The valley stank of blood and shattered illusions.
Jin Mu-Won stood among the wreckage, wind tugging at his crimson-stained robes, his breath a steady storm of Qi. Around him, the bodies of fallen cultists smoldered, their blackened veins glowing faintly from residual curse energy.
But the air was silent.
Too silent.
He tightened his grip on his spear. Something was wrong.
"Lin Xue," he called without turning. "Status?"
She approached briskly, frost lingering in her aura. "We lost eight from the Jade Lotus. Two from Violet Flame. Dozens wounded. But… we stopped the ritual. The altar's been reduced to dust."
Jin nodded, though his brow furrowed. "It was a fake. The real altar's somewhere else."
Yu Fei joined them next, arms covered in ink and burn marks from her talismans. "I've already dispatched shadow crows to all cardinal sectors. If the cult is shifting their rituals elsewhere, we'll sniff it out."
Bai Yiran tossed a bloodied blade to the ground, her usual smirk faded. "Let me guess—now we have to chase the next 'maybe' altar across Murim?"
"No," Jin said, his voice low. "We make them come to us."
He knelt and drew a symbol in the dust with his spear. A binding rune — modified.
"I'm done playing defense."
---
Hours later, the survivors returned to the Jade Lotus Sect. But the mood was not relief.
It was blame.
The council chamber, once a place of unity, had become a crucible of accusation. Sect leaders shouted. Fingers pointed.
"You led them into a trap!"
"My son lies wounded!"
"You promised the Valley was the source!"
Jin stood before them all, arms folded, his aura calm but unyielding. Lin Xue stood at his right. Yu Fei and Bai Yiran flanked the rear like guardians of a sovereign.
Master Han Baek snarled, "You gamble with our lives based on scraps of prophecy!"
Master Yun raised a hand, his voice cool. "Enough. Do you not see what happened? They lured us to the wrong place, yes. But Jin Mu-Won shattered their altar, even if it was decoy. He disrupted their plans."
Lady Chu Lian's voice was sweet poison. "Or did he play right into them?"
Jin met her gaze directly. "If I hadn't intervened, you wouldn't be here to accuse me."
Her smile faltered.
Master Yun stepped forward. "Enough division. We've confirmed two things: First, the Red Moon Cult has infiltrated our intelligence networks. Second, Jin Mu-Won's breakthrough has altered the flow of fate itself."
That word again. Fate.
Jin felt it pressing at him like a veil—thinner now, but still resisting. Whatever gave him this second life… it was watching.
---
That night, Jin sat atop the Jade Lotus waterfall, legs crossed, the roar of falling water at his back. He was trying to sense it again — the heartbeat of his power.
He could feel the difference now. The Heavenly Vein that opened during battle granted him not just strength, but clarity. He could read Qi in the air like a second language. His thoughts ran like rivers, branching and pooling, calculating futures before they formed.
He wasn't just strong now.
He was dangerous.
Soft footsteps interrupted his meditation.
"You've changed," Yu Fei said, sitting beside him.
"So they keep telling me."
She offered a peach blossom from her sleeve. "In the Flower Scripture, when a man walks too far ahead, the world begins to fear him."
Jin looked at her, the soft moonlight glinting on her ink-streaked hair. "Do you fear me?"
She looked away. "No. But I fear losing you to the storm."
He took the blossom and tucked it into his sleeve. "Then walk beside me."
Yu Fei smiled, her heart skipping once, then twice.
---
Later, in the training courtyard, Bai Yiran challenged him again. Not with words — with steel.
"You've leveled up, hero boy. Let's see how much."
She lunged, her twin blades gleaming under starlight. Jin dodged the first, deflected the second, and countered with a palm strike that sent her skidding back — but smiling.
"Finally," she said. "A real fight."
They clashed again. Sparks flew. Qi rippled like thunder through the courtyard.
