In the chaos of the Republic of China era, a warlord's iron heel closed in, seizing an old street on behalf of foreigners.
Chen Chu, a disciple of the Xingyi Sect, signed a contract on the spot, asking only for a barren mountain thirty li outside the city.
His fellow disciples called him a coward, his master expelled him from the sect, and everyone laughed that he'd chosen his own grave and was waiting to die.
No one knew that beneath that mass grave lay a deadly earth vein.
The [Celestial Armament Forge Record] awakened.
The earth vein's baleful fire became a furnace, cold magnetic ore was forged into impregnable fortifications, true energy resonated with machinery, and troops in black armor and heavy gear burst from the ground.
Six months later.
The old-street disciples were waiting for their silver dollars when an entire warlord regiment came to massacre the street.
As blood ran down the long street, the mountain pass burst open with a roar.
Chen Chu drove a heavy assault vehicle down the mountain, its treads crushing a sea of blood beneath them.
The warlords and foreigners thought this was the end.
Who could have guessed that deep in the barren mountain, a stone tablet bore five carved characters: The South Heaven Gate Project.
Chengying mechs were deployed in formation, Xuannü aerospace fighters tore through the clouds, the keel of the Luan Bird aerospace carrier rose from beneath the earth, and Baidi fighters streaked into the sky with blazing afterburners.
A mountain of graves became a celestial pass hanging over the head of a chaotic age.
With the smoke of battle still lingering, Chen Chu stood atop his armored vehicle and looked down at the people kneeling across the city.
"The South Heaven Gate is open, and all nations bow. Half a year ago, you laughed as I picked out my grave. If you want to live today, look up at me."
