After restoring the honor of the Flameborne Clan at the Burning Sky Pavilion, Lin Sheng and his party found no time to rest. A new vision appeared in Lin Sheng's mind the moment he absorbed the Sovereign Flame Lotus. It was not merely an illusion—it was a transmission, a desperate cry from the distant edges of the immortal realm. The voice that echoed in his thoughts belonged to a being ancient beyond reckoning.
"Come... to the Citadel… lest the skies fall again…"
That message was followed by an image—a shattered fortress floating amidst storms, surrounded by howling winds and flickering lightning. Lin Sheng knew then that the next step in his journey awaited him at Stormsong Citadel, the lost bastion of the Aeonic Guardians.
Yue Lan stood beside him as the vision faded. "You saw it too?" she asked.
He nodded. "A warning. One we cannot ignore."
Stormsong Citadel was considered a myth, a relic of a bygone age when guardians of law and balance walked freely through the immortal heavens. According to the Depthshard Codex Lin Sheng had acquired, the citadel had vanished into the Tempest Rift during the Cataclysm of Aeons. Now, it stirred once more.
Their journey took them to the Quaking Sky Plateau, where constant thunderstorms scarred the terrain and even high-level cultivators feared to tread. Every mountain trembled with hidden lightning. Every tree had been petrified by electric fury.
It was at the plateau's heart they discovered the gate: a monolith of shattered obsidian and celestial quartz, engraved with runes that pulsed with lightning.
Fei'er hovered above the monolith. "This is no ordinary formation. It's part spatial seal, part soul lock."
Mira raised her staff, summoning a veil of moonlight that revealed interwoven arrays. "We'll need both Sovereign authority and Aeonic resonance to open it."
Lin Sheng stepped forward and invoked the Sovereign Flame and the Depthshard's essence. The two powers spiraled together, forming a beacon of light that split the storm in the sky above. Thunder cracked, and the monolith disintegrated into sparks.
A gateway tore open, revealing swirling chaos: a fractured realm filled with floating debris, cyclones of wind, and unstable dimensions. Stormsong Citadel loomed at its center, its spires broken yet still proud, anchored in space by coils of lightning.
"Let's move," Lin Sheng commanded.
As they passed through, the atmosphere changed instantly. Time and space twisted unnaturally. Some areas flowed faster, while others froze entirely. In the distance, echoes of past battles screamed through the storm.
Storm-formed golems appeared without warning. Towering titans of elemental power, each armed with weapons forged from pure thunder.
[System Update: Grand Sovereign Artifact Defense Mode Active. Challenge Level: Tier VIII. Objective: Reach Core Chamber. Estimated Danger: Lethal. Time Limit: 12 Hours.]
Yue Lan was the first to react, unleashing a barrage of anti-lightning arrows that pierced the golems' joints. Jin Rui charged forward, fists cloaked in seismic energy, while Fei'er disrupted space with her illusions.
Lin Sheng activated his new Flameborne Lineage technique: Scorchveil Storm Rend. Fire met lightning, unraveling the golems' matrixes. Yet each wave defeated was replaced by two more.
"It's a gauntlet," Mira realized. "They're testing us. Not defending—they're measuring."
Indeed, after every stage cleared, the citadel responded. Lights flickered. Barriers shifted. The very path before them warped until they stood on a narrow skybridge leading to the heart.
At the center lay a crystalline chamber. Suspended in the air, surrounded by nine revolving rings of stormlight, was a humanoid figure—perfectly still, encased in lightning.
Lin Sheng approached cautiously. The system flared:
[Objective Reached: Aeonic Core. Identity Confirmed – Aeonic Guardian #1 – Name: Yuelin. Status: Stasis. Awakening Protocol Engaged.]
The lightning cracked. The rings of stormlight spun faster, and the crystal shell shattered. From within emerged a tall being of flowing silver hair, eyes like stars, and a cloak made of stormclouds.
"Who dares break the sleep of the First Storm?" the being asked, voice resonating through the citadel.
Lin Sheng bowed. "I seek to halt the Sovereign's return. To save this world from another Cataclysm."
The Aeonic Guardian studied him. "You are too young. Too incomplete. The last Heir of Earth, and yet…"
He extended a hand toward Lin Sheng's chest. Lightning leapt from his palm but did not harm—it read his essence.
"Two Sovereign Flames," Yuelin murmured. "And still rising. You carry the burden of two legacies."
"I don't carry it alone," Lin Sheng replied, glancing back at his team.
For a long moment, silence reigned. Then, Yuelin smiled. "Very well. I name you Stormbearer. Take this fragment of my essence, and may the heavens tremble before you."
A burst of lightning surged into Lin Sheng. The system responded instantly:
[System Alert: Aeonic Crown Obtained. New Skill Tree Unlocked: Tempest Path. Title Earned: Stormbearer.]
Suddenly, the citadel began to shift.
"The other Guardians are awakening," Yuelin said. "Go, before this realm collapses. And remember: the Sovereign's Eye is never blind."
With that, they departed, the gateway closing behind them as the first stars of dusk began to rise above the immortal sky.