The Heaven's Verdict Prince.
A 4th layer Sage Ruler genius.
Among the younger generation of Heaven's Edict Thunder Palace, he was one of the figures whose name could cross domains without losing weight. He was not merely strong because his cultivation was high. Heaven's Edict had many strong cultivators. Lei Tianzhao was strong because people believed his rise was inevitable.
A man like him rarely involved himself with outside disciple matters.
But Ning Huang was not an ordinary disciple.
A promising war heiress could not be ignored, especially one whose temperament and battlefield talent had already drawn attention inside the palace.
Lei Tianzhao's projection stood above the chamber floor, formed from white-gold lightning and calm authority. He did not ask why everyone had gathered. He did not ask who had summoned him. He simply looked toward Mu Jingfei.
"The report."
Mu Jingfei lifted the jade with both hands.
The jade rose by itself and flew into the projection's palm.
Lei Tianzhao closed his fingers around it.
Light pulsed once.
He read everything in a breath.
His expression did not change.
That lack of reaction made the room feel colder.
Lei Qingshan kept his head slightly lowered. He was proud, but not foolish. Before a 4th layer Sage Ruler genius like Lei Tianzhao, a peak 9th layer Sky Lord protector had no right to posture.
Mu Jingfei spoke first.
"Your Highness, the report has not been fully confirmed, but the formation mirrors did not reject it. Verdant Edge sent the message through an authenticated route."
Lei Tianzhao did not look at her.
"Ning Huang would not entertain any weak men."
The sentence was quiet.
It carried more conviction than a shouted decree.
Mu Jingfei inclined her head. "That is also my judgment."
Lei Tianzhao's eyes moved faintly, as if he were looking through the jade, through the chamber, through the thousands of miles between Thunder Judgment City and River Ridge.
"A 2nd layer Sky Lord was injured?"
"Yes. Verdant Edge claims Long Shenyu did it while at Origin Core."
"A 2nd layer Sky Lord injured by an Origin Core cultivator."
Lei Tianzhao's tone did not reveal whether he believed it.
Lei Qingshan said carefully, "The report may be exaggerated."
Lei Tianzhao's gaze shifted to him.
The protector immediately stopped speaking.
It was not fear in the ordinary sense. Lei Qingshan had seen battle. He had killed men. He had crossed lightning tribulations. But there were people whose displeasure was not a matter of emotion; it was a matter of consequence.
Lei Tianzhao looked away.
"Exaggerated or not, Verdant Edge was willing to admit shame. That is already proof something unusual happened."
Mu Jingfei's eyes flickered with approval. Lei Tianzhao had reached the same core point immediately.
He continued, "The Qin Family sent probes?"
"Yes."
"Dead?"
"The reports say multiple late Origin Core cultivators died. Later, a half-step Sky Lord fell within seconds to a spear-wielding woman."
"A woman beside him?"
"That seems likely."
Lei Tianzhao's fingers tapped once against the jade.
"One man able to wound a Sky Lord. One woman able to kill a half-step Sky Lord in seconds. Ning Huang remaining near them without sending a warning."
His eyes remained calm, but something sharpened beneath the calm.
"Interesting."
The word carried no excitement.
That made it more dangerous.
Lei Tianzhao was not a young genius chasing novelty. If he called something interesting, it meant that thing had entered his field of consideration. Whether as a recruit, a threat, or a specimen depended on what happened next.
Han Shuo bowed. "Your Highness, should we send an immediate retrieval party?"
Lei Tianzhao did not answer him directly.
"If Ning Huang is captive, retrieve her and erase the insult."
Several elders lowered their heads.
"If she is staying willingly," Lei Tianzhao continued, "bring the man to me."
Lei Qingshan looked up despite himself.
"Alive?"
The word slipped out before he could stop it.
The chamber became deathly still.
Lei Tianzhao turned his gaze back to him.
"Did I say dead?"
Lei Qingshan's scalp tightened.
He lowered his head at once. "No, Your Highness."
Lei Tianzhao's voice remained steady. "A man who can keep Ning Huang near him while offending Verdant Edge and surviving Qin probes is one of two things. A fraud standing on hidden backing, or a talent worth examining."
