The strategist's words faded into the cold night air, but the fire they ignited within the Azure Heaven Sect did not. The courtyard buzzed with sharpened intent—armors clinked faintly, blades were secured beneath robes, and captains tightened the straps on their gauntlets one last time. The morale was at its peak; every disciple carried the look of someone who had already committed themselves to battle.
Liang Shen, the Sect Leader's right hand, stood firm at the center. His aura wasn't overwhelming, yet the steadiness of his presence anchored the dozens watching him. When the captains of the five elite units approached, they bowed deeply.
"Commander Liang," they greeted in unison.
Liang Shen returned a nod, his eyes steady, voice low but resolute.
"Tonight, we move in one breath. No hesitation."
He then turned toward the man standing quietly at the side—Aelric. Even with all the clamor in the courtyard, the dark-robed figure looked detached, unbothered, almost as if he simply existed parallel to the chaos.
"Divine Doctor," Liang Shen said, "let's move."
Aelric said nothing. His gaze flicked across the assembled units, then he stepped forward in silent acceptance.
And with that, the night began to shift.
⸻
As the elite units slipped into the forest, the moonlight thinned behind drifting clouds. The world smelled of damp earth and cold metal. Every step was precise, measured. Leaves barely rustled under their feet.
Aelric walked behind Liang Shen, hands tucked inside sleeves, his pace unhurried yet effortlessly synchronized with the fast-moving elites. Everything around him was noise—heavy breathing, strained muscles, the faint hum of internal energy—but his presence remained an island of absolute calm.
Behind them, far back, the main force led by Jian Wuhen moved simultaneously toward the front gate. Torches were covered; numbers were kept tight. The night felt like a bowstring drawn to its very limit.
After nearly an hour of maneuvering through rocky pathways and thick woodland, the elite units reached the rear cliff side of the Flowing Cloud Sect.
The back gate came into view—an elevated stone wall rising from the edge of the cliff. And atop the wall were six guards… each unnervingly alert.
Liang Shen's brows tightened.
"They were warned," he silently concluded.
Still, he didn't appear surprised. Perhaps he expected this much from a sect that relied heavily on ambush and assassination.
He raised his hand slightly.
Five captains saw the gesture instantly. No spoken words were exchanged—this was a silent language drilled into them through countless covert missions.
Each captain retrieved a weapon from his storage ring: a long, hollow iron tube engraved with faint lines. Inside each tube rested several steel darts, coated with a faint violet sheen.
Poison.
A quiet breath.
Five internal energy pulses.
Chhk! Chhk! Chhk!
The darts shot out simultaneously, slicing the air with barely audible sound.
All six guards stiffened.
Throats convulsed once.
Silence.
Bodies collapsed like sacks of grain, not even a clatter escaping them.
Aelric watched from the shadows. Their teamwork wasn't elegant, but it was precise. Efficient. Deadly enough to kill the opponent in a single strike.
A faint flicker of appreciation crossed his eyes before it disappeared.
Liang Shen nodded once, and ropes were thrown upward. Hooks latched onto the stone edges, and one by one, the elite units climbed, moving like dark shadows against the cliff's pale surface.
As they landed on the sect grounds, Liang Shen raised two fingers.
The units scattered instantly, vanishing into corridors and behind pavilions like droplets splitting apart after striking stone.
Soft thuds echoed occasionally—the muffled collapse of guards who never even knew death had come.
Meanwhile, Aelric silently entered through the shadows of a courtyard wall. He didn't draw a blade nor raise a hand. For now, he observed, drifting behind the elites like a phantom with its own agenda.
⸻
Front Gate,
At the same moment, near the front entrance of the Flowing Cloud Sect—
Jian Wuhen and the elders arrived.
The moment Jian Wuhen laid eyes on the heavy wooden gate, he raised his right hand.
A single gesture.
A single command.
The archers released.
Swish—swish—swish!
Dozens of arrows tore through the night sky, falling upon the unsuspecting guards. Some reacted, shouting warnings, but many were skewered before they even turned around.
"Enemy attack! Attac—!"
BANG!
A war bell thundered across the mountains.
DONG—DONG—DONG—!!!
The Flowing Cloud Sect erupted into chaos.
Jian Wuhen's voice tore through the battlefield like a blade:
"KILL THOSE BASTARDS!"
He charged forward, internal energy flaring, elders following at his sides. The front gate shook under the impact of their combined assault. Cries, steel clashes, shouts of panic—all erupted at once.
The Flowing Cloud Sect's guards retaliated, some firing counter-arrows, others rushing forth with spears. Flames from overturned braziers illuminated the battlefield in violent orange streaks.
Inside the sect, the elite units heard the bell.
Liang Shen's whispering technique resonated faintly in each captain's ear:
"The sect leader has begun the assault. Move to your designated positions. Destroy the marked areas."
The captains acknowledged simultaneously and split apart, each leading their twelve-man squad into the depths of Flowing Cloud Sect territory.
From the rooftop of a pavilion, the Aelric began making his way toward the main sect hall. According to the strategist's arrangements, he was to confront the sect leader directly—cut off the head of the serpent.
He didn't mind.
He needed information about the Immortal Master's inheritance. Everything else was noise.
⸻
Meanwhile… Flowing Cloud Sect Hall
DONG—DONG—DONG—!!
Two elders sprinted into the sect hall, robes fluttering in panic.
"Sect leader! The sect is under attack—Azure Heaven Sect's forces!"
Li Hong stood from his elevated seat, expression dark but controlled.
"Do not panic," he said coldly. "We accounted for this possibility. Organize the defensive units and prepare the counterattack."
The elders bowed hurriedly.
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
Li Hong's eyes glinted with contempt.
"Azure Heaven Sect… daring to attack us? They are seeking death."
He flicked his gaze toward the shadow behind his throne.
"Number Three."
A hooded figure materialized from the darkness, kneeling with one knee on the floor.
"Your command, Master."
"Inform my first son, Li Shenhai, to eliminate all Azure Heaven Sect infiltrators. He is to kill them without mercy."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
The figure vanished instantly.
Li Hong clenched the armrest of his chair, veins showing faintly.
"Nobody… nobody will stop the rise of Flowing Cloud Sect," he murmured through clenched teeth. "Not Azure Heaven Sect… not anyone."
Far outside, approaching silently, Aelric moved toward the sect hall—expression calm, steps light, eyes carrying no emotion.
The fight had only begun.