Cloud Knights Military Camp, Pocket Realm.
Kanzaki stood with a dignified expression, steeling himself to lead his troops into the coming battle. Another squad marched in from the opposite direction, and the Cloud Knights captain at its head offered him a solemn salute.
Kanzaki returned the gesture, his gaze steady. A familiar pair of crimson eyes watched him from within the ranks, yet his own emotions remained perfectly composed. Master and disciple each had their missions. They were about to part ways once more, heading for different battlefields.
The master hunted the Borisin Warhead. The disciple joined a medium-scale Hunt campaign, quietly hoping the day would come when they could fight side by side.
For now, they could only pass each other by, bound for their separate fronts. In an era of constant warfare, failing to steady one's mind meant time itself could blur into a haze of endless conflict.
Several years slipped by in the blink of an eye. Before anyone realized it, the Star Calendar had reached year 6310.
Kanzaki's expeditionary force returned victorious. At the prow of the Xianzhou Yaoqing, they hung their trophy for all to see: the severed head of the Borisin Warhead, Ussa.
The battle report spread like wildfire across every Xianzhou ship, sending shockwaves through the entire Alliance. The Borisin were the primary foe in the Xianzhou's eternal Hunt against the Abominations of Abundance. A Warhead held status equal to a General—or even a Marshal—within their savage race.
No one could say how Kanzaki had managed to slay such a monster. Not even the Divination Commission aboard the Xianzhou Yuque could divine the truth.
Xianzhou Luofu, General's Mansion.
Teng Xiao wore light armor even while bent over his desk. His imposing aura remained undiminished, the kind that commanded respect without a hint of anger.
"General," his advisor said gravely, placing a top-secret Vidyadhara document on the desk. "The current Imbibitor Lunae has entered the reincarnation cycle through molting. The Vidyadhara currently have no High Elder. The Dragon Elders have petitioned for appropriate guard forces to secure the entrances and exits of the Scalegorge Waterscape and prevent any accidents."
Teng Xiao nodded casually. Two fingers glowed with golden light as he pressed the mark of an Emanator of the Hunt onto the document.
"Proceed according to regulations. Instruct the Sky-Faring Commission to contact the Yuque through the Yellowbell Resonance System and relay news of the Luofu Vidyadhara High Elder's reincarnation to the Marshal."
"Understood."
No sooner had the order left his lips than a Jade Sign communication arrived from the Sky-Faring Commission's helmsman. Teng Xiao paused his work and granted projection permission.
The helmsman's virtual image materialized. "General, what matter requires direct contact?"
"The Sky-Faring Commission of the Xianzhou Yaoqing has transmitted a battle report via the Yellowbell Resonance System," Helmsman Haiyun announced, voice thick with astonishment. "Borisin Warhead Ussa—hunted and slain!"
Slaying a Borisin Warhead was joyous news for the vast majority of Xianzhou citizens. Yet Teng Xiao's brow furrowed in rare confusion.
"Ussa had been hiding for centuries," he muttered. "Surely General Shafeng finally caught him. But why was the Warhead slain outright?"
From Teng Xiao's perspective, the Borisin Warhead was indeed the Alliance's greatest enemy. The premise, however, was that Xianzhou Generals rarely had the luxury of personally hunting one down. A Warhead who was not even an Emanator posed no real threat to a General. One strike from the Divine Lord would annihilate both body and soul.
Logically, capturing the Warhead alive would bring far greater strategic value. Wait…
Teng Xiao had heard no news of anyone ascending to the new Cloud Knight Sword Champion position on the Yaoqing. Shafeng would not lightly abandon the main ship unless Ussa had brought the fight to their doorstep.
The greatest danger a Borisin Warhead posed was their absolute bloodline suppression over every Great Nest Father. Those fathers then commanded their own packs, forming the fearsome Abundance Coalition that terrorized countless civilizations across the stars. A lone Warhead simply wasn't worth a General risking the main ship.
To leave the flagship, a General required the Marshal's personal approval and had to leave both a Cloud Knight Sword Champion and a Vidyadhara High Elder behind to guard it. The tragedy of the Xianzhou Cangcheng had proven what happened when that safeguard was absent. It was precisely because of that disaster that the Marshal had relocated to Xu Ling—which also lacked a High Elder—and assigned Teng Xiao, the former Cangcheng General, to oversee the Luofu's Cloud Knights.
Although the Cloud Knight Sword Champion possessed the highest martial prowess among the three armies, even that paled compared to a Vidyadhara High Elder.
