Thousands of miles away from River Ridge City, the sky was different.
In the Lower Domains, the heavens looked wide and empty, a pale dome hanging over small cities, dusty roads, and scattered mountain ranges. Even when Spirit Qi gathered, it gathered thinly, like mist around a pond. Cultivators there looked upward and thought the sky was endless.
Here, the sky looked conquered.
This was Thunder Judgment City, one of the great outer cities under Heaven's Edict Thunder Palace. It stood at the edge of the Noble Domain, yet even this so-called outer city dwarfed anything in the Lower Domains. Its walls stretched across mountains. Its avenues were paved with thunderstone. Its towers rose into the clouds and drank lightning from the air.
Every few breaths, silver arcs crawled across the city's defensive formations, lighting up the white-gold tiles below. Cultivators walked the streets with measured steps, their robes clean, their backs straight, their eyes carrying the innate pride of those born under a higher heaven.
To the people of Moonwatch City, an Origin Core elder was already a towering figure.
To the people of River Ridge City, a Sky Lord ancestor could decide the fate of clans.
But in Thunder Judgment City, even Sky Lords lowered their voices when walking past the main palace.
Because above them all stood Heaven's Edict.
And within Heaven's Edict, even a single command could turn a Lower Domain city into ash.
The Heaven's Edict Hall stood at the highest point of the inner palace. It was not built like a normal hall. Its foundation was carved into the peak of a thunder-vein mountain, and its roof opened into a false firmament of formation clouds. Thunderclouds swirled beneath the ceiling despite there being no open sky. They rolled slowly, silent and heavy, as if they were waiting for permission to strike.
White-gold pillars rose like frozen lightning. Each pillar was engraved with ancient edict runes, their strokes sharp as blades. The floor reflected every figure who stepped upon it, but those reflections flickered with faint lightning, as if the hall itself was judging whether each person had the right to stand there.
At the center of the hall floated nine bronze formation mirrors.
Every message jade sent to Heaven's Edict passed through them.
The first mirror tested aura residue.
The second tested soul tampering.
The third judged whether the report had been falsified.
The next three checked origin, route, sender, and delay.
The final three belonged to the hall's formation spirits.
They did not speak. They did not show emotion. They only accepted or rejected.
Most messages never reached human hands.
Today, one did.
A deacon in pale thunder robes stood before the mirrors, holding a message jade no larger than two fingers. He had read thousands of field reports in his life. Beast tide warnings. Sect disputes. Tribute delays. Fallen disciples. Border conflicts. Assassination claims. Genius evaluations.
Most never changed his expression.
This one did.
His fingers tightened around the jade.
He read the contents again.
Then a third time.
Only after confirming that the formation mirrors had not rejected it did his face finally lose color.
The junior clerks nearby noticed at once. They were trained not to react, but several of them still glanced over.
The deacon did not explain.
He turned and walked toward the higher chamber.
His pace was fast at first. Then faster. By the time he reached the silver stairs leading to the Judgment Chamber, he was almost running.
No one stopped him.
The guards at the chamber door saw the color of his face and opened the way.
Inside, the air was colder.
The Judgment Chamber was smaller than the main hall, but far more oppressive. The walls were lined with thunder-sealed tablets, each one bearing the name of a disciple, elder, protector, or attached force that required monitoring. Some tablets were bright. Some were dim. Some were cracked and sealed behind black cloth.
At the far end of the chamber sat Elder Mu Jingfei.
She looked no older than forty, but no one who knew her would make the mistake of judging by appearance. Silver streaks ran through her black hair, not from age, but from the Lightning Judgment Art she cultivated. Her eyes were narrow, calm, and pale gray. She wore no jewelry except a single thunder-shaped hairpin.
Her cultivation was at the 2nd layer Sage Ruler realm.
In the Lower Domains, a Sage Ruler was not a person. A Sage Ruler was a legend, a force that could suppress an entire stretch of land by name alone. In Heaven's Edict, Mu Jingfei was not one of the supreme figures, but she held real authority. She belonged to the Judgment Hall, and part of her duty was monitoring disciples whose value was high enough that their deaths could not be treated as ordinary losses.
Standing near her was Protector Lei Qingshan.
He was broad-shouldered, tall, and heavily built, with a square jaw and a trimmed beard. His robes were darker than Mu Jingfei's, marked by enforcement patterns instead of elder seals. His cultivation sat at the peak of the 9th layer Sky Lord realm. A single step separated him from Sage Ruler, but that step was a gulf.
Even so, in any Lower Domain city, he would be treated like a heavenly sovereign.
A few other elders and stewards waited along the sides of the chamber. None of them spoke when the deacon entered. The rules here were simple: if a man came running into the Judgment Chamber, either someone important had died, or someone important had done something foolish.
