In the far North, the Iron Claw Pavilion had heard the rumors. They sent scouts. Then an elite squad. None returned.
A merchant caravan found them days later, hanging from the pine trees along a frozen ridge. Thirty warriors, eyes frozen open in terror. No wounds. No blood.
Just a message carved into the bark of the largest tree:
"Those who chain truth will be unmade."
The sect leaders gathered in secret chambers beneath ancient temples. The air was thick with incense and fear. Each leader brought their own theory, their own suspicions, but all pointed to a name that no one dared say aloud.
Elder Baek of the Iron Claw spoke first. "He didn't just kill them. He erased their presence from the flow of qi itself. No backlash, no echoes. That's not murder. That's correction."
Another added, "We trained those men for decades. They were grandmasters in their own right."
"Then we must assume we're not facing a man," said Master Hyojin of the Azure Thunder Sect. "We're facing a force."
They lit emergency beacons and opened ancient scrolls locked away for centuries. Records of the Heavenly Demon were unsealed, dusted off, and studied like holy scripture. It all pointed to one impossible conclusion:
He had returned.
But they still didn't understand what that meant.