By dawn, the Fallen Star Sect was buzzing.
No—humming.
Not from bells or announcements.
From voices.
Every hallway, courtyard, and training path echoed the same words:
"Did you see him?"
"He didn't use any techniques!"
"One strike. Just one."
"They say he refused to join the inner sect!"
"He must have a hidden bloodline."
"No—he's cursed. I heard Elder Fei say he might not even be human."
Whispers coiled through the air like smoke.
And Jiang Xuan walked through all of it in silence.
---
He passed groups of disciples who quieted the moment they saw him. Some lowered their heads. Others looked away. A few stared in awe.
One girl dropped her sword mid-form when he passed.
He didn't stop.
He didn't even blink.
Inside, his thoughts were still.
Too still.
The voice hadn't returned since the match.
But he knew it was waiting.
Just beneath the surface.
---
In the elders' meeting hall, Grandmaster Yao slammed his palm on the jade table. "He refuses promotion, crushes the top-ranked outer disciple in public, and then walks off like nothing happened?!"
Elder Wen remained calm. "He's not interested in status."
"He's dangerous."
"That's why I'm watching him."
"You should restrain him."
"And do what? Put shackles on a storm?"
The other elders murmured.
Some were intrigued.
Others were afraid.
But none could deny it:
Jiang Xuan had become a name.
---
Yao Xi sat in her quarters, polishing her blade.
The sect had provided her with a single-room stone hut, modest but clean. On her table lay a thin jade slip—a copy of the official disciple ranking scroll.
Jiang Xuan's name now sat at the top of the outer ranks.
She stared at it for a long moment.
He was rising faster than expected.
Too fast.
If he kept growing at this pace, his first demon transformation might trigger early. If the elders tried to stop it, it could devastate half the sect.
She needed to act.
Not to kill.
Not yet.
To slow him down.
---
That afternoon, Jiang Xuan returned to the cliff edge to train, as he always did.
But someone was waiting for him this time.
She stood calmly at the tree line—arms folded, wind pulling at her robes. Crimson ribbon tied high. Expression unreadable.
"Yu Mei," he said.
"Jiang Xuan."
He eyed her blade. "Training nearby?"
"Watching."
He raised a brow. "Me?"
"Yes."
He turned back to the open air. "You're not subtle."
"I'm not trying to be."
A pause.
Then she added, "I know a place. Deeper in the forest. Fewer eyes. Better for people like us."
Jiang Xuan didn't look at her.
"People like us?"
She nodded. "Ones who are watched. Judged. Feared."
He didn't answer.
Not for a while.
Then—
"Show me."
---
They walked in silence.
The trees thickened. Birds quieted.
Yao Xi led him down a narrow slope, past an abandoned training pavilion that hadn't been used in years. Beyond it, a clearing opened up.
Sunlight poured through the canopy above. A single flat stone sat at the center, marked by ancient carvings.
"This place was used for duels before the sect expanded," Yao Xi explained. "It's been forgotten. Even the elders don't patrol here."
Jiang Xuan stepped into the light.
The air here felt different.
Less controlled.
More wild.
"I like it," he said.
Yao Xi leaned against a tree, arms crossed. "Figured you would."
Another pause.
Then she added, "I want to spar."
He turned to her slowly. "With me?"
"You held back in the arena. You need someone who won't crumble from a single strike."
"…And you think that's you?"
She gave him a cold, quiet smile. "You'll find I'm not that easy to break."
----
Jiang Xuan stepped into the clearing, eyes on Yao Xi.
No crowd.
No elders.
Just wind, trees, and the eerie quiet of two killers in the making.
"Any rules?" he asked calmly.
Yao Xi shrugged. "Try not to die."
He drew his blade.
She unsheathed hers.
Then they moved.
---
The first clash was simple.
Steel met steel, ringing through the trees like a bell of fate.
Jiang Xuan pushed forward — sharp, controlled, testing. His strikes were deliberate, honed through repetition, not flair.
Yao Xi parried without flinching. Her form was tighter. Her blade sang with practiced restraint.
They danced in silence.
No words.
No wasted motion.
Only observation.
---
Jiang Xuan stepped back, eyes narrowing.
She wasn't an ordinary disciple. Not even close.
Her posture shifted after every exchange — adapting, adjusting. Like someone who'd fought dozens of styles and remembered them all.
More than that… her presence never wavered.
She didn't attack recklessly. She didn't retreat.
She just waited.
Not for an opening.
For him.
---
Yao Xi wasn't trying to win.
She was watching.
Measuring.
How far had he fallen already?
How much of the Demon God lingered beneath that quiet expression?
So far… he was still Jiang Xuan.
Precise. Efficient. Controlled.
But then—
The air changed.
Only slightly.
But she felt it.
Jiang Xuan's next strike came faster.
Harder.
Heavier.
Yao Xi caught it—but her arm shook slightly from the force.
She slid back a step.
So did her mask.
---
He's getting stronger mid-fight…
And not just from technique.
She knew that feeling — had seen it before in the future.
His Demon God Physique adapts under pressure.
His power isn't learned. It's awakened.
If she pushed too hard…
She tightened her grip.
I can't let him awaken yet.
---
Jiang Xuan paused.
"You're not going all out," he said flatly.
"Neither are you."
"I'm trying not to break you."
"I'm trying not to push you over the edge."
The silence between them stretched.
Yao Xi tilted her head. "You've felt it, haven't you?"
Jiang Xuan's jaw clenched. "…Felt what?"
"That thing in your chest. That hunger. That whisper."
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer, lowering her blade slightly.
"It's not just power. It's a curse. You've killed with it before, haven't you?"
Still no reply.
But his fingers twitched on the hilt of his sword.
---
Then, suddenly—
He vanished.
Yao Xi's eyes widened.
Intent step.
Not teleportation. Not a martial art.
Just will strong enough to move faster than reflex.
He appeared behind her.
She spun—
But his blade stopped at her throat.
Not touching.
Just hovering.
Cold air kissed her skin.
They stood like that for a breathless moment.
Then he lowered it.
"You win," he said.
"I didn't land a hit."
"But you saw it."
He stepped away, breathing hard. Not from exhaustion. From restraint.
Yao Xi looked at his back.
Something inside her tightened.
He didn't even know what he was fighting.
And that made him more terrifying than any future Demon God she had faced.
---
As he walked off, she called softly, "What do you think I am, Jiang Xuan?"
He stopped.
"A spy?" he said.
She smiled faintly. "Close."
Then her voice dropped low.
"Just think of me as a reminder."
He turned slightly. "Of what?"
"That you were never meant to survive."
---
Later that night, Jiang Xuan sat beside the crooked pine once again, hands resting on his knees.
The world was still.
Too still.
And then—
"She's here for you."
The voice again.
Soft. Cold. Just beneath thought.
His eyes opened slowly.
Crimson flickered in his pupils—just once.
Then vanished.
-----
End of Chapter 6