The morning sun streamed through the residence, warm and gentle, casting golden light over the courtyard. Haotian's wives gathered together, Yinxue and Yueru resting with their newborns while the others doted on them. Tianlan stood nearby, his young face full of pride as he watched over his brother and sister.
Haotian returned from the Sect Master's hall and stepped into the courtyard. At once, all eyes turned to him.
"Husband," Lianhua called, smiling faintly. "You're late. Did the Sect Master keep you long?"
Haotian exhaled, gathering his thoughts, then walked to the center where they could all see him. "The Sect Master has made a decision. All of my children—including Tianlan—will be accepted as his personal disciples."
The wives gasped, their eyes wide.
"Personal disciples of the Sect Master?!"
"That means they're beyond scrutiny… no politics, no interference!"
"They'll be untouchable in the sect!"
Xiangyin laughed softly, brushing her hair back. "Then we are all… the mothers of the Sect Master's disciples. Imagine the envy."
The women giggled, though pride shone brightly in their eyes. Even Tianlan stood frozen, his mouth open. "I—I'm… the Sect Master's disciple now?" He looked between his parents, completely stunned.
Haotian chuckled and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Yes. You are."
The warmth lasted only a moment before the air grew heavy. Four presences descended into the courtyard—the Immortal Dragons, ancestors of Haotian's bloodline. Yangshen, Yuying, Jinhai, and Meiyun stood tall, their gazes piercing.
Yangshen's voice boomed first. "Grandson. Tell us why the Sect Master would take such a step. Discipleship is protection, yes—but it is also a shield against something else. What truth are you hiding?"
The courtyard grew still. Even the laughter faded from his wives' lips.
Haotian's eyes flickered, weighing silence, weighing deception. But when he looked upon the faces of his wives, his children, his son, and his ancestors, he knew he could not lie. Not to them.
"They are not ordinary children," Haotian said slowly, his voice carrying the weight of mountains. He looked down at Haolin and Haoru, sleeping peacefully in their mothers' arms. "When I examined them… I discovered their meridians. Not one set, but three. Three cores, just like mine."
The air shattered with the weight of his words.
The wives gasped in unison, their hands tightening protectively around the infants. Tianlan's eyes widened in disbelief. The ancestors stiffened, their expressions grave.
"Three… cores?" Meiyun whispered. "Like you?"
Haotian nodded solemnly. "Yes. They inherited it. And I fear… the others yet unborn may be the same."
Silence pressed against them all, broken only by the faint sound of infants breathing. The Immortal Dragons exchanged looks, their eyes sharp with worry and awe.
Yuying's voice was low, almost reverent. "If this is true… then the heavens have chosen your bloodline for something far greater than the rest of us."
Haotian clenched his fists at his sides, his expression hardening. "Then let the heavens watch. My children will walk their own path. But know this—they will never suffer it alone. I will carve the way forward for them, no matter what price I must pay."
The courtyard fell into silence again, every soul present realizing that the birth of these heirs was not just joy—it was the dawn of a legacy that could shake the entire starfield.
The courtyard remained quiet after Haotian's revelation, only the rustle of leaves breaking the silence. His wives sat close together, their faces pale with shock yet burning with questions.
It was Yinxue who spoke first, her voice trembling. "Husband… what does it mean? To be born with three cores? What kind of path is that?"
Haotian sat cross-legged before them, his golden eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight. He looked at each of them in turn, then at the swaddled forms of Haolin and Haoru. His voice was calm, but beneath it lay a steel edge.
"They cannot cultivate as ordinary children. No method will respond to them—not sword arts, not qi circulation, not even the simplest breathing techniques. It will be as though they have no dantian at all."
Gasps circled through the women.
"Until…" Haotian continued, his tone heavier, "they cultivate my Heaven Sundering Trinity Scripture. Only through it can their three cores resonate. That is the first step, the only key to their path."
Lianhua stiffened. Her lips parted as memory flashed in her eyes. "That was when you were six… wasn't it? When you resonated your cores and awakened your Eyes of the Universe."
Haotian nodded slowly. "Yes. That was the beginning."
Yangshen, standing in the shadows with the other Immortal Dragons, spoke gravely. "And when you were nine, you faced the heavenly tribulation."
The others turned toward him, their eyes wide.
"That strike…" Yangshen's gaze was distant, as though recalling the crack of the heavens themselves. "The golden lightning that fell that year—it was meant to destroy even an emperor. Yet you endured it as a boy. You should have died. Any other would have. That was your second resonance, was it not?"
