Chapter 10: Thunderstorm Void,Bai Zhen’s Blade and Vow,Blood Sword Slaughter City

The winds howled above the upper ridges of Hidden Mist Island, where clouds clung to jagged peaks like coiled serpents. Bai Tian Long gripped tightly to the thick feathers of the Thunder-Winged Eagle as it soared effortlessly above the valley. Its wings crackled with electricity, splitting mist and air with each beat.

Soon, the eagle circled a tall spire-like mountain that pierced the sky like a blade. Near its summit, nestled in a wind-sheltered hollow under a canopy of twisting stormwood trees, was a wide stone nest—lined with precious herbs, beast fur, and smooth jade crystals.

The eagle landed gracefully, allowing Bai Tian Long to dismount.

There, at the center of the nest, rested a single egg—no larger than a boulder, yet wrapped in veins of purple lightning and glowing arcs of void-touched mist.

Bai Tian Long's breath caught as his Eye of Knowledge activated instinctively.

Race: Thunderstorm Void Eagle

Status: Unhatched — Dormant Soul Consciousness Detected

Bloodline: Saint-Emperor Grade

Core Attributes: Thunder, Wind, Space

Potential: Unknown (Ascendant Lineage Detected)

Incubation Requirement: Baptism of Pure Spatial Qi

A tremor ran through his soul. Bai Tian Long staggered slightly.

Saint-Emperor bloodline… space-wind-thunder… this is a divine-class aerial beast. If… if I can nurture it—

No, when I nurture it—it will be unmatched.

Behind him, Bai Wu descended from the clouds, his breath shallow with disbelief.

"That egg… I thought it was long forgotten."

He slowly approached, face somber, yet tinged with awe. "My younger brother, Zhenyu… he found this egg decades ago on one of his expeditions. But he could never hatch it. He said it resisted all flame, all heat, even the strongest thunderstorm rituals. He thought it was dead."

Bai Tian Long didn't turn.

His eyes were locked to the egg—fire blazing in his gaze.

"I will take this egg."

Bai Wu blinked. "You… what?"

"I don't know why," Tian Long said, "but I can feel it. It's not rejecting me. It's calling to me."

Bai Wu looked at his grandson, saw the fire in his eyes, and sighed.

"I don't understand why it wouldn't hatch before… but there's clearly something special about this egg. Even the thunderstorm rituals couldn't affect it. Perhaps it needs something we don't yet understand."

"I don't mind," Bai Tian Long said. "It's worth it."

His voice was steady, resolved.

Bai Wu frowned slightly, then nodded. "But understand this—if you choose both the Regressive Lion Cub and this egg, you will not gain any power boost in the short term. It may take years for either to reach Demon Servant level. Until then, you'll fight with your own strength."

There was a silence.

Bai Tian Long hesitated—only briefly.

Then he nodded. "Even so. I choose them both."

For a moment, Bai Wu said nothing. Then a quiet pride settled over his features.

"Very well," he said. "Bring the egg.

—

Far from the safety of Hidden Mist Island, another member of the Bai Clan was carving a path through blood and stone.

Bai Zhen—formerly Bai Zhenyu—moved like a shadow across the broken wilderness that led toward the rumored location of the Secret Plant Treasury. His breath was steady. His eyes were cold.

But his sword was fire and wind.

Before him stood five men—cultivators clad in tattered robes, all at the peak of 9th-grade Qi Condensation. Their eyes gleamed with greed.

"You shouldn't have come this far, boy," one sneered, brandishing a jagged blade. "This path belongs to the Black Veil Brotherhood."

"I don't recognize thieves," Bai Zhen replied.

He stepped forward, his hand flowing in a practiced gesture. His sword, forged from cold-hardened spiritsteel, gleamed with embedded inscriptions.

"Five Elements Sword Technique: First Form — Flowing Root Strike!"

A streak of elemental force—blending earth and water—tore through the nearest robber's shield. Blood splashed the trees.

Another shouted. "He's strong! Surround him!"

They charged in unison.

"Second Form — Ember Swallow!"

"Third Form — Gale Crescent!"

His strikes flowed like poetry—blending wood, fire, wind, metal, and earth with expert harmony. His technique was the Foundation-level ancestor to the Bai Clan's Five Elements Yin-Yang Thunder Sword Scripture. Only from the ninth stage of Qi Condensation onward could its hidden thunder variant—Five Elements Thunder Sword Technique—be accessed, and even then, only as a secret move passed down through inheritance.

Three fell in quick succession.

The fourth caught a strike and lunged.

Blood streaked Bai Zhen's shoulder, but he didn't flinch.

"Fourth Form — Piercing Stone Fang."

A jagged spear of condensed earth shot forward, tearing through the robber's chest. He fell backward with a dull crash.

The last tried to flee.

He never made it past the trees.

Bai Zhen stood alone. Bruised. Bleeding. Victorious.

But inside—his Qi Condensation was boiling.

He clenched his fist.

"The tenth stage… I'm near it."

He wasn't just a peak 9th-stage cultivator. Bai Zhen had already touched the threshold of the forbidden 10th stage of Qi Condensation—a realm so rare, even early Foundation Establishment cultivators struggled to match its physical demands.

But he had walked this road before—during his past life, he had reached late Nascent Soul… and even then, he had once dared to touch the forbidden steps.

Twelve steps of the Forbidden Thirteen he had once walked.

Now, reborn, he whispered to the mist:

"This time… I will reach all thirteen. I swear it."

----

Far from mortal realms and quiet nests, in the outermost fringe of the universal boundary, stood a monstrous city carved into the remains of fallen stars and god-slaying blades. One of the infamous Ten Slaughter Cities — it was known across all planes as Blood Sword Slaughter City.

It was here that Divine Bull Niu Tian arrived.

Hooves thundered across floating crimson platforms as he stepped through the veil of storms that guarded the perimeter. The air smelled of steel and fire and thick, drying blood — like an eternal battlefield preserved in stasis.

Still the same, Niu Tian snorted. Smells like someone's cooking corpses again.

A shiver of spiritual pressure swept through the blood-etched gates, but it parted for him. None dared to bar his path.

Above, jagged towers of obsidian and bone stood like crooked blades. The city's power was palpable — this was no outer garrison. It was a frontline fortress where the best of the best were sent not to live… but to kill.

Here, stationed as commander, was none other than his old companion — his so-called "Boss" — the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, a being of supreme bloodline and terrifying discipline.

Niu Tian cracked his neck.

"Time to visit the old monster."

He passed through the third gate as blood mist rose around his hooves.

"After this… I'll stop by the Divine Bull Clan. Might be time to settle down, pick a mate… or maybe find a few cubs to gift."

As he stepped deeper into the city, the air grew heavier. Sword Qi danced in the atmosphere like wind — slicing, silent, endless.

The City of Blood Sword welcomed one of its oldest allies back.

And the smell of blood followed.

---

In the nest, the Thunder-Winged Eagle stood guard silently.

Its golden eyes held no resistance—only acknowledgment.

A young cultivator… a fading clan… a lightning-wrapped legacy…

And the journey of ascension had only just begun.

---

To be continued...