After twenty exchanges, Jin caught both her wrists in a single move, twisted, and flipped her onto the ground. But instead of getting up, Bai Yiran pulled him down with her.
Breathless, she looked up at him.
"You've got more than swords following you now."
He froze. "Yiran…"
She tapped his chest. "Don't run. You might not survive another life."
He didn't answer.
Because the truth was — he didn't know if this life would last either.
---
Back in the sanctum, Lin Xue stood before the flame mirror, watching visions of distant regions.
The Frost Mist Sect was under attack. A village near the Southern border reported a red sky at dawn. An entire river turned black overnight.
The cult was moving faster now. More aggressively. As if the shattered decoy altar only pushed them into action.
Master Yun approached. "They're adapting. We need to find the true ritual center."
Lin Xue's eyes narrowed. "What if we lure them with Jin instead?"
Master Yun blinked. "You'd use him as bait?"
She turned slowly. "He's not just a warrior now. He's a symbol. They fear him. If we make it look like he's gathering the Soul Fragments, they'll come to stop him."
Master Yun frowned. "And risk another ambush?"
Lin Xue's voice was cold. "This time, we'll be ready."
Two Days Later – Inner Mountains of Huan
The wind whistled through narrow ravines and dead trees like a mournful flute.
Jin Mu-Won led a smaller, mobile strike team through the rugged wilderness. The team: Lin Xue, Yu Fei, Bai Yiran, and five elite scouts. No banners. No sect symbols. Just speed and silence.
The plan was simple. Or so it seemed.
Stage a ritual-like movement. Appear to gather a soul fragment. Trigger cult response. Capture or follow them to the true altar.
But the cult was evolving. And someone was watching from far closer than they thought.
---
That night, as they set up camp beneath a jagged cliff, Jin sat by the fire while Yu Fei carefully painted sealing charms. Bai Yiran trained shirtless nearby, steam rising from her skin as she pushed her internal energy to its peak. Lin Xue stood by the treeline, eyes sharp as ever, watching shadows.
"Think they'll bite?" Bai Yiran asked, flipping a dagger into the firelight.
"They'll bite," Lin Xue replied. "They're too desperate not to."
Yu Fei placed a charm onto Jin's palm. "But they may not attack in numbers. They might try to assassinate."
Jin nodded. "Then I'll sleep light."
"You never sleep," Bai Yiran muttered. "What do you do? Just meditate and glow?"
He smirked. "I have dreams too, you know."
Lin Xue turned, her voice quiet. "Do they scare you?"
Jin paused. The fire crackled.
"Sometimes… I dream of a past that wasn't mine. But it feels like mine. Memories of an empire burned in gold, a girl with eyes like embers, a blade that split a mountain. Sometimes… I hear a voice calling me back."
Yu Fei glanced at Lin Xue and Bai Yiran.
"Your reincarnation memories are surfacing."
"Yeah."
"Then the storm's getting closer."
---
Deep in the Cult's Hidden Temple
"She's stirring."
The figure in crimson robes knelt before a black pool. Within it, ripples shimmered, showing the Jade Lotus scouts. Showing Jin.
"They think they can bait us. But the boy carries a mark — one we've seen before. The soul of the Dragon Slayer."
Behind her, the twin assassins known as the Crimson Blades stepped from shadow.
"Send us."
The High Priestess smiled.
"No. Let her go."
From the dark emerged a woman wrapped in veils. Her presence silenced even the shadows. Her hair was silver. Her eyes red as moonlit wine.
The Queen's Avatar. The vessel of the spirit that Jin's soul had once destroyed in a life long past.
"She will test him."
---
Back in the Mountains – Midnight
Jin woke with a start.
His Qi flared involuntarily. The air around him shivered.
He rose and stepped away from camp, walking toward the cliffside. There, beneath the moon, he saw her.
A woman.
She was beautiful beyond comprehension. Ethereal. Pale as moonlight. Her robe barely shimmered, yet it seemed made of stars. Her eyes — red, haunting.
