Kael gave Wang Xiao a once-over and smirked. "You're using a superpower, aren't you? Let me guess, air manipulation?"
"Your frame is clearly on the weak side. Not much raw strength. But your body’s surface... it's coated in something. Feels like steel with the bounce of a cheap spring mattress. Still, it’s soaking up eighty to ninety percent of my force."
Kael’s tone was light and almost playful, but his steps didn’t stop. With a sharp burst of air erupting around him, he launched a kick.
"Let me try again and see how well you hold up!"
Wang Xiao gritted his teeth, snarling as the kick approached.
"Wind Armor!"
A low hum vibrated through the air as a turbulent layer of twisting wind surged to life around his body, cloaking him like a living shield.
Kael’s side kick struck the wind barrier.
BANG!
A concussive shockwave ripped outward. The air exploded in violent bursts, stripping a wide area into a vacuum in a blink.
CRACKLE!!!
Beneath Wang Xiao’s feet, the concrete shattered instantly. Grotesque cracks spiderwebbed outwards in rings, tearing through the street like it was paper. The shock even sent several streetlamps crashing to the ground.
Debris rained. Dust stormed.
But...
Kael’s devastating strike had been partly swallowed by the Wind God Heavy Armor, redirected through the strange shield of air.
Even so...
The force that remained was far more than Wang Xiao could withstand.
"Impossible!"
He stumbled back, blood running from his nose and mouth, clutching his pounding head. His voice broke in fury and disbelief.
"Not even the top-tier Evershield Body can break the Wind Armor! You shattered it with a single kick?! What the hell are you?!"
His gaze shook with shock and raw denial.
Clearly, reality had just broken past his final line of defense.
"Damn right I shattered it with one kick."
Kael shrugged and let out a laugh.
"Relax. Let me give you the honor of knowing. This man here," he pointed at himself proudly, "has long broken through the limits of the Evershield Body. I’ve already stepped into a higher realm of martial arts."
Wang Xiao’s eye twitched. His face went cold and pale. He stared at Kael, panting, a deep unease in his voice.
"That’s impossible. Absolutely impossible."
"No one in all of Emberlight has broken through for a thousand years! No one’s stepped further on the martial path. What are you using? What kind of power do you even have?!"
Kael tsked and wagged his finger mockingly.
"There it is again. That ignorance of yours. That’s exactly why you’ve been left behind. You really don’t know? The martial path ahead," he tapped his temple, "has already been paved. By my master."
Wang Xiao’s jaw clenched.
"Your master? Who is it, some reclusive martial arts grandmaster?"
"Hmph. You think I'd just hand you that name?"
Kael grinned, his tone brimming with pride.
"My master," he raised a finger skyward, "is the number one martial artist in the world. North to south, past and present, no one compares. She is the rightful heir of this age."
“What!!”
Wang Xiao’s eyes went wide with fear, his voice cracking as he roared: “Lies! You're lying to me! That’s impossible!”
Not far off, Selene and Auron finally arrived at the scene.
And the moment they did, they were hit by the overwhelming force of the confrontation between Kael and Wang Xiao. Their expressions froze.
“Th-this... isn’t that the heir’s disciple?!” Selene stammered, her voice full of disbelief.
Auron’s face stiffened in shock as he replied: “According to the agency’s intel... the heir has two disciples.”
“One is a top-tier martial world powerhouse, Dreadlance Vale. The other... is this guy. Kael. Practically a nobody.”
He exhaled, his voice tinged with a mix of regret and awe: “I always assumed the whole taking disciples thing was just political maneuvering, a way to tighten control over the martial arts world.”
“Back then, I even thought Vale was putting on an act. I didn’t expect... I was completely wrong.”
He shook his head slowly: “Even Kael, this so-called nobody, has enough strength to stand toe-to-toe with Wang Xiao.”
“So…”
Selene turned toward her older brother, eyes wide as the realization dawned: “The heir didn’t just pretend to take disciples. She really trained them!”
“And the heir herself... might actually be a true martial arts grandmaster?!”
She swallowed hard.
