The imperial palace grand hall was alive with overabundance.

Music coiled through the air, dancers moved gracefully, and laughter rose in waves among the gathered serpent lords, each seated beneath lantern light, each cloaked in the heavy aura of demonic cultivation.

At the center, upon the elevated throne, sat Lan Yunlai.. Smiling.

Then a presence descended. It did not announce itself with sound, but crushed the air all the same until silence fell.

The music died and cups froze mid-air as every gaze turned toward the entrance. Lan Meishan stepped in.

Blood stained his robes, dark against the deep green silk, his emerald serpent eyes burning with a cold, intense rage. At his side stood Jun Haoxuan, blue lightning faintly threading along his form, his golden reptilian gaze sharp and unreadable.

Lan Yunlai’s smile widened as the command fell from his lips without hesitation. "Kill them."

The hall erupted instantly. Guards rushed forward as one, their demon tools manifesting in flashes of twisted light while their auras grew thick and suffocating.

They did not reach.

Lightning split the space apart.

Jun Haoxuan moved without hesitation, thunder answering his will as the first wave was reduced to ash before their weapons could even descend. The scent of scorched blood spread instantly.

The hall trembled.

The remaining serpent beast lords rose to their feet, expressions darkening, killing intent swelling as their weapons took form.

"Shield me," Lan Meishan said, his voice low, eyes never leaving the throne.

Jun Haoxuan frowned. "Do not act rashly. In your current state, you..."

He did not finish.

Two serpent lords burst forward, their forms blurring as they lunged.

Lightning answered again.

Jun Haoxuan stepped into them, intercepting brutally, thunder roaring as he drove them back, his presence expanding, sealing the space around Lan Meishan like an unbreakable barrier.

Meishan moved. With a single step, he was already cutting through the battleground, heading straight for Lan Yunlai.

Lan Yunlai did not rise. He only watched with amusement until a portal bloomed beneath him in a flicker of crimson light, and he vanished.

Meishan’s expression twisted with rage.

Before the next wave of attackers could close in, an emerald chain snapped into existence within his grasp, its edges jagged.

He struck.

The chain tore through the charging serpent lords ruthlessly, slicing through flesh and bone alike as though they were no more than paper. Blood scattered across the marble floor, staining it in dark arcs.

Another portal opened and Meishan stepped through, but Jun Haoxuan was faster. Lightning cracked as he followed immediately.

They emerged outside the palace grounds, beneath a sky thick with storm clouds. Wind howled through the trees as spatial ripples spread outward. And one by one, the remaining serpent lords arrived.

Meishan shot Jun Haoxuan a sharp glare of pure displeasure, but Jun Haoxuan only smiled. It was neither light nor kind, but a quiet, unyielding smile that made one thing clear. He was not leaving Meishan’s side so he could go kill himself.

Ningyan would never recover.

Meishan huffed, and then emerald light erupted. It wrapped around his body in a violent burst before collapsing inward, shattering his form into that of a colossal serpent. The creature was massive, with dark scales and eyes like burning jade.

Without hesitation, he lunged.

The ground split beneath the force of his movement as he slammed into the gathered serpent lords, catching them completely off guard. Bodies scattered. Bones crushed. Blood tore across the air in violent arcs.

Two of them barely reacted in time, their forms distorting as they shifted into their own serpent bodies.

The battlefield changed instantly as fangs and coiling bodies tore into one another in a brutal clash of raw power.

Jun Haoxuan stepped back only once. Lightning whispered faintly along his skin as his gaze lifted, searching not for the fight, but for something beyond it.

He could sense that the air was wrong, heavy and watching.

Lan Yunlai’s presence was everywhere, and it was far too close.

Jun Haoxuan exhaled slowly. His objective remained unchanged.

Draw blood, create an opening, and let Meishan end it.

Elsewhere within the palace, Rong Yue and Yan Wuhen moved through the inner halls, cutting down resistance and flushing out any hidden remnants of the Lan bloodline.

The Lan clan had long devoured itself under its Lan Yunlai’s rule.

Jun Haoxuan’s expression dimmed.

If Meishan truly lost himself to this side... This personality.... he would become something far worse.

Suddenly, a shift manifested that was both subtle and deadly. Jun Haoxuan’s eyes sharpened and he turned just as lightning answered him, tearing down from the heavens in a blinding arc to slam into the figure that had silently appeared behind him.

Lan Yunlai was forced back.

Thunder roared.

The ground shattered beneath the impact.

Jun Haoxuan released a quiet breath. That was close.

Lan Yunlai straightened slowly, his cold gaze settling on him.

"Tell me," he said, voice smooth, almost curious, "is this not a foolish decision?"

His eyes flicked briefly across the battlefield. "To invade my domain without an army... with only..."

He didn’t finish as a massive shadow crashed into him. It was Meishan, still in serpent form and striking with unrestrained fury.

Jun Haoxuan clicked his tongue as one of his twin swords formed in his grasp with lightning threading along its edge.

He entered the fray in a single step, thunder cracking in his wake as he closed the distance. He did not take the lead.

He held back, letting Meishan drive the assault.

Lan Yunlai met them both.

His movements were fluid, almost effortless as he parried and countered, each strike carrying enough force.

Jun Haoxuan watched and waited until he saw an opening. He stepped in with fast, precise movement as the blade drove forward and sank into Lan Yunlai’s chest.

Lan Yunlai’s eyes sharpened, dark emerald filled with disbelief.

Jun Haoxuan pulled the sword free as thick, dark blood followed. It smeared along the blade as he stepped back with an unflinching gaze.

Abruptly, the air twisted as a torrent of power erupted. Demonic energy flooded outward, violent and suffocating, spiraling around Lan Yunlai like a living storm. The wound sealed before their eyes, flesh knitting together as though the strike had never landed.

Jun Haoxuan’s sword dissolved into light.

Too late.

A wave of force slammed toward him, but Meishan moved first.

He shifted mid-step, returning to his humanoid form, his chain snapping into existence within his grip as he intercepted the attack.

Lan Yunlai didn’t pause as a second strike followed, heavier and faster than before. It hit, throwing Meishan back until his body crashed through the palace wall in an explosion of stone and splintered wood. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"You..!" Lan Yunlai turned his gaze back to Jun Haoxuan, cold and focused, before he vanished. Afterimages lingered where he had stood, one, two, then three, closing in.

Jun Haoxuan’s eyes narrowed as lightning answered, striking and meeting Lan Yunlai the instant he reappeared. The collision forced him back, but only barely, because something else was already moving.

Meishan.

"Lan Yunlai!" He burst through the debris, breathing hard.

Emerald light tearing from his body in violent waves, his aura unstable, furious, unrecognizable from the impassive composure he once carried.

Jun Haoxuan had never seen him like this.

Their eyes met, just for a second.

Then Meishan charged.

Lan Yunlai did not retreat as they collided and power met power.

The ground split beneath them, fractures racing outward as the pressure crushed everything in its wake. The air trembled, unable to hold the force of their clash.