The sky roared as the heavens unleashed their fury.
Countless bolts of lightning tore through the air, crackling with righteous wrath, aimed like spears at the flaming figure who hovered above the cracked earth.
Jun Long's divine flames rippled outward, forming a blazing shield that absorbed the heavenly assault without faltering.
"I am no longer your mortal plaything," he bellowed, voice echoing across the realms. "I am the Flame Sovereign. I burn to remake the heavens themselves!"
With a sweep of his hand, his flames surged into a roaring tempest, engulfing the first wave of Heavenly Sentinels sent by Empress Lanyu.
Their immortal forms burned like paper in the inferno.
But this was only the beginning.
The First Clash
From the horizon, the Heavens' elite descended—the Celestial Legion, clad in armor woven from starlight and storm.
Their leader, General Xianyu, stepped forward, his eyes cold as a frozen lake.
"Jun Long," he said grimly, "you have defied the Heavenly Edict. Surrender and accept judgment, or face oblivion."
Jun Long smiled beneath the flames licking his face.
"Oblivion is what you fear," he replied. "But I will be the blaze that consumes your fear and all your false justice."
With that, his phoenix wings unfurled fully, radiant and unstoppable.
The two forces clashed — divine fire against celestial steel, rebellion against order, will against fate.
Shen Lianhua's Resolve
Watching from a distance, Shen Lianhua's heart tore in two.
She had loved the man who hid in caves with her, the fragile boy who carried her last pill.
Now, that man was gone.
In his place was a blazing god, defying everything she believed in.
"Torn between loyalty to the Heavenly Court and the man I love…" she whispered, tears shining like stars.
She clenched her fists.
"If he is to become a rebel, then I will stand beside him. But only if he promises to never lose himself."
The Heavenly Court's Gamble
Back in the Celestial Tribunal Realm, Empress Lanyu watched the battle unfold through the jade orb.
"The Flame Sovereign rises too quickly," she murmured.
She summoned the Celestial Council.
"Prepare the Celestial Seals," she ordered. "If the heavenly tribulation and legion cannot break him, we will bind him with divine law itself."
A New Dawn of War
The battlefield ignited with cosmic fury.
Jun Long's flames clashed against the celestial forces, carving a path through divine legions.
His soul ached with every strike—not just from the pain of battle, but from the weight of becoming something neither mortal nor immortal.
"I will burn away the old order," he vowed. "And from these ashes, a new world will rise."
Cliffhanger
Suddenly, the skies darkened further.
From beyond the realms came a voice—an ancient power older than the stars themselves.
"Jun Long… your flame will either purify the cosmos or consume it utterly. Choose your path."
The voice vanished, leaving a chilling silence.
Jun Long's eyes blazed with unyielding fire.
"I choose to burn forever."