Year 988, Hundred Sky Mountains

Like every other day for the past nine months since Taranis El Thunderbane learned to walk, the Hundred Sky Mountains bustled with talk of their prince.

"Did you hear? The Prince has defeated the three-headed lion."

"Three-headed lion!? Isn't that beast as strong as a Late-stage Formation Realm? But then again, if it's Prince Taranis, it's certainly possible."

"The heavens have truly blessed us this time. The rate at which Prince Taranis is growing is completely unprecedented. He learned to walk at just three months of age, and now, at only fourteen months old, he has defeated a three-headed lion."

"Not just that. He didn't even kill the lion after defeating it. He will become a great king—one with ferocious power, yet who uses it only against necessary evil."

The members of the Thunderbane clan murmured among themselves, their faces tugged into smiles, their voices carrying reverence and pride.

At the peak of Heaven's Last Step, the door to the royal chamber suddenly opened, and Taranis walked in. His blonde hair had already reached the back of his neck, and despite his age, his body resembled that of a five-year-old child.

"Mother, I've returned," Taranis announced, his ethereal golden eyes glowing faintly in the chamber's light.

"Oh dear gods!" Aestra exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. With hurried yet graceful steps, the otherworldly beauty reached her son standing at the chamber's entrance.

"What were you up to this time? Your robes are a mess," Aestra scolded, pulling Taranis's ear. He was covered in dirt and filth from head to toe.

"M-mother, I was playing with Zarix," Taranis confessed, touching his mother's hand to lessen the strain on his ear.

"Zarix?" Aestra asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. He is my new friend. At first, he tried to eat me, but when I punished his three heads with my fists, he quickly apologized by bowing his head so we could become friends."

"Are you talking about the three-headed lion?" Aestra inquired, loosening her grip.

Taranis nodded before running toward the table at the center of the chamber, which was filled with the finest dishes of the continent.

"Taranis!? What did I teach you about table manners?" Aestra scolded, her voice sharp yet gentle.

Taranis halted mid-step, then moved to the bathroom connected to the chamber, only emerging after washing himself thoroughly.

"Mother, help me," Taranis whimpered as he stepped out.

A white silken robe with golden embroidery hung loosely over his small body as he clumsily walked toward her.

Aestra let out a soft chuckle, realizing that despite his appearance, her son was still only a one-year-old child.

With elegant steps, she approached him, sat before him, and adjusted his robe.

"Son, your father will return from the frontlines tomorrow," Aestra revealed, a beautiful smile tugging at her jade-like face.

"Father will!?" Taranis exclaimed. "I must prepare myself then!"

His eyes gleaming with anticipation, Taranis ran toward the steel sword crafted specifically for his small body.

"Son, eat your dinner first," Aestra called out.

"Later, Mother!" Taranis replied, already halfway out of the hall.

---

"Aurelion, you mustn't worry. Lunaria is a strong woman. She will be fine," the scar-faced man—also the king's elder brother—reassured him as they rode on horseback.

Aurelion, whose demeanor appeared cold and expressionless to everyone else, was about to respond when a voice came from the man riding between them.

"His worries are justified, Elder Brother. When Aestra was expecting, the battle I fought within myself to maintain composure was far more harrowing than anything we face on the frontlines."

"I'm not worried, Your Majesty," Aurelion replied at last. His pride was too great to admit the concern that only Voltrex and his elder brother could see—if it was pride at all, or something deeper.

The three cultivators were followed by an army of a hundred elite, battle-hardened soldiers. Each step they took was perfectly synchronized as they ran, matching the pace of their commanders.

After a restless march of many days, the army reached a fog-laden land where the sky was adorned with a hundred mighty mountains, each more beautiful and heavenly than the last.

"No matter how many times I witness this spectacle, it always looks so divine," Voltrex murmured, his shimmering eyes fixed upon the sky where his home and family awaited.

The reason for Voltrex's hurried return was simple—his right-hand man and closest friend, Aurelion, was soon to welcome a child.

As soon as they entered the foggy land, their bodies passed through an invisible barrier, teleporting them directly onto a massive array at the base of one of the sky mountains.

This elegant mountain, bustling with a lively market of cultivators, was known as Heaven's First Step, as every individual entering or leaving the Hundred Sky Mountains had to pass through it.

The moment the army appeared, the bustling market fell into pin-drop silence. People dropped to their knees, bowing in reverence at the return of their king.

"We are blessed by Your Majesty's safe return!" the crowd cried out, their voices loud yet respectful as their foreheads touched the ground.

"Rise, everyone!" Voltrex declared, his calm voice laced with Soulforce, ensuring that every being present heard his command.

Turning toward the army, he spoke again. "You are dismissed."

In an instant, Voltrex, his elder brother, and Aurelion vanished, reappearing atop another mighty sky mountain overflowing with forests of beautiful, heavenly flowering trees.

This elegant mountain was called Everbloom Peak, a domain reserved for the Flowerbanes. True to its name, the mountain defied nature itself, blooming eternally with the freshness of spring regardless of the outside world's seasons.

Without wasting a second, the trio reached the summit, where a colossal tree—more akin to a small hill—stood, its branches adorned with otherworldly golden petals.

This mysterious tree is also known as the World Tree. Until last year, its bark had been dry and lifeless, appearing close to death. Every house in the Hundred Sky Mountains was built from wood carved from this sacred tree, and the Flowerbane clan itself resided upon its branches.

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