The deacon bowed deeply.
"Elder Mu. Protector Lei. A critical report has arrived from the River Ridge region."
Mu Jingfei did not lift her head immediately. She was reading another tablet, her finger resting on the edge of its glowing surface.
"Which faction?"
"Verdant Edge Sword Sect."
Lei Qingshan snorted lightly. "Verdant Edge? Their border disputes multiply every year. If another one of their branch disciples died in a Lower Domain tavern fight, send it to External Affairs."
The deacon lowered his head further.
"It involves Ning Huang."
The chamber changed.
It was not dramatic. No one gasped. No one shouted. But the air shifted in a way only cultivators could feel. Several gazes sharpened. A steward who had been adjusting a record tablet paused with his hand in midair.
Mu Jingfei slowly looked up.
"What did you say?"
The deacon held the jade with both hands.
"The report claims that Ning Huang has appeared in River Ridge City."
For the first time since the deacon entered, Mu Jingfei's expression changed.
Not panic.
Disbelief.
"Ning Huang is in River Ridge?"
"Yes, Elder."
Lei Qingshan's brow furrowed. "River Ridge." He repeated the name as though tasting something sour. "The Lower Domain city tied to Verdant Edge?"
"Yes."
Mu Jingfei extended her hand.
The jade flew from the deacon's palms and landed between her fingers. She did not read it immediately. Instead, she looked at the deacon.
"Why?"
No one answered.
That was the problem.
Ning Huang was not a wandering junior with more pride than sense. She did not run from home to chase stories. She did not join random conflicts for excitement. She was proud, yes, and her temper was not gentle, but beneath that pride was discipline. She had been raised as a war heiress. She understood value, danger, reputation, and timing.
If Ning Huang appeared somewhere, there was a reason.
If she remained beside someone, there was an even greater reason.
Mu Jingfei sank her divine sense into the jade.
The message unfolded.
Several breaths passed.
The hall remained silent.
Then her eyes narrowed.
Lei Qingshan noticed. "What does it say?"
Mu Jingfei passed the jade to him.
He took it, scanned the contents, and his expression hardened.
"This is nonsense."
No one contradicted him.
He read further.
His eyes grew colder.
"A man beside Ning Huang injured a Verdant Edge Sky Lord envoy while still at Origin Core?" Lei Qingshan's voice dropped. "A false report."
A few elders relaxed slightly, as if that conclusion made the world sensible again.
Origin Core injuring a Sky Lord was not unheard of in ancient legends, but there was a difference between legend and report. The former was polished by storytellers. The latter had to survive the scrutiny of formation spirits.
Mu Jingfei did not relax.
"Verdant Edge would not willingly send us a message that makes their envoy look weak unless the situation forced them."
Lei Qingshan looked toward her. "Or they exaggerated to make their failure look less shameful."
"That is possible." Mu Jingfei tapped one finger against the jade. "But they included their envoy's name, wound description, cultivation, and the presence of multiple witnesses. That is not how one writes a casual lie."
Another elder stepped forward. He was older than Mu Jingfei, but his cultivation was lower, only at the 7th layer Sky Lord realm. His name was Han Shuo, a record elder responsible for external intelligence.
"The report also says the Qin Family sent several probes after the public conflict. The first losses were late Origin Core. Later, a half-step Sky Lord was killed."
Lei Qingshan's expression did not change. "Half-step Sky Lords are failed cultivators standing before a door they cannot open. River Ridge calls them pillars because River Ridge is small."
Mu Jingfei looked at him.
"Failures who still do not die in seconds to ordinary Origin Cores."
That ended the objection.
Lei Qingshan's eyes darkened, but he said nothing.
Mu Jingfei read the message again. She did not care about the Qin Family. Their losses were background noise. She did not care about Verdant Edge's humiliation except for what it implied. Her attention rested on one point.
Ning Huang.
Why was she there?
Why had she not reported it?
And why was she still alive after being drawn into such a mess?
A younger steward entered from the side chamber carrying a thin crystal tablet.
"Elder Mu, Ning Huang's latest movement record."
Mu Jingfei took it.
The tablet lit up.
Ning Huang's last official activity had not been in River Ridge. She had not requested a mission there. She had not reported pursuit of an enemy. She had not applied to enter a Lower Domain zone. There was no formal assignment, no escort record, and no token usage from the nearest Heaven's Edict transmission post.
That absence was worse than any answer.
Lei Qingshan leaned over slightly. "No record?"
"No official one."
"Then she moved privately."
"Or someone concealed her trail."
Several elders exchanged glances.
That was a dangerous statement.
Concealing the movement of a Heaven's Edict disciple was one matter. Concealing Ning Huang's movement was another.
Mu Jingfei set the crystal tablet down.
