Outside the sealed gates of the Abyss Tower, the Azure Sky Sect disciples stood gathered like an eager crowd before a stage play. The punishment of Lin Xuan—once their Holy Son, once their pride—was already being celebrated as entertainment.
Laughter and chatter resounded across the courtyards, echoing against jade walls and spirit lamps.
"Hah! Did you see his face when the Sect Master announced his fate?" one disciple guffawed, holding his stomach. "So pitiful! To think that he was once so lofty, and now he's nothing but burnt ash!"
Another scoffed with disdain. "Lin Xuan stole the Seven-Star Lotus and thought he could hide it? Fool. Without his Chaos Bone, he was already a cripple. Why waste such an herb on trash like him? Even if he didn't steal it, what's the difference? Crippled men can't survive in this world."
Rumors began to fly like wildfire between groups of disciples.
"I heard he was always arrogant. Treated the other disciples like ants."
"A hypocrite, really. He pretended to be generous, but secretly refined pills for himself."
"No, no—I heard from the servant disciples that he even went to the red-light district outside the mountainside city!"
"Tch! So the supposedly pure Holy Son was just a pervert all along! Ah, I pity Master Yue for being tainted by a disciple like him!"
Each voice that spoke only sharpened the cruelty. With every whisper, Lin Xuan's name sank deeper into filth.
In the distance, a few people stood listening with smug smiles—the very ones who had orchestrated it all.
Lin Shan chuckled faintly under his breath, his arms crossed. His eyes gleamed proudly as the shameful rumors spread like vines across the sect. To see his Senior Brother—the one who once outshone him in every way—reduced to an object of ridicule filled him with twisted satisfaction.
His third junior sister, Mei'er, stood at his side with rosy lips curled smugly. "Brother Shan, look at them. They're eating up the rumors like starving dogs. Senior Brother's reputation is ruined forever. Even if, somehow, he crawls out of that tower—what face would he have left?"
Lin Shan smirked back. "If he crawls out, which he won't. The flames will eat what's left." Both shared a quiet laugh, basking in the collapse of the man who once guarded them.
A little farther away, their master, Madam Yue, stood with her other disciples—first, second, and fourth junior sisters. Their faces weren't smug, but filled with disdain.
The second disciple snapped angrily, "To think Senior Brother was the Holy Son! Now he's nothing but a shame to Master!"
The fourth sneered. "Ungrateful to the bone! Master gave him so much, and he dared repay with betrayal!"
The eldest junior sister clenched her jade fan tightly. Though her expression stayed calm, her eyes were cold. "He has ruined not only himself but dragged down Master's name. When people remember disciple Lin Xuan, they will point to you, Master Yue, and say your judgment was blind."
Beside them, Madam Yue's expression was unreadable, but deep within her eyes was a fury that could not be concealed. "Lin Xuan. Foolish child. Had you remained obedient, none of this would have come to pass… now, I can no longer shield you."
Disciples murmured, elders sneered, juniors mocked. The entire sect was bathing in his downfall.
It was then—
BOOOOM!!!
The ground trembled. The sky cracked apart with a single sound like a thunderclap ripping through time. Disciples yelped and turned toward the heavens. Elders rose to their feet. Even the Sect Master's calm eyes flickered with alarm.
Above the Azure Sky Sect, the night sky split open. A vision bloomed—vast and incomprehensible.
At the center of the heavens stood a towering figure cloaked in golden radiance—an Emperor, vast as the mountain itself, staring down upon mortals. His eyes swept across the world with the weight of heaven's law. The stars trembled, the moon hid itself behind clouds, and the very world seemed to bend his will.
Every living creature—even beasts in the nearby forests—felt it instantly. An instinct older than words forced their bodies to kneel.
Thud, thud, thud.
Disciple after disciple fell to their knees, their foreheads striking stone tiles hard enough to bleed. Some Foundation cultivators trembled, unable to resist the pressure and fell choking to the floor. Even the mighty elders' faces paled, their bodies drenched in sweat as they struggled to hold their stance.
The Sect Master's hands tightened on the throne. Even he felt that weight.
"What… is this power…"
And then, as suddenly as it came, the vision vanished. The sky cleared, the world stilled. It was as if nothing had happened at all—except for the terror etched into the minds of all who saw it.
Shocked whispers filled the air.
"What was that?"
"Was it… an Emperor descending?"
"The pressure… I couldn't breathe! It was as though the entire sky collapsed upon me!"
Elders and disciples alike froze in disbelief.
It was the Second Elder, an experienced cultivator who stepped forward with trembling lips, who finally spoke. "That…" His tone was grave, his eyes still dazed. "That was the Bone Vision—a Heaven and Earth phenomenon."
The Sect Master frowned. "Explain."
The elder nodded firmly. "When a cultivator awakens a top-tier spiritual bone… heaven and earth themselves respond. Records say each of the ten greatest divine bones can summon a vision… but the one we saw… that was the Supreme Bone—the highest, ranked first among the top ten!"
A wave of shock and awe tore through the courtyard.
"What?! The Supreme Bone!?"
"Someone in our world awakened it… here?"
"To stand as heaven's chosen!"
The Sect Master's eyes gleamed with excitement. His voice thundered. "Who!? Who among our disciples has received such fortune?"
The Second Elder shook his head. "It is rarely a matter of awakening in grown disciples. Most of the time… such divine bones occur naturally in newborns. Though in rare cases, bones may evolve in already grown cultivators, but the chance is scarce."
The Sect Master's gaze sharpened, gleaming with greed. "Search!"
His voice echoed across the sect. "Search every newborn in our sect and among our disciples' families. Bring them forth to be tested! If the Supreme Bone is found under our roof, Azure Sky Sect's glory will rise higher than ever!"
"Yes, Sect Master!" elders and disciples shouted in unison.
The courtyard broke into chaos. Excited voices echoed about the grandeur to come, the Supreme Bone that would raise their sect to heights unseen. Nobody… not even a single one of them… considered the possibility that the Supreme Bone had already awakened, right under their noses.
Not in a newborn. Not in some unknown child.
But in the very 'criminal' they had thrown to die in the Abyss Tower.