Heaven Dou Upheaval, Breaking the Deadlock

The spring chill was like a blade, cutting across the land. Heaven Dou City stood towering amid encircling mountains, its Vermilion Bird banners snapping wildly in the gale as if proclaiming the Empire's last remaining majesty. Today was the day of the Soul Master Unification Ceremony. By decree of the Rakshasa Divine Decree, the imperial family had summoned sects from across the realm. Any who refused would be branded "rebels"; their soul rings would be stripped on the spot, and their sects razed to the ground.

Before the city gates, the people whispered among themselves, their faces filled with unease.

"I heard even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was summoned... Sword Douluo Chen Xin led them personally, but there wasn't the slightest hint of joy on his face."

"What about the Tang Sect? Will Sect Master Tang San come?"

"The Tang Sect was declared an illegal sect long ago. If they dare show themselves, they'll be killed without mercy. Who would dare come?"

Just then, a figure emerged through the wind and snow.

He wore a gray robe, its hems frozen with frost. An ancient Hoe-Sickle rested across his back, faint lightning patterns flowing over its sickle blade, while its hoe seemed to contain ice that had endured for ten thousand years. His steps were steady. With every step he took, a thin layer of frost formed upon the ground, as though the earth itself were whispering to him. His face was lean, yet his eyes were forged of iron, deep as an abyss, as if they could see through the fog of fate—it was Yang Jun.

The city guards barred his way with their spears. "Who goes there? Do you have a passage token? Those without one may not enter the city!"

Yang Jun raised his head. His gaze flashed like lightning, and though his voice was not loud, it pierced through the wind and snow, every word booming like thunder. "Yang Jun. No sect, no clan, no master, no school. Today, I have come to abolish this decree."

The guards froze, then shouted furiously, "Madman! You dare challenge Imperial Power?"

Yang Jun said nothing more. He merely stepped forward.

In an instant, the wind and snow came to a halt, and heaven and earth seemed to fall silent for a moment. The Hoe-Sickle at his back trembled lightly, and a stream of Ice and Thunder Qi rose like a dragon, shooting straight into the skies—an echo belonging to the earth and thunder, a sign that the Grave Keeper bloodline had awakened.

The sacrificial altar stood high at the center of Heaven Dou City, with golden tiles, vermilion pillars, and carvings of dragons and phoenixes. At its center stood an Unification Heart Stele. The stele had been forged from millennia-old Soul Crystals, and its inscription had been carved with Rakshasa Divine Power. Any Soul Master who signed their name upon it would have their Soul Power permanently sealed, never again able to cultivate high-level soul skills. Those who defied it would have their soul rings shattered and their souls corroded.

Qian Renxue stood before the stele. Her platinum divine robes fluttered softly in the wind, while the phantom image of six wings slowly spread behind her. Strange black patterns seeped through the golden radiance. Her features were exquisite, but her expression was cold as frost, her eyes carrying the indifference of a god.

"Today, the unification of Soul Masters is the will of Heaven." Her voice was cold and clear, yet it echoed like a great bell in everyone's hearts. "From this day onward, Soul Masters may not form sects in private, cultivate forbidden arts without permission, or defy imperial commands. Those who violate this decree shall suffer divine punishment and have their souls scattered."

The representatives of the various sects lowered their heads in silence. Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lightly waved his folding fan, a trace of sorrow flashing through his eyes. The veins bulged on the hand gripping Chen Xin's sword, his knuckles turning white, yet for the survival of his sect, he forcibly swallowed his rage.

At that moment, a long laugh tore through the sky, deafening as thunder.

"Divine punishment? Are you worthy of calling yourself a god?"

Everyone turned around to see Yang Jun striding through the snow. Thunderclouds churned behind him, while frost condensed into chains that shattered inch by inch around his body. Every step he took split a fine crack through the earth, as though the land itself were opening a path for him.

"Yang Jun?" Qian Renxue's gaze turned cold as divine power stirred faintly around her. "You dare trespass into the Heaven Dou Grand Ceremony?"

"I am not here to trespass." Yang Jun stepped onto the altar and lightly tapped the ground with his Hoe-Sickle. His voice was calm, yet it struck like thunder. "I am here to abolish this tyrannical decree."

"Insolence!" the Empire's Grand Consecrator roared, his nine-ring Soul Power erupting. "A mere Soul Master dares challenge divine authority? Today, I will show you what true power is!"

He formed seals with both hands. Eight soul formations rose around the altar, and countless chains burst from the ground, lunging straight at Yang Jun.

Yang Jun neither retreated nor dodged. With a sweep of his Hoe-Sickle, Ice Thunder Power exploded forth—frost gathered around the left sickle, while lightning was drawn by the right hoe. Ice and thunder intertwined into a spiraling tempest, grinding every chain to pieces.

He turned toward the assembled sects, his voice ringing like a great bell. "Do you still remember why Soul Masters exist? Not to kneel before emperors, not to sacrifice our freedom, but to protect the weak, fight soul beasts, and destroy darkness! What you sign today is not an oath of loyalty. It is a contract of enslavement! It is a Soul-Breaking Pact!"

He raised the Hoe-Sickle high, and Ice Thunder Power shot into the heavens. "In the name of the Grave Keeper's inheritor, I declare this: whoever has had their Soul Power sealed, I will break that seal! Whoever is oppressed, I will protect!"

