CHAPTER 198: ANCIENT SAINT AWAKENS

Sect Master Fang Tianyi rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was witnessing. The Sky split, divine beings rained down, and an empire was being plunged into chaos — all because of one man.

Beside him, a white-haired figure stood calmly, arms crossed, his aura concealed but impossibly deep.

"Ancestor," Fang muttered, glancing sideways. "This wasn’t part of the plan, was it? Why is your so-called ’Master’ waging war against the Blue Moon Empire? And for Heaven’s sake, how in the world did he summon so many divine creatures?"

Jian Longchen smiled, his gaze locked on Igaris, who stood like a god of war amidst the battlefield.

"He is a being beyond the stars. This world means little to him," Jian replied softly. "But you have nothing to fear... unless you stand in his way."

Sect Master Fang groaned. "You’re speaking in riddles again. But— wait— what are you doing?"

His eyes widened as Jian began rolling his shoulders, loosening his limbs, and stretching as if preparing for battle.

"You’re joining him?" Fang asked, stunned.

Jian’s grin widened. "Of course. He is the master I chose to follow, whether his path leads to Heaven or Hell."

Before Fang could respond, Jian vanished in a burst of golden light.

"Whoosh!"

He shot into the ranks of the imperial army like a falling star. With each swing of his blade, soldiers fell, not merely slain, but their very souls cleaved in half. His forbidden sword art — Soul Severing Eclipse — was a technique lost to time, and now unleashed once more upon the world.

Fang Tianyi watched the chaos unfold, sweat beading on his brow. The empire would remember this day for centuries. His mind raced.

"Should I join him? There’s risk... but also unimaginable reward."

He took one last glance at the Emperor’s side, then at the descending angels and spirit legions following Igaris.

He clenched his fists and made his decision.

"I’ll gamble it all," he muttered.

With that, he leapt into the battlefield, summoning his sect’s sacred relic, the Crimson Sky Bell, and began wreaking havoc on the imperial flanks.

From afar, two figures observed with gleaming eyes.

Shirley grinned. "Igaris is doing it... he’s really shaking this world."

Evernight chuckled. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Both of them shot into the fray, blades flashing, spells bursting from their palms like comets.

This war wasn’t decided on a whim, or underestimating the Blue Moon Empire. Igaris had been prepared for this when things go dire.

And now the outcome was greatly on Igaris’ favour.

But even so, the Blue Moon Empire wasn’t without its monsters.

They said an ancient Martial Saint slumbered beneath the imperial palace. A being so old and powerful that even the Emperor dared not disturb him.

Now, with the capital under siege and celestial flames raining from the sky, whispers spread like wildfire:

The old monster stirs.

And when he awakens... the world may tremble once more.

---

The Divine Spear in Igaris’s hand gleamed with pure radiance, its edge humming as if eager to taste the blood of enemies.

His eyes locked on the towering palace in the distance, its gates sealed, its walls lined with archers and mages, its very aura thick with defensive formations.

Behind him the army of angels raised their holy weapons. The very air quaked beneath the weight of divine presence.

"Advance," Igaris commanded, his voice steady and absolute.

He took the first step forward.

"Buzzz!"

Each step he made shattered the earth below and rippled through the skies above. The golden marble road leading to the imperial palace cracked under his force, as if the heavens themselves cleared a path for his wrath.

The enemy archers loosed their arrows. Countless streaks of flaming light screamed through the sky.

Igaris pointed his spear forward.

"Barrier of Ten Thousand Spears."

A shimmering dome formed, thousands of ethereal spears rotating and grinding through the incoming projectiles, nullifying them into dust. Behind him, his followers pushed forward with fearless resolve.

Just as they reached the front gates, the Emperor Yan Jao descended, clad in blue-black imperial armor inscribed with runes of power. His crimson cape flared as he landed, shaking the earth. His aura rose like a storm trapped in human form.

"I gave you a chance," Yan Jao growled, stepping forward. "You could have been a legend under my banner. Now, you’ll be a forgotten corpse."

Igaris leveled the Divine Spear at him, eyes calm.

"You have ruled long enough. This empire does not belong to tyrants. It belongs to the people."

The ground split between them.

With a flash, Emperor Yan Jao struck first. His halberd roared with draconic energy, cleaving through space itself. He moved like lightning, a blur of destruction and fury.

But Igaris met his strike with the calm of an unshakable mountain.

"Form: Heavenpiercer."

He thrust the spear forward, and the sheer force of the blow sent shockwaves across the battlefield. The halberd trembled, and Yan Jao gritted his teeth, forced to retreat five paces.

Their battle became a spectacle of destruction. Mountain-sized chunks of earth were flung into the sky. Entire formations collapsed. Soldiers from both sides scrambled to escape the devastating aftershocks. Lightning raged, firestorms erupted, and the heavens wept golden rain.