Haotian's wives covered their mouths, their faces paling at the thought.
Haotian inclined his head. "It was. But my path did not end there." His gaze grew darker, his voice lowering as he recounted. "Afterward, during a journey with my mother, assassins attacked. In the battle, I was struck down. I fell unconscious… and my second core was forcefully resonated. The backlash nearly tore me apart."
The courtyard stilled, every breath heavy with dread.
"I survived," Haotian continued, "but after that I made my choice. I did not touch the Heaven Sundering Trinity Scripture again—until Alter awakened."
Confusion rippled through the group. Yueru leaned forward, brows furrowed. "Alter…?"
Yanfei blinked, her lips parting. "Who is Alter?"
Xiangyin tilted her head, equally puzzled. "You speak of him as though he is someone we should know."
Haotian's gaze flickered, shadows passing through his golden eyes. He looked down at his children again, his silence heavier than words.
The courtyard grew tense, silence heavy after Haotian's words.
"Alter…?" Yueru tilted her head, her brows furrowed. Yanfei looked just as puzzled, and Xiangyin blinked, confused. "Who is Alter?"
But the others — Lianhua, Yinxue, Ziyue, Shuyue, and the four Immortal Dragon ancestors — exchanged knowing looks. Their expressions were grave, for they already understood the name, even if they did not know the whole truth.
Haotian gave a faint, wry smile. "Most of you already know. Alter was a war god, a soul bound within me. Not of this time, not of this world. He bore only his scars… and the desire to rest."
The three women who hadn't known gasped softly, but Haotian pressed on, his gaze turning distant. "But Alter was not idle. He guided me. When I was young, he told me that if I cultivated the Heaven Sundering Trinity Scripture from the start and reached full resonance early, I would be able to make even immortals fear me. That was his judgment."
The ancestors nodded grimly, recalling the month Alter had revealed himself to them. Yangshen's voice rumbled: "He was sharp, but true. He trained us, corrected us, then vanished as he said he would."
Haotian's gaze softened as it drifted to Lianhua. "It was with her, through dual cultivation, that my dormant meridians stirred again. My second core resonated. But then came the sect invasion. I lost control. Alter came out and saved everyone in the Azure Dragon Sky Sect. He carried me north, rebuilt my body, and then spent the last of his energy returning to sleep."
His voice fell lower. "After that, the path became nothing but pain. Because I had not trained the Trinity Scripture from the beginning, each dormant meridian had to be forced awake through torment."
Yinxue's breath hitched, her voice trembling as she recalled. "So that time… when the sect discovered you—your body torn open, blood spilling everywhere, bones crushed, organs nearly falling out… that was because of this?"
Haotian nodded, his smile faint but weary. "Yes. Every time you saw me like that, it was because I was tearing my own body apart to awaken the third core. Each step demanded agony, but I endured. Alter's foundation was the only reason I survived."
Ziyue covered her mouth, her eyes wide with dawning horror. "And when I treated your wounds myself… all of that was the price you paid?"
The courtyard fell into a stunned silence. Xiangyin, Yueru, and Yanfei were still reeling from the revelation of Alter's existence. But for the others — his wives who had patched his broken body, and the ancestors who once felt Alter's presence — their shock now centered on the sheer brutality of his path.
None of them had known the full truth until now. And as they looked at Haotian, their hearts ached with both sorrow and pride.
The legacy of three cores was not just rare. It was born of suffering few could imagine.
The courtyard was thick with silence after Haotian's grim admission. His wives sat tense, but then Xiangyin broke through, her voice trembling but insistent.
"What about… the time you were at the Eternal Yin Orchid Sect?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "Every night, your body was torn and broken. Bones snapped, blood everywhere. You could barely stand by morning. What was that?"
Her words sent the others into a jolt. Yinxue sat upright, Ziyue's brows furrowed, and even Lianhua's lips parted in shock. They all turned to Haotian, pressing him with urgent stares.
None of them knew.
Haotian sighed deeply, his expression weary but unflinching. "That was different. That was… training under Alter. He passed down to me a martial art that was not meant for mortals to touch." His golden eyes glinted faintly. "The Demon God Killing Martial Arts."
The name alone froze the air.
Yangshen's body stiffened, his face paling as beads of sweat formed on his brow. Yuying and Meiyun exchanged a glance before both covered their mouths, trying — and failing — to stifle their laughter. Jinhai outright threw his head back, his booming laughter shaking the courtyard walls.
Everyone else blinked in confusion, stunned by the bizarre contrast.
"What's so funny?" Yanfei asked cautiously, glancing between them.
