Blood on White Robes
Blood dripped from the edge of the sword.
One drop.
Then another.
They fell onto the stone floor with soft, hollow sounds that echoed through the silent hall.
A man walked slowly through the corridor.
His footsteps were steady.
Unhurried.
As if he were merely strolling through a garden rather than stepping over bodies.
His robe was red.
Not dyed red.
It had once been pure white.
But now it was soaked in blood.
The fabric clung to his body, heavy with the lives that had been spilled along his path.
The sword in his hand was still trembling faintly, as if remembering the screams it had just silenced.
Behind him lay dozens of corpses.
Disciples.
Guards.
Elders.
Anyone who had tried to stop him.
None had survived.
The man's face was cold.
Expressionless.
Once, he had been known for his gentle smile. The kind of smile that made younger disciples gather around him like moths around a flame.
Now there was nothing.
No warmth.
No mercy.
Only a terrifying calm.
At this moment, he looked less like a human cultivator and more like the earthly incarnation of the King of Hell.
No one would believe that this same man had once been cheerful.
Kind.
Patient.
Someone who laughed easily.
But that man no longer existed.
Today, only one thing remained.
A man who had come to kill.
He stopped in front of a pair of massive wooden doors.
The doors to the Grand Master's chamber.
They slowly creaked open.
Inside stood a man wearing golden robes.
The Grand Master of the sect.
Hao-Ran.
The moment Hao-Ran saw the figure standing in the doorway, the color drained from his face.
His hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
Cold.
An icy chill crawled up his spine.
The man standing before him looked like a demon who had climbed out of hell.
Blood covered his robe.
Blood stained his sword.
Blood dripped from his fingers.
Yet the most terrifying thing was his eyes.
Dark.
Empty.
Emotionless.
"Se… Senior Brother…" Hao-Ran's voice shook. "Yi… Yi Chen?"
The man raised an eyebrow.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Senior brother?"
A faint trace of mockery appeared in his tone.
"So you still remember that I'm your senior brother."
Hao-Ran's throat tightened.
"Yes… Senior… we can talk about this…"
But even as he spoke, fear twisted inside his chest.
Because he knew something very clearly.
This man had come here to kill him.
And no one in this sect could stop him.
Years ago, everyone believed Yi Chen would become the next Grand Master.
He was stronger than anyone of his generation.
Even the elders respected him.
But in the end—
Yi Chen refused the position.
And Hao-Ran became the Grand Master instead.
To outsiders, it looked like fortune.
To Hao-Ran…
It felt like humiliation.
Because everyone knew the truth.
He was the second choice.
The replacement.
The one who sat on the throne that Yi Chen had rejected.
At first, Hao-Ran told himself it didn't matter.
But over the years, the whispers grew louder.
"Yi Chen would have been a better Grand Master."
"If only Senior Brother Yi had accepted the position."
Those words slowly rotted his heart.
So he trained harder.
Used rare resources.
Consumed powerful elixirs.
Yet no matter how much he improved…
He was still far weaker than Yi Chen.
That gap never closed.
Eventually, jealousy turned into hatred.
And hatred turned into murder.
Hao-Ran secretly hired assassins.
Again.
And again.
And again.
But none of them ever returned.
Still—
Yi Chen had never confronted him.
Until today.
"You're alive…" Hao-Ran whispered.
Yi Chen tilted his head slightly.
"What? Were you hoping I had died?"
His voice remained eerily calm.
"Too bad."
"My disciple sacrificed his life to save me."
"So I came back."
"To repay your kindness… Grand Master."
Hao-Ran's legs suddenly gave out.
He fell to his knees.
"Please! Spare me!" he cried desperately.
"I was blinded by jealousy!"
Yi Chen stared at him.
"Jealous?"
His tone finally grew colder.
"I left everything to you."
"The position of Grand Master."
"The authority of the sect."
"So tell me."
"What exactly did I have that made you jealous?"
Hao-Ran laughed bitterly.
"What did you have?"
"Everything!"
"Master's care!"
"Everyone's respect!"
"Strength!"
"And me?"
"I was always the weak one!"
"The pitiful one!"