In an instant, the Hoe-Sickle struck the ground, and ice and thunder surged like a dragon, smashing straight into the Unification Heart Stele.

Boom—!

The inscription shattered, and the formation sealing Soul Power broke apart inch by inch. The oppressed Soul Masters suddenly felt their Soul Power return, their meridians flowing freely. Some even broke through their bottlenecks on the spot, their soul rings blazing.

"He... broke the Empire's seal!" a Soul Master cried out, tears filling his eyes.

"That is impossible! That formation was reinforced by Rakshasa Divine Power. Even a Titled Douluo could scarcely shake it!" The Great Enshriner turned pale with shock.

Qian Renxue was finally moved. Her six wings spread wide, and Rakshasa Divine Power swept across heaven and earth like a black tide. Countless chains of black lightning appeared in the sky, weaving into a net that descended upon Yang Jun.

"Yang Jun, you have repeatedly provoked divine majesty. Today, I will show you true divine punishment!"

Black lightning gathered at her fingertips, transforming into a spear that stabbed straight at Yang Jun's heart.

Yang Jun neither dodged nor retreated. He raised the Hoe-Sickle to block it, and a spiral of ice and thunder burst forth, crushing the black lightning spear. He shouted, "Your divine power comes from devouring and control. Mine comes from protection and coexistence."

In that instant, the bloodline within him boiled, and the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul quietly awakened—an ancient bloodline that had been stirred by the resonance of ice and thunder when he fought alongside Yu Xiaogang in the Land of the Extreme North against a Ten Thousand Year Ice Soul Beast. That bloodline had slumbered for a thousand years, but now, called forth by his will to protect, it finally awakened.

Roar—!

A dragon's roar shook the heavens. Behind Yang Jun appeared the phantom of a dark blue thunder dragon, its scales flashing like lightning, its eyes like Thunder Pools. Its claws ripped through space, and its tail swept across countless foes.

He leaped into the air, the Hoe-Sickle transforming into the thunder dragon's fangs as it cleaved straight toward Qian Renxue.

Boom—!

The collision between divine power and a mortal soul shattered the altar's three-tiered eaves. The entire Heaven Dou City shook. The citizens fled in terror, but the Soul Masters looked upward, long-lost hope igniting in their eyes.

Qian Renxue was driven back seven steps. A tear appeared in her divine robes, and a thin line of blood seeped from the corner of her lips. For the first time, shock appeared in her eyes. "You... shook divine authority with a mortal body?"

"You are not a god." Yang Jun stood amid the wind and snow, his voice rumbling like thunder. "You are only a pitiful person corrupted by divine power. A true god would never force others to kneel."

At that moment, Sword Douluo Chen Xin finally drew his sword.

Buzz—!

The Seven Kill Sword left its sheath. Sword qi soared into the skies, pointing directly at Qian Renxue. Its rainbow-like radiance tore through the black curtain of divine power, as though it would sever the darkness that had oppressed them for a hundred years with a single stroke.

"I have guarded my sect for a hundred years. I have never knelt to gods, nor have I knelt to emperors." Chen Xin's voice was low, yet firm as a mountain. "Today, I will use my sword to protect this last shred of a Soul Master's dignity!"

Ning Fengzhi's Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda rose into the air. Seven-colored light poured down, bolstering Yang Jun and Chen Xin's Soul Power. "Justice will not be absent. We stand with you!"

In an instant, ice thunder, sword light, and seven-colored glazed light intertwined above Heaven Dou City, forming a pillar of light that pierced the dark clouds and reached the heavens. That light illuminated the entire city—and the hearts of countless Soul Masters.

The people looked up, and some fell to their knees in worship. "That is... the light of hope."

Qian Renxue stared at Yang Jun. Divine light flickered in her eyes, and something within her seemed to struggle. Her six wings trembled slightly behind her, golden light and black patterns intertwining as though her heart were being torn apart.

"You have won today." Her voice was soft, carrying an unexpected weariness. "But the abyss is coming, and you cannot protect everyone. When darkness devours the continent, you will understand—only gods can save the world."

With a beat of her six wings, she transformed into golden light and vanished, leaving behind only a lingering echo that drifted through the wind like a sigh.

Yang Jun watched the direction in which she had departed and remained silent for a long time.

Yu Xiaogang emerged from the crowd and patted his shoulder. "Well done. You have not failed the inheritance of the Grave Keeper."

Yang Jun smiled, but there was no pride in his eyes, only gravity. "This is not just my battle. It is the battle of everyone unwilling to lower their heads. Today, we break the seal. Tomorrow, we will break the gods."

Several days later, a new stele was erected outside Heaven Dou City.

It was carved from ten-thousand-year cold jade, its entire surface glowing faintly blue as though it were breathing. There was no name upon it, only a line of large characters carved into the stone, each stroke as sharp as a chisel mark:

Yang Jun and Yu Xiaogang stood before the stele. Behind them, more and more Soul Masters gathered—disciples of the Tang Sect, guest elders of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, independent cultivators from Star Luo, and warriors of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. They claimed no sect and established no school. They bore only the name "Grave Keepers" and swore only to "protect the people."

"We claim no sect and establish no school," Yang Jun said. "We will do only one thing—guard the land, protect the people, and destroy darkness."

The wind rose, and the Hoe-Sickle rang softly, as though answering the breath of the earth.

In the distance, a snow eagle circled upward, carrying a leaf of Blue Silver Grass in its beak as it flew toward the extreme north.