Could it be… that Kanzaki had become the Xianzhou Sword Champion?
Teng Xiao's thoughts churned. Unaware of his superior's inner turmoil, Haiyun shook his head slightly.
"General Shafeng did not take action. Ussa was slain by the former Cangcheng Cloud Knight Vanguard—now the Xianzhou Vanguard—Kanzaki."
Teng Xiao's eyes widened. For a brief moment, the unflappable General lost his composure.
A Vanguard, not a Sword Champion… Slaying a Borisin Warhead required strength far beyond what was needed to claim the Sword Champion title. So why was Kanzaki still only a Vanguard?
The Luofu selected its Cloud Knight Sword Champion through a formal martial ceremony, but the Yaoqing operated differently. Whoever was the strongest fighter simply earned the role. "Sword Champion" was almost too formal; "Martial Master" would have been more accurate.
Across the entire Xianzhou Cloud Knight Vanguard forces—past or present—no one else could simultaneously control over a thousand sword blades. Kanzaki was an absolute anomaly.
Teng Xiao would need to find an opportunity to speak with either Shafeng or Kanzaki himself.
"General? General?"
"Hmm… Approve immediate publication of this report on the front page of every Luofu network channel. As for Kanzaki's past identity as a native of the Cangcheng… keep that detail hidden."
Such a monumental event required personal discussion with the General. Haiyun nodded in perfect understanding. "Great minds think alike." He promptly ended the real-time communication and set the arrangements in motion.
Teng Xiao set aside his urgent paperwork and sank deep into thought. After a long while, one possibility occurred to him.
It wasn't complicated. Kanzaki had refused the Sword Champion position so he could remain on the front lines and slaughter more Abominations. If he accepted the title, the impatient General Shafeng would constantly petition the Marshal for personal campaigns. Once approved, the Sword Champion would be forced to stay behind and guard the main ship alongside the High Elder, Lord Tianfeng.
Teng Xiao let out a heavy sigh.
He understood the feeling all too well. Having watched his homeland reduced to ruins, with no family left to return to, the only thing that kept the surviving Cangcheng Cloud Knights moving forward was the blood of Abominations staining their blades on the front lines. As a fellow survivor, Teng Xiao knew exactly why Kanzaki had turned down the honor.
At the same time, Xianzhou Yaoqing, depths of the Shadow Prison.
Shafeng and several Vanguards stood frozen, staring at the massive, headless Borisin corpse sprawled across the floor. Disbelief etched every face.
"You're telling me you accidentally blasted Ussa's heart to pieces and therefore couldn't take him alive?" Shafeng asked, voice tight.
"Yes," Kanzaki answered calmly.
That explanation should not have made sense. Everyone present felt the urge to scratch their heads in confusion. Since when had a Borisin Warhead's regenerative ability become so fragile? Even if their heart were destroyed or their head severed, the body could regrow rapidly as long as it wasn't reduced to pulp.
"Come," Shafeng said suddenly. "Use the same attack you killed Ussa with. On me."
The words had barely left his mouth when Kanzaki, who had been standing quietly at the side, moved.
No wind-up. No warning. Just a single, clean punch.
The fist tore through the air with a sonic boom, hurtling straight toward Shafeng's chest. The General's pupils shrank to pinpricks. He crossed his arms in an instant to block.
The moment the fist connected, Kanzaki retracted it, drove his elbow upward, and slammed it down with devastating force.
BOOM—!
A terrifying shockwave erupted. A blurry figure shot backward, crashing straight through the specially reinforced wall behind him. At the same time, the violent residual force swept outward, hurling the surrounding Vanguards and guards off their feet before they could even cry out. Some tumbled across the ground; others slammed into stone pillars, barely halting their momentum. Equipment toppled. Chaos reigned.
"Pfft… Cough, cough, cough…"
Shafeng pushed himself up from the pile of broken wall debris, unable to hold back the mouthful of blood that splattered across the floor. He looked up at Kanzaki, who still held the elbow-raised stance a short distance away. Shock surged in his eyes.
The raw destructive power of the direct strike was astonishing enough. But what followed was even worse—an invisible, penetrating force that had slipped past his defense and caught him completely off guard. The instant that terrifying energy flooded his body, only his subconscious use of Emanator-level power had kept his heart from being pulverized on the spot.
If not for that, Shafeng realized with a chill, he would have suffered the exact same fate as Ussa.