LightReader

Chapter 11 - THE FIRST MOVE

A sinister smile was a rare sight on Patriarch Fen Jeuchen's face, but today it was etched into his features, a cold promise of vengeance. He cut through the sky like a vengeful wind, a streak of green energy hurtling toward the ancestral home of the Fen Clan.

He did not slow as he approached the Windy Gates, their stone arches carved with swirling cyclones. He shot through them, leaving a roaring gale in his wake that sent the two disciples on guard stumbling back, their robes whipping violently around them.

"What's wrong with the Patriarch?" they both gasped in unison, steadying themselves against the stone.

Fen Jeuchen ignored them, his form blurring as he burst into the solemn silence of the main meeting hall. Without a moment's pause, he summoned his sound transmission talisman. His voice, sharp and imperious, crackled through the spiritual device.

"All elders. The meeting hall. Now."

He severed the connection before a single reply could form. Settling onto the obsidian patriarch's throne, his gaze fixed westward, towards the lands of the Qi Clan. In his mind's eye, he saw their banners burning. The memory of a public humiliation twenty years prior—a duel lost to Qi Lantian that cost him face —fueled the cold fire in his heart.

True to his command, the air in the hall stirred as elders materialized, each arrival heralded by a gust of wind. In less than a minute, they were all present. The eldest, Elder Fen Ju, his long white beard flowing as if in a perpetual breeze, stepped forward and bowed.

"Patriarch, you summoned us with great urgency. What is the matter?"

Fen Jeuchen let the silence stretch. After two full minutes, his eyes snapped open. A fleeting, sinister glint within them chilled the air.

"The Qi Clan," he began, his voice low and deadly, "harbors a Demon Progenitor Pure Eagle Core."

The hall erupted in a collective gasp. The air itself seemed to thicken with shock and avarice.

Elder Fen Ju, though his pupils were pinpricks of shock, found his voice. "Patriarch… may this one dare ask… the source of this validation?"

"From the envoys of the Divine Martial Continent," Fen Jeuchen snapped, his tone brooking no doubt. The name of that supreme authority was enough to quell any immediate skepticism.

"I see," Elder Fen Ju said, bowing and retreating a step.

"So, what does the Patriarch intend?" another elder asked. "The Qi Clan is stronger. We cannot hope to defeat them alone. And if the other powers learn of this, everyone will want a piece."

"We will inform them," Fen Jeuchen said, his voice unnervingly calm. "The Beast Flame Sect and the Sword Spirit Sect will know by nightfall."

Elder Fen Ju's confusion returned. "Should we not hoard this knowledge? Informing them dilutes our claim!"

"Can your strength alone shatter the Qi Clan's walls, Elder Ju?" the Patriarch's voice turned frigid. "We use their strength as our hammer. Our goal is not merely the core—it is the complete and utter destruction of the Qi Clan. They are a cancer. If they unlock that core's power, the status quo shatters. They will monopolize everything. Remember the feud. Do you think they will let us live in peace once they hold absolute power?"

He let the grim future hang in the air. Elder Fen Ju paled, a cold sweat beading on his forehead as he envisioned the Fen Clan's extermination. "This foolish one understands the severity now."

"How do we inform the others without being implicated?" another elder inquired.

A cunning smile spread across Fen Jeuchen's face. "We will deliver the message directly into the ears of the spies the other sects have planted within our walls."

The elders stared, realizing the brutal elegance of the plan.

"But first," Fen Jeuchen's smile vanished, replaced by cold severity, "we purify our own house. Every spy placed by the Qi Clan must be eliminated. Utterly. Leave no trace."

Elder Fen Ju shuddered but immediately acted. He barked orders into his talisman: "Root out and eliminate all Qi Clan spies. Execute cleanly. Before they die, ensure this message reaches the spies of the Beast Flame and Sword Spirit sects: 'The Qi Clan houses a Demon Progenitor Pure Eagle Core.' Go."

He shut off the talisman and bowed. "It is done."

"This meeting is adjourned. Prepare for war."

"Yes, Patriarch!" the elders chorused, filing out with grim determination.

Alone on his throne, Fen Jeuchen breathed a quiet sigh. The core was a lie, a phantom threat conjured from his vendetta. He was gambling his entire clan for revenge. He locked his bloodthirsty gaze westward.

"Phase one is complete."

---

Meanwhile, in the Qi Clan…

A guard stumbled into the meeting hall, his face ashen. He dropped to his knees. "Clan Leader! We've lost all connection with our spies in the Fen Clan! Their life signals are gone!"

"I know," Qi Lantian's voice was a low, raspy rumble, devoid of surprise. "You are dismissed."

The guard scrambled backward and fled.

Qi Lantian stood alone, his sharp gaze piercing through the western walls. "The Fen dogs are planning something… and I am its target."

---

In a dilapidated slave courtyard, Lethean held tightly to his mother's arm, ignoring the taunts of other children.

His mother, Caiyi, looked down at him, puzzled by his clinginess. "You've been acting strangely, Le'er. You skip your training to follow me."

"I just… want to cherish every moment with Mommy," he said, a forced smile failing to hide the worry in his ocean-blue eyes.

"I will always be with you," she reassured him, kissing his forehead.

"CRAWWWWWWWK!"

A sound like tearing velvet ripped through the air. Lethean's head whipped around. He caught the shadow of a crow—a creature of void-like pitch with eyes that glowed like bloody rubies—ascending into the sky until it was swallowed by the clouds.

"Don't worry, it's just a crow," Caiyi said, though she frowned. "So many have been circling lately…"

But Lethean couldn't shake the feeling. Those eyes had been watching. They had been knowing. A cold dread, deep and ancient, had taken root in his heart.

More Chapters