Here, gathered under the fractured sky of the ancient ruins, stood the strongest sects and clans of the entire Desolate Heaven Empire.
From the Powerful Sects of the north to the Demonic Sect of the deep south—geniuses, elders, and grand elders had all shown up.
Each of them was a titan in their own right. Each capable of shaking an entire province with a single command.
And yet…
The one controlling the state of this battlefield?
The one whose word had brought them all to a dead stop?
Was merely a junior.
Bai Zihan!
A boy no older than sixteen.
And yet now, this same boy stood alone before hundreds of powerhouses—his back straight, his head high, and his hand raised with all the casual arrogance of a monarch.
He wasn’t begging.
He wasn’t negotiating.
He was threatening them.
Commanding them.
And they were listening.
Some of the elders standing at the rear of their forces clenched their fists, their expressions twisted with a mix of shame and fury.
How had they been reduced to this?
The elite of the empire—forced to stand still under the words of a brat barely out of childhood?
“Now that everyone is listening carefully, I have a few things to announce.”
Bai Zihan declared.
“Bai Xinyue will return to the Bai Clan, and you all will not make a move—otherwise, you know what will happen.”
Bai Zihan repeated himself, and this time, everyone knew he was telling the truth.
Everyone watched in silence as Bai Zihan moved forward, flanked by a procession of Bai Clan elders and their top geniuses.
The crowd parted before them like water before a blade.
And at the center of it all stood Bai Xinyue—face cold, body tense, eyes flickering with complicated emotions.
She didn’t move.
Just stared at him with the same quiet defiance she always had.
The same expression she’d worn the last time they spoke—before she was exiled, before her Dao Bone was ripped away, before everything fell apart.
Now she stood, wind tousling her hair, clearly unharmed… but not unchanged.
Bai Zihan stepped up to her and gestured casually.
“Let’s go,” he said, clearly speaking to Bai Xinyue.
She didn’t move.
“I’m not going back,” she said firmly.
No matter what, she remained adamant about not returning to the place where her Dao Bone was stolen and she was exiled.
Bai Zihan’s expression remained the same—calm, even relaxed.
But his voice dropped a few degrees.
“Oh? You’re refusing?”
Bai Xinyue raised her chin slightly.
“I don’t need your help.”
A pause.
Then a soft chuckle escaped Bai Zihan.
He took another step forward, now standing just a few paces from her.
“You don’t need my help?”
He repeated, voice mocking.
“Xinyue, if I hadn’t stepped in—do you really think you’d still be breathing right now?”
Her hands clenched, but she didn’t answer.
Perhaps not, or maybe she could have survived with the trump cards she had.
But what if Bai Zihan was thrown into the mix?
Although she was already in the Spirit Severing Realm, even she had doubts about whether Bai Zihan could take her life the same way he had taken others’.
If he could… then why hadn’t he done so already?
Perhaps he couldn’t?
She didn’t know like it always has been.
“No matter what, you need to return. Don’t trouble the Heaven Sword Sect elders any further.”
He said almost like reprimanding her for being too selfish.
Bai Xinyue hesitated.
She knew she was being selfish, and if not for Bai Zihan, Elder Qinglan and the other Heaven Sword Sect elders might have died protecting her.
“And let’s not forget… don’t you owe me just a little? After all—do you think you could’ve gotten the Inheritance if not for me giving it away?”
Her eyes widened ever so slightly.
She still didn’t know that Bai Zihan had given up on the Inheritance because it wasn’t compatible with his gender—and instead received other compensation.
But of course, she didn’t know that. And Bai Zihan had no shame in making it seem like he gave it away for her.
At first, she thought it was a trap.
But she ended up receiving genuine Inheritance—one that might make her the strongest in the world.
That only deepened her confusion.
Why would Bai Zihan give up something like that?
Compensation for what he’d done to her?
Or something else?
She didn’t know. But his words made her pause—made her just a bit more obedient.
She realized that if Bai Zihan didn’t take the Inheritance when he clearly could, then maybe he truly wasn’t after it when he asked her to return.
While Bai Xinyue was lost in those thoughts, the others were flabbergasted by Bai Zihan’s words.
Gave up the Inheritance?
You gave up the Immortal Emperor’s Inheritance?
The Bai Clan elders and even the Heaven Sword Sect elders widened their eyes in shock and looked between Bai Zihan and Bai Xinyue.
Seeing that Bai Xinyue didn’t argue, everyone believed it must be true.
But why?
And how could someone just give up the Immortal Emperor’s Inheritance?
Everyone could see how talented and powerful Bai Zihan had already become—even able to threaten elders from nearly every powerhouse in the Desolate Heaven Empire.
How much stronger would he be if he had taken that Inheritance?
At this rate, they might not have needed to wait long to see Bai Zihan rule over the world.
Some Bai Clan elders assumed it must have been to atone for the mistake his mother made—stealing Bai Xinyue’s Dao Bone.
A form of compensation.
And that only raised Bai Zihan’s value in their eyes.
Bai Zihan turned his back on her.
“Now stop being difficult,” he said, waving his hand. “We’re leaving!”
And just like that, he began walking back—not even checking if she followed.
After all, he was only doing this because the Remnant Soul had asked him to.
Otherwise, he was well aware that Bai Xinyue wouldn’t have truly died even without his help.
He had done and said what had to be done. If she still chose not to follow, then so be it.
The Bai Clan elders fell in behind him immediately, though their gazes lingered on Bai Xinyue—waiting to see what she would do.
“It’s dangerous here. It’s better if you go to the Bai Clan for the time being. I’ll also be there to make sure nothing bad happens to you,” said Elder Qinglan, trying to persuade her.
Bai Xinyue nodded her head slightly.
“Thank you, Elder Qinglan!”
Risking her life… and now even this.
She could see now that Elder Qinglan genuinely cared for her well-being, even though she had once refused to join her peak—because Bai Xueqing was there.
As the group began to leave, the rest of the cultivators could only watch in silence.
Bai Zihan’s warning still echoed in their minds.
They knew they were letting something precious slip away—but they had no choice.
They were left to stew in a mix of fury, fear, and curiosity.
And all those emotions were directed at one person:
Bai Zihan!
He didn’t care.
He walked like an emperor on a red carpet—calm, cold, untouchable.