First came a sound that pierced the clouds and split stone, resounding across heaven and earth. Then a dense roar followed, one blast after another until they ran together.
Like rolling thunder, the blasts pounded the ground without end, leaving behind one charred, half-circle crater after another.
The earth seemed to tremble and groan. The violent tremors even reached Heaven Dou City, thousands of miles away.
Houses shook. Pedestrians screamed in panic, and one figure after another rose from the ground into the sky above the city.
Some did their best to maintain order; others gazed toward Sunset Forest.
Beneath the dark night sky, the forest was strangely white, standing out like a single white spot on a sheet of pure black paper.
They were torn over whether to investigate.
But with such a massive disturbance, given their strength, they might be reduced to nothing by the shock waves before they even saw what was happening.
As guards of the royal city, they should focus on fulfilling their duties. Something like this would naturally be handled by people of higher rank.
In the Imperial Study, inside the palace.
The candlelight illuminated a room lined with bookshelves. A middle-aged man rose from behind his desk and walked to the window. From where he stood, he could just make out that point of white light.
He could see the ground outside still trembling faintly, while not a thing stirred within the palace, as though it had been severed from the surrounding land.
The middle-aged man rested his right hand on the windowsill. His handsome face revealed no joy or anger, giving no hint of his thoughts. Every so often, a glimmer of wisdom flashed through his calm eyes.
His bearing was refined and noble, the natural air of someone who had long