At the foot of the Blooddeep Mountain Range, a city was being forced into existence by sheer will.
Stone blocks were hauled, fitted, and sealed in disciplined rhythms. Formation lines were etched directly into the bedrock before walls were raised atop them.
Spirit Masters coordinated logistics, Ninjas reinforced structural weak points with chakra-hardened techniques, and Spirit Beasts carried loads that would have crushed ordinary cultivators. What should have taken years was unfolding in months.
Several unfinished streets already bore signboards.
Sacrificial Shop — Branch
The implication alone was enough to make nearby factions uneasy.
High above, a blood-red figure hovered in silence.
Fan Lao's bat-like wings twitched as his gaze swept across the city below. The cold amusement on his face gradually twisted into irritation.
"Heh," he sneered. "Someone's grown tired of living."
As Sect Master of the Blood Sect and a four-star Dou Emperor, Fan Lao had ruled this region through terror for decades. He did not negotiate territory. He harvested it.
An Elder stepped forward cautiously, lowering his head.
"Sect Master… these people are of unknown origin. Their auras aren't weak. Should we send scouts first?"
Fan Lao's eyes flared crimson.
"Scout?" His voice was sharp with contempt. "Anyone who dares build on Blood Sect land becomes a blood slave. There's no need to test trash."
He descended in a blur of scarlet light.
Dozens of Blood Sect elites followed, forming ranks behind him. Even the weakest among them radiated the pressure of a four-star Dou Spirit. Three Dou Kings stood at the center. Their killing intent rolled outward like a tide.
In the Black-Corner Region, this lineup meant annihilation.
Fan Lao swept his sleeve.
Blood-colored Dou Qi shot skyward, twisting into a massive curtain that blotted out the stars. Grotesque faces writhed within the clouds, howling silently as pressure pressed down on the unfinished city.
Then—
Nothing.
No screams.
No panic.
No scrambling flight.
The workers below stopped what they were doing.
Hammers were set aside. Stone blocks were gently lowered. Conversations cut off one by one. People gathered casually, expressions ranging from curiosity to anticipation.
Some even smiled.
That was when unease crept into Fan Lao's spine.
He narrowed his eyes and barked, "Who's in charge here? Don't you know whose territory this is?"
A tall, broad-shouldered man stepped forward. His aura was strange—condensed, heavy, disciplined. Ink Dragon, his transformation still faintly visible beneath human features, spoke calmly.
"The Black-Corner Region has never recognized ownership," he said. "Only survival."
Fan Lao laughed, blood Qi surging.
"In this region, whatever I say is mine—is mine."
His aura erupted.
The ground beneath him fractured, stone splitting outward as the pressure of a Dou Emperor crushed the air.
Still, no one retreated.
A few workers even clicked their tongues.
"That's it?" someone muttered.
Ōnoki straightened slowly, dusting off his hands as if mildly inconvenienced.
"This old man's seen dogs bark louder than that."
Tsunade slammed the last steel beam into place and turned, hands on her hips.
"If you're going to fight," she shouted, "do it outside the city. I'm not rebuilding walls because you can't control yourself."
Fan Lao snapped.
Blood Qi condensed into a massive claw as he vanished, speed tearing crimson afterimages through the air. The strike was aimed straight for Tsunade's throat—clean, lethal, decisive.
A golden flash intercepted it.
Minato appeared midair, kunai descending. Wind-attribute Dou Qi condensed along the blade, colliding head-on with the blood claw.
The explosion ripped the ground apart.
Minato didn't move.
Fan Lao staggered back, eyes widening.
Blocked.
Effortlessly.
Before he could reassess, Kushina's voice rang out, sharp with mockery.
"Old man," she scoffed, "are you weak—or just slow?"
Fan Lao retreated rapidly, blood Qi forming layers of defense. He scanned the crowd again.
Too calm.
Too focused.
These weren't laborers.
They were hunters.
At that moment, a clear female voice echoed from the city wall.
"Temporary bounty order."
Bi Ji stood above them, fingers resting lightly on stone.
"Dou Spirits—ten thousand sacrificial coins."
"Dou Kings—one hundred thousand."
She smiled faintly.
"As for the Dou Emperor—three hundred thousand."
Fan Lao's breath hitched.
"What—"
He never finished.
The city exploded outward.
Hundreds of figures surged forward simultaneously. Dou Qi tore through the blood curtain like paper. Blood Sect elites were erased before they could scream—bodies collapsing into mist under overwhelming pressure.
It was over in seconds.
Fan Lao was slammed to the ground, restrained by Dou Qi chains, meridians sealed.
Ink Dragon approached slowly.
"Thank you for the lesson," he said evenly. "We learned the rules very well."
His claw pierced Fan Lao's chest.
The heart burst.
Bi Ji turned calmly. "Cleanup. No innocents."
Cheers followed.
The shockwave spread fast.
When Yuan Yi heard the report, he stood so abruptly his chair toppled.
"All… gone?"
The scout nodded, shaking.
"Over a hundred Dou Emperors. Humans and beasts. The Blood Sect was erased."
Yuan Yi's laughter was strained.
"So it begins."
By the time the report reached Canaan Academy, Hu Gan's expression had gone rigid.
"This isn't conquest," he murmured. "It's infrastructure."
In the Starfall Pavilion, Elder Su Qian listened silently.
Finally, he spoke.
"When they open for business… we go."
His gaze hardened.
"Wolves or sheep—we'll see soon enough."
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