The bell of dawn tolled across Sky-Splitting Peak, its deep chime rolling like thunder down the mountainside. Disciples gathered at the Outer Mission Hall, where carved stone walls depicted the sect's glories — battles against demons, duels atop clouds, blades splitting mountains in twain.
Xu Tian stood among the crowd, his white robe clean, his expression calm. Around him, whispers flowed like an unseen current.
"That's him… the cursed heir.""Why does the sect send him on a mission so soon?""Perhaps they hope Heaven claims him outside the walls."
He ignored them. His gaze remained steady on the mission board where jade plaques glimmered with inscriptions. Each plaque bore a task — escorting supplies, hunting beasts, patrolling borders.
Elder Ming's voice carried over the courtyard. "New disciples, today you step beyond the sect. These missions test not only your sword, but your judgment. Success earns merit. Failure earns nothing. And if you die…" His eyes swept across them coldly. "Then you were unworthy."
A hush fell. Even the boldest disciples swallowed nervously.
The mission assigned to Xu Tian was simple in appearance: escort a caravan of herbs from the lower valleys back to the sect.
Yet Tian's instincts stirred. Too simple. Too convenient.
When the names of those assigned with him were read, his suspicion sharpened.
"Xu Tian. Bai Heng. Zhou Wei. And two others."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. To place Tian and Bai Heng together on the same mission — it was an invitation to conflict.
Bai Heng's lips curled into a thin smile. He bowed respectfully to Elder Ming, but when his gaze slid toward Tian, hatred burned openly.
The group departed at noon. They descended the mountain path, the world spreading before them in endless ridges and valleys, rivers glimmering like silver threads in the sun. The Spirit Valleys stretched vast and lush, filled with misty forests and hidden beasts.
The caravan they escorted consisted of three wagons laden with herbs, guarded by hired men with spears. The leader, a grizzled mercenary, eyed the disciples with skepticism. "So the sect sends children to guard us?"
Xu Tian only smiled faintly. "Children who have walked through swords sharper than yours."
The mercenary grunted, unconvinced, but said no more.
The first day passed in uneasy silence. Zhou Wei stuck close to Xu Tian, whispering anxiously. "Tian-ge, this feels… wrong. Missions are rarely this simple, yet they paired you with Bai Heng. It cannot be chance."
Xu Tian's gaze swept the forest, where shadows twisted between ancient pines. "You are right. But a net cast too soon often tangles its own fisherman."
That night, the caravan camped by a river. The guards built fires, cooking dried meat. Disciples sat apart, their swords within reach.
Bai Heng approached Xu Tian, his expression courteous but his eyes sharp. "Xu Tian. Since fate has placed us together, let us make peace. Tomorrow, we march as one."
Xu Tian met his gaze calmly. "A blade that smiles too sweetly often hides poison."
Bai Heng's smile did not falter, but his hand tightened on his sleeve. "Then let us see, tomorrow, whose edge is sharper."
He turned away, his followers smirking behind him.
At dawn, the caravan entered a narrow gorge. Sheer cliffs loomed on either side, their shadows swallowing the path. Xu Tian's hand brushed the hilt of his sword. His blood whispered danger. Threads coiled, taut and trembling.
A cry split the air.
From the cliffs above, black-clad figures leapt down, their blades gleaming. The mercenary guards shouted in alarm as the caravan was surrounded.
"Bandits!" someone screamed.
But Xu Tian's eyes narrowed. Their movements were too disciplined, their blades too sharp. These were no mere bandits.
The attackers struck with deadly coordination, aiming not at wagons, but at disciples.
At him.
Xu Tian's sword flashed, intercepting the first strike. Sparks lit the shadows, the clang ringing like thunder in the gorge.
"Defend the wagons!" Zhou Wei shouted, his voice cracking. He parried clumsily, barely avoiding a slash.
Bai Heng's laughter rang above the clash. "Xu Tian! So Heaven sends bandits to test your cursed blade. Show us your tricks!"
He fought fiercely, but his strikes drove enemies not away from himself — but toward Xu Tian.
Xu Tian's blood surged. He felt the invisible threads pulling, weaving, seeking to ensnare him. His sword rose, cutting arcs of clean simplicity. Yet with each stroke, another thread snapped, another attacker stumbled, their fortune unraveling.
One foe's blade caught a loose stone, twisting his strike into his ally's chest. Another slipped upon blood-slick ground, falling beneath Tian's calm riposte.
Gasps filled the gorge as enemies fell not only to steel, but to misfortune itself.
But there were too many. The wagons were surrounded, disciples pressed to their limits. Zhou Wei stumbled, a blade aimed for his throat.
Xu Tian moved like lightning. His sword severed the strike mid-air, the assassin faltering as though fate itself had abandoned him. Tian's counter left the man crumpled in silence.
Zhou Wei gasped. "You… saved me again."
Xu Tian's eyes were calm. "Stand. Fight."
By the time the sun pierced the gorge, the ground was littered with corpses. The surviving attackers fled into the forest, their cries echoing.
The caravan guards panted, staring at Xu Tian with awe and fear. "He… he fights like Heaven itself twists for him."
Bai Heng staggered to his feet, his face pale. His gaze locked upon Xu Tian, seething. "You see! He warps battles. He steals luck from others! This is no Dao of swords — it is a curse!"
The mercenaries murmured uneasily. Zhou Wei stepped forward, trembling but resolute. "If it is a curse to save lives, then let us all be cursed!"
Bai Heng's eyes burned, but he said no more.
That night, as they camped beyond the gorge, Xu Tian sat apart from the fires. His blade rested across his knees, the Fragments of the Ninth Sky echoing in his mind.
"To cut destiny is to invite Heaven's wrath."
He traced the words silently, the blood of enemies still fresh upon his sleeve.
Above, the fractured sky gleamed faintly between drifting clouds. A distant rumble of thunder stirred — as if Heaven itself had witnessed.
Xu Tian's eyes glinted.
"So be it. If Heaven watches, then let it see clearly: I do not walk beneath its decree."
His sword hummed softly, a promise that one day, it would cut not only bandits, not only fate — but the sky itself.