“Otherwise, someone like Kael, with this level of strength and youthful arrogance, there’s no way he’d submit to anyone weaker than himself.”
“Ah~”
Auron let out a long breath. “Our Secret Service has always been known for precision and discipline, but... when it comes to anything involving the royal family, we’ve always kept a respectful distance.”
“Add in the fact that any deeper intel is tightly sealed by the Royal Guard... we’ve never been able to conduct a thorough investigation into the heir.”
He paused, then said grimly:
“Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if everything we think we know about the heir is either false… or hopelessly outdated.”
Selene stood in silence.
The low-key, unremarkable heir she remembered now seemed like a figure cloaked in shadow. Mysterious, and far more dangerous than she'd ever imagined.
...
Meanwhile...
Kael’s casual words had dug deep into Wang Xiao’s mind like a spike.
The idea that Seraphine, that useless noble girl, was the world’s number one martial artist?
It was like a cruel joke.
He couldn’t accept it.
He wouldn’t accept it.
“Seraphine?! That useless thing?! That walking disgrace?! How could she possibly be powerful?!”
“What the hell does she have that I don’t?!”
His fury exploded.
“Liar! You damned liar! Go to hell!!”
Wang Xiao bellowed with rage, launching himself forward in a full-force assault.
“Wind Demon Chain Cannon!”
BANG!
Wang Xiao threw up both hands, his body trembling violently as his palms lit up like twin artillery muzzles. In a blink, they began spitting out a rapid-fire barrage of dozens of mini tornado-like bullets, each screaming through the air with a sharp, crackling howl.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!
Kael was instantly engulfed by the storm.
Dozens, no, hundreds of wind-infused bullets tore across the battlefield, shredding the air with explosive velocity. The entire stretch of road, dozens of meters wide, was torn apart, swept into chaos as if a wild tornado had been unleashed at ground level.
The pavement twisted and crumbled. Signs bent. Lampposts toppled.
It was pure devastation.
Wang Xiao looked at the destruction, and for the first time, a satisfied smirk tugged at his lips.
“As expected... I still have the upper hand!”
...
Above the battlefield, several media helicopters buzzed in like vultures, drawn by the eruption of power below.
THUMP THUMP THUMP! BOOM! BOOM!
Inside one chopper, a middle-aged reporter gripped his microphone, eyes wide behind his glasses as he stared down at the chaotic battle.
He turned sharply to the camera, voice rising with excitement:
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you see this?! This is a real superpower clash! This is not a film set, this is happening right now!"
Ever since the return of Ether, the world had been shifting. Bit by bit, people were learning to accept the surreal.
But to see it live on national television, two superpowered beings fighting with sky-splitting, earth-rending force?
That was another thing entirely.
Especially when one of them was reportedly the heir’s personal bodyguard, and the other a top-tier assassin.
Needless to say, the internet exploded.
"Holy crap! This is INSANE!"
"No way this is real... is this a viral ad for some Netflix show??"
"I work in VFX, this isn’t edited. That’s 100% real footage!"
"The world’s changed too fast. I feel like I’m still dreaming."
"Superpowers? I call BS, WHERE'S MY AWAKENING?!" ??????
...
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
WHOOSH!
As the whirlwind finally cleared, the smoke parted... and Kael stepped forward, completely unharmed.
Wang Xiao’s smile froze mid-face.
His eyes went wide in disbelief.
"W-What...?!"
His mind raced.
Those wind bullets were the size of a man’s fist. Each packed the punch of a grenade. A direct hit should’ve torn Kael’s body apart.
But Kael didn’t even look scratched.
What Wang Xiao didn’t know was this:
Kael’s body wasn’t just strengthened, it had evolved far beyond human standards. Against conventional firearms, he barely felt a tickle. Against air bullets?
They may as well have been gusts of wind on a sunny day.
Kael grinned, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder.
"Heh. That’s it?" His tone dripped with mockery.
"With that pathetic display, you really thought you could make a name for yourself?"
He cracked his knuckles, eyes glinting with menace.
"Fine then. Let this young master show you what real power looks like."
"Hmph! What utter nonsense!"
