Nine Venoms Sect Founder

In top expert quantity, the inscrutable Serpent Domain aside, the Empyreans didn't have rivals. Theoretically, if not for their ancestor, the Golden Crows couldn't compare, either. However, as she swept the elders gathered at her door, Jiyan realized that the Golden Crows possessed one thing that put them above her clansmen: a relentless martial will.

Raised as soldiers from infancy to maturity, regardless of their goals in life, the Golden Crow clansmen all shared that trait—enabling them to dominate the elite of the other clans. Once they set their eyes on something, they'd fight tooth and nails to get it. Retreat or surrender...were never options. In contrast, the Empyreans preferred their eons of politicking. Starting with the Second Emperor's reign, aside from those princes that competed for the throne, Empyrean clansmen rarely fought with their lives on the line—and always kept a retreat plan in mind.

In this era, depending on her choices, Jiyan could be their advance or retreat plan. Twelve of the clan's thirty-three active elders formed lines before Jiyan's palace, all dressed in white and gold robes embroidered with a golden orchid.

"Jiyan, although your father's death is a burden on us all, we must forge ahead—less our enemies take advantage of this moment of weakness to destroy our clan," the third elder, a fifth-level Empyrean Monarch, started, and Jiyan could already foresee the heaps of bullshit coming her way. The elders stepped aside, letting four black-haired men pass.

At the helm was a strikingly handsome youth with the slit silver eyes of the True Dragon clan, ruling lineage of the world-renowned reptiles.

…

In the Divine Palace's Ancestral Hall, the supreme elder stood before Agiri's stele, holding a seven-colored pill in his hand. Dilnaz kneeled behind him, her face livid, and her eyes locked on the ground.

"Are you determined? Such a gift may be too much for even I to accept," the supreme elder said in a serious tone, but his eyes never left the seven-colored pill which seemed to ripple with the Laws of Heaven.

"Yes. If you're willing to rescind your order, please accept that pill and spare Jiyan. Although she seems insensible, she's, after all, my daughter. With a week, no, four days, I know I can have her come around," Dilnaz replied. But while her tone seemed laced in resolve, her lips and limbs trembled, showing that she barely had enough strength to remain on her knees.

"Well, this is an irresistible offer but...you didn't seem that opposed to the previous deal. Didn't you merely give birth to Jiyan to stay in Agiri's favor? Why the sudden motherly heart?"

"The True Dragon clan is the most obscene lineage of the 33 Heavens. To say nothing of others, they treat even their clan's females as expendable dual cauldrons and their lust knows no limit. If not because the Primordial Dragon couldn't restrain himself and attempted to abduct his Phoenix Empress, why would the Serpent Emperor slaughter their clan and allies to near extinction—triggering a war against his own world?

We may twist historical truths to suit the trend, but cannot cheat ourselves. Jiyan is my daughter, even if I were ten times crueler, I can't possibly throw her into ruin just to give our competitors a false sense of fear and weakness! Please reconsider!" Dilnaz begged. As she suppressed her tribulation and recovered from Harun's blow, Dilnaz's failure and Jiyan's unwillingness to represent her clan in the upcoming clash both reached the supreme elder. Undisturbed, he reasoned that since Jiyan didn't want to raise her sword, they might as well use her to trick their enemies.

By marrying their clan's most gifted to the junior dragon lord, the Empyrean elders believed they'd create an impression of weakness and desperation—convincing their foes of their decline and inevitable destruction. That impression alone could buy them a substantial amount of time to strengthen their force.

When the news reached her, Dilnaz refined her Internal Heaven into a Heaven's Will pill, making her cultivation drop from the fifth-level of the Empyrean Monarch Realm to the peak of the Heavenly God Realm. With that pill, the supreme elder could delay his next Cosmic Tribulation by 12,000 years, and strengthen his incomplete Mandate—thereby removing his reliance on the Heaven Shrouding Coffins, and increasing his chances in the war. Faced with such enticement, the old monster couldn't resist.

"Fine. Offending the True Dragon clan is no problem. However, Jiyan is too gifted. Such a monstrous talent transcends reason itself. If we cannot control her, we must suppress her. Which one will it be?"

"You...can choose her end," Dilnaz said in a defeated tone. Logic-wise, mere suppression could never satisfy the supreme elder. The fear that one day she'd break free and slaughter him ensured that he'd just find a way to end her life. Instead, by letting him take control of Jiyan's soul and potential, Dilnaz could ensure her survival. The rest would take care of itself.

…

On average, prodigies took 10 years per Celestial Kin level, 50 per Celestial Guard level and 350 per Knight level.

Having reached the third-level of the Celestial Knight Realm in 1,200 years, the junior dragon lord ranked among the 33 Heavens' top prodigies—destined to become a Monarch. Unlike many of his peers who idled in the comfort of their houses, the junior dragon lord devoted himself, body and soul, to cultivation. His goal: to reach the Empyrean Monarch Realm within 100,000 years, so that he could satisfy his desire of breaking the will of top-ranking Goddesses. Never did he expect that the Empyreans had declined to the point they'd offer Agiri's only daughter's hand to him, and thinking of all the games he'd play with her, he rushed toward the Divine Palace to seal the deal.

Ignoring his elders' advice, the junior dragon lord stepped toward Jiyan, arms crossed behind his back. Not sparing him a glance, Jiyan focused on the third elder.

"This is what you mean by 'forging ahead?'" Jiyan rhetorically asked, and unsurprised by her reaction, the third elder nodded.

"The dragon clan produced many outstanding descendants, but the junior lord eclipses them all. As the future leader of a hegemonic clan, his status is a match for yours. You're the late emperor's only daughter, so we must think for your sake. Talent and background fit; this will be a wonderful match," the third elder recited his part of the script, and Jiyan nodded in approval.

"Very well." Hearing this, the junior dragon lord nearly leaped with joy. The longer he stared at Jiyan, the more he felt that this trip to the Divine Palace was the best decision of his life. Unable to restrain himself, he extended his hands toward Jiyan's cheeks. The move alarmed the Empyrean elders, and in another situation, the Dragon elders too wouldn't have let it pass.

However, recalling how quickly Jiyan submitted, and the nearly begging tone the Empyreans used to request this alliance, they shrugged off their fears—not that it mattered. By the time they processed their junior lord's intent, a cool breeze had grazed his arms. The junior dragon lord soon realized something amiss. By now, his fingers should have reached Jiyan, but were nowhere to be seen. Instead, blood jets gushed from his shoulders.

Wait, blood?

Alarmed, the junior dragon lord glanced at his shoulders, and saw that, blood aside, nothing remained there. His arms dropped on the ground. Terrified by the sight of his arms tumbling in a pool of his own blood, the junior dragon lord wanted to step back and scream. Unfortunately, another breeze sliced off his legs from his hips, and he lost balance instead.

Confused, the junior dragon lord forgot to scream. Then reality struck, and his eyes stretched to impossible lengths.

"Nonononono, no....ah...no...AAAAARGH!" The junior dragon lord broke into harsh, piercing cries, shaking his head to deny the reality. Silver chains shot from the ground, binding the junior dragon lord's face to prevent any scream from leaking out. From beginning to end, Jiyan never glanced at him, and stretching out her right hand, she summoned a silver longsword whose blade seemed trapped by silver chains.

"Then I must reject this clan," Jiyan declared.