They came at dusk.
When the sun hung low and the sky was bathed in soft firelight.
To most eyes, they appeared like travelers.
Three robed figures walking up the misty steps of Cloudmist Sect.
Their movements were slow, graceful — yet each footstep carried the weight of a thousand worlds.
But the beasts of the forest fled.
The wind itself turned away.
And every spiritual formation on the mountain… flickered.
The elders felt it first.
An unnatural pressure.
A presence that did not belong.
The Sect Leader stood from his meditation in a cold sweat.
> "This presence… isn't mortal."
---
Cloudmist Sect — Grand Plaza
The three figures arrived without announcing themselves.
The first was a woman with silver hair tied in knots like moons — eyes as calm as still lakes.
The second, a man in crimson robes and a jade flute — his face forever smiling, but with eyes that never blinked.
The third… wore black. Entirely black. No face could be seen beneath his veil, but his aura rippled like the edge of oblivion.
They did not speak at first.
And no one stopped them.
Not the guards.
Not the elders.
Not even the Sect Leader.
Only one person dared step forward.
A man with slightly greying hair. A wooden blade across his back. A worn robe. And the posture of someone who didn't care who you were.
Kang Woo.
---
He didn't bow.
Didn't speak.
Didn't even blink.
The woman stepped forward.
> "You are the one who burned the Crimson Moon Cult."
Kang Woo replied, "If you're with them, I'll finish the job."
The man in crimson chuckled. "Such venom. You're interesting."
The black-cloaked one finally moved — his voice like cracking ice.
> "We are envoys of the Immortal Court. Sent to observe a disruption in the mortal realm."
"Observe what?" Kang Woo asked, folding his arms.
> "You."
---
The moment he said that, the plaza darkened.
Clouds formed.
Qi itself trembled.
A few weaker disciples fainted from the sheer aura the three gave off.
But Kang Woo?
He sighed and picked at his ear.
"Is this how immortals say hello? With posturing and spiritual intimidation? How disappointing."
The woman narrowed her eyes. "You are not afraid?"
"I've already buried fear," Kang Woo said. "Along with three students."
A heavy silence fell.
The crimson man grinned wider. "Tell us… are you a threat to us?"
Kang Woo took a step forward.
"No."
A pause.
"…Then why—"
"But if you hurt anyone in this sect," he interrupted, voice cold, "I'll show you how I turned a cult to ash."
---
The woman looked at the other two. Then… she smiled.
> "He speaks like a king. Not a cultivator."
The man in crimson nodded. "He might be a monster."
The veiled one? He simply turned away and murmured, "...He's still mortal. But not for long."
---
They left without another word.
Cloudmist Sect breathed again.
But Kang Woo?
He stared at the sky.
> "They'll be back."
And this time…
They wouldn't come to observe.
They'd come to decide if the mortal realm still had room for someone like him.
Above the 99 Skies, in the Palace of Eternal Flame…
The three envoys knelt on golden clouds before a throne so vast, it touched the stars themselves. The divine pressure here was enough to crush planets, and yet—one man sat there, still and silent.
The Immortal Emperor.
Crowned in starlight, draped in robes of flowing law, he had ruled the Immortal Realm for over 300,000 years.
The silver-haired envoy spoke first.
> "The mortal cultivator... possesses power akin to early-stage Heaven Ascension. But what's concerning is not his cultivation — it's his spirit. He does not kneel."
The crimson man followed.
> "We attempted to pressure him. He mocked us. Without fear. Without reverence."
Finally, the veiled envoy raised his voice:
> "He has already tasted divinity. But without ascending. He is forging a power we cannot yet name."
Silence.
The throne rumbled slightly.
Then… the Immortal Emperor opened his eyes.
Stars flickered and died.
> "Issue a divine decree. Kang Woo of the mortal realm is to be eliminated."
A stir rippled across the court.
A general knelt forward. "Your Majesty, forgive me — but if he hasn't ascended, is this not interference?"
"Silence," the Emperor said calmly. "If one man can threaten the Immortal World from below… then he is not beneath us. He is against us."
The decree was written that very hour — sealed with the Emperor's divine will.
---
Meanwhile — Mortal Realm
Kang Woo stood at the edge of Unbound Peak, watching the sky.
His students were laughing behind him, sparring, planting new herbs, feeding spirit beasts.
He felt it before he saw it.
A ripple.
A crack.
A beam of golden law tore through the clouds like a falling sun.
A heavenly decree.
A divine seal, forged in starlight and fire, came crashing toward him — attached to it was a divine projection:
> "Kang Woo of the Mortal Realm. You are declared a threat to celestial balance.
Submit to judgment… or be erased."
He exhaled. "…Tch. As expected."
Then—
The decree detonated mid-air.
It didn't touch his real body — it struck a clone.
But not just any clone.
A clone of Kang Woo's made using his soul fragment — formed at Nascent Soul Realm strength.
The skies burned.
The heavens screamed.
The soul clone fought back for 6 seconds.
And before it was destroyed… it scratched the divine projection.
A Nascent Soul Realm mortal clone… damaging a divine decree from the heavens?
That was not just rebellion.
> That was war.
---
Immortal World — Two Hours Later
The burning remains of the decree fell back to the Immortal Palace.
The divine seal had a scar across it.
The Emperor's throne cracked beneath his grip.
> "He resisted judgment?"
> "His soul clone injured our decree…"
> "No mortal has done that since the Age of Devils..."
The Immortal Emperor stood. For the first time in 100,000 years.
> "Then let it be known—"
> "The Cloudmist Sect is now under divine scrutiny."
> "And Kang Woo… has declared war on the heavens."