Igaris fought with elegance and ruthlessness. Every movement of his spear was like a page out of a divine scripture.

Yan Jao, despite his strength, found himself losing ground. He was a Martial Emperor, one step below Martial Saint. Igaris, however, had crossed into the threshold of transcendence.

The spear shifted forms mid-battle, transforming into a greatsword, then a whip, then a bow, each time amplifying Igaris’s strength beyond imagination.

"Yield!" Yan Jao roared, summoning a forbidden technique. A black moon rose behind him, devouring the surrounding qi.

"Fall," Igaris responded, his voice like a judgment.

The spear took another form.

"Form: Starfall Lance."

Whooosh!

He hurled it with all his might. It pierced through the black moon, shattered Yan Jao’s halberd, and impaled him through the chest.

BOOM!

The emperor crashed into the palace walls, creating a crater that split the very structure in half.

Silence fell.

"Cough, cough!"

Emperor Yan Jao coughed blood, his body trembling. His armor cracked. His vision blurred. He looked up at the white-haired young man approaching him.

"You... who are you really?" he rasped.

Igaris stood above him, gaze cold.

"I am your new Master. And this empire’s new Emperor."

With a final motion, he pulled the Divine Spear free.

The emperor slumped, unconscious, defeated. The palace gates now lay open, and the imperial capital shivered.

Only one question remained in the minds of all who watched:

If not the emperor... then who could stop this man?

And somewhere deep within the palace, behind sealed ancestral tombs, an ancient being slowly stirred from slumber.

A true Martial Saint was awakening.

---

Deep beneath the crumbling palace, past layers of divine runes and archaic seals, lay a sealed chamber carved from celestial stone. Its walls shimmered faintly with time-worn inscriptions. Within it, suspended above a jade altar, rested an old man wrapped in robes of white and gold. His body was preserved in a state between life and death, bathed in sacred light.

He had not moved for centuries.

But now, the sacred formation cracked. The golden glow flickered.

Crack.

One of the Moon-shaped seal chains snapped.

Boom.

A pulse of power burst from the chamber, rippling through the entire imperial capital like a divine heartbeat.

In the city, everyone fell to their knees. Warriors clutched their chests, their spirits screaming in submission. Even beasts and constructs lowered their heads as a mighty pressure swept over all creation.

Sect Master Fang’s eyes widened. "That aura... it can’t be."

From the battlefield, Igaris tilted his head slightly, sensing it too. It was different from the Emperor’s energy. Older. Purer. As if the world itself recognized and yielded to it.

Inside the sealed chamber, the ancient figure opened his eyes.

Two orbs of shimmering gold, brighter than stars, burned with awakening fury.

"Who dares disturb the balance of this world?" he muttered, his voice layered with authority and coldness. "Who forces this old sword to rise once again?"

The last seal burst apart. The jade altar crumbled. The ground trembled.

The ancient Martial Saint rose.

His presence alone distorted the air. Time slowed around him. Space bent, refusing to contain his existence. His every step turned stone into crystal, and his breath alone purified the poisonous miasma that had long lingered in the imperial crypts.

He walked up the spiral stairs, passing ancient murals of battles and forgotten gods.

Rumble...

Outside, dark clouds gathered above the broken palace as the Martial Saint stepped into the light.

He stood tall with silver-white hair flowing like divine silk. His eyes swept across the battlefield, lingering on the defeated Emperor, the broken gates, and then finally... on Igaris.

"You..." he said, his voice calm but laced with immense power. "The world does not know you. Yet, you carry the rage of gods on your shoulders. Who are you?"

Igaris raised his spear slightly, his aura calm and undeterred.

"A man rewriting his fate," he answered. "Your time has passed, old one. Let the empire rise anew."

The Martial Saint’s gaze hardened. "Then you’ve chosen the path of defiance."

He drew his sword.

It was a simple blade. No jewels, no extravagant glow. Yet when he unsheathed it, the wind stopped. The natural laws paused. All sound faded into nothingness.

Even the angels flinched.

Sect Master Fang staggered backward. "That’s the Heaven Severing Blade. One swing... and even fate can bleed."

Jian Longchen’s expression grew serious for the first time. He stepped forward beside Igaris.

"Let me take the first exchange, Master. That man once severed a mountain range. I must testhim."

But Igaris placed a hand on Jian’s shoulder.

"No. This is my battle."

He stepped forward. The Divine Armament glowed with a radiant golden aura.

Saint and Challenger.

Old and New.

Heaven’s Relic versus Heaven’s Defier.

The battle between Igaris Vance and the Martial Saint was about to begin.

And everyone maintained a safe distance.