Han Xing's heart slammed in his chest. The Shadow Clan assassins surged forward like a living tide eyes glowing red, horns curling from their foreheads, tails lashing through the mist. Ten of them—but he could only hold out so long before exhaustion claimed him.
A sharp cry tore through the night. Han's teeth clenched. No… I can't hold back. I have to protect Yueli… even if it kills me.
Lightning surged through his veins. His muscles screamed. His eyes flared crimson as the forbidden technique awakened.
"Violent Sky Thunder — Heavenly Lightning of Thunder of God : Thunder God Form!"
Crimson energy crackled across his body. Sparks ripped from his skin. Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. Each heartbeat was agony.
I can't use this for too long… the backlash will kill me. But now… I can take out five of them with ease.
The first assassin lunged, claws aimed for Yueli. Han slammed his halberd into the frozen ground. The earth quaked violently; the assassin's footing gave way, swallowed by a sudden chasm. Han swung in a blur. Sparks flew. The assassin hit the ground with a sickening crunch—gone before it even screamed.
Two more leapt from the mist. Lightning arced along Han's arms, striking with terrifying precision. Crimson bolts tore through the night, searing flesh, cracking bone, halting their momentum. Blood sprayed across the frozen earth. Each strike burned through him, but the technique held.
Another assassin charged, horns gleaming like curved scythes. Han's gaze sharpened, hands trembling with barely-contained power. The lightning coiled around him, a storm made flesh. He struck, tossing the assassin back, arcs of pure energy carving through its form.
Just one left… I can't fail her… I can't…
Every strike cost him dearly. Crimson lightning tore through his muscles; his chest heaved, vision flickering with red sparks. Pain lanced through his skull, and blood ran from his mouth. Yet the assassins fell like wheat before a scythe.
Now… one remains. I… must…
The final assassin lunged with blinding speed. Han's legs quaked under the strain. The forbidden technique neared its limit. No… not yet… I can't die—not here, not now…
Lightning flared violently, arcs whipping outward, scorching the frozen trees. The assassin hesitated for a fraction of a second—enough. Han struck, the halberd colliding with a thunderous boom. The assassin crumpled, motionless.
Then—the crimson lightning faltered. Pain exploded through every fiber of his being. I… can't… hold it…
Han sank to his knees, halberd slipping from his grasp, vision swimming. Weakness clawed at him, threatening to swallow him whole.
From the haze, a voice rang clear.
"Han Xing!"
Xiao Yueli stepped forward, her sword gleaming in the silver moonlight. She moved like a storm incarnate, precise and merciless. Arrows of ice and silver qi cut through the remaining assassins with surgical efficiency. Han's vision cleared just in time to see her dispatch the final enemy, saving him from being overwhelmed.
She knelt beside him, supporting him against her chest.
"Xiao… this time… let me protect you," he whispered, hoarse, a faint, exhausted smile tugging at his lips.
"You've done your best," she murmured. "Now leave everything to me… rest well. Let me take care of them."
For a heartbeat, the night was silent—broken only by the residual crackle of Han's forbidden lightning. He closed his eyes, letting himself fall, finally surrendering to exhaustion, knowing she was there.
Behind Yueli, the moon manifested in a celestial glow. Within it, a phantom of a jade palace shimmered—a glimpse of the Heavenly Moon Palace, divine and serene, a symbol of her celestial power and the protection she offered.
The doors of the phantom palace groaned open.
A blast of frozen air surged outward, sharp enough to bite through steel.
The four remaining assassins stiffened mid-step—their cries cut short as frost consumed their flesh.
In a heartbeat, they were statues of glimmering ice, locked forever in the moon's judgment.
The glow of the Divine Moon Palace dimmed, fading into silver mist.
The great structure dissolved as though it had never existed, leaving only scattered motes drifting across the clearing.
Xiao Yueli staggered forward, her shoulders trembling.
A thin line of blood traced the corner of her lips.
Her knees buckled—
Before she could fall, Han Xing's body moved on its own.
He blurred across the frozen ground and caught her in his arms.
"Xiao! Your injuries—how bad are they?"
His voice cracked with a panic he barely recognized, rawer than any wound.
She offered a faint smile, eyelids fluttering.
"I'm fine… just a little out of strength."
Han frowned, eyes narrowing. "If you have this kind of ability, why didn't you use it earlier?"
