Viang, capital of Lan Xang.[1]

At the campus grounds of the National University of Lan Xang, many students stuck their heads out of their dorm rooms, staring in amazement at a rare spectacle up in the sky.

Countless crows were converging from all directions, swiftly transforming into a tide of crows. Cell phones and cameras were flashed and snapped away incessantly. Zhou Gu glanced at the sky. Then, he made a hand seal, and one of the crows that had formed from pigeons immediately vanished from the sky and appeared on his hand.

It was a messenger bird.

A split second later, he rushed back into his dorm room, locked the door after him, and vanished from the room altogether.

Boom! When he reappeared, a massive wave of fire erupted in the pitch black skies above. This was a city that was built by the river, almost akin to Eastern Wu.[2] That said, it was clearly a replica of Eastern Wu back in its full glory and splendour. Green “Wu” flags flew majestically across the entire city, yet it almost looked as though they were shuddering in fear from the massive ghastly face that was slowly descending from the dark skies above.

His appearance was different from the rest of the Yin spirits around. It wasn’t lit with the usual green netherflames. Instead, the fire that blazed was a Ninefold Karmic Soulfire, striking red in colour, and qualitatively more fiery and fearsome than all others around. This was Fire God Zhou Yu’s true body - one that regular netherflames were unable to even get close to.

Waves of flames rippled out...