108: Domain Seal

As Shi Potian completely vanished, the Stellar Soul Thunder Hell that enveloped the sky slowly receded like a tide.

Bai Xiao's figure appeared in mid-air.

The glowing wings on his back retracted their brilliance, and the platinum flames on his body also subsided.

His gaze swept across the ravaged battlefield below, finally settling on a corner of the city wall.

There, a hunched figure leaned against a broken parapet, his breath a flickering candle in the wind.

It was Xuan Sacrificial Priest.

This old man of Panshi City had witnessed Shi Potian's madness and downfall with his own eyes.

Now, his life's flame was about to burn out.

Su Jin's figure appeared beside Xuan Sacrificial Priest; he could feel the dense aura of death emanating from the old man.

Xuan Sacrificial Priest's cloudy eyes struggled to turn, looking at Su Jin, yet seeming to see through him to the distant past.

His lips moved, his voice hoarse.

"A hundred... a hundred years ago... Panshi City wasn't like this..."

Su Jin said nothing, listening quietly.

"Back then... Stone... was still a greenhorn kid..."

Xuan Sacrificial Priest's lips struggled to form a slight arc, as if reminiscing, or perhaps mocking.

"He said he wanted Panshi City to become the most impregnable fortress in Woma World... so no one would dare bully us again..."

The old man's eyes reflected scenes from over a hundred years ago.

At that time, although Panshi City was also called Panshi.

It was far from as grand as it is today; its walls were built from bluestone mixed with earth, nowhere near today's steel fortress.

A young man with a still-tender face but bright eyes, that was the young Shi Potian.

He stood on the simple city wall, full of youthful vigor, planning the future with the then middle-aged Xuan Sacrificial Priest beside him.

"He said... he wanted every citizen of Panshi City to be able to hold their heads high..."

Xuan Sacrificial Priest's voice grew lower and lower, carrying deep fatigue and unwillingness.

"But... the outsiders... they came..."

The old man's eyes instantly filled with bone-deep hatred, and the cloudy tears finally fell.

"The city fell... overnight... there was fire everywhere... cries everywhere..."

His voice began to choke.

"My wife and children... Stone's parents... brothers... clansmen... all died at the hands of those bastards..."

"By the time we returned, it was all too late..."

Xuan Sacrificial Priest's body began to tremble slightly.

"From that day on, Stone changed... I changed too... Panshi City changed too..."

Su Jin was silent.

He could feel the deep-seated pain and despair from Xuan Sacrificial Priest's fragmented words.

This was war, this was the sorrow of the weak.

The so-called "hegemony war," for the inhabitants of these native worlds, was perhaps one catastrophe after another.

"We swore... to get revenge... to make Panshi City truly impregnable... that's why there was the 'heart of god'..."

Xuan Sacrificial Priest's voice weakened, but a strange light suddenly flashed in his eyes, "That was... our last hope... and also... a curse..."

He looked at Su Jin, his gaze complex.

"You... are also outsiders... what will you... bring?"

Su Jin's heart stirred slightly.

He could understand Xuan Sacrificial Priest's feelings.

He was not the savior of this world; his purpose here was for the Blue Star Alliance, for his own territory.

But he also disliked senseless slaughter and destruction.

"I don't know what I will bring."

Su Jin replied calmly.

"But I know that I will, in my own way, protect everything I want to protect."

"In this world, weakness is the original sin."

"If you don't want to be destroyed, don't want to be enslaved, don't want to repeat your tragedy, then you can only become stronger at all costs!"

He spoke the last sentence very softly, but with determination.

Xuan Sacrificial Priest stared at him for a few seconds, his cloudy gaze seeming to clear a little, or perhaps it was a final burst of clarity before death.

He slowly closed his eyes, a faint, bitter smile lingering at the corner of his mouth.

"Protection, huh... Heh heh... Well... At least... it's better... than destruction..."

His head drooped weakly, the last spark of life completely extinguished.

This old man, who had protected Panshi City for over a hundred years and been twisted for over a hundred years.

Ultimately, along with Shi Potian's departure, he too walked towards the end.

Su Jin sighed softly, feeling a slight pang in his heart.

Become stronger!

Must become stronger!

Not just for points, for resources, but more importantly, to one day truly control his own destiny.

And not be drawn into others' games, becoming an egg beneath a fallen nest.

At this moment, Bai Xiao silently appeared behind Su Jin.

"Lord."

He still maintained his stern expression, but in the depths of his eyes, a platinum light seemed to flow.

It seemed his power had completely stabilized at the eleventh tier.

He opened his hand, and a small, irregular, dark-red crystal shard lay quietly in his palm.

Roughly palm-sized, its surface was covered with cracks, yet it still emitted faint and eerie energy fluctuations.

One could vaguely hear countless souls wailing within it.

"A fragment of the heart of god," Bai Xiao said concisely.

Su Jin took it; it was cold to the touch, carrying a chilling evil energy.

He could feel a cold power attempting to invade his mind.

At the same time, the infinity symbol on the back of his left hand warmed slightly, seemingly developing a certain craving for this fragment.

[Tip: Detected special item "heart of god fragment (damaged)", containing a large amount of chaotic soul power and weak world origin power. Can be attempted for special building enhancement or special unit research, but carries extreme risk.]

Su Jin raised an eyebrow; it was indeed a good item, but also a troublesome one.

However, now was not the time for research.

"Well done." Su Jin nodded at Bai Xiao.

Breaking through to the eleventh tier in battle and immediately activating his domain to counter-kill, Bai Xiao's performance was impeccable.

This guy really went all out this time.

Bai Xiao nodded slightly: "Fighting for my Lord is my duty."

Su Jin smiled.

"Clear the battlefield, tally casualties, receive prisoners." Su Jin gave his orders, then his gaze turned to the tallest building in Panshi City—the City Lord's Mansion.

"Let's go see what treasures this City Lord Shi's mansion hides."

When Su Jin and Bai Xiao stepped into the empty, silent main hall of the City Lord's Mansion, arriving before the massive stone throne symbolizing Panshi City's highest authority.

A cold system prompt sounded in his mind:

[Ding! Congratulations to Blue Star Alliance Lord Su Jin, for successfully occupying the 'Inheritance-grade' city-state of Woma World—Panshi City!]

[Panshi City has lost its original City Lord, and its core resistance forces have been cleared, meeting the conditions for seizing the 'domain crest' !]

[Generating Panshi City 'domain crest' ...]

Before Su Jin's eyes, light began to gather above the massive stone throne.

Countless complex runes appeared out of thin air, intertwining and coiling, gradually forming an ancient stone seal emanating a thick, earthy yellow glow.

Engraved on the seal was the majestic phantom of Panshi City.

[Panshi City domain crest (Inheritance-grade) has been generated! Holding this domain crest signifies your absolute dominion over Panshi City! Hegemony War Points +10000!]

[Effect 1: Territory Fusion — You can choose to merge this domain crest into your main city, allowing your main city to gain some of Panshi City's characteristics (e.g., increased city defense durability, a slight increase in earth-element resource production, increased training speed for specific units, etc., specific effects depend on the main city's level and characteristics).]