Wang Xiao drew a slender alloy sword from his waist, its blade riddled with densely packed holes, and muttered under his breath:
"Blade of Wind."
SWISH!
In a flash, dozens of razor-thin wind currents surged into existence, coiling violently around the blade. Whipping through the holes in the metal, strands of slicing air channeled directly into the sword’s core, setting it into a violent tremor.
Then...
That scattered airflow condensed, detonating outward in bursts of compressed shockwaves.
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!
Through the manipulation of high-frequency wind vibrations, Wang Xiao unleashed a terrifyingly sharp Sword Qi from the sword’s edge.
"I’ll see you die a miserable, torn-apart corpse!"
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
With a furious roar, he slashed downward and several searing arcs of Sword Qi burst forward, roaring toward Kael like streaks of light.
"Nice swordplay."
Kael laughed, wide and wild. His hand spread open and from his palm, a ball of blazing golden-red Aether flared to life.
It twisted and expanded, forming a phantom great shield that shimmered with heat, intercepting the incoming blades of energy.
BOOM!!
A thunderous crash erupted. The streaks of Sword Qi slammed against the Aether shield and dissolved on impact, instantly reduced to flickers of harmless wind.
"What?!"
Wang Xiao’s eye twitched in disbelief. But he didn’t falter.
His expression contorted with rage as he raised the blade again, his voice raw: "Again!!"
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Another wave of Sword Qi exploded from his blade.
With barely a flick or sweep, Wang Xiao’s alloy sword sliced the air and released devastating blades of energy, each one stretching over ten meters long.
They tore through the battlefield like a wind tsunami.
The air split apart with howls.
Concrete buckled and burst.
Steel cracked like brittle glass.
From a distance, it looked like an unstoppable river of wind blades, conjured out of thin air. Its surface glowing, edges serrated with speed and rage.
Wherever that Wind River flowed, streetlights were ripped apart, signposts shredded, and sidewalks turned to powder.
The destruction looked ripped straight from a high-budget sci-fi action movie.
Online, spectators were stunned.
"Bro... that’s a whole corpse blender."
"Is this guy a demolition contractor in disguise?"
"Y’all don’t need to duel, just apply for urban renewal funding."
"Dark mage confirmed."
"?? LOL."
...
Back on the field:
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One after another, the wind blades smashed into Kael’s Aether shield.
Wang Xiao slashed wildly, pumping out more than ten consecutive Sword Qi waves, until finally...
The shimmering shield cracked and shattered into golden mist.
But Kael didn’t flinch.
Without missing a beat, his hand lit up again.
One, two, three... over ten blazing Aether spheres swirled to life in his palm, condensing mid-air into fresh new shields, layered and blazing like a heavenly wall of molten gold.
In a flash, over a dozen radiant shields materialized before Kael, hovering like blazing sigils in the air.
He looked utterly unimpressed.
"That’s it? You can’t even scratch my defenses. What a waste of oxygen."
"Motherfucker!" Wang Xiao snarled through gritted teeth. His face twisted with fury as he thrust his arm forward.
"Super Whirlwind Drill..."
Before the name was even finished, Kael had had enough.
With a cold expression, he shattered the very air around him and stomped the ground.
BOOM!
The pavement beneath exploded, pulverized into rubble as he blinked across dozens of meters in an instant and swung a slap.
"Super your mother’s head, this is all you’ve got?!"
FZZT! FZZT! FZZT! BANG!
Wang Xiao’s "Super Whirlwind Drill" barely had time to form before it was crushed, scattered into wisps of air by Kael’s open palm.
Then came the real blow.
Kael’s fist rocketed into Wang Xiao’s chest, his eyes bulging, his body convulsing before the hit even landed.
BANG!
The shockwave echoed like thunder.
Far off, reporters clutched their ears in pain, wincing and backing away.
Even Auron and Selene were forced to retreat ten steps, their faces tense.
Watching the battle from afar, their expressions were filled with a stunned reverence.
Then...
Auron’s ears twitched. Something subtle. Something wrong.
He gave a hand signal to Selene and muttered, "There’s a third party nearby. Let’s check it out."
Selene blinked, then nodded seriously.
