*Lake-Heart Island – One Month Later*

  Lu opened his eyes.

  A single grey strand now lived in his top-knot—chaos force condensed into a jade hairpin.

  One He, thirty nights, ten million soul-threads.

  He flicked the pin.

  Reality hiccuped.

  Ni Yu and Ning Zhao received the Tongtian Mirror like kids handed the remote to the universe.

  First channel: Imperial Garden, 8K, blood-o-vision.

  Ni Yu squealed. “Overlord’s about to get cooked!”

  Ning Zhao’s sword hand tightened. “Wait… something’s wrong.”

  Little Yinglong stole popcorn.

  …

  *Imperial Garden – Rooftop Blood Opera*

  Zhou Liu’s silver sword sang.

  Overlord bled from a hundred cuts, grinning like a wolf who’d found the trapdoor.

  Every slash Zhou fed him stacked inside Overlord’s bones—interest on a loan from hell.

  Zhou Liu grew bored. “Yield or die.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Overlord spat blood. “Make me.”

  Sword through the chest—clean hole, heart ticking like nothing happened.

  Zhou Liu reached to recall his blade.

  It wouldn’t budge.

  Overlord laughed, low, cracked, beautiful.

  “Allow me to introduce my Dao Intent.”

  *UNYIELDING.*

  The garden exploded.

  Every wound reversed—blood became magma, pain became fuel.

  Zhou Liu’s own sword qi detonated inside Overlord’s fist.

  CRUNCH.

  One punch.

  Zhou Liu flew backward, golden core dimming like a snuffed candle.

  He crashed through three walls and a koi pond.

  Liu Yuanhao’s frost-flame stuttered.

  Clock Nan’s knife fell from the sky.

  “STOP!”

  Black blade answered—Nie Changqing, drunk on moonlight, planted Draconic Slayer between Overlord and the world.

  Kong Nanfei stepped out of dust, sleeves stained with chicken-soup dreams.

  “Gentlemen,” he toasted with an invisible cup, “you’re embarrassing the home team.”

  Feng Yilou and Xiao Yue’er landed beside Clock Nan, weapons half-drawn.

  Overlord never paused.

  He walked through the knife wind, through the stares, through the legend that said he was only third-revolution.

  One step.

  Two.

  Three.

  Fist met Zhou Liu’s perfect face.

  *BOOM.*

  Zhou Liu’s head kissed the palace wall so hard the wall filed for divorce.

  Golden core cracked—seven rings became seven screams.

  Overlord lifted the unconscious body by the collar.

  “Tell Tianyuan,” he whispered to the night, “next dog brings a leash.”

  He dropped Zhou Liu like laundry.

  Turned to the three onlookers.

  Clock Nan’s knife hand trembled.

  Nie Changqing yawned. “My turn to babysit?”

  Kong Nanfei flicked ash from an imaginary pipe. “Kids these days—no manners.”

  Overlord cracked his neck.

  “Anyone else want to teach Five Phoenix humility?”

  Silence answered.

  Even the koi shut up.

  …

  *Lake-Heart Island – Live Feed*

  Ni Yu’s popcorn hit the grass.

  Ning Zhao’s sword hummed approval.

  Little Yinglong tried to high-five the mirror and face-planted.

  Lu smiled behind his chessboard.

  Black stone fell.

  Check.

  Somewhere, a boy named Lu Jiulian looked up from his wooden sword.

  He felt the world tremble and thought:

  So this is what a heartbeat sounds like.

  Far above, the jade hairpin in Lu’s hair flickered—grey light licking the sky like a dragon tasting wind.

  The board was set.

  The dogs were leashed.

  Five Phoenix had spoken.