"Either she followed something important," she said, "or something important found her."
The words settled into the chamber.
Lei Qingshan folded his arms. "We should send a retrieval order. Command her to return and explain herself."
Mu Jingfei's gaze turned cool.
"Do not insult her."
Lei Qingshan frowned. "Insult?"
"Ning Huang is not a lost child to be dragged home by the ear." Mu Jingfei's voice stayed level, but every word carried weight. "If she is there by choice and we issue a crude order, she will resist out of pride even if returning was her original plan."
The steward lowered his head. He clearly agreed but would never have dared say it.
Mu Jingfei understood Ning Huang's temperament better than most. The girl was not soft. She respected strength, sincerity, and battlefield merit. She hated being handled like property. The more someone pushed her without reason, the more stubborn she became.
To order her back without understanding the situation would not retrieve her.
It would provoke her.
Han Shuo asked carefully, "Then how do we proceed?"
Mu Jingfei's fingers rested on the edge of the message jade.
"First, confirm her safety. Second, determine Long Shenyu's value. Third, prevent Verdant Edge from touching her or using her name."
At the name Long Shenyu, several people looked down at the jade again.
Lei Qingshan's mouth tightened.
"Long Shenyu. Origin Core. Unknown background. Appeared with several women. Publicly injured Lu Jiangheng of Verdant Edge. Connected to Qin Family losses."
He spoke the facts as if each one made the next more irritating.
"A lower-domain cultivator with a heaven-rank weapon and a talent for causing trouble."
Mu Jingfei glanced at him. "That is one possibility."
"And the other?"
"That he is not lower-domain in any meaningful sense."
The chamber went quiet again.
It was a simple sentence, but everyone understood.
Lower Domain did not always mean weak. Sometimes, monsters were born in shallow water. Sometimes, hidden lineages placed heirs in remote lands to sharpen them away from attention. Sometimes, ancient ruins opened in places no one respected. Sometimes, a dying inheritance chose a successor no one expected.
Heaven's Edict was arrogant, but not stupid.
It had survived because beneath that arrogance was calculation.
Lei Qingshan looked back at the jade.
"The report claims a spear-wielding woman killed the half-step Sky Lord. Not Long Shenyu."
"Yes."
"Then why focus on him?"
"Because Ning Huang is near him."
That answer was enough.
Ning Huang did not stand near weak men.
At least, not for long.
One of the older elders spoke from the side. "Could she have been forced?"
Lei Qingshan immediately turned toward Mu Jingfei, clearly waiting for her answer.
Mu Jingfei's lips thinned.
"By whom? A Lower Domain family?"
The question carried no mockery, only cold logic.
Ning Huang was not invincible. No disciple was. But coercing her, keeping her alive, and preventing her from sending a true distress signal were not things a common River Ridge power could manage. Even if they had captured her by trickery, they would need a force capable of suppressing her temperament after the fact.
The Qin Family could not.
Verdant Edge would not dare without reason.
An unknown Long Shenyu might.
Or he might be the reason she had no need to leave.
Lei Qingshan said, "And if this Long Shenyu is coercing her?"
Mu Jingfei's voice became cold enough to make the nearest steward's breathing stop.
"Then bring back his head and the heads of everyone who helped him."
No one questioned that.
Ning Huang's pride was her own matter. Her safety was Heaven's Edict's matter. If someone had humiliated the palace through her, blood would answer it.
The chamber settled into a tense silence.
Then the thunderclouds above them stopped moving.
It was such a small thing that an ordinary person might not have noticed. The clouds simply froze, their slow churn suspended in place. But to the cultivators in the room, it felt as though an invisible hand had closed around the entire chamber.
Lei Qingshan's face changed.
Mu Jingfei stood.
On the far wall, a thunder seal flared to life.
White-gold light spread across the runes, one after another, faster than thought. The chamber's formation spirits awakened. The elders immediately bowed their heads. Several deacons and stewards dropped to one knee before they even knew what they were doing.
Pressure descended.
Not Sky Qi.
Not even ordinary Sage Qi.
It was the pressure of rank, talent, bloodline, and authority condensed into a single presence. A presence so clear that even through a projection, it made the hearts of lower cultivators tremble.
Lei Qingshan inhaled sharply.
Mu Jingfei lowered her gaze.
A figure formed inside the thunder seal.
He appeared young, perhaps in his late twenties by mortal standards. His robes were white and gold, with lightning patterns flowing like living veins across the fabric. His hair was dark, bound with a thunder crown. His face was handsome in a cold, distant way, the kind of beauty that made people think first of statues, not men.
His eyes were the most striking part.
Calm.
Superior.
Utterly certain.
The lower cultivators whispered one name, and even that whisper sounded like a prayer.
"Lei Tianzhao…"