First Conquest, Jade Sword Sect.

"I heard a rumour that the new Realm King is someone called Justice or something like that. Isn't that crazy?"

"Justice... that isn't even a real name."

"The Black Soul Divine Sect was renamed to the Divine Justice Sect like two weeks ago, you guys probably live underground if you haven't heard about it by now."

"Give me a break, I've been in closed-door cultivation for a year."

"Hmm... what is that noise? Why is the sky getting darker?"

BOOM.

A bolt of purple thunder struck the Jade Sword Sect. This was swiftly followed by countless more which definitely caught the attention of the inhabitants of the sect.

"Hear me, the people of the Darkya Realm. I am Justice... your new and almighty Realm King! This Low-Rank Star Realm which is looked down upon by countless others will rise to eternal glory under this King's guidance! However, in order for that to be possible, some... extreme measures must be carried out. I firmly believe that everything in the Darkya Realm belongs to me and any who challenge this fact are free to do so. I would gladly greet them with my heavy sword!"

"Now, I ask that your sect master come crawling over to me in thirty seconds or there will be some... consequences."

"What are you going to do, Sect Master?" An elder asked. His forehead was comparable to a waterfall of sweat. He had heard of how Justice handled Lei Qianfeng in single combat, toying with him for the entirety of the fight. This was a person who they should not even think of offending.

The sect master was an extremely proud man, however. "Come crawling? Who the hell does he think he is!?"

"S... Sect Master, you can't offend Justice. He is a ruthless man who does not accept even a slight hint of disobedience. A Divine King like that should not be trifled with..."

"Shut up, you fool! He is mocking me... like hell I would crawl to him, I don't care if he's the Realm King of the Darkya Realm or Dragon Monarch, absolutely no one can treat me in this way!"

"Uh... it has been ten seconds... Sect Master, hurry!"

"Why don't you crawl!?"

"He doesn't want me to crawl... he wants you to, Sect Master!"

"Even Lei Qianfeng had to respect this Sect Master... my pride will not be tainted by some masked clown who goes by the name Justice!"

"..."

"Hmph, what will that clown do if I don't come crawling to him? What's he going to do, burn down the sect?"

"That is unlikely... there would be no point in doing that."

"How infuriating... it has been thirty seconds yet I do not see a crawling sect master! Hmph, it seems that I will have to discipline this sect first before we may proceed." Aerion turned to his formidable force. "It is time you prove your true worth as warriors of the Divine Justice Sect! I want this Jade Sword Sect to know what happens when you defy Justice. As planned, this King will carve out a path while the rest of you shall crush whatever remains of them into submission. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Lord Justice!"

After hearing the roar of his force, Aerion nodded approvingly. "No need to wait for a second longer... leave no man or woman standing, mercilessly crush all those who dare to defy Justice!"

His cloak fluttered as he descended onto the ground and swiftly ran into the main gate. He grasped the Heaven Smiting Sword with both hands and shattered the gate with a single sword slash.

"Leave my sight if you do not wish to die," Aerion announced as he looked at the people before him. A loyal Divine Spirit Realm elder attacked Aerion and he soon realised that attacking a Divine King wasn't the greatest idea. Aerion took hold of the elder's neck and looked him in the eye.

"Killing you would be a waste... I'll give you a chance. Join the Divine Justice Sect and you can live."

"Never... the Jade Sword Sect will forever be my... home."

"It is unfortunate that a loyal man must die for the foolishness of his sect master." Aerion sighed as he cut down the elder.

Am I not feeling up to it? My lust for blood seems to be non-existent today... perhaps what I'm doing isn't right? Hmph, I should find the sect master sooner than later.

Aerion cut through thousands of strong Jade Sword Sect members before finding the sect master. He was slaughtering quite a number of his Divine Justice Sect masters so he, naturally, wished to return the favour.

"If there is anyone to blame for this... it is you, the sect master of the Jade Sword Sect! All you had to do was come to me and discuss the terms of your surrender. But no, you were too prideful to do so. Do you see what happens when you defy Justice now?"

