The courtyard of Cloudpierce Pavilion fell into a silence so sharp it felt carved from metal.
Wind hissed across broken stone.Lightning flickered overhead.And the woman standing before them carried an aura that did not belong to this realm.
Lan Qingyue.The Azure Lightning Spear Goddess.
Her blue-black hair stirred in a breeze that wasn't there.Sparks crawled along her silver armor like restless spirits.The spear strapped to her back hummed softly, alive with suppressed thunder.
Shan Wei felt it instinctively—she was strong.
Not overwhelmingly so, not god-tier…but her presence was controlled, condensed, refined.
A spear narrowed to its sharpest point.
Power honed to precision.
She bowed—not deeply, but with warrior respect.
"Qi Shan Wei," she said, voice calm yet quaking with intensity."I've crossed realms to find you."
Qingyue muttered under her breath.
"…Of course you have."
Xueya's expression froze into a porcelain mask.
The Pavilion Master stepped forward cautiously.
"And for what purpose does the Heavenshatter Spear Sect seek our Shan Wei?"
Qingyue shifted in irritation.
"Our Shan Wei? Really?"
Xueya shot her a look.
Shan Wei ignored them both.
Lan Qingyue straightened, meeting his gaze directly.
"My sect received a prophecy three nights ago."
She raised a hand.Lightning spiraled around her wrist, forming words of pure thunder intent.
In the air above them, a glowing message appeared:
"When the clouds break and fate trembles,a Prismatic Star will rise.Seek him.Swear to him.For the heavens will one day kneel beneath his name."
Silence.
Even the wind seemed unsure how to move.
Qingyue scoffed."Swear to him? That's a little dramatic."
Lan Qingyue blinked."I didn't write it."
Xueya crossed her arms."But you believe it."
Lan Qingyue's lightning eyes focused on Shan Wei.
"…Yes."
Drakonix suddenly sprang forward, flaring his wings.
"FwrreeeeEEEHHH!"
Lan Qingyue's lightning crackled instantly in reflex.
Qingyue stepped forward."Oi, Sparky! Don't hurt him."
Lan Qingyue raised an eyebrow."I wasn't attacking. That beast just roared at me."
Drakonix puffed his chest.
"FWRRRR!!"
Xueya sighed.
"He's jealous."
Lan Qingyue blinked again.
"…What?"
Shan Wei exhaled, patting Drakonix's head.
"It's fine. He does that when someone strong gets too close."
"Fwee."
Drakonix nodded proudly, as if proving a point.
Lan Qingyue stared."…He's… cute."
Qingyue's mouth dropped.
"You think THAT is cute!? He breathes plasma!"
"Fwee?"
The Test
Lan Qingyue stepped forward, aura tightening like a spearpoint aimed at the heavens.
"I come with respect. And one request."
Shan Wei raised an eyebrow.
"Go on."
She knelt.
"I, Lan Qingyue of the Heavenshatter Spear Sect, request—"
Lightning coiled around her fist.The ground cracked beneath her knee.
"—a duel."
The courtyard gasped.
Qingyue tossed her hands up.
"Oh for—of course she wants to fight him!"
Xueya's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Why?"
Lan Qingyue didn't look up.
"To confirm that the prophecy is true.To confirm that you… are worthy for me to follow."
Drakonix curled around Shan Wei protectively.
Jin Wei shifted, gears humming softly.
"QUERY:SHOULD I NEUTRALIZE?"
Shan Wei shook his head.
"No. Stand down."
He stepped forward.
A calm breeze swept across the courtyard as he looked down at the kneeling lightning goddess.
"I don't need followers," he said softly.
Lan Qingyue smiled faintly.
"That is exactly why I seek you."
Shan Wei's heartbeat slowed.
"What are your terms?"
"Defeat me," she said, rising to her feet."And I will swear to you as my destined lord."
Qingyue spat air.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"
Xueya shot forward.
"Shan Wei. This could be a trap."
Lan Qingyue rolled her eyes.
"If I wanted him dead, I wouldn't use a trap."
Drakonix flared his wings.
"FweeeHHHH!!"
Shan Wei placed a hand on his neck.
"Easy."
Thunder cracked overhead as Lan Qingyue stepped into the center of the courtyard.
The ground beneath her feet became glass from the heat of her lightning.
"Qi Shan Wei," she said."This realm is too small for the battles coming.You need allies. Warriors. Commanders.And I was told…"
Lightning shaped a spear in her hand.
"…that I was born to follow you."
Shan Wei exhaled.
"Fine."
The air vibrated.
The ruins of Cloudpierce trembled.
Qi flowed through the valley like a sleeping dragon waking.
"Let's test this prophecy."