Still chuckling, Yuying leaned forward, her tone flustered but light. "It's not funny… it's just… the mention of the Demon God Killing Martial Arts is enough to send poor Yangshen back into his nightmares."
Yangshen snapped his head toward her, his voice cracking as he protested. "I asked Alter to teach me that art! I thought I could handle it! But—" His hands trembled as he clenched his fists. "I didn't even survive the first move. One strike… one! It nearly crippled me."
Meiyun giggled openly now, her eyes sparkling. "You should have seen his face. For someone who's endured countless battles, he nearly fainted."
Yangshen scowled, glaring at his siblings. "It was too dangerous! One move, and I thought my bones were dust! How was I supposed to continue?!"
The wives looked back at Haotian, their eyes wide, realization dawning.
"You… actually endured that?" Lianhua whispered.
Haotian only smiled faintly, his expression calm but resolute. "Yes. Night after night. It tore me apart, but it also remade me. That is why my body can endure what it does today."
The courtyard fell into silence again, though this time it was a silence laced with awe. His wives now understood — every scar, every sleepless night, every broken bone — had been the price of carrying a war god's legacy.
The courtyard was hushed. Haotian's quiet words about enduring the Demon God Killing Martial Arts, about breaking his body every night until it could endure the impossible, still hung in the air.
His wives sat stunned, their hands trembling against their laps. Yinxue was the first to move. She shifted closer, her fingers brushing his hand as her eyes glistened. "All those times… all those nights… and you never told us."
Ziyue clenched her fists, her voice thick. "We only saw the aftermath. Blood, broken bones, skin torn apart. We thought it was just training, but not like this… never like this."
Lianhua lowered her gaze, her expression tight. "And when you endured it at six, at nine… when you awakened those eyes… we were not there for you then." She reached up to touch his cheek, her voice softening. "But we are now. And we will not let you bear this alone again. Not you, not our children."
Shuyue's lip trembled, and even she could not keep her teasing tone. "If the path demands torment, then we will walk through it with them. With you."
Xiangyin nodded firmly, eyes blazing. "Whatever storms the three cores bring, we'll be the ones shielding them from the worst. That is our vow."
The atmosphere was heavy, but filled with warmth — a fierce, protective unity.
And then, Yanfei tilted her head, a small frown tugging her lips. "Wait…" she murmured.
Everyone turned to her.
Yanfei's eyes flickered between Haotian and the infants resting in their mothers' arms. "Didn't you say the reason for your torture was because you stopped cultivating the Heaven Sundering Trinity Scripture? That your meridians went dormant for years? So you had to reactivate them forcefully?"
Haotian blinked. "…Yes."
Yanfei's brows furrowed deeper. "So if our children start cultivating from the very beginning — if they never stop, if they keep their meridians awake — they won't need to suffer the way you did, right? There won't be that risk."
The courtyard froze.
The wives looked at each other, hope dawning in their eyes, before all of them turned sharply back to Haotian.
"Well?" Yinxue demanded, almost urgently. "Is she right?"
For a moment, Haotian stared, caught between relief and disbelief. His lips parted, and for the first time that night, the weight pressing on his shoulders seemed to lift.
Haotian's golden eyes softened as he looked at Yanfei. For a long breath he said nothing, weighing her words against the scars of his own past. Then he exhaled, a faint smile breaking across his face.
"You're right," he said at last. "If they cultivate the Heaven Sundering Trinity Scripture from the very beginning, if they never let their meridians fall dormant… then they won't need to suffer as I did. The torment I endured came only because I abandoned it for years. As long as they walk the path steadily, their resonance will be smooth."
The courtyard erupted in sighs of relief.
Yinxue slumped against him, tears streaming down her face, but her lips curved in a trembling smile. "Thank the heavens…"
Ziyue clasped her hands to her chest, whispering, "Then they won't have to bear the same agony. They'll be safe."
Lianhua pressed her forehead to Haotian's shoulder, exhaling shakily. "I thought… I thought they were doomed to inherit your suffering."
Even Xiangyin let out a long breath, a grin spreading as she looked at the sleeping infants. "Then our children will grow strong… without breaking."
Haotian gathered them close, his chest loosening for the first time in years. A burden he had carried alone — the dread of his children repeating his bloody path — was finally eased.
But just as the warmth filled the courtyard, a shimmer sparked in the air above Haotian's palm. Golden text burned into existence, letters twisting into sharp, mocking strokes.
All of them froze.
The glowing words scrawled themselves boldly:
"She is right, you fool! Stupid! Idiot! Baka! Aho! Caw Caw Caw!"
