The night was silent.
The Verdant Sky Sect had settled into stillness, the light of the twin moons bathing the mountain peaks in silver glow.
Alexander Magnus walked alone through the misty forest beyond the sect.
Tonight was not a night of cultivation.
Tonight, he wanted to see the world outside these walls.
But the world had already set its eyes on him.
The wind carried a faint whisper—one only someone with peerless senses could detect.
Alexander halted.
His golden eyes flickered.
Something was coming.
A mere instant later—
Death struck.
A black-robed figure descended from above, his dagger coated in void poison, aiming straight for Alexander's throat.
His presence was nearly undetectable—his speed beyond mortal limits.
This was not a mere killer.
This was an assassin at the peak of the Saint Realm.
A true reaper.
His blade, sharp enough to sever fate itself, closed in.
CLANG!
The instant before the dagger could pierce his flesh, Alexander raised a single finger.
The blade stopped.
A deep silence followed.
The assassin's pupils contracted.
Impossible.
No one below the Saint Stage should be able to stop this dagger.
But Alexander Magnus had stopped it with a single finger.
A smirk curled his lips.
"You're not bad."
The assassin's shock faded.
His body blurred, splitting into countless afterimages—each one striking from a different angle.
His dagger moved with absolute precision, each thrust aiming for a vital point.
Alexander watched calmly.
Then—
BOOM!
With a single step, he vanished.
And in that moment, the assassin saw it—
A golden throne manifesting behind Alexander's form.
The Power of the Heavenly Emperor Throne
A terrifying pressure descended.
The world itself trembled.
The assassin froze as if shackled by divine chains.
His movements—his body—his very will was crushed under an invisible force.
A vision unlike anything seen before had taken shape.
The Heavenly Emperor Throne.
One of the visions of the Ancient Saint Body—a divine authority that suppressed all weaker beings.
The assassin could not move.
The sheer weight of the Emperor's Presence bound him completely, as if the heavens themselves had judged him unworthy.
His hands trembled.
He could no longer hold his dagger.
It fell to the ground with a metallic clang.
A futile struggle.
The assassin's heart pounded.
This pressure… this was not mortal power.
This was a force that defied the heavens themselves.
Gritting his teeth, he forced his cultivation to surge—his Saint Realm aura erupting in full force.
His body trembled under the effort, but he moved.
"A vision of the Ancient Saint Body… but can you truly wield it properly at your age?"
A black sigil appeared on his forehead—his true strength activating.
He lunged again, his dagger now infused with annihilation energy.
But then—
Alexander spoke.
His voice echoed with absolute authority.
"Kneel."
The moment the word left his lips—
The assassin's legs buckled.
He crashed to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth.
His body refused to obey him.
His cultivation—his will—his strength—all had been crushed.
This was the dominion of the Heavenly Emperor Throne.
A power that dictated a single truth—
Before the Emperor, all must kneel.
Alexander stepped forward, looking down at the kneeling assassin.
"Who sent you?"
The assassin panted, his body drenched in sweat.
He gritted his teeth but refused to speak.
His eyes burned with defiance.
He would rather die than betray his employer.
Alexander's golden gaze did not waver.
"Then die."
A single palm strike descended.
It was not fast.
Nor was it flashy.
But the instant it touched the assassin's forehead—
BOOM!
A crater exploded beneath them.
And the assassin's body vanished.
No blood remained.
No corpse.
Just pure annihilation.
---
The Hidden Spectators
Far beyond the battlefield, several figures watched in secret.
Some hid within the depths of the mountains.
Some lurked within the void.
Each one had observed the battle.
Each one had witnessed the vision he had awakened.
One of them—a man wreathed in black flames—exhaled deeply.
"So… he has truly begun to ascend."
Another—a woman with celestial wings—narrowed her eyes.
"A mere child… yet he wields an Emperor's Authority."
A final voice, cold and mechanical, muttered.
"The balance of the world has shifted."
And then, in unison, they all spoke a single truth.
"The heavens will not stay silent."