She smiled gently.
"You've come far… brother."
Jin's heart froze.
"Who… are you?"
"You don't remember yet. But you killed me once. Long ago. In a world built on swords and fire."
Jin drew his spear, but she didn't move.
"I don't want to fight," she whispered. "I came to see… if your soul still trembles."
"I don't tremble," he said.
"But you will," she said, eyes sad. "Because I never hated you. I loved you."
She vanished.
Just vanished.
Jin stood there, wind biting at his skin, until Lin Xue's presence arrived behind him.
"You saw something."
He nodded.
"She said… she was the one I killed. A Queen. A lover."
Yu Fei stepped from the shadows next, her eyes unreadable. "Then it's true. You were the Dragon Slayer. The one who killed the Phoenix Queen at the peak of the Celestial War, thousands of years ago."
"And she's being reborn," Lin Xue finished. "Inside the cult's Queen Avatar."
Jin turned back toward camp.
"Then we have no choice."
---
The Next Morning – Thunder Strike
Their bait had worked.
A single cult assassin came at dawn. She wore a fox mask, her blades coated in blood hexes.
She struck fast, but Jin was faster. In three moves, he had her disabled and sealed.
Yu Fei drew the binding rune. "Now… talk."
The woman laughed. "You're too late. The ritual is days away. And it's not in the South."
Lin Xue stepped forward. "Where?"
"No," the assassin hissed. "Not where. When."
"What?"
Bai Yiran snapped, "She's stalling. I'll cut her tongue—"
"No. Wait," Jin said.
The woman smiled with bloody teeth. "The ritual isn't bound to space anymore. The High Priestess unlocked Temporal Binding. They'll pull her essence through time itself."
Yu Fei gasped. "They're trying to restore her soul across eras—"
Which meant…
Even if they stopped this altar…
She could still return.
Within the Jade Lotus Sect – War Room
When Jin's team returned, the sect leaders were already assembled. Even those who hadn't appeared in years—the Hidden Masters, the Twin Blades of Northern Ice, the Arhat of Burning Winds—were seated in solemn silence.
Master Yun stood at the head of the hall, gravely eyeing the parchment Jin handed him.
"A ritual not bound by place… but by time," he read aloud. "They're attempting the forbidden—Temporal Binding."
Murmurs erupted. One elder gasped. Another slammed his fist against the jade table. Even Lady Chu Lian looked shaken.
Master Han Baek spoke first. "This borders on demonic transcendence! That technique was lost during the collapse of the Immortal War!"
Lin Xue nodded. "Not lost. Buried. And now it's being unearthed by the Red Moon Cult."
Yu Fei stepped forward. "If they complete it, they won't just bring the Queen back. They'll overwrite history—reshape it to her will."
"That's impossible," Master Yun said softly, but not confidently.
Jin broke the silence.
"It's not impossible. I remember it."
All eyes turned to him.
"In my first life… I fought her at the Peak of Eternity. She wielded time like a ribbon. Her death shattered the cycle. That's why I reincarnated at all."
Lady Chu Lian's eyes narrowed. "You say that like you remember a life none of us believe existed."
He met her gaze. "Believe what you want. But if they succeed, there won't be any 'Murim' left. Just a kingdom of blood, ruled by a goddess of wrath."
Bai Yiran stepped beside him. "Then let's stop it."
---
Later – Private Courtyard
Jin sat alone beneath a rain tree, reading a scroll Yu Fei had translated.
Temporal Binding required three anchors:
A Bloodline Vessel (the Queen's Avatar)
A Celestial Fragment (he had one in his soul)
A Time Nexus (a naturally occurring tear in fate)
"We're the last anchor," Lin Xue said quietly as she approached. "The fragment inside you... it connects everything."
Jin sighed. "So I'm the target again."
"No. You're the gate."
He looked up.
"If they kill you," she said, "they open the door. But if you sacrifice the fragment willingly…"
He stood, instantly. "No."
