Force consolidation and combat power enhancement

Nidao Fortress.

This steel fortress, centered on a small, dead planet and wrapped in layers of countless Formations and Restrictions, floated silently in the depths of a Desolate Star Sector in the Middle Universe Domain. It was not as ostentatious as Tianyan Star, but rather like a Vicious Beast dormant in the darkness, exuding an aura that was cold, murderous, and unapproachable.

The "Nidao Palace" in the deepest part of the fortress had a high, vast dome forged from a single piece of Obsidian Star Iron, embedded with dim Star Sand to simulate a miniature, static starry sky. The floor of the great hall was as reflective as a mirror, reflecting the starlight from the dome, making it appear even more vast and desolate.

At this moment, however, the great hall was filled with people.

Dozens of figures stood on both sides, their auras complex and varying in strength, though the lowest was at the Middle-level Sovereign Realm. They were dressed differently; some were covered in blood and Evil Qi, like ruthless bandits of the star sea; others had cold and eerie auras, hailing from secretive organizations in the Desolate Star Sector; still others had flickering eyes, carrying a sense of unease and hesitation after their surrender.

Blood Fang, the leader of the Blood Fang Pirate Group, stood at the very front on the left. The scar on his face looked even more ferocious under the dim starlight of the hall, but at this moment, he kept his head slightly lowered, his posture respectful. Behind him were several trusted lieutenants and leaders of small to medium-sized factions who had surrendered later and been subdued by Nightmare through iron-fisted means.

Everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed on the figure perched high upon the black iron throne at the end of the great hall.

Nightmare.

He sat there casually, not even deliberately exuding any pressure. Yet, an invisible, heart-palpitating silence enveloped the entire great hall. Having just returned from the Primordial Dao Palace, he seemed to still have a lingering trace of blood and Chaos from the ancient battlefield on him. Although his Dao Master Realm Mid-stage cultivation had been restrained, it was like a peerless, vicious blade hidden in its sheath; its mere existence was enough to make the air freeze.

He was toying with a dark purple token in his hand—the very core token obtained from the vice leader of the Tianyan Alliance—his fingertips unconsciously rubbing against the cold patterns on the edge of the token.

Time passed second by second, and no one dared to make a sound; only slightly heavy breathing echoed faintly in the vast, empty hall.

Finally, Nightmare raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping calmly over every person below. That gaze was not sharp, yet it seemed to be able to pierce through flesh and blood, looking directly into the most secret thoughts in the depths of their Souls.

"Are everyone here?" he spoke, his voice not loud, yet it rang clearly in everyone's ears.

Blood Fang immediately bowed and replied: "Reporting to the Master, all faction leaders who received the summons and are currently at Nidao Fortress, totaling thirty-seven people, are all here." His voice carried undisguised awe.

"Very good." Nightmare casually placed the token on the armrest of the throne, making a soft "tap" sound, which was exceptionally clear in the silence.

He leaned forward slightly, his hands folded on his knees, his tone as flat as if he were talking about an insignificant matter:

"From today on, there is no more Blood Fang Pirate Group, no more so-and-so association from the Desolate Star Sector, and no other messy names."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room again.

"You, and all the factions, planets, and resource points you control... will all be merged into a new organization."

"The name will be the 'Hongmeng Nidao Alliance'."

"I am the Alliance Master."

"You are the first batch of backbone members under the Alliance Master."

As his words fell, there was a deathly silence in the hall, followed by a suppressed intake of breath and subtle commotion. Although they had been mentally prepared, many were still shocked to hear such a direct and unquestionable declaration of integration. This meant they had completely lost their independent banner and were henceforth tied to the war chariot of this Alliance Master, who was like a god of slaughter.

"What, does anyone have an objection?" Nightmare's voice was still flat, with no discernible joy or anger.

A brief silence.

Suddenly, in the crowd on the right, a short, stocky, bearded middle-aged Cultivator with an aura at the Early Stage of the High Sovereign Realm stepped forward. He was the leader of the "Star-Splitting Chamber of Commerce," who originally controlled several highly profitable rare mineral Star Roads. He had not joined for long, and his arrogance had not yet been completely worn away.

