In the heart of the Black Paradise Sect, the air inside the Matriarch’s Hall was quiet—but heavy with tension.
That silence broke as the great doors creaked open. A group of Inner Court disciples entered, escorted by a stern-looking Elder. Their faces were pale, their breathing ragged from their sprint back to the sect.
None of them had ever stepped foot in the Core Court before—and certainly not inside the Matriarch’s Hall. Every step they took echoed against the marble floors, making the vast, ornate space feel even more overwhelming.
The hall was grand, its high ceiling supported by pillars carved with ancient scripture and divine beasts. Gold and violet banners hung from above, and the air smelled faintly of a citrusy lavender and rose.
At the very end of the hall, seated upon a platform draped in luxurious silks and embroidered cushions, sat the one woman no one dared speak to without permission—Matriarch Shi Lan.
She set her book down slowly, her expression calm but unreadable.
"Well?" she said, her voice soft—but manding. "Speak."
The girls hesitated. Then, after exchanging nervous glances, one stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Matriarch... we witnessed something at the arena today. Flames and destruction—unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Explosions so powerful they shook the ground for kilometers."
She paused, steadying her breath. "We managed to escape far enough away, but... the arena didn’t survive. It collapsed pletely."
Another girl stepped in. "We believe the cause was a disciple. We believe that disciple was... Li Lian."
Matriarch Shi Lan’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You’re saying Li Lian
destroyed the entire arena? Alone?"
Her tone wasn’t angry—yet. But her skeptical gaze was sharp.
Destroying the Qi-reinforced stage was one thing. But leveling the entire arena? That was on par with a Divine Realm cultivator—or worse, someone who had truly lost control.
The first disciple nodded hesitantly. "Yes, Matriarch. We saw her in the sky above the arena... then—boom! Everything vanished. The whole arena went up in flames."
"’Boom,’ huh..." Shi Lan murmured, raising a single brow at the Elder standing beside the disciples. Her eyes silently demanded confirmation.
The Elder bowed her head respectfully. "It’s true, Matriarch. I have a clone present at the site now. The arena has been pletely destroyed. From what I can determine, it was caused by a sudden explosion of extreme magnitude."
Matriarch Shi closed her eyes for a moment, pressing her fingers gently to her temples.
’What the hell is that girl doing now...’ she thought.
Typically, no disciple should’ve had anywhere near the power to destroy the arena. However, Matriarch Shi Lan knew better.
Li Lian’s battle power had already touched the peak of the Divine Realm. The [ First Stage of Dragon Perception ] was not something to be taken lightly.
In fact, Shi Lan didn’t think it was an exaggeration to say—Li Lian might be the strongest 20-year-old to have ever lived in this country.
"She was flying, Matriarch," another girl added nervously. "With wings of flame. There were explosions everywhere. We couldn’t even get close. If we had... we might’ve died."
Their fear was genuine. Their sincerity, hard to doubt.
Matriarch Shi stopped rubbing her temples. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked down from the dais.
"Tell me about the explosion," she said calmly. "What did it look like?"
The girls began to speak over one another, each trying to describe the blinding lights, the thunderous detonation, the wave of heat that cracked the earth.
As their chaotic descriptions poured in, Shi Lan’s expression slowly darkened. She knew that technique.
[ Exploding Stars ].
Of course, she recognized it. She was the one who’d given Li Lian the artifact earrings to store them in.
"Hundreds of them?" she repeated.
"We’re not sure," one disciple said, shaking her head. "It might’ve been thousands."
A chill passed through the hall.
The color drained from Matriarch Shi’s face.
Theoretically, with that artifact, Li Lian could store hundreds—maybe more—but that was never the intended use. The technique itself wasn’t even the strongest in Lian’s arsenal, and there were much more useful ways to use it. Such as storing clones. What she didn’t know was that no other technique would’ve helped her stand a chance against Xiao Fang.
’Although her exploding stars are small and powerful, there is no versatility in them,’ she thought. ’I’ll have to lecture her about efficiency the next time I see her.’
Finally, the Matriarch stood from her beautifully adorned platform, her robes rustling softly. The pressure in the room shifted, thick and heavy.
"You’ve done well to report this," she said. "I’ll confirm the rest myself. You may go."
The girls bowed and hurriedly backed out, hearts still pounding from the sheer weight of her presence.
Then, with a flick of her sleeve, Shi Lan vanished in a streak of white light.
...
It didn’t take long for her to reach the arena.
But what she found made even Shi Lan’s eyes narrow.
The entire arena was gone.
Not damaged.
Gone.
Nothing remained but a massive crater, scorched black at the edges, its center cracked and smoldering as if struck by a heavenly tribulation.
Shi Lan hovered above the ruin in silence. Wind whistled through the remains, carrying the lingering heat of a battle that should not have happened.
She frowned deeply.
"That girl..."
Her voice was quiet, but the disappointment beneath it was sharp. Li Lian was seeming like a troublesome disciple the moment she left her master’s side.
She descended slowly, feet landing at the very edge of the crater. She sensed no corpses, no blood, no lingering spiritual signatures strong enough to suggest death. Only raw, unfiltered destruction.
"Where is she..." Shi Lan muttered.
She raised a hand, and a golden light flared to life above her palm—a shimmering inscription she had placed on Li Lian long ago, allowing her to track her disciple at all times.
The light spun, then pulsed with steady direction.
Her eyes sharpened.
"She’s still within the sect..."
And then, without another word, her figure vanished in a streak of white light—racing toward the trail Li Lian had left behind.
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