She knew better than to question her brother’s hypersensitive perception.
And so, the two silently left the area.
...
But to the audience...
After Kael’s punch, another massive shockwave burst outward, ripping up dirt, rock, and debris in a roaring collapse.
The viewers gawked, slack-jawed.
“No way... this can’t be real.”
“Was that a person or a tactical missile?”
“This guy’s a walking demolition team.”
The comparison was shocking.
After all, the superpower videos floating around online until now were usually just lighting a cigarette with fire powers or making ice cubes without a fridge.
No one had seen anything like this.
In a hovering helicopter above the battlefield, Lulu was staring, dazed and silent. She was no longer even responding to the flood of comments from netizens.
“This looks straight up like a Hollywood blockbuster.”
“That’s Sera’s bodyguard? Sera’s gotta have a whole damn secret army!”
“Bet she does. Probably a private superpower squad.”
Other media outlets were now frantically tuning in.
But the viewers?
They’d veered straight into meta territory.
“The world is changing so fast lately... sometimes I feel like we’re living inside a story.”
“Wait... are we in a novel?”
“Like... a web novel?”
“If this were a novel, any crazy plot twist could happen.”
“What genre are we talking, urban superpowers? Cultivation?”
“Urban superpower seems right.”
“Why not modern cultivation? Feels spot on.”
“Okay, okay. If this really is a novel... who’s the protagonist?”
“Me. Everyone send me 100 million now and I’ll take you flying with me!”
“Bro... I can barely get free shipping. I am not the protagonist.”
“Looking at my life, I’m probably one of those nameless side characters.”
“You’re a background prop.”
“Then why do I exist?”
“Will I at least get a line in the story?”
“Yo! Yo! I just wanna say, this can’t be my only line, right?!”
“You can guess.”
“Hello? Future readers? Can you see me?”
“If we’re in a novel, I hope someone out there knows I’m more than this comment.”
“Bro, enough roleplaying.”
“Actually... can the author just write in a rich, gorgeous CEO who falls in love with me?”
“LMAO. Bro the author’s broke too.”
“TRUTH.”
...
Back to reality.
PFTT!
Wang Xiao coughed blood from all seven orifices, screaming in agony as he was launched over a hundred meters.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
He smashed through multiple utility poles, his body ragdolling through the air, before collapsing in a mangled heap.
Face-up. Limbs twisted. Unmoving.
It was in this moment.
Finally, painfully.
That Wang Xiao realized the truth:
He never even stood a chance.
He couldn’t even touch the edge of Seraphine’s level. She was the Royal-blooded girl he had once completely looked down upon.
And worse...
He suddenly recalled the arrogant words he’d flung at her face just days earlier.
Humiliation flooded in like a tidal wave.
His gut twisted. His vision blurred red with shame.
"So I was the clown all along..."
Shame.
Rage.
Hopelessness.
A torrent of emotions surged through his mind like a storm spiraling out of control.
Wang Xiao’s face contorted as madness crept into his eyes.
Then he shot into the sky like a tornado of raw, seething flesh, blasting toward the nearest helicopter.
The one carrying Lulu.
And in that moment, his voice tore through the sky:
“Then let’s ALL DIE TOGETHER, MOTHERFUCKERS!!”
"CALAMITY OF WIND!!"
GURGLE GURGLE GURGLE!
His body abruptly compressed inwards.
Muscles writhing. Skin pulsing.
Then it happened.
A massive swelling began, as if something monstrous inside him was about to detonate.
...
Down below, Kael’s eyes narrowed.
Without hesitation, he launched skyward like a thunderbolt, intercepting Wang Xiao mid-ascent.
Palms clapped together, arms circling in a flowing spiral motion. Then.
An upward strike shot straight for Wang Xiao’s chest.
"Drifting Cloud Hands!"
BANG!!
WHOOSH!
The impact landed with the force of a crashing waterfall.
Wang Xiao’s body flung backward like a meteor hit by a comet, bones snapping audibly in sequence.
The surging vortex of compressed air inside him faltered.
Kael’s precise strike had temporarily suppressed the eruption, forcing the pressure back by a split second.
But it wasn’t enough.