"Alliance Master!" He cupped his fists, his voice loud and carrying a touch of a merchant's slickness, yet also hiding a hint of testing. "Integrating forces to plot a great cause, we naturally support it. It's just... is the name 'Hongmeng Nidao Alliance' a bit... too conspicuous? Although our strength has greatly increased, the Tianyan Alliance is deeply rooted after all, and there are other domains eyeing us covetously. Shouldn't we hide our sharpness for now and bide our time..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Nightmare on the throne gently raised his eyelids.

Without any warning, without any energy fluctuation.

The Star-Splitting leader, who was talking eloquently, stopped abruptly. The expression on his face instantly froze, his eyes widened, as if he wanted to look down at his chest.

There, a bowl-sized hole, transparent from front to back, appeared out of nowhere. There was no splashing of blood, because the edges of the wound were instantly covered and burned by a thin layer of cold black flame, vaporizing flesh and bone directly. Through the hole, one could even see the terrified face of another Cultivator behind him.

The Star-Splitting leader opened his mouth, making a "hissing" leaking sound in his throat. His body swayed, then with a "thump," he fell straight backward, crashing onto the smooth black iron floor with a dull thud.

A faint wisp of Divine Soul just wanted to escape from between his eyebrows, but it was caught by a wisp of Demonic Flame that appeared from nowhere, and with a "chi" sound, it turned into green smoke.

High Sovereign Realm Early Stage, leader of the Star-Splitting Chamber of Commerce, fallen.

From the moment Nightmare raised his eyelids to the moment this person fell and his Divine Soul was destroyed, the whole process took less than a breath. It was so fast that the vast majority of people didn't even see what happened.

Inside the great hall, there was deathly silence.

Everyone froze in place, cold sweat instantly soaking their backs. Those who had flickering eyes and similar thoughts in their hearts suddenly felt a chill rush from the soles of their feet to their scalps, and all their little thoughts were instantly frozen and crushed.

Nightmare acted as if he had just swatted a fly, his gaze calmly turning to two other leaders whose eyes had also been unusual just now.

The two of them knelt down with a "thump," knocking their heads against the ground, their voices trembling:

"Alliance Master is wise! The Hongmeng Nidao Alliance will shake the Universe! Your subordinates are willing to follow to the death, and will never have two hearts!"

"This subordinate seconds it! Wherever the Alliance Master's sword points is where we shall die!"

Nightmare withdrew his gaze and leaned back on the throne again, as if the bloody display of authority had never happened.

"It seems that everyone has no objections." He said lightly.

"We obey the Alliance Master's orders!" This time, all the leaders, including Blood Fang, responded in unison, their voices loud and orderly, without any discordant noise.

"Blood Fang." Nightmare called his name.

"This subordinate is here!" Blood Fang immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"From today on, you are the commander of the Nidao Alliance's 'Vanguard Battalion'. I give you one month to integrate the combat personnel of all affiliated factions and train them according to the 'Introduction to Nidao Battle Formations' I have given you." Nightmare flicked his finger, and a blood-colored Jade Slip flew towards Blood Fang.

Blood Fang caught it with both hands, swept it with his Divine Thought, and immediately showed ecstasy and solemnity: "This subordinate accepts the order! I will definitely not live up to the Master's high expectations!" The battle Formations recorded in the Jade Slip were exquisite and fierce, far beyond the scattered fighting methods of the star sea pirates.

"As for the others, your original duties remain unchanged for now; cooperate with Blood Fang in the integration. Within the Nidao Alliance, rewards and punishments are based on military exploits and loyalty." Nightmare finished speaking and waved his hand.

Dozens of Storage Rings appeared in the air of the great hall, accurately flying towards each leader, including the two who had just knelt.

"These are resources obtained from the Dao Palace and Tianyan Alliance Cultivators, as well as some basic fragments of the Nidao Legacy. How to use them is up to you. I only have one requirement—" Nightmare's voice turned cold, "Next time we go on an expedition, I don't want to see waste."