"Even becoming Grand Master only happened because you rejected the position!"
His voice cracked with madness.
"It felt like I was given the title out of pity!"
"I hated you!"
Yi Chen sighed softly.
"You're a fool."
"I began cultivating when I was nine."
"You started when you were sixteen."
"There was always going to be a difference."
Hao-Ran sneered.
"You're only one year older than me!"
Yi Chen's eyes darkened.
"I'm much older than you think."
"I was already one hundred and twenty years old when Master accepted you."
Hao-Ran froze.
"What…?"
"I am the reincarnation of the previous Grand Master."
"Master took me in because he recognized my soul."
"There was never a world where you could surpass me."
Hao-Ran slowly stepped backward in horror.
Yi Chen continued calmly.
"I knew you were sending assassins."
"I spared you."
"I stayed away from the sect."
"But you crossed a line."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"You framed my disciple."
"You caused his death."
Silence filled the room.
Hao-Ran crawled backward.
"Please forgive me!"
"I swear I'll change!"
"I don't want to die!"
Yi Chen stared at him quietly.
"You don't want to die?"
His voice was distant.
"That's strange."
"Those were the exact words my disciple said…"
"When your men stabbed him."
Before Hao-Ran could react—
A flash of sword light cut through the air.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then Hao-Ran's head slid from his shoulders.
It rolled across the floor.
Blood sprayed from the neck of the corpse as the body collapsed.
Yi Chen turned away.
Behind him, the throne room became a silent tomb.
When he stepped outside, several elders were waiting.
They bowed deeply.
"Are you here to fight me?" Yi Chen asked calmly.
The elders shook their heads immediately.
"We would never dare."
One elder hesitated before speaking.
"Why not stay and become the new Grand Master?"
Yi Chen walked past them.
"I'm not interested."
And he never looked back.
Hours later, Yi Chen stood before a lonely grave.
The blood had been washed away.
His robe was once again pure white.
His long hair flowed behind him like falling silk.
But his eyes…
His eyes looked broken.
"I'm sorry."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"This is all my fault."
A single tear slid down his cheek.
His disciple had died protecting him.
One year ago.
The memory still burned like fire.
His disciple had once stood before him, nervous and trembling.
"Master…"
"There's something I must tell you."
Yi Chen remembered the boy's eyes.
Bright.
Sincere.
Full of courage.
"I… I love you."
The confession shattered the peaceful relationship they once shared.
Yi Chen panicked.
Ashamed of his own feelings, he pushed the boy away and entered seclusion.
For an entire year.
When he returned—
His disciple was gone.
The sect claimed he had murdered other disciples.
Yi Chen immediately knew it was a lie.
His disciple would never do such a thing.
Using a soul-tracking artifact, he searched for him.
When he finally got close—
Assassins appeared.
At the worst moment possible, Yi Chen's illness flared up.
His strength collapsed.
The battle quickly turned against him.
Then suddenly—
Someone rushed into the fight.
His disciple.
They fought side by side.
But Yi Chen was too weak.
An assassin lunged forward with a sword aimed directly at his heart.
Before the blade struck—
A body stepped in front of him.
The sword pierced straight through.
Blood splattered across Yi Chen's face.
"Huang Le!"
Yi Chen caught him as he fell.
Desperate, he took out a Heart-Saving Pill.
But Huang Le pushed it away.
"It's… Jugwi poison…"
"There's no cure…"
He raised a trembling hand and wiped Yi Chen's tears.
"I'm happy… I saw you one last time."
"No…"
Yi Chen's voice broke.
"You can't die."
Huang Le smiled weakly.
"If I'm reborn…"
"I don't want to be your disciple again."
"Why?"
"Because I want to be your wife."
Yi Chen held him tightly.
"I'll wait for you."
"Even if you're reborn as a man again…"
"I'll still marry you."
Huang Le smiled.
Then his breathing stopped.
Back in the present, Yi Chen stood before the grave.
"I'll wait for you."
Even if it took a hundred years.
Even a thousand.
Somewhere in the world—
His disciple would be reborn.
And when that day came…
Yi Chen would find him again.