Haotian's face froze, his jaw tightening.
Lianhua blinked. "…Did that just say caw?"
Meiyun covered her mouth, shoulders shaking with laughter. "Aho… like the crow's call in the old tongue. Alter's sense of humor has not changed."
Yangshen's lips twitched, though his forehead gleamed with sweat. "To mock you even now…"
Haotian stared at the golden text, his expression dark. "I swear, even in sleep, he won't leave me in peace."
The wives burst into laughter despite themselves, the heavy atmosphere dissolving into a chorus of chuckles and smiles.
Above them, the golden text flickered once more, then vanished into nothingness, leaving only the echo of a war god's irreverent crowing.
The courtyard was still ringing with laughter, the glow of mocking words fading: "Baka! Aho! Caw caw caw!"
But then the mirth drained away.
Lianhua's face stiffened, her smile falling. "…Wait."
Yinxue's arms tightened around Haolin. "If those words appeared in your hand… out of thin air…"
Ziyue's voice cracked. "Then Alter… Alter is awake."
The courtyard froze.
The golden script still shimmered faintly across Haotian's palm, as though etched by an unseen hand. Yanfei stared in shock, Xiangyin gripping Haotian's sleeve with unease.
Even the ancestors were shaken. Yangshen's face went pale, sweat forming along his temple. Yuying and Meiyun's earlier giggles died into silence, and even Jinhai's deep laughter cut short.
Haotian's jaw clenched, his golden eyes flashing. "No… that shouldn't be possible. Alter isn't supposed to exist anymore. He… merged with me. His soul became one with mine when I broke through to Emperor realm. That was the price, the end of him. He should have been gone."
The golden words pulsed again, reshaping themselves into jagged strokes:
"Gone? Don't make me laugh. I didn't vanish — I became part of you. Watching. Listening. Not fully separate, but not silent either. And when you're an idiot, I'll remind you. Loudly."
Gasps rippled through the wives.
Yanfei whispered, "Then… he's been here all along?"
Xiangyin's grip on Haotian's sleeve tightened further. "Always watching, always listening?"
Haotian's expression grew grim. "Alter was a war god. His soul fused into mine, so my strength could rise. If he is stirring like this now… it means something in me, or in the world, is shifting."
The golden script pulsed one final time, then scattered into fading sparks, leaving only its chilling message behind:
"Prepare yourselves. The world is not ready for what's coming."
The silence that followed was thick and heavy. None of them laughed anymore.
The War God — merged, sleeping, but never gone — had stirred.
Golden text shimmered back into existence, sprawling across Haotian's palm.
"First of all… congratulations on the children. Eight already? You moved faster than even I expected."
The wives blinked in stunned silence. Then more words traced themselves, almost mockingly flamboyant:
"When I lived, I had only my twins… and with one lover at that. You've put me to shame."
Lianhua flushed crimson, hiding her face. Yinxue glared at the glowing words, but her lips quirked despite herself. Even Ziyue let out a strangled laugh, while Yueru and Yanfei stared in speechless shock.
Haotian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Even merged with me, he never changes…"
The words shifted again, more steady now.
"Listen well. I gave the gift to the children. The three cores — my legacy, carried into them. Unfortunately, Tianlan was born while I still slept, or else he too would have borne it. But it matters little. He has his own path, and it will be no less extraordinary."
Gasps rippled through the courtyard. The wives tightened their holds around the infants, their faces glowing with both awe and trepidation.
Haotian's hand trembled slightly as the words kept flowing:
"As long as they cultivate the Heaven Sundering Trinity Scripture, there will be no issues. In fact, with immortal chi surrounding them, their growth will soar. They will outpace all others, overshadow all peers… save for Haotian himself. He will always remain beyond them."
The words paused, then sharpened.
"But beware the tribulations. When they resonate fully, the heavens will test them. And with it, their eyes of the universe will awaken. Do not fear. Leigong will not dare strike them hard — if he does, invoke my name. A War God's protection is not easily dismissed. Worst case, Gaia herself will intervene."
The wives and ancestors all jolted at once, the name sinking heavy into the air.
Haotian's face darkened, his gaze cutting into the words. "Alter…"
The glowing script hesitated. Then, slowly, one final sentence burned itself into his palm:
"Gaia is… the universe."
The courtyard went silent.
Even the Immortal Dragons, beings who had seen hundreds of years, stood frozen. The wives clutched their children tighter, staring wide-eyed at Haotian, waiting for answers he did not yet have.