The ravine yawned open before them like the maw of a beast. Thick mist curled from its depths, crimson-tinged as though soaked in blood. The very air reeked of iron, and whispers seemed to ride the fog, chilling every disciple to the bone.
Instructor Pain stood at the edge, his expression grave. His hand rested on the hilt of his blade, knuckles white. "This is it. Beyond this point… your courage will be tested in blood."
No one spoke. The disciples—ten in total now—tightened grips on their weapons, their gazes flickering between each other. Fear lingered behind their eyes, but greed too. The bounty of a million high-grade Qi stones, the prestige of striking at the Night Shadows Sect—it was enough to make them step into hell willingly.
Jace's mask concealed his face, but inside, his system pulsed a quiet warning.
[System Alert]
Caution: Dense demonic Qi detected.
Probability of ambush: 87%
His fists clenched. So it really is a trap.
Yet he said nothing. If he warned them, they would demand answers he could not give.
Pain gestured. "Stay close. Do not wander. The Bloodmist is known to twist perception—what you see may not be real."
Together, they stepped into the ravine.
---
The mist swallowed them whole.
Visibility shrank to a few paces. The ground beneath their boots was slick with old blood that never seemed to dry. Jace's senses screamed at him, every step echoing too loudly in his ears. He summoned a thread of Qi into his lungs, steadying his breathing.
Then the whispers began.
Faint, indistinct at first, then sharper, tugging at the edges of their minds.
"Why do you walk to your deaths…?"
"Your sect cannot save you…"
"Bleed for us…"
A disciple screamed, slashing wildly at the fog. "Shut up! Shut up!"
The mist parted just long enough to reveal a pale face inches from his own. Black veins crawled across its skin, eyes empty pits of red light. Before anyone could react, claws punched through the disciple's chest, ripping out his heart in a spray of blood.
"Enemy attack!"
The ravine erupted.
Figures surged from the fog—hundreds of them, clad in black robes, eyes glowing with demonic light. The Night Shadows Sect had been waiting.
Jace's heart thundered. The aura pressing down was suffocating. These weren't ordinary disciples—at least a hundred radiated the oppressive strength of Soul Phase cultivators, their Qi suffused with blood arts. Above them, twenty shadows loomed darker, heavier—Late Flame Star Realm demons.
The disciples faltered instantly. "T-This… this can't be—!"
"Formation!" Pain roared. His blade ignited with searing Qi as he leapt forward, cleaving through three Soul Phase cultists in one motion. The air exploded under the weight of his cultivation, shaking the ravine. "Hold the line!"
---
Chaos swallowed them.
Jace drew his sword just in time to block a cultist's strike, the impact rattling his bones. He twisted, letting Dragon Breath surge in his chest. Heat built in his lungs, then erupted—
A lance of crimson fire speared the cultist, burning flesh to ash.
The air reeked of charred blood. Jace staggered, coughing, but grinned behind his mask.
[System Notification]
Dragon Breath proficiency +22%
Essence Devoured: +10
The hunger inside him roared. Every kill fed him, fragments of strength seeping into his blood. He cut down another cultist, then another, each strike devouring more. His body felt lighter, faster, his veins thrumming with stolen vitality.
But around him, his comrades screamed and fell.
The stocky boy from the Azure Tiger Clan was ripped apart by shadow puppets. A girl from the Silver Phoenix Sect had her throat cut before she could summon her flame. One by one, they were butchered.
Veyra fought like a phantom, her crimson eyes blazing. Dark chains of night-qi lashed out from her hands, binding and tearing through enemies with precision. Yet even she was pushed to her limits, sweat slicking her pale skin as she faced three Soul Phase demons at once.
"Jace!" she shouted once, her voice sharp.
He moved instinctively, Dragon Breath blasting apart a cultist lunging at her flank. For a heartbeat, their eyes met—hers burning with fury, his with a silent promise.
But there was no time for words.
---
The true calamity came when the Late Flame Star Realm demons moved.
Three of them descended on Pain. Their combined pressure split the ground, cracking stone, shaking the ravine like thunder.
Pain roared, unleashing his full might. His blade became a storm of light, carving wounds into the trio. For a moment, he stood like an unbreakable wall, his power overwhelming.
But three against one… even a Late Flame Star Realm expert could not endure forever.
Blood sprayed from Pain's side as a claw tore into him. He staggered, coughing crimson, but still swung with terrifying ferocity.
"Run, you fools!" he bellowed, voice echoing through the mist.
But the disciples couldn't run. The sect had sealed the ravine. Walls of shadow rose, cutting off retreat. This wasn't a battlefield—it was a slaughterhouse.
---
Jace's mind raced as he cut down another cultist, devouring their essence.
[System Notification]
Essence Devoured: +120
Bloodline Progress: 78% → 83%
The system pulsed violently. Every kill pushed him closer to evolution, his blood singing with stolen strength. And yet… it wasn't enough. The enemy was endless.
Veyra appeared at his side, her breath ragged. "They mean to wipe us all out."
Her chains lashed another cultist apart, but her eyes flicked toward Pain—and Jace saw fear there. The instructor was faltering, his movements slowing, blood soaking his robes.
Jace clenched his teeth. Pain was the strongest among them, and if he fell—
A blast of demonic Qi smashed into Pain, hurling him across the ravine. He crashed into a stone wall, blood spraying from his mouth. Before he could rise, black chains of shadow coiled around him, binding him in place.
The three Flame Star demons advanced, their laughter echoing. "The great Pain, captured like a dog. The Sect Master will be pleased."
"Bastards—!" Pain spat blood, struggling, but the chains tightened. His strength was fading.
The disciples cried out—but their cries were silenced, one by one, as the cultists cut them down.
Eight had entered the ravine. Now only Jace and Veyra still stood.
---
The mist was thick with death.
Veyra's lips were pale, her Qi almost spent. "We can't hold them," she whispered.
Jace's lungs burned, Dragon Breath coiling inside him, begging to be released. His mask hid the grin spreading across his face—not of joy, but of raw, defiant hunger.
Because even in this nightmare, the devourer inside him rejoiced. The battlefield was a feast. Every fallen enemy was fuel.
He raised his sword, crimson flames licking along its edge.
"No," he said quietly. His eyes glowed faint red in the mist. "We hold… and we take."
And with that, he unleashed the hunger.
---
The ravine became hell itself.
Jace moved like a shadow, Dragon Breath roaring from his lungs, his blade tearing through flesh. Every kill fed him, essence flooding his veins. His power surged with each heartbeat, bloodline pushing toward awakening.
Beside him, Veyra's chains danced, her movements sharper, fiercer, feeding off his defiance. Together, they carved a path through the swarm, corpses burning in their wake.
But the demons closed in, laughter echoing.
Pain, bound and bleeding, could only watch as his last two disciples fought against impossible odds.
And in the mist, above the roar of battle, a deeper voice whispered—cold, amused.
"You've walked into our nest, little lambs. And now… the feast begins."
Jace now was left with a choice....reveal his secret to at least escape with Veyra or..
---
TO BE CONTINUED...