew.
Lan Mei flanked him, her blade slicing through shadow appendages. But Feng Zhen was tireless.
Only when Tianming invoked his second sigil—the Sigil of Resonant Flame—did the tide turn. His aura doubled, and flames merged with starlight.
He roared: "Heaven's Descent!"
A spear of condensed stellar fire pierced Feng Zhen's chest.
The corrupted general screamed as the void was ripped from his soul. His body collapsed, mortal once more.
---
Aftermath
The imperial court was shaken to its core. The Emperor himself emerged from his seclusion to address the council. Draped in robes of night-blue silk, the Emperor Xi Wenlong looked less like a sovereign and more like an ancient scholar carved from jade.
"You have prevented disaster," he told Tianming. "But our enemies now know your name."
He extended a hand.
"As Emperor of the Central Celestial Empire, I bestow upon you the title of Heaven's Vanguard. You shall act in my name wherever shadows rise."
Tianming bowed. "I will guard the realm."
---
System Notification
> Main Quest Completed: Unmask the Serpent
Reward Unlocked: Celestial Core – Second Awakening Available
Bonus Ability Unlocked: Voidbane Flame (Passive Aura against Shadow-type Cultivators)
Tianming's core pulsed. He felt it—his cultivation base had leapt forward. He was now late-phase Sky Realm. Another awakening loomed.
---
Elsewhere: The Cult's Response
Master Corvus watched the flame through the eyes of a raven perched on the Jade Dome. He saw the fall of his general and laughed, but without mirth.
"So the Beacon shines brighter than expected."
He turned to his disciples. "We change tactics. Forget infiltration. We summon the Gate."
One acolyte gasped. "The Void Gate? But the seals—"
"We break them. Tianming's light has made him a target. Let the Abyss answer."
---
In the Garden of Silence
Tianming sat beside Zhao Yueyin under a tree blooming with moonlotus. The crisis had passed, but his soul was restless.
"I fear we've only delayed the darkness," he said.
Zhao nodded. "But you've become more than a cultivator. You're a symbol now. And symbols must endure."
He turned to her. "If I fall… promise me you'll carry the light."
She grasped his hand. "If you fall, I'll drag you back from the abyss myself."
And for the first time in weeks, he smiled.
---
To Be Continued in Chapter 39: The Abyss Beckons