Chapter 78: The Coiled Dragon’s Judgment
"Strength alone does not grant dominion over fate. The worthy must prove themselves beyond mere power."
Shen Longwei scoffed, his abyssal aura crackling around him. "Spare me the riddles of the past! I have conquered all who stood before me. This temple, this dragon, this legacy—you will bow to me!"
With a violent gesture, he summoned tendrils of abyssal darkness, launching them at the dragon's form. The energy struck, but instead of being consumed, the dragon's body absorbed the attack, twisting it into a burst of radiant light that flared back at Shen Longwei. The warlord snarled, shielding himself, but the force sent him skidding backward.
Li Feng watched, heart pounding. The dragon's spirit was testing them. He had no doubt that this was the final judgment—one of them would leave this temple victorious, and the other would be lost.
Without warning, the chamber around them shimmered, and Li Feng felt himself falling—plunging through time and space, his vision consumed by swirling images. He landed in a world not his own.
He was standing in a vast throne room. Before him sat… himself.
The Li Feng upon the throne wore golden robes embroidered with the sigil of the Azure Dragon. A crown rested on his head, his gaze cold and unreadable. The grand hall was filled with kneeling subjects, their voices chanting his name with reverence. Mei Lian stood beside him, her expression unreadable, yet there was a cold detachment in her eyes. At the foot of the throne, Yan Shun and Zheng Wei bowed as generals, yet their faces were devoid of true loyalty—empty husks of men who had followed him because they had no choice.
"This is what you desire, is it not?" the throne-bound Li Feng asked, his voice an eerie mirror of his own. "Absolute rule. To have the world kneel before you, to be the legend the bards will sing of for eternity."
Li Feng clenched his fists. "This isn't me. I didn't fight for power—I fought to protect those who couldn't."
The throne-bound Li Feng smirked. "You fought to win. And now, you stand on the edge of claiming what was always meant to be yours."
The illusion shattered, and Li Feng was back in the temple, breathless. Across from him, Shen Longwei had collapsed to one knee, gripping his head, his teeth bared in agony. He had seen something too.
Mei Lian and Yan Shun had their own battles—Mei Lian's vision had left her shaken, her expression tight with denial. Yan Shun, however, looked like a man standing on a crumbling edge, teetering between doubt and resolve.
The Coiled Dragon's spirit loomed above them again. "You have seen what lies ahead. Only those who can resist fate's temptations shall wield my power."
Shen Longwei, trembling with rage, roared, "I refuse to be denied!"
Dark energy surged around him, and with a single devastating strike, he unleashed a wave of abyssal force, shattering the temple floor beneath them. The walls cracked, ancient stone crumbling into the abyss below.
The temple was collapsing.
Li Feng braced himself, pushing Mei Lian and Yan Shun away from the falling debris. The Coiled Dragon's spirit narrowed its glowing eyes as the destruction raged around them.
Shen Longwei's voice rose above the chaos, filled with defiance. "I will claim my destiny, whether the heavens will it or not!"
The temple shuddered violently, and deep below, something even more ancient stirred.
The temple collapses further, sending them plummeting into the unknown depths of the Abyss.