His hand closed around the jade.
A crack of lightning ran across its surface, then vanished.
"Heaven's Edict does not fear either result."
Mu Jingfei asked, "And if he refuses to come?"
For the first time, Lei Tianzhao's expression seemed almost amused.
Not a smile.
A slight change at the corner of his mouth, gone before most could be certain it existed.
"Then make him understand that Heaven's Edict does not invite twice."
The words struck the chamber heavier than thunder.
No one misunderstood.
Heaven's Edict could evaluate talent. It could reward talent. It could absorb talent.
But it would not lower itself to beg.
Mu Jingfei bowed slightly. "Understood."
Lei Tianzhao's projection began to fade.
Before it vanished completely, he added, "Do not let Verdant Edge touch Ning Huang first. Their pride has already made them clumsy."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The white-gold light collapsed inward.
The thunder seal dimmed.
The clouds above the chamber resumed their slow movement.
Only then did several stewards dare to breathe.
Lei Qingshan straightened, but his face remained stiff. The brief exchange had clearly displeased him, though he would never show it openly. He was an enforcement protector. He was used to being the man others feared. Standing in Lei Tianzhao's projection had reminded him that even fear had ranks.
Mu Jingfei sat again.
Her expression was thoughtful.
Lei Tianzhao's involvement changed the nature of the matter. Before, it had been a monitoring issue. Now it was a prince's order. The difference was not symbolic. If the handling was poor, the responsibility would not fall on some distant clerk. It would fall on the people in this chamber.
Han Shuo said, "Should we send a Sage Ruler?"
Lei Qingshan immediately frowned. "For River Ridge?"
His tone made it clear what he thought of that.
Mu Jingfei did not answer at once.
Sending a Sage Ruler would guarantee weight. It would also announce that Heaven's Edict considered the matter serious enough to move a major elder. That could provoke Verdant Edge, alert other Noble Domain powers, and send the wrong message to Ning Huang.
Too heavy a hand could damage the very thing they wanted to understand.
Too light a hand could invite humiliation.
That was always the difficulty with talented juniors. Ordinary threats could be crushed. Valuable unknowns had to be handled carefully.
"What is the nearest mobile enforcement team?" Mu Jingfei asked.
A steward immediately checked a formation tablet.
"Thunder-Ridge Enforcement Pair. Currently stationed at the Western Relay Gate. Both are 6th layer Sky Lord enforcers."
Lei Qingshan nodded. "Enough."
Mu Jingfei looked at him.
He continued, "If the report is exaggerated, they can resolve it. If Long Shenyu has hidden backing, they can identify it and withdraw. If Ning Huang is safe, they can escort her or deliver the invitation. If she is not safe, they are strong enough to act until reinforcements move."
Han Shuo hesitated. "If the spear-wielding woman truly killed a half-step Sky Lord in seconds…"
Lei Qingshan's eyes hardened.
"A half-step Sky Lord is not a 6th layer Sky Lord."
No one argued.
The difference between half-step and true Sky Lord was enormous. The difference between early Sky Lord and 6th layer Sky Lord was even greater. A half-step cultivator had only touched the edge of heavenly resonance. A 6th layer Sky Lord had already refined Sky Qi through the middle layers and possessed a far stronger dantian, soul pressure, and Dao influence.
In normal logic, two 6th layer Sky Lords were more than sufficient.
And Heaven's Edict lived on normal logic because normal logic had served it well for thousands of years.
Mu Jingfei's fingers lightly brushed the jade.
"What are their names?"
"Lei Yunhe and Zhao Chuan."
Lei Qingshan said, "Yunhe is careful. Zhao Chuan is rough, but obedient when under a direct palace order."
"Send both."
The command from Protector Lei Qingshan crossed three relay palaces, four thunder seals, and seven inspection arrays before it reached the Western Relay Gate.