The Duel Begins
The sky split with thunder.
Lan Qingyue lowered into a spear stance, electricity dancing along her arms.
Her spear hummed like a storm held together by willpower.
Shan Wei stepped forward.
His Prismatic Qi swirled around him, seven colours blending into a molten halo.
Drakonix crouched behind him, ready to intervene if Shan Wei faltered even for a heartbeat.
Xueya watched with unreadable eyes.
Qingyue paced like a caged phoenix, muttering,
"If she hits him too hard, I swear—"
The Pavilion Master whispered to Elder Lu.
"We should erect a barrier."
Elder Lu nodded.
"Preferably a thick one. Multiple."
Lan Qingyue Strikes First
"Qi Shan Wei."
"Lan Qingyue."
Their auras snapped together like colliding stars.
Then—
BOOM.
Lan Qingyue vanished.
A streak of lightning tore through the courtyard.
The ground exploded behind Shan Wei.
She reappeared above him, spear thrust descending like divine judgment.
CRACK—!!
Shan Wei blocked with a bare arm, qi hardening his skin.
Lan Qingyue's eyes widened.
"You blocked that? With flesh?"
Shan Wei smirked.
"You hit harder than you look."
"And you underestimate lightning."
She twisted.
Lightning erupted from her spear in a vortex.
Shan Wei released a pulse—Void Pulse.
BOOOM!!!
The courtyard split apart.
Lan Qingyue flipped gracefully, landing in a crouch.
Her eyes gleamed in excitement.
"You DO have it."
"Have what?" Shan Wei asked, stepping out of the smoke.
Lan Qingyue aimed her spear at him.
"Emperor's Presence."
The disciples trembled.
Even Xueya's frost flickered dangerously.
Qingyue's flames surged.
Shan Wei froze.
"…What?"
"A natural authority," Lan Qingyue said quietly."You don't force it. You don't flaunt it.But everyone who stands near you—feels it."
She spun the spear behind her back, then pointed it again.
"Show me that power."
Shan Wei Responds
Shan Wei inhaled.
His qi flared.
Seven-coloured light swirled into a vortex behind him.
His aura rose—not loud,not explosive,but vast.
Like a world unfolding above another world.
Lan Qingyue's breath caught.
"That's it… That's it."
Shan Wei stepped forward.
The ground cracked with each step.
Prismatic Overdrive (Base Cycle) activated subtly.
His eyes gleamed gold.
Lan Qingyue whispered—
"…Magnificent."
Then she charged.
Their energies collided—
Lightning meeting Prismatic Force.
Azure arcs racing across shattered stone.
Seven-coloured waves rippling like cosmic tides.
Thunder screamed.
Stone melted.
Disciples shielded their eyes.
Drakonix roared.
Jin Wei lifted both arms, projecting a barrier around the pavilion.
The Moment of Decision
Lan Qingyue's spear thrust faster than light.
Shan Wei dodged by millimeters.
She flipped, spinning lightning into a spear cyclone.
Shan Wei countered with a Prismatic Palm.
BOOOOOM!!
Dust swallowed the battlefield.
Xueya exhaled frost to stabilize the air.
Qingyue unleashed a burst of flame to clear the smoke.
When the dust fell—Lan Qingyue was on one knee, spear braced into the ground.
She was breathing heavily.
Lightning flickered weakly around her.
Yet she smiled—pure, bright, fierce.
"…I see it now."
Shan Wei walked forward, uninjured.
"You weren't fighting to win."
Lan Qingyue looked up at him.
"I was fighting to confirm."
She pressed a fist to her heart.
"My sect told me I would know the moment I saw you.My spear told me the moment I touched your qi."
She bowed.
Deeply.
"Qi Shan Wei… I swear myself to your side."
Thunder rippled through the courtyard.
Not from the sky—
From her oath.
Xueya tensed.
Qingyue sputtered.
Drakonix gasped.
"Fwee!?"
Shan Wei blinked.
"You're serious."
Lan Qingyue smiled gently.
"Utterly."
She placed her spear on the ground, kneeling fully.
"From this moment on…I, Lan Qingyue, am yours."
Dead silence.
Then—
Qingyue exploded.
"WH—WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOURS!?"
Xueya's eyebrow twitched.
"…This is going to be troublesome."
Drakonix collapsed backwards.
"Fwrrrrrr…"
Jin Wei tilted his head.
"MASTER ACQUISITION OF ALLIANCE: SUCCESSFUL."
Shan Wei placed a hand on his head.
"…Oh heavens."
He looked down at the kneeling lightning goddess.
And despite the chaos around him—
He felt it.
A shift.
A new path opening.
Fate changing shape.
The first warrior of his future legion…had arrived.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.