I alone am the Honoured One!

A few days passed...

Zhao Tian was sitting in the room, looking through the notes left by the First Honoured One, which he got in the tower back when he was on Earth.

He had already refined through the first two stages of his physique with the help of Yao Jing when she was alive.

(A/n: he got that in 440)

There are a total of nine stages, and he has notes for the first five parts; however, four are still missing.

As he looked through the notes, his gaze squinted 'Soon, I will need to do the third refinement.'

'Since master knows I am the Honoured One, I can be more open with her.'

As he was looking through it, suddenly he heard a knock on the door, and he replied "The door is open."

As he spoke, someone pushed open the door and he raised his head with a smile "Sister Lian."

Rui Lian stepped inside with a soft smile, casting a brief glance at the book in his hands "The Clan Head wishes to speak with you."

Zhao Tian gave a nod, gently closing the book "I will be there..."

Rui Lian turned to leave but hesitated and then quietly, she came back and sat beside him on the couch.

Hm? He looked up at her in confusion "Anything else, Senior Sister?"

She nodded slowly, a gentle but strained smile forming on her lips "Hm... I just wanted to thank you for going to such lengths to save my life..."

With a sigh, he replied "Sister, don't mind it. You are someone close to me and Master, of course, I won't let you die."

Rui Lian looked down at her hands resting on her lap and her fingers clenched slightly "If you hadn't come, I wouldn't be here."

Zhao Tian smiled faintly "I didn't save you for gratitude, Sister Lian. I did it because I wanted to."

She stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You always say the right things, don't you…" she whispered.

He chuckled softly "Maybe. Or maybe I just mean them."

She then gently retracted her head and looked at him "But promise me one thing: please come out alive..."

"If you can't destroy it... it doesn't matter. Just come out alive. I don't think I could ever live thinking that you sacrificed your life to save mine."

"So if you die, I will also die."

Hearing this, Zhao Tian's gaze softened and he nodded "Don't worry... I won't die."

...

Inside the heart of the Rui Clan's command hall, a long circular table projected a soft golden map of the star and its territories above it.

Rui Guzhi, Long Xuan, Zhao Tian, Yan Zijin and Ji Shuang are sitting around in the room, discussing their plan looking at the projection of the map.

Long Xuan gestured to the golden projection with a faint swipe of his fingers. "That's about it,."

"We've cleared nearly one-third of the star's surface around Rui territory. That leaves over a quarter of the entire planet as your battlefield."

A glowing radius marked in faint red highlighted the area "We've placed sigil arrays at the edge of each quadrant,"

"If the situation spirals out of control, activate any of them. We'll immediately begin planetary evacuation to the Jade Eclipse Star through our Arks."

Rui Guzhi nodded in silent agreement.

Ji Shuang's fingers gently tapped the armrest of her chair as she observed the projections.

"That's good enough. I'll be with Tian. All of you can fall back to the perimeter and assist from a distance if necessary."

Long Xuan frowned deeply "No. Let us fight too. Even if we can't take down the Paragon ourselves, we can still draw its attention... buy time, create openings, act as your shield."

"You want to be a meat shield?" Zhao Tian asked with a slight frown.

Long Xuan nodded hsi head "If it means you survive? Then yes. If you fall, this star isn't the only thing that will burn."

Zhao Tian straightened on his seat "I don't need anyone else beside me. Sect Master Ji Shuang will accompany me. That's enough."

Rui Guzhi narrowed his eyes slightly, folding his arms "Are you sure, young man? You understand that once the Paragon's core reaches peak instability. You may be walking into your own death."

With a nod, Zhao Tian replied "Hmm, I am sure about it."

For a moment, silence stretched across the room.

Then Ji Shuang's voice broke it, "I trust him."

Her gaze moved to Zhao Tian and a softness flickered beneath her composed face "I've seen what he's capable of."

Rui Guzhi sighed, looking between them "Then we'll pull our main forces to the boundary. But know this... should things spiral, we won't wait for a signal. We'll act."

Zhao Tian gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

Rui Guzhi slowly nodded "Very well… I will respect your choice, young man. But I hope you understand, your life holds more than just personal value now."

Long Xuan let out a low sigh "Fine. Then we'll position our forces around the outer perimeter. If something happens, we move immediately."

"You do what you need to do. But don't die, Zhao Tian. If you do, we all might have to deal with the Sect Master's rage... and frankly, that's more terrifying than the Paragon."

A faint chuckle escaped Ji Shuang's lips, though her eyes never left Zhao Tian.

Yan Zijin looked at Ji Shuang. "But what if something happens to you, Sect Master?"

Ji Shuang's response was calm, "Then Tian will survive, no matter what. That's enough for me."

Zhao Tian's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't refute her.

A bit later, he stood up from his seat "Then it's settled. We start moving tomorrow."

Long Xuan nodded and stood up as well "Good. Then may fortune favor your battle."

As the others began leaving the room to make preparations, Ji Shuang remained for a moment longer beside him.

Once they left, she moved to him and leaned on his chest "Tian."

...

Next day-

Inside the sanctum, Rui Yuying was sitting sat cross-legged on the altar, and her eyes were closed in deep meditation as layers of intricate golden sigils hovered around her body, slowly rotating like the orbits.

She glanced at Zhao Tian and Ji Shuang standing beside her.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood up, breaking the seal.

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I hope you guys liked this chapter!