"Today, you and your Soul Clan should perish!!" Xiao Yan's voice thundered across the shattered battlefield, the words laced with a killing intent that made the air itself shudder. His eyes, once warm and steady, now glowed with a cold golden light—signs of his recent breakthrough to the Dou Sovereign realm. The power surged in his veins, wild and untamed, but he no longer feared it.
A long time ago, this moment had been nothing but a distant dream. But now… now the heavens themselves bore witness.
With a cold sneer tugging at the corners of his lips, he raised his hands high and bellowed:
"Flame Imprisoning Pillars!!"
A sudden quake ran through the land. The sky cracked open like glass struck by a hammer, and twenty-two columns of brilliant, blazing light shot up from the earth, swirling around Xiao Yan like divine judgment.
The energy from each pillar roared like a dragon, spiraling into the sky and intertwining. It was no ordinary Dou Technique—it was a technique that sacrificed part of the Dou Sovereign Body to draw upon forbidden power. A method that risked everything for absolute destruction.
Hun Tiandi's face, once calm and calculating, twisted in horror. "You… you madman! You actually dared to ignite the Dou Sovereign Body?!" he bellowed, his voice trembling for the first time in centuries.
But Xiao Yan didn't respond. His gaze remained cold and resolute, his body trembling as the overwhelming power surged through him. The golden flames burned through his meridians, scouring his insides with an excruciating heat, but he clenched his teeth and stood firm. This pain… was nothing compared to the pain of losing everyone he loved.
The lights converged and descended.
With a deafening boom, the Flame Imprisoning Pillars formed a blazing cage that slammed down on Hun Tiandi. Space distorted, time trembled, and everything within a hundred-mile radius froze as if the world itself held its breath.
"I am not willing to accept this!!" Hun Tiandi roared, struggling with every last ounce of his might. "The Hun Clan's thousand-year plan… actually defeated by you!!"
Countless Dou Techniques erupted from his body—dark waves, ghostly shadows, soul-destroying flames—all slammed into the fiery cage again and again. But the Flame Imprisoning Pillars were absolute. Born from Xiao Yan's own Sovereign body, from the very origin of his essence, they could not be stopped by mere force.
And slowly, those overwhelming techniques weakened… flickered… then vanished.
Hun Tiandi's body began to burn. Golden flames crept across his skin, cracking it like dry earth. He screamed, thrashed, tore at the sky, and yet nothing worked. The flames ate away at his soul, his core, and finally, his existence.
In one final cry of rage and despair, Hun Tiandi's body was reduced to nothing but ash and drifting embers.
The sky fell silent.
The pillars flickered once more before shattering into countless sparks that drifted like fireflies in the wind.
Xiao Yan, standing at the center, coughed violently. Blood splattered across his lips, and his knees buckled. With a final, powerless gasp, he was thrown backward, crashing heavily into the scorched earth.
He lay there—motionless.
His skin was pale, body scorched with golden flames that refused to extinguish. His Dou Qi was in chaos, the essence of his Sovereign Body torn apart. Agonizing pain shot through every nerve, deeper than anything he'd ever felt.
"I think… my time has come," he thought, a calmness strangely settling into his heart. His eyes began to dim, vision fading as he gazed up at the broken heavens above. The battlefield was quiet—but not for long.
"Daddy!!!!"
A piercing cry broke the silence.
Xiao Xiao, her delicate face twisted in fear and tears, stumbled across the shattered ground, followed closely by Cai Lin, Yun Yun, Xun'er, Qing Lin, Zi Yan, Xiao Yi Xian—all of them.
His wives. His companions. His family.
They surrounded him like stars encircling the moon, their eyes wide in disbelief and horror. Blood and tears mingled on their faces as they knelt beside him.
"X-Xiao…Xiao…" he rasped, forcing his eyes open. His gaze landed first on his daughter, whose tiny hands clutched his robe tightly. Her sobs were like knives in his heart.
Then… Cai Lin.
His eyes softened as he looked at her. Her beauty was unmarred, but her eyes were filled with sorrow. He loved her.
"Cai Lin… take care of…" The words came out broken, trembling.
And then, his breathing stopped.
The world around him seemed to halt, as if time itself grieved.
But though his heart ceased, his soul did not fade.
In that brief moment of death, Xiao Yan heard them—the women who had walked with him through storms, through war, through joy and grief.
"I love you, Xiao Yan…"
"I always did…"
"Even if you didn't see me… I was always by your side…"
"Please don't leave us…"
"Come back…"
Yun Yun… The one who taught him sword and heart.
Xiao Yi Xian… Whose poison never tainted her love.
Qing Lin… Loyal and gentle, who smiled only for him.
Zi Yan… Proud and fiery, yet soft when near him.
Xun'er… The childhood flame, the one who knew his soul.
Cai Lin… The Serpent Queen who gave him her everything.
Their confessions echoed in his heart, piercing deeper than any blade.
In that suspended state between life and death, Xiao Yan wept—not from regret, but from understanding.
"If I, Xiao Yan, get another chance… another life… I will take responsibility. I will treasure you all—not just with words, but with my soul."
He thought of Ya Fei, that warm smile from the past. She wasn't here. But she too had been part of the journey.
"If she were here… would she cry for me too?" he wondered, pain tightening in his chest.
Darkness threatened to consume him completely.
But even as his body lay lifeless…
A faint flicker of golden light remained in his chest.
Perhaps fate was not done with Xiao Yan.
Perhaps… a Sovereign's will could defy even death.