The leaders took the rings, swept them quickly with their Divine Thought, and expressions of excitement immediately appeared on their faces. The mountains of spiritual materials, Medicinal Pill, and Cultivation Technique Jade Slips inside, and even some treasures that were very beneficial for them to break through their Bottlenecks! The slight resentment that had just arisen due to the integration was instantly washed away by these tangible benefits.

"Thank you, Alliance Master, for your generous gift! We will surely devote our lives to repay you!"

Nightmare ignored their pledges of loyalty and turned his gaze to the figures standing in the shadows of the throne—his most core team, the Nidao Guards.

"These are yours." He threw out a few more Storage Rings with deeper colors. Inside were purer Origin crystal cores, complete Nidao Divine Ability Jade Slips, and a large amount of essence stripped from Dao Master Realm Cultivators.

The Nidao Guards accepted them silently, bowed slightly, and fiery flames flashed in their eyes. They could feel that with these resources, breaking through to the High Sovereign Realm was just around the corner.

After doing this, Nightmare picked up the Tianyan Alliance core token again.

"According to the star chart and aura imprint in this token..." His fingertips slid across the surface of the token, and a wisp of Demonic Flame seeped into it, stimulating a miniature three-dimensional star chart light and shadow that hovered above the token. In the star chart, countless points of light flickered, and one star, specially marked and emitting a faint golden glow, was particularly eye-catching.

"The headquarters of the Tianyan Alliance, 'Tianyan Star', is here." Nightmare pointed to the golden star, "Located at the core of the 'Tianyan Great Star Cluster', it has been managed for over one hundred thousand years, and it is said that the outer perimeter defense has nine layers, as solid as a fortress."

His tone was flat, as if he were stating a fact unrelated to himself.

"For the next three days, I will be in seclusion. To stabilize my cultivation and deduce a strategy to break the enemy."

"Blood Fang, the integration and training of the Vanguard Battalion will begin immediately. As for the rest of you, attend to your duties, reorganize your headquarters, and stand by at all times."

"Three days later, I want to see an army capable of fighting hard battles."

"Our first target—" Nightmare stood up, and in his Chaos-colored pupils, cold killing intent flowed like substance.

"Flatten Tianyan Star and let the three words 'Tianyan Alliance' be erased from the Universe."

As his words fell, his figure flickered and he had already disappeared from the throne, leaving only a cold echo reverberating in the great hall:

"Dismissed."

The leaders took a deep breath, suppressing the shock and boiling Battle Intent in their hearts, and bowed in unison: "Respectfully send off the Alliance Master!"

It was not until Nightmare's aura completely disappeared into the depths of the fortress that everyone dared to slowly straighten up. As they looked at each other, they saw the lingering shock in each other's eyes, as well as the flames of fear and greed that had been forcibly ignited.

Nidao Fortress, this silent steel beast, began to emit a low and dangerous roar from this moment on. Countless orders were issued, resources were distributed, personnel were mobilized, and the shouts of battle Formation training began to sound in specific training grounds.

A storm was quietly gathering in the depths of this Desolate Star Sector.

And at the center of the storm, Nightmare was already in the deepest closed-door cultivation room of Nidao Fortress, where the Spiritual Qi and Nidao Origin were the most concentrated.

He sat cross-legged, with the Tianyan Alliance core token floating in front of him, along with an ancient Jade Slip obtained from the top floor of the Dao Palace, which recorded part of the defensive structure of Tianyan Star.

His eyes were slightly closed, and his mind was immersed.

Inside his body, his newly promoted Dao Master Realm Mid-stage cultivation was slowly circulating, blending with the Hongmeng Chaos Reverse Dao Demonic Star Flame, exuding heart-palpitating fluctuations.

In his mind, countless thoughts of tactical deduction, power allocation, and Formation breaking began to turn crazily like precision gears.

Three days.

Three days later, where the blade points—

Tianyan Star!