As Wang Xiao’s shattered body soared skyward, rising nearly a hundred meters into the air.
The pressure inside him began to surge uncontrollably again, on the verge of exploding.
And it was in that single, sliver-thin second.
Kael moved.
From the ground below, he drew the steel blade strapped to his waist.
A weapon he'd never once used until now.
The blade trembled, screaming as if sensing blood.
Kael’s voice echoed like thunder:
"Let the soul guide the phantom. The blade’s intent unleashed.
Let force become form. The true strike born from reality."
Then, with a powerful upward sweep, he swung his blade toward the sky.
“ILLUSION AND REALITY MERGED, SLAY ALL THINGS!!”
"THIS IS, HEAVEN’S WILL SEVERANCE!!!"
BANG!!!!
The sword strike ignited the sky.
A devastating wave tore through the clouds like a rift in heaven itself. The air howled with the wails of vengeful spirits, as if an ancient ghost had been set free.
A single blade.
To decide life and death.
To cleave will, fate, and despair in half.
A silver demonic dragon, nearly ten meters long, surged into the sky. It was formed from countless overlapping layers of cold, desolate blade-light. It radiated a savage, merciless martial will as it howled through the heavens, fangs bared and claws raking forward, diving straight toward Wang Xiao, whose body hovered on the edge of detonation a hundred meters in the air.
Even before the blade energy arrived, the sheer blade intent had already shattered Wang Xiao’s mind.
“W–What?!!”
Bloodshot eyes widened. Suspended mid-air, on the brink of death, Wang Xiao could only watch in horror as the approaching light filled the sky. It was too dazzling, too overwhelming.
Just seeing it made his soul feel like it was being torn apart.
BANG!!!!
The world around him shattered like glass.
And then.
Nothing.
Silence.
A thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield.
High above, the volatile vortex of wind and energy inside Wang Xiao’s body had reached critical mass, ready to erupt and annihilate everything nearby.
But in that precise moment, Kael’s blade descended.
《Heaven’s Will Severance》.
With that single strike, the chaotic, swelling form of Wang Xiao, along with the thousands of crimson wind blades that had just begun to materialize inside him, was completely unraveled.
They were reduced to harmless Bloody Winds, thinner than a strand of hair, which drifted outward for a fleeting second before vanishing across a hundred-meter radius.
Wang Xiao was annihilated.
Not a single bone remained.
This was the power of the blade technique known as 《Heaven’s Will Severance》.
A blade art born of war.
A killing technique Kael had comprehended almost by accident.
A byproduct of sheer instinct, bloodshed, and unrivaled martial talent.
It was not a technique made for defense.
It did not compromise.
It did not hesitate.
It pursued one thing only:
Absolute destruction.
A blade that forgets the self.
And exists only to kill.
The workings of Heaven’s Will Severance are deceptively simple.
But its entry threshold is impossibly high.
To use it, the wielder must momentarily fuse Aether and spirit into one, activating the cultivation loop of the technique.
Each completed cycle adds another layer to the blade’s momentum.
The more cycles completed, the greater the power and range.
But also, the greater the consumption of Aether, spirit, and the strain on the physical body.
At its peak, it all converges in a window of time shorter than a hummingbird’s wingbeat.
And in that moment, the blade strikes, severing everything.
In theory:
If one can execute dozens.
Or even hundreds of cycles in an instant.
Then even a single slash becomes a wide-area annihilation technique capable of clearing the entire battlefield.
...
BOOM!!!
Air erupted in a violent surge.
The Bloody Wind howled, devouring everything in its path.
Wang Xiao’s body, torn apart from a distance by Kael’s strike, dropped with a sickening thud.
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Even those lurking in the shadows, harboring far more sinister intentions, were absolutely stunned.
Not far away, in a concealed corner.
"Leader... do we still engage?"
A man in tactical gear, hood pulled low, whispered nervously.
Beside him, a hulking figure stared into the distance. Kael stood there, poised, his eyes sweeping the perimeter like a predator that hadn’t stopped hunting.
The burly man swallowed hard. "...No. We keep watching."
