The Phoenix Fall Realm was vast—five great continents cradled within endless seas. And at the eastern edge of the realm, the Fallen Phoenix Continent spread like the wings of an ancient myth. The Eastern Continent, ruled by cultivator factions and sects, stood proudly among the rest, housing behemoths like the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Giant Spirit Sect, and the ominous Blood Spirit Sect of the Demon Dao.
But now, fire loomed in the skies above the Eastern Continent, where the fading legacy of an ancient clan had reached its final hour.
---
Among the fractured peaks of the Bai clan's ancestral mountains, screams echoed, buildings collapsed, and sect forces raged in attack. The protective sect array—a 6th-grade Monastery Class defensive formation—shimmered with brilliant patterns of yin and yang, thunder and fire, refusing to fall even as King Realm and Core Formation cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect launched relentless assaults.
A shadow still lingered in the sky—a residual ripple from the Upper Realm assault that had descended days earlier. Those attackers, beings far beyond the Nascent Soul Realm, had shaken the heavens. The Bai clan's greatest warriors had fallen then.
Of the seven original Nascent Soul cultivators of the Bai clan, one had long entered reincarnation due to karmic entanglements. Two had betrayed the clan, aligning with external powers when the Heavenly Sword Sect launched its purge. The remaining four had stood their ground. Three now lay in comas, their spiritual seas shattered. One remained—Bai Zenyu, whose flame had not yet flickered out.
The Upper Realm attack was not random. It had been orchestrated by a power connected to the ancient feud between the Bai clan's ancestor, Bai Jianglong, and enemies of his master—the Saint known as Radiant Sword Saint Jiang Wujian. With the Saint long in seclusion, new leadership in the Heavenly Sword Sect had seized the chance to remove the Bai clan, claiming old promises had no weight in this era.
Deep within the heart of the compound stood Bai Zenyu, the last standing Nascent Soul cultivator of the Bai clan.
He was not alone.
All around him, disciples were rushing into a radiant blue array—the Spatial Transmission Gate—a final gift from the clan's ancient forefather. Elders moved urgently, shoving wounded comrades and crying children through the light.
Bai Tian Long, calm as ever even at fifteen, stood near the back of the group. Though he could not cultivate, his eyes held the weight of someone far older. His calm exterior concealed a heart forged in pain and silence. There was strength in that stillness—a strength that had endured despite the cruel hand fate had dealt him.
"Grandfather," he muttered, as Bai Wu—his 500-year-old wood-element-bodied grandfather—limped beside him. The man still retained Core Formation strength, a feat only possible due to his rare Yin Wood Magic Body. Bai Wu was once a formidable cultivator, only a step away from the Nascent Soul Realm. Had it not been for the grievous injuries he sustained seven years ago, he might have already taken that step.
The pain of losing his grandsons during the last conflict, the disappearance of his daughter-in-law, and the departure of his son Bai Hao, who left the family only to be declared missing in the years that followed—these burdens weighed heavily on him. The emotional and spiritual backlash damaged his foundation further, leaving his chances of advancing nearly nonexistent. Yet even so, the old patriarch stood tall, refusing to collapse under the weight of fate. The story, however, was not finished with him yet.
Behind them, Bai Zenyu activated the final sequence.
"Move them faster! The formation won't last!" he roared.
As the last group vanished into the light, Zenyu stood before the altar, looking once at the ashes of the ancestral home.
He did not step in.
Instead, he turned.
"Zenyu!" shouted an elder. "What are you doing?!"
Zenyu only smiled grimly.
"Tell the Patriarch's grandson," he said, referring to Bai Tian Long, "that a tamer doesn't run from his den. Let the beast rise. Let me howl once more."
---
Bai Zenyu stood tall in the central courtyard. The sky above thundered, and streaks of lightning coiled like dragons.
The forces of the Heavenly Sword Sect breached the outer defenses at last.
A woman in white armor, a King Realm cultivator with a blazing sun-shaped sword crest, stepped forward.
"So this is the famed beast tamer of the fallen Bai clan? The so-called Beast Lord?" she sneered.
Zenyu chuckled. "Imperial Beast Taming Lord, class 4. If you were wise, you'd run."
---
Imperial Beast Tamers were not merely cultivators—they were heirs to one of the oldest pacts made in the history of the universe. During the Era of Chaos, when the first humans emerged amidst anarchy, the First Chaos Emperor forged a pact with the First Beast Ancestor. In return for sharing power equally, beasts would help humanity survive. That pact birthed the system of Imperial Beast Taming.
Every Imperial Beast Tamer awakened a unique space—a Beast Domain—directly connected to the Great Dao. Within this domain, their contracted beasts lived, trained, and grew. With every realm breakthrough, a new contract became possible, binding soul to soul, fate to fate.
It was due to this legacy that Zenyu stood now, not as a mere cultivator, but as a living tribute to that ancient covenant.
---
With a sharp cry, he released his beasts.
Four soul-bound nascent-grade spirit beasts emerged:
Crimson Thunder Ape
Voidclaw Vulture
Ice-Spine Serpent
Molten Shield Bear
Each was wounded—but their souls were bound by the Man-Beast Soul Preserving Technique, a rare beast-taming art that allowed the master to fight alongside beast spirits even in death.
He lifted his sword.
The blade was jagged, humming with terrifying dual-element energy.
He began to chant—
> "Five Elements Yin-Yang Thunder Sword Technique... First Form: Elemental Banishment!"
The sky cracked. The five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—exploded from the sword in harmony with thunder and yin-yang energy. The very world around the Bai clan estate shook.
A dozen Core Formation enemies fell in one stroke. Even the King Realm woman staggered back, blood trailing from her lips.
A beast soul exploded beside him.
Another attack.
Lightning fell again.
> "Second Form: Heaven-Destroying Spiral Fang!"
Then came the moment of culmination. Zenyu's soul flared with power as he invoked the forbidden fusion:
> "Soul Fusion: Beast Essence Merge!"
His essence soul linked with the spirits of his beasts. The four nascent beast souls burned like suns, fusing momentarily into his own.
His body mutated—the bear's bulk, the vulture's wings, the serpent's tail, and the ape's claws all overlapping in ephemeral brilliance. A monstrous shadow loomed behind him, roaring toward the heavens.
The fusion gave him unimaginable strength for a fleeting moment.
He became an avatar of destruction.
With a final roar, he charged the enemies, blasting through even King-level defenses with brute force and storming fury.
---
In the chaos, Bai Wu and the rest emerged on an island hidden within the outer seas of the Northern Continent. The spirit mist was thick, concealing the sky. The island pulsed with latent spiritual power—undetectable even by Saints.
Bai Tian Long remained silent, staring into the mist. His bloodline was noble. His heart was tempered. But the truth remained—he had no spiritual root. No spiritual qi flowed through his meridians. He could not cultivate.
The clan had taught him the general paths of cultivation—Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation—but they had held back the deeper truths. Concepts like lighting cultivation lamps, soul altars, or divine engraving techniques were things he had only heard whispers of. As a mortal, knowing too much could harm his mind and resolve.
Still, he clenched his fists quietly.
"I will return," he whispered.
Bai Wu, beside him, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Your time will come, child. Whether through fate or fury."
---
Back at the ruins, the courtyard exploded in a final flash.
The Heavenly Sword Sect forces cheered.
But none noticed that a single nascent soul fragment, housed within an ancestral burial fragment, had hidden itself deep beneath the earth.
Bai Zenyu had survived.
And vengeance… was only delayed.