…
The Western Relay Gate stood at the edge of Heaven's Edict Thunder Palace's outer jurisdiction. It was not a palace in the grand sense, but even this outpost was beyond anything a Lower Domain city could compare to. Black stone platforms floated above a mountain pass. Silver-blue lightning moved through carved trenches in the ground like water through canals. Every few breaths, one of the relay formations would flash, sending cultivators or sealed messages across a distance that would take ordinary Sky Lords days to cross.
At the center of the eastern platform, two men waited.
Lei Yunhe stood with his hands behind his back.
He was lean, grey-eyed, and quiet, the kind of quiet that did not come from softness. His robe was dark blue with silver thread at the cuffs. A long thunder-spear rested across his back, wrapped in blue-white cloth from shaft to tip. The cloth did not hide the weapon's presence. It only made it seem more restrained, like a bolt of lightning forced to sleep.
Beside him, Zhao Chuan was the opposite in nearly every way.
He was broad-shouldered and heavy-built, with a square face, thick brows, and black thunder gauntlets fitted over both hands. His arms were crossed, and every time his fingers shifted, faint lightning crawled over the seams of the metal plates.
A relay elder hurried toward them with a sealed jade held in both hands.
"Order from Protector Lei."
Zhao Chuan's brows rose. "From the Protector himself?"
Lei Yunhe took the jade first.
He did not immediately break the seal. His gaze moved over the thunder mark on the surface, then the Judgment Hall authentication beneath it. Only after confirming both did he press two fingers to the jade and send his perception inside.
The message unfolded in his mind.
Ning Huang. River Ridge City. Unknown Origin Core youth. Public conflict with the Qin Family. Verdant Edge Sword Sect disciple injured. Spear-wielding woman suspected of killing a half-step Sky Lord within seconds. Further complications possible. Proceed to River Ridge, confirm Ning Huang's condition, determine threat level, avoid reckless escalation until identity is clear.
Lei Yunhe read the message twice.
His expression did not change.
Zhao Chuan waited for exactly three breaths before his patience died.
"What does it say?"
Lei Yunhe passed him the jade.
Zhao Chuan took it, but only read halfway before his face twisted.
"Origin Core injuring Sky Lords. Spear woman killing half-step Sky Lords in seconds. Our youngest War Heiress lingering in a Lower Domain city." He snorted, the sound full of contempt. "What kind of drunk clerk wrote this?"
Lei Yunhe did not laugh.
"Judgment Hall sent it."
Zhao Chuan's expression stiffened.
That one sentence changed the weight of the jade in his hand.
A local steward could exaggerate. A frightened city informant could mistake shadows for monsters. Even outer disciples were known to embellish reports when trying to cover their own failures.
But the Judgment Hall did not pass nonsense upward lightly.
Not when Ning Huang's name was involved.
Zhao Chuan looked down at the jade again. This time, he read the entire message. His earlier disdain did not vanish, but it hardened into something more dangerous.
Lei Yunhe spoke calmly. "Someone credible sent the first report. Even if half of it is wrong, the other half is enough."
"Enough for what?" Zhao Chuan flexed his fingers. Blue lightning snapped between the plates of his gauntlets. "Enough for us to believe that a Lower Domain boy can injure Sky Lords? Enough to believe some nameless woman can slaughter a half-step Sky Lord before he can even scream?"
"Enough to not walk in blind."
Zhao Chuan gave him a sideways look. "You are always like this."
"Alive?"
"Boring."
Lei Yunhe glanced at him. "Those are often the same thing."
The relay elder lowered his head, wisely pretending not to hear.
Zhao Chuan shoved the jade back into Lei Yunhe's hand. "Fine. We go there, take our young heiress back, and see whether this Origin Core brat has the courage to keep smiling."
The moment he said it, a trace of pressure slipped from him.
It was not intentional. Zhao Chuan's temper had always been close to the surface. His cultivation was not weak, and his thunder path made him even more direct. When he disliked someone, even his breath seemed to strike forward.
Lei Yunhe looked at him.
"Speak less when we arrive."
Zhao Chuan's eyes sharpened. "You think I'll offend her?"
"I think you offend people by breathing."
…
Moonwatch City had become quiet.
Too quiet.