"My ability was sealed by the Guardian," she answered softly, voice like snow breaking underfoot.
"And I was poisoned. That's why I appeared weak—when I'm supposed to be the Celestial Moon Sect's fairy maiden."
Han blinked, startled. His grip loosened as though the words had burned him.
"So… you really not that —"
Before he could finish, she puffed out her cheeks and looked away.
"You look down on me?"
"N-no! I didn't mean—"
Han stumbled over his words, desperate to explain, panic rising again—but this time not from battle.
Xiao's shoulders began to shake.
Then a clear, melodic laugh spilled from her lips, like bells chiming on a frozen night.
Han froze, confusion twisting his face.
Is she angry? Or… playing with me? I don't understand her at all.
She tilted her head, eyes glittering with mischief.
"How long do you plan to hold me like this?"
Only then did Han realize he was still cradling her in both arms.
Heat flooded his cheeks, hotter than lightning in his veins.
He set her down quickly and turned his face away, muttering,
"Why… why do I feel like this every time I'm near her? What's wrong with me?"
Her laughter lingered in his ears, soft yet unshakable.
A warmth he had never known carved itself deep into his chest.
But the night gave them no time for answers.
A rustle echoed through the trees.
Then a surge of killing intent rolled across the forest like a crashing tide show that because of the noise of their battle .
But this time is not ten assassins. Not twenty.
A hundred shadows slipped through the mist, blades gleaming in the moonlight.
They were not ordinary killers.
A master of the shadow clan, shoulders broad, muscles corded with unnatural strength.
Eyes glowed crimson, like coals burning in the night.
Twisted horns curled from their foreheads, sharp enough to gouge stone.
Black tails lashed behind them, flicking through the fog with serpent-like menace.
These were not men at all—these were Shadow Clan elites, monsters bred for murder.
Han's chest tightened. The air itself reeked of blood and iron.
"Run," Han said sharply.
"What?" Xiao's eyes narrowed, disbelief flashing in their depths.
"Run!" His voice carried a new urgency, harder than steel.
Instead of retreating, Xiao stepped forward, drawing her sword with trembling hands.
"I have enough strength left. I will fight by your side."
Han opened his mouth to argue, but the words stuck.
She wasn't just refusing to leave him.
She was willing to die with him.
A spear whistled through the air—its shaft splitting the mist—and pierced an approaching assassin clean through the chest. The creature howled, black blood spraying.
An instant later, the air above them sang—a flurry of feathered death.
"Vice-Captain Wang Yi Suxi!" Han recognized the sharp, commanding voice even before the figure emerged from the shadows, cloak snapping in the wind.
More soldiers followed—blades drawn, arrows already nocked.
Their arrival was a wave of order against the tide of chaos.
A officer saluted Wang Yi Suxi. "Orders, Vice-Captain?"
"Finish them. Leave none alive," she replied coldly, voice cutting like tempered steel.
"Yes, ma'am!" Tian Di stepped forward with his archers. His bow sang as he raised it; before the string twanged he intoned, "Night Goddess — Hunting Domain!"
Arrows flashed through the moonlit mist, a storm of deadly pins arcing true to target.
Tian Di's volley was precise; the ambushers who had come in like a tide were sliced by feathers and steel. The forest filled with the sounds of impacts, choking screams, and the ripping of bodies.
Tian Di's squad surged as one, moving to cut off any who slipped past the arrow storm. Blades met flesh, and boots churned the frost-locked ground into crimson slurry.
The forest rang with screams and steel.
The forest was no longer a forest—it had become a slaughterhouse of shadows, blood, and silver light.
But for Han Xing, the sounds were already fading.
The exhaustion from his forbidden techniques crashed over him like a collapsing mountain.
Every muscle shrieked in protest. His veins felt scorched, his bones hollow.
Blood roared in his ears. His vision swam.
"Finally… seems like I can have a little rest."
His knees buckled. The halberd slipped from his hands, striking the ground with a dull thud.
A memory flickered—of another time, another failure, when he had been powerless to save someone who mattered.
The shame of that moment had haunted him every step since.
But now—
Through the haze, he felt Xiao's hands catching him, pulling him close so he would not strike the earth.
A faint smile tugged at his bloodied lips.
This time… I did it. I can protect her.
The thought dissolved into darkness.
And Han Xing fell into unconsciousness.