"Devil... do not speak of Justice to me!"

"So you remain a fool until the very end. Stay still for me."

Aerion appeared before the sect master and opened his palm. Silver scales appeared on his left hand. The profound energy stored inside of the sect master's veins was completely absorbed after a minute or so.

"You." Aerion addressed a disciple.

"Yes, Lord Justice?"

"I have been observing your battles and I believe you deserve a reward. What's your name?"

"Lei Guangqian... I am the eldest son of Lei Qianfeng, the former Realm King."

"Only in the late stages of the Divine Soul Realm... yet you have survived for so long while also cutting down more plenty of disciples. Honestly, I brought you to this battlefield in hopes that you would die. You have done well to surprise me... here, have a snippet of the late sect master's cultivation strength."

It's capable of turning someone into a late-stage Divine Spirit so even a small part of it should be invaluable to him. Let's see if I'm correct.

Aerion walked closer and placed his left index finger on the forehead of the young master. He closed his eyes and helped lead the profound energy to himself, piece by piece. He broke through to the very peak of the Divine Soul Realm.

"I feel it, the Divine Tribulation Realm... Lord Justice is too kind!"

"Hmph, use this new power wisely or I'll take it away from you." Suddenly, Aerion's aura burst with killing intent.

"... I wouldn't dare to use it for any selfish reason. My strength belongs to the Divine Justice Sect and Lord Justice alone!"

"I see."

Aerion ascended towards the sky and looked down on the entire Jade Sword Sect. The Divine Justice Sect's powerful force had made quick work of any resistance with the divine assistance from their Realm King. About a hundred thousand Divine Justice Sect members had fallen while the Jade Sword Sect's casualties surpassed two million. It was a decisive victory for the Divine Justice Sect!

"The sect master of the Jade Sword Sect, your greatest and most dependable pillar has fallen! Therefore, the Jade Sword Sect has no reason to defy me any longer."

"Really... the sect master... is dead?"

"All hail Lord Justice!" Strong disciples, masters and elders of the Divine Justice Sect all chanted.

"I, the Realm King of the Darkya Realm, command the remaining members of the Jade Sword Sect to surrender your arms and await further judgement!"

~

Aerion had completely stripped the Jade Sword Sect of its value. Disciples, money, resources and treasures... they all belong to him now. He originally intended to vassalize the Jade Sword Sect but things didn't go according to plan. Even so, he managed to gain more than he would have otherwise. The sacrifice of so many great warriors for one prideful sect master, however, led to him using Izanagi.

All those who bravely fought the Jade Sword Sect and fell... your deaths were but a lie, I command that you all live on!

And so, the hundred thousand which was lost returned back to life. Aerion was slightly surprised when he found out that Izanagi was capable of bringing back so many to life. However, there was one consequence which meant far more than bloodloss...

I can't wait to see how much Robb has progressed with the cultivation strength of Lei Qianfeng... he could only take one-thousandth of his power but it should mean a lot for someone in the Elementary Profound Realm...

"So you are the one who has been rejecting death... many times, over and over again."

!?

Aerion was in the skies, guarding over his force while they flew back to the Divine Justice Sect when a chilling female voice reached his ear. He turned around to face her.

"I believe this is our first meeting... Aerion Targaryen."

"...Raela?"

"Yes, that is my name. I am surprised that you did not stutter when stating my name... it is a welcome surprise."

She seemed to be no more than a spirit so Aerion wasn't exactly worried but he remained on guard just in case. She was an Ancestral God, after all. Though, as a spirit... what powers could she possibly have?

Raela did seem to be a transcendent beauty which nothing in the world could ever hope to match. However, the aura around her clouded this beauty with only darkness. He could only sense terrifying killing intent from her emerald eyes.

Rotias seemed rather serious. "You have angered Lady Death... I firmly believe that your life has come to a bitter end. It is truly unfortunate."

What do you mean by 'truly unfortunate'!? I still have many millions of years ahead of me... can't you do something about her?

...