From the outside, it looked like the storm had passed. The shattered streets had been repaired. Blood had been washed from the stones. Merchants reopened their stalls, guards returned to their patrol routes, and the city gates once again took in caravans from the surrounding roads.
The Shen Family ruled openly now.
The Ironflame Pavilion obeyed.
The City Lord's Mansion obeyed.
Even those who had once whispered that the Shen Family's rise was unstable had swallowed their words after seeing the horned mountain stationed outside the city.
Far beyond Moonwatch's walls, where the land still carried scars from the failed beast tide, an old figure crouched beside a blackened stone.
The stone had been split in two. One half was buried in the mud. The other was stained with old blood that rain had failed to erase.
The old figure pressed two fingers against it.
His fingers were thick-jointed and dark, the nails slightly hooked. His body was not large. Among beastmen, he would even be considered lean. But the moment he lowered himself to the earth, the wilderness seemed to hold its breath.
He had curled white horns, thick white brows, and dark yellow eyes clouded with age. At a glance, he looked like an old hunter who had outlived too many winters.
But when his eyes focused, that illusion died.
The grass around him bent flat. Small insects hidden under the roots went still. A bird on a distant branch suddenly forgot how to sing.
Behind the old figure's thin body was the pressure of a herd of ancient beasts.
Not one beast.
A herd.
A thousand hooves crossing a battlefield. A thousand horns lowering at once. A thousand throats breathing killing intent into the wind.
This was the pressure of an 8th layer Sky Lord beastman.
This was Horn-Seer Gu Man of the Heaven-Horn Desolation.
And his face was growing darker by the breath.
Beside him stood Gu Yaohe.
She was young compared to him, but no one who saw her would mistake youth for softness. She was tall, bronze-skinned, and strikingly beautiful, with amber eyes as sharp as a hawk's and dark hair tied high behind her head. Two polished black horns curved back from her temples, smooth as carved obsidian.
Her beastial traits did not roughen her beauty.
They refined it.
Human women often carried elegance like painted silk. Gu Yaohe carried it like a hunting spear. Clean, wild, and dangerous. Every line of her body seemed made for speed. Every calm breath suggested violence waiting for permission.
A black spear rested across her back.
She had not drawn it yet.
But her fingers had not drifted far from the shaft.
Around them, three beast-shadow scouts knelt in the broken field.
Rao Ku. Hei San. Mao Lin.
They were thin and long-limbed, their shoulders narrow, their fingers clawed, their eyes dark as wet stone. Their race had little brute strength compared to Gorehorn Kings or mountain-blood beasts, but they had a talent few could match.
They could flatten their auras until they became shadows.
They could crawl through scent trails the way fish moved through streams.
For weeks, the three of them had followed what remained of the beast tide.
They found the torn path where thousands of lesser beasts had charged toward Moonwatch. They found claw marks buried deep in the earth. They found broken trees, dried blood, crushed stones, shattered nests. They found traces of terror so thick that even after many days, weaker beasts still refused to approach.
They found the place where the beast tide had stopped.
That was the first wrong thing.
Beast tides did not stop like that.
They broke. They scattered. They slammed against defenses until either the walls collapsed or their own bodies filled the ditches. A beast tide was hunger, fear, command, and momentum woven together. Once released, it could be guided, but not easily halted.
Yet here, thousands of beasts had frozen mid-charge.
Some had dug their claws into the soil so deeply that their nails snapped. Some had turned so hard their own legs had broken. Some had fled back along the same path with such frantic force that they trampled those behind them.
The scent left in the earth was not the scent of defeat.
It was the scent of a soul being slapped awake by something older than instinct.
The scouts also found Tuo Shan's trail.
That had been the second wrong thing.
His scent had not ended in blood. There was no corpse. No death struggle. No final roar burned into the ground. A beast of Tuo Shan's level would not vanish quietly. If he died, the land would remember. His blood would carry rage for months. His broken horn would poison the air with resentment.
But there was none of that.
There was only a path.
Then a pause.
Then a change.
Gu Man lifted his fingers from the stone and brought them to his nose.
He inhaled once.
A faint tremor passed through his white brows.