The moon hung like a jagged bone over the Shui Estate. Lin Fei stood in the center of the ruins, his white robes no longer white, but a deep, crusting crimson. His body was a furnace. The Saint Demonic Dragon Body was vibrating so violently that the stones beneath his feet were turning to white sand.
He had entered this gates at Stage 4. He was leaving as something the world hadn't seen in a thousand years.
THE ASCENSION THROUGH SLAUGHTER
As Lin Fei walked back toward the Lin Estate, he didn't use a carriage or a horse. Every step he took, he circulated the Dragon's Hunger. The stolen Foundation-level Qi of the three Shui Ancestors was being ground down by his meridians, forced into the service of his unborn heirs.
In his mind, he felt the four heartbeats of his children in the Southern Courtyard. They weren't afraid of the blood on his hands; they were hungry for it. Through their spiritual bond, they acted as four secondary lungs, helping him process the massive influx of stolen energy.
Stage 9 (Peak): His Qi became so dense it began to liquefy within his veins. The ivory scales on his chest expanded, reaching up to his jawline.
He arrived at the Lin Estate gates. The guards, who had been mocking him hours ago, didn't even dare to breathe. They fell to their knees as he passed, the scent of a slaughtered clan wafting off him like a physical weight.
THE BLOOD-LIGHTNING TRIBULATION
"Fei!" Shuyin and Shulan cried out as he entered the Southern Courtyard. They saw the blood, but when they looked into his eyes, they saw something far more terrifying: a golden, eternal void.
"Stand back," Lin Fei commanded, his voice vibrating with the power of the Peak 9th Stage. "The Heavens have seen my harvest. Now, they come to claim the tax."
The sky above the estate didn't just turn dark; it turned the color of an open wound. Because Lin Fei had exterminated an entire clan to fuel his growth, the universe recognized him as a Calamity.
CRACK-BOOM!
A bolt of Blood-Lightning—crimson and jagged—tore through the clouds. It bypassed the Azure Shield as if it weren't there, aiming straight for Lin Fei's heart.
BREAKING THE CHAINS
Lin Fei didn't hide. He didn't use a shield. He leapt into the air, meeting the crimson bolt with a raw, white-scaled fist.
"You gave me this body!" Lin Fei roared at the sky. "Now watch me use it to tear your laws apart!"
The collision sent a shockwave that leveled the outer walls of the courtyard. The blood-lightning surged through him, trying to incinerate his soul, but the Saint Demonic Dragon Body treated the lightning as a hammer. It used the divine heat to forge his liquid Qi into a Crystalline Dao Foundation.
One bolt. Two. Five.
By the ninth bolt, Lin Fei's white hair was glowing with a blinding intensity. With a final, bone-shaking explosion, the crimson clouds shattered.
Foundation Establishment — Stage 1 (Early).
The silence that followed was absolute. Lin Fei landed in the center of the courtyard, his presence now so immense that even Qingxue and Qingyu felt their own Qi bow in submission. He was no longer a "prodigy." He was a Sovereign.
He turned to the two sisters, his golden eyes locking onto them.
"The Shui are gone. The Heavens have failed," Lin Fei said, his voice now carrying the weight of a mountain. "Qingxue, Qingyu... the Lin Clan properties are now mine. And you... are my next queens. Prepare yourselves. The Violet Cloud Sect is coming, and I need more souls to feed the Dragon."
Lin Fei has reached the Foundation Stage and claimed the entire city's legacy. He is no longer just a husband; he is a warlord.