SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS

“I know what my existence brought upon this family. And I take that burden not with shame—but with resolve.” He raised his head, eyes like two blazing stars. “I didn’t return to seek forgiveness. I returned to build something greater.”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

“I will not rest until the King family rules the entire Red Silk Realm,” Kent declared, his voice like thunder on still water. “No more crawling behind noble clans, no more submission to imperial dogs, and no more hiding in caves while our ancestors’ names are mocked.”

“—I will not represent a broken branch. I will carry the name of the King Clan to the heavens!”

The earth trembled slightly beneath them. The wind stopped. Even birds flying overhead paused in silence.

Tears returned to Patriarch Daku’s eyes—not of grief, but pride.

A woman from the clan, Kent’s younger cousin, stepped forward. “You… really do all-this for family?”

Kent smiled. “I am just beginning.”

The uncle who had questioned him bowed low. “Then from this day, the King family shall follow you once more. Lead us. Not as a son who brought suffering—but as the man who will bring rebirth.”

Kent looked toward the towering ancestral hall. “I will offer my cultivation to the ancestors tomorrow. Prepare the hall with incense and spirit wine. Tomorrow is the end for Kai family rule.”

As they began preparing the offering, the old grandfather came beside Kent. “You will make enemies. The nobles of the Red Silk Realm will unite to stop you.”

Kent smirked. “Then I will unite the outcasts, the exiled, and the forgotten. They will be my sword. And if the heavens interfere—”

He looked skyward.

“—I will split the sky.”

The old man chuckled. “Madness runs strong in our blood.”

That night, a feast lit the estate with laughter, fire, and ancestral hymns. For the first time in decades, the King family sat together, not in fear—but in hope.

And in the quiet of the night, as Kent stood alone before the ancestral statue, he whispered under his breath:

“Forgive me for the fake-name I carry as Kaban. Accept me as a member of this family. And remember my name… for the glory I will build.”

—

Inside the grand golden palace of the Royal Empire, silence reigned—not the silence of peace, but the tense, stifling stillness before a storm. The kind that makes even the walls sweat.

Emperor Kai, ruler of a hundred cities, conqueror of three big cities, and once hailed as an undefeated god of war, now sat in his dragon-carved jade throne… trembling.

His knuckles turned white as he clenched the jade armrest. Before him, dozens of ministers, generals, and high magi stood with their heads bowed. No one dared to meet his eyes—not because of reverence, but because they, too, could feel the noose tightening around their necks.

“HOW DID HE REACH PEAK EARTH IMMORTAL MAGUS REALM IN JUST A FEW MONTHS?!” Kai roared, his voice bouncing through the empty halls like a wounded beast’s howl.

None answered. The question had no answer.

Kent’s meteoric rise, from a wandering disciple to someone capable of shattering divine barriers and killing realm protectors, was beyond logic. Beyond strategy. Beyond fear.

“Speak!” he shouted again, rising from his throne and pointing at his Grand Astrologer. “Didn’t you say his fate was average? That his destiny was weak?!”

The old man collapsed to his knees, forehead pressing against the icy floor. “M-My calculations… they were interfered with, Your Majesty. An unknown divine force shields him now. It is as if the heavens themselves hide his fate…”

“RUBBISH!” Kai spat. “The heavens?! The heavens didn’t raise armies or train him! Who taught him those sword moves in a forest? Who gave him that body?!”

No one knew. Not even the spies who had infiltrated the deepest parts of the forbidden forest could give answers. Kent King was a name that had exploded like a star in the night sky—sudden, bright, and impossible to ignore.

And now, that same star was heading toward him.

–

At dusk, under Emperor Kai’s command, the imperial trumpet was sounded—a deep, resonating tone that hadn’t been used in over a century. It was the call to summon every living warrior in the empire.

Battalions from across the Red silk Realm marched into the capital. Supreme Magi, warlocks, beast tamers, and ancient clans answered the call. Even forbidden mercenaries from the Outer Realms were allowed in.

The sky over the capital turned golden-red, not from sunset, but from the pressure of thousands of elite cultivators arriving at once.

The emperor didn’t sleep. He couldn’t.

His body remained tense, and his fingers constantly tapped the table as ministers read out reports.

“The Sky-Breaking Formation has been activated around the palace.”

“All elemental shields are at full strength.”

“Thirty-six divine treasures have been removed from the treasury and placed in defense nodes.”

“Emperor, should we prepare the Heaven Shifting Boat? In case of escape—”

“I’m not running,” Kai interrupted coldly, but his fingers betrayed him—they trembled.

Behind him, the Shadow Minister stepped forward. “Still, it has been activated and hidden in the undersea vault, Your Majesty. Should things… fall apart… you may escape to the Stellar Void Plane for a short time.”

Kai nodded faintly, though his pride ached at the thought of retreat.

At the center of the war hall, a glowing sand-table replica of the capital flickered with red lights. Each light represented a defense squad. The imperial palace was now a fortress layered with spells, traps, weapons, and protective relics.

But despite all this… none in the room looked relieved.

Because no one had forgotten what happened to Emperor Lian in the Misty Cloud Realm—killed by Kent with a single finger. Or the Behemoth Clan—wiped out in one night. Or Emperor Shen of the Black Horn Kingdom—his soul torn apart in front of his people.

Kent’s wrath was not like a cultivator’s.

It was like a god’s punishment.

Midnight.

Kai stood alone on his sky-balcony, looking over the quiet capital. The wind was sharp, but he couldn’t feel it. His thoughts were louder than the breeze.

“Why… why is it him?” he muttered.

He had ruled with absolute power for decades. Suppressed rebellions. Crushed geniuses. Even killed gods in disguise.

But now… he couldn’t suppress the fear crawling under his skin. Kent Hall had become a storm even the heavens did not dare challenge.

He turned suddenly and shouted, “Bring me the Flame Sword of Daybreak!”

A soldier ran in and handed him the weapon, its blade glowing red with sunfire. One of the emperor’s most trusted divine tools.

“Prepare all my relics. Tonight, I wear them all.”

And so he did.

Five defensive talismans hung from his neck. A blood armor made of phoenix scale. A space-collapsing shield on his left hand. Divine anklets that allowed teleportation across continents. A crown that enhanced perception tenfold.

He had transformed himself into a walking fortress.

And still… it wasn’t enough.

The emperor’s wife and consorts had long been escorted away. His children hidden in parallel realms. His loyal beasts sealed beneath the palace with their cores exposed, ready to detonate as a last resort.

All for one man.

One night.

For the King… everything awaits!