Another operative, gripping a heavy machine gun, hesitated. "But what about His Highness Cedric? What do we report?"
The leader turned, eyes sharp. "Report? What report? If it comes to that, just prepare to die with honor."
A moment ago, they'd been ready, confident and eager to strike.
Now?
All of that was gone. In the space of a single minute, their courage had completely evaporated.
"Forget it," the leader finally muttered. "We’re pulling out."
The others glanced at him, then nodded silently.
But just as they turned to leave, the temperature dropped like a blade across their skin.
Every one of them began to shiver uncontrollably.
"So cold... what the hell is this?!"
Suddenly.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath pounding metal feet.
A girl made entirely of steel, eyes glowing faintly blue, charged at them like a war machine unleashed.
The agents raised their weapons, trembling hands trying to aim.
CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!
Muzzle flashes burst.
But the biting cold wrecked their aim.
Sparks danced harmlessly across the girl’s metallic skin. She didn’t slow.
One by one, she took them down, smooth and brutal.
Auron stepped out from the fog, smiling faintly.
"Finally bagged a few to take home. With Wang Xiao showing up and stirring the pot, we needed something to report. Otherwise the higher-ups would’ve chewed us alive."
"Yeah," Selene laughed, brushing dust off her coat. "That would’ve been unpleasant."
...
Moments later.
The motorcade arrived at the gates of the Emberlight Imperial Palace, a monolith of shining stone and gold.
As the armored door opened, Seraphine stepped out, calm and composed.
She walked forward, flanked by imperial attendants, flashbulbs exploding from the surrounding press.
Before her: the Ceremonial Hall. Sacred, ancient, the heart of power.
The imperial road was flanked by lines of guards holding umbrellas, banners, fans, and halberds, all expressionless and unmoving.
Behind them, five enormous golden pots overflowed with lotus, osmanthus, peony, begonia, and rose, serving as symbols of the Five Blessings and imperial grace.
The air was heavy with fragrance and formality.
Seraphine’s voice was low and detached. "You two may return."
Kael and Vale both bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Highness."
She walked on alone.
Step. Step.
Each footfall echoed through the courtyard as she approached the Imperial Sanctum.
There.
Waiting at the grand gate stood the Four Pillars of State: Finance, Military, Civil Affairs, and Foreign Affairs.
Flanking them were princes, princesses, dukes, marquises, high-ranking nobles, generals, ministers, and the Speaker of the Grand Assembly.
All eyes turned to Seraphine.
Eyes filled with: Scrutiny. Doubt. Resentment. Fascination. Fear.
Every expression a weapon.
Every gaze a weight.
But Seraphine.
Merely narrowed her eyes.
And then it happened.
WHOOSH!
Her presence surged.
What had been a quiet, understated aura suddenly swelled into an ocean.
The air turned cold. Heavy.
The Imperial Sanctum seemed to bend beneath the weight of her being.
She stood with hands clasped behind her back.
Still.
Radiant.
Terrifying.
She absorbed every ounce of pressure coming from those around her, then sent it hurtling back with terrifying grace.
Silence.
No one spoke.
No one breathed.
For a heartbeat, the palace felt like the eye of a storm.
And then.
Rustle. Rustle.
Applause.
Spontaneous. Uncontrollable.
The entire assembly clapped.
Even Hawke, Hestan, and Cedric, each of them froze, startled that they too were applauding.
They looked at one another, horror dawning across their faces.
They wanted to stop. Their hands stilled. But the room was still clapping.
The cameras were still rolling.
The whole empire was watching.
So, masks in place, faces tight with strain.
They kept clapping, each clap bitter as ash.
Seraphine walked forward, steady and unhurried, every step a thunderclap on the stone floor.
Behind her, murmurs rose:
"This heir... she’s not ordinary."
"Her spiritual presence is beyond belief."
"Didn’t you hear? She’s now ranked first in the martial world, jointly endorsed."
"The Lumen Shepherd, they call her now..."
"In 300 years of the Empire, no heir like her has ever risen."
"She may be... a legend reborn."
Even the Duke, brother to the Emperor himself, murmured with awe:
"A genius that defies the march of history."