Lin Xue frowned. "Even if it stops her return?"
Jin's voice rose, sharper than his blade. "I didn't live twice just to die on my knees for fate's amusement."
Lin Xue's voice cracked, uncharacteristically. "Then what are you living for?"
He turned toward her.
"For them," he said. "For you."
Yu Fei and Bai Yiran were watching from the corridor. Neither spoke, but something unspoken shifted between them all.
This wasn't about power anymore. This was personal.
---
The Celestial Tomb – Forbidden Depths
They followed Jin's memories to an ancient ruin beneath the mountains. There, amid the bones of a forgotten empire, they found it:
A Time Nexus.
It shimmered like molten glass in the air, warping light and humming with echoes. Inside it, Jin could hear himself — from his past life. Arguing. Laughing. Dying.
"It's beautiful," Yu Fei whispered, tears in her eyes. "It's terrifying."
Bai Yiran clicked her tongue. "We blow it up, right?"
"No," Jin said. "We use it."
"What?"
Jin turned to them all. "If she's coming across time, I'll meet her halfway."
Lin Xue froze. "You're… going in?"
"I'm going back," he said. "To where it began. To where I killed her the first time."
Yu Fei grabbed his wrist. "You don't know what that'll do to your body—"
"I'm not going alone," he said. "I need anchors."
They looked at him.
He looked at them.
"I need all three of you."
---
Ritual Chamber – Final Hour
The plan was desperate.
Jin would use the Nexus to project his soul into the past, intercept the Queen's essence during its travel. Lin Xue would act as the stabilizer, freezing his present form. Yu Fei would seal the timeline cracks. Bai Yiran… was the sword.
"Once I cross," Jin warned, "if I hesitate—if I fail—cut the thread."
Bai Yiran's smile was sharp. "Don't tempt me."
They began.
Incantations layered over the room like fog. Runes blazed. The Nexus pulsed.
Jin stood at its edge. His spear hummed. His body began to unravel into light.
Lin Xue, voice steady, whispered, "Come back to us."
Yu Fei pressed a charm to his chest. "Even gods bleed."
Bai Yiran grinned. "Kick her immortal ass."
Jin stepped in.
---
Within the Flow of Time
He fell.
Through memories not his own. Through centuries of death, war, and love. Through voices—his mother's, his master's, hers.
And then—
He saw her.
The Queen.
Golden and terrifying. Wings of fire. Eyes of sorrow. Heart of war.
She turned, and her lips moved without sound.
Jin raised his spear, already glowing with the wrath of two lifetimes.
"I'm not here to kill you again."
She looked surprised.
"I'm here to end this."
And they clashed.
Not with weapons, but with fate.
Each blow echoed across time. Mountains trembled. Empires flickered and reformed. Memories collapsed.
And finally—
He drove the spear through her shadow.
The Queen screamed. But smiled.
"You loved me once."
Jin whispered, "I still do."
And she shattered.
---
The Present – Jade Lotus Sect
Jin woke with a scream.
The chamber was in ruin. The Nexus had vanished.
But he was alive.
Lin Xue rushed to him first, pressing her forehead to his. "You idiot…"
Yu Fei collapsed beside him. "We lost you for thirty minutes…"
Bai Yiran grinned, tear streaked. "But you're still too stubborn to die."
He smiled faintly. "She's gone."
"Are you sure?" Lin Xue asked.
He nodded. "She said goodbye."
---
Later That Night – Moonlit Pavilion
Jin sat at the edge of a balcony, robe open, chest bandaged, spear beside him.
Three women joined him, one after the other.
Yu Fei rested her head on his shoulder. "You carry too many souls."
Bai Yiran kicked her feet over the edge. "You're lucky you're cute."
Lin Xue said nothing, just placed her hand in his.
They sat in silence.
The war wasn't over.
But for the first time, Jin Mu-Won felt something strange bloom inside him.
Peace.