I'm talking to you, Rotias. When I need you most, that is when you falter... I see how it is.

"... Don't place the blame of your foolish actions onto me, little dragon."

Foolish actions?

"So, why did you want to meet me? Do you want to witness my beauty first hand or..."

"I have no interest in that. You dared to take Aerios' divine inheritance and even more so, you used it in such a disgusting manner..."

"Disgusting manner? Please elaborate, Lady Raela." Aerion was genuinely interested.

"You do not know yourself!?"

"Some people have different views than others." Aerion shrugged. "Something that I see as a good thing may be disgusting to you."

"I'll tell you one thing... death cannot be rejected! All those who you have brought back... you will make up for their deaths by dying yourself!"

"After you die, I will extract Aerios' legacy from you and return him back to life." Raela smiled. "I have yearned for his return, the rest of the Ancestral Gods are lost dogs without him."

"... How can you be so sure that you can simply bring Aerios back to life?"

"The Transcendent Being is kind, he promised that it would be so. All I need is the core of his power... which resides within you."

That... bastard. He made me slightly stronger just so that he could kill me? What in Seven Hells is the point in that? I haven't even reached the Divine Spirit Realm!

"Surely, you can't trust a shady person like him? Rotias once told me that the fall of the Ancestral Gods was mostly constructed by Him... would you trust someone like that?"

"Nonsense. Rotias' greed and ambition was the reason why it all happened... he is merely pushing the blame onto Him! You will die soon enough, though, Aerion Targaryen. It matters not what you say now. No single mortal is worthy of his divine inheritance... you will return it as soon as you give into death."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I have cursed you with Death. I await the day you breath your last breath of air, hahaha... clutching onto the last seconds of your pathetic life. It is something not even your eyes can deny! It took me some time to find you but my efforts will be rewarded splendidly when that day comes. I suspect that it will only take a few weeks, perhaps a month before you die... I look forward to it!"

"Where are you goi..."

Ah... this pain... is it that curse?

Rotias sighed. "Only you can save yourself now. The return of Aerios... hm, that is an interesting concept indeed."

You're... you're alright with my death!?

"I prefer him over you, of course. I suggest that you end it all before this curse starts getting really bad. It would hurt to see you under unnecessary pain... hahaha..."

!?

Rotias' soul left Aerion's body and started to fly away. Then he turned around.

"Man, your face is absolutely priceless! Hahaha, honestly, do you think that I would leave you so easily? My words hold some weight... I think. Even if Aerios can return, that bastard would probably start hunting me down the moment his physical body reformed. Besides, what is dead is already dead... Raela should know this best yet she makes a special case for her Fire Dragon God."

Someone like that... loved the Fire Dragon God?

"Yeah, she sure did. But it was pretty damn one-sided."

Have any of the Ancestral Gods exchanged their yin and yang?

"Nah. Celia was what you would call a pure maiden while Vena always was a cold beauty. Helia and Raela were both crazy about Aerios... but he wasn't interested. Since we always think of ourselves as superior to others, we could never be bothered with any of the minor gods and mortals..."

Wait, so every single Ancestral God is a virgin?

"That's right, even the male Gods."

Aerion would have started to rub his hands together while devising a plan of how to woo an Ancestral Goddess and get SUPER STRONG if it weren't for the curse of Death placed onto him.

Rotias, how much time do I really have... and is there a way I can undo this curse?

"Raela can undo it but that is an unlikely scenario. The best chance you have is going through your Divine Heavenly Tribulation Lightning it is likely that more of Aerios' power will awaken from within you, probably enough to burn it away."

Aerion looked at the pills and amount of pure cultivation strength he had gathered.

Probably... huh, I'm not one to die so easily. Not to some curse... if she was a real man, she'd face me in battle!

(Well, she's not a man...)

I'm not far away from the peak of the Ninth Stage of the Divine Tribulation Realm... one month might just do it.

Aerion sighed, how troublesome... just when things were starting to look bright, I get a curse of Death. All this bad luck better start paying me back with some goods in the future...