The sky no longer burned.
But it did not forget.
In the wake of the siege, Xu Shen stood at the peak of the Thousand Veil Sect. Wind tore at his new robes—gray and gold, streaked with soulfire threads. His aura hummed in perfect harmony with the cultivators below.
The sect had changed.
No longer hiding.
No longer surviving.
It was now a flame the heavens couldn't snuff out.
Yue Qian stood beside him, her hand resting lightly on her blade. "We've received word," she said. "Three realms are mobilizing."
"Which ones?" Xu asked.
She hesitated. "The Tranquil Sky Domain. The Iron Veil Conclave. And…"
He looked at her.
"…The Divine Sky Court."
Xu didn't flinch.
A scroll arrived minutes later—sealed in black wax, carried by a shadow-eagle.
He opened it.
[Edict of Celestial Order — Level Crimson]
To Xu Shen, bearer of the Rewritten Flame and violator of the Eternal Pact:
You are hereby declared a Realm-Level Threat.
You are forbidden from stepping into the upper heavens.
Your soul shall not reincarnate. Your name shall be struck from the Wheel of Fate.
You are no longer part of the Celestial Cycle.
You are now classified as an Eternal Aberration.
Xu rolled the scroll up.
Set it on fire.
And let it burn.
Later that night, in a war council hall deep beneath the sect, disciples and rogue cultivators from dozens of broken factions sat around a long obsidian table.
Most were silent.
Some whispered.
Only Xu stood at the head.
"I know what you're all thinking," he said.
"They'll come with armies. They'll send Executioners. They'll try to collapse the entire realm just to bury me."
He raised his voice.
"Good."
"Because I'm done waiting."
He drew a blade across his palm.
Blood dripped onto the table.
It burned gold.
"I'm going to war."
Far above, in the Silver Sky Monastery…
Seven ancient beings sat in silence around a jade flame.
One finally spoke.
"His name is spreading too quickly."
Another nodded. "Mortals chant it before battle. Children write it into their soul-prayers. And worse…"
"…the fractured reincarnators are rallying to him."
The seventh stood.
"Then activate the Seal."
"Unleash the last three names the heavens fear."