A hundred thousand sect masters and grandmasters knelt. Their heads touched the cold stone of the Su family courtyard, a sea of absolute submission. The collective pressure of their Inner Qi was so immense it warped the very air, yet it was nothing compared to the serene, crushing aura of the man they knelt to. Lu Feng stood, his hands clasped behind his back, his expression as placid as a forgotten well. He was still in the cheap, worn-out clothes of a despised son-in-law, a stark contrast to the legendary Dragon Order token that pulsed with faint golden light in his hand. But one man dared to stand. He was a shadow at the edge of the crowd, cloaked in black, his face obscured by a veil of malevolent Qi. Lu Feng’s words, “An old friend,” echoed in the unnatural silence, laced with an irony so cold it burned. The standing figure let out a short, grating laugh. It was the sound of grinding stone, devoid of all humor. “Old friend? Dragon Sovereign, your memory must be failing you. The Dark Alliance sends no friends. Only messengers of death.” The Dark Alliance! A wave of fear washed over the kneeling masters. This was no ordinary sect. They were the assassins of the Jianghu, the whispers in the dark, a force that defied all laws and answered to no one. To stand before the Dragon Sovereign and declare such an allegiance was not courage; it was a death wish. The enforcer took a step forward, his boots making no sound. “A hundred thousand dogs, all kneeling for one man. Has the Jianghu become so weak? Your era is over, Long Shen. The Dragon Order is a relic. A joke.” Lu Feng’s eyes remained fixed on the horizon, as if this man was nothing more than a buzzing insect, an annoyance not worthy of his gaze. This utter contempt infuriated the enforcer more than any threat could. His venomous eyes scanned the scene and landed on the peerless figure standing silently behind Lu Feng. Bai Li, the War Goddess. She stood like a statue carved from divine jade, her beauty matched only by the chilling lethality that clung to her like a shroud. Her devotion to Lu Feng was absolute, a fact known throughout the martial world. The enforcer smirked, his voice dripping with vile insinuation. “Ah, and the famous War Goddess. Still his loyal pet, I see. Tell me, Bai Li, does the Dragon Sovereign reward your service on his bed? Is that how a woman with your power remains content as a mere guard dog?” It was a fatal mistake. The air did not just grow cold. It froze. The very molecules seemed to lock in place. A killing intent so pure, so sharp, erupted from Bai Li that dozens of weaker sect masters nearby felt their meridians seize in terror. Their faces turned blue, gasping for air that would not come. Lu Feng did not move. He did not even blink. He simply allowed it. Bai Li’s hand, elegant and pale, rested on the hilt of her sword. She had not drawn it in a decade. Legend said that when the War Goddess’s sword left its sheath, it would not return until it had tasted the blood of a god or a demon. The enforcer’s eyes widened in panic. He had felt shifts in Qi his entire life, but this was different. This wasn’t just pressure. It was annihilation. He tried to channel his true essence, to raise a defensive barrier, but his limbs were locked in ice. *Shing.* The sound was not loud. It was a whisper. A silver glint, too fast for the human eye, sliced through the air. It was the crescent moon, it was a teardrop, it was the end of all things. Before the sound even finished its journey to the ears of the crowd, Bai Li’s hand was already back on her sheathed sword. She hadn't appeared to move at all. The Dark Alliance enforcer stood perfectly still. The arrogant smirk was still frozen on his face. For a full three seconds, nothing happened. Then, a thin red line, as fine as a silk thread, appeared on his neck. His eyes rolled back into his head, the light of life extinguished. His head slid from his shoulders with a soft, wet sound and tumbled to the ground. The body followed a moment later, collapsing into a heap with a dull thud that echoed like a thunderclap in the dead silence. One strike. No, not even a strike. A thought. A flicker of intent made real. The War Goddess had drawn her sword. The kneeling grandmasters shivered, their foreheads pressed even harder against the ground. They knew of her power, but to witness it was to understand true fear. Her loyalty was the Sovereign's shield, and her sword was his wrath. To insult her was to beg for a death so swift you wouldn't even know you had died. Bai Li’s face remained an icy mask, but for a fleeting moment, as she glanced at Lu Feng’s back, a flicker of pained emotion crossed her eyes before being suppressed once more. Her loyalty was absolute, and so was her hidden pain. Lu Feng finally lowered his gaze from the sky, his eyes sweeping over the hundred thousand prostrated figures. His voice was calm, carrying no emotion, yet every soul present felt it resonate in their very bones. “The Dark Alliance has grown bold,” he stated, his voice a flat, cold decree. “They have forgotten the laws written in blood a century ago. They have forgotten their place.” He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. “Go. Remind them.” It was not a request. It was the unmaking of an entire faction. A hundred thousand masters of the Jianghu, unleashed with a single command. The Dark Alliance was already a dead power walking. “We obey the Sovereign’s decree!” the crowd roared as one, their voices shaking the foundations of the city. As they remained bowed, awaiting dismissal, Bai Li took a step forward and knelt on one knee behind Lu Feng. Her voice was low, urgent, and for his ears only, yet the gravity of it made the air tremble. “My Lord,” she began, her voice strained. “When my sword-qi passed through him, I felt his soul remnant. He was not just an enforcer.” Lu Feng turned his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. “His final thought was not a curse, but a message of triumph,” she whispered, her face pale. “He spoke five words in his mind as he died: ‘The Five Sovereigns are returning.’”

Chapter 7: The War Goddess Draws Her Sword