he sun had already slipped behind the crimson-edged mountains when Qin Su and Yuan Ai passed beneath the weathered stone arch of Qin Manor. Lanterns flickered to life one by one, their gentle glow washing over the pair like warm breath returning to a long-quiet home.
Qin Su walked at an easy pace, posture relaxed, expression mild—even though a jade-inlaid trophy box hung casually from his left hand. Yuan Ai followed half a step behind, dusty and weary from travel, but with a faint smile tugging at her lips.
From the main doorway, a flash of movement shot toward them.
Qin Mei, bright-eyed and energetic as always, nearly tripped over herself as she skidded to a stop.
Qin Mei: "Brother! Brother! You really won first prize? Let me see! Let me see!"
Qin Su sighed, lifting the box. With a flick of his fingers, the lid opened to reveal the Spirit-Clearing Pearl—radiant, pristine, capable of soothing qi deviation and sharpening insights.
Without hesitation, he placed it directly into her hands.
Qin Su: "Take it. It'll stabilize your meridians before you step into Inner Circulation."
Qin Mei froze, stunned.
Qin Mei: "But… this is your reward! You worked for this!"
Qin Su: "I fought because they asked me to. What I need is silence, not a glowing bauble."
Yuan Ai let out a quiet laugh, brushing dust from her sleeve.
Yuan Ai: "Mei, take it before he throws it into the pond. Your brother is basically a hermit sage trapped in a teenager's body."
Qin Su gave her a sidelong glance—then reached into his sleeve.
Qin Su: "And you. This is yours."
He handed her a slim red-wrapped bundle. Yuan Ai's breath caught as she unwrapped it to reveal a beautifully crafted Azure-Silk Qi Harness—an accessory known to refine circulation and enhance internal flow.
Yuan Ai: "This… Qin Su, this is worth more than the pearl!"
Qin Su: "It suits you better."
Her expression softened, eyes lowering.
Yuan Ai: "You always do this. Acting indifferent… but thank you. Truly."
Qin Su simply nodded and continued walking.
High atop a storm-wreathed mountain in the heart of the continent, an ancient stone hall shuddered beneath the weight of the eight strongest cultivators alive. A massive obsidian tablet hovered at the center, glowing with ominous sigils as the eight sat around it.
Their auras distorted the air itself.
Yang Jian, silver-haired Sovereign of the Royal Lute Clan, opened the meeting.
Yang Jian:"The Lian Emperor was injured. Even now… I struggle to believe it. Who possesses such precision and power?"
Silence settled like frost.
Lan Yuer, Mist Veil Enchantress, spoke first.
Lan Yuer:"To shatter an emperor's qi without killing him… That requires unparalleled control. Ruthless intent wrapped in mercy. That is what unsettles me."
Yang Cao, wild-eyed and scarred, slammed his palm into the floor. Stone cracked.
Yang Cao:"If the attacker wanted him dead, he would be. Why cripple instead of kill?"
Mu Tianren, Elder of the Majestic Sect, rested a hand on the hilt of his broadsword.
Mu Tianren:"It was a message. Someone wanted him broken, not silenced."
Zhao Heng snorted.
Zhao Heng:"Hmph. The emperor was insane anyway. Hoarding forbidden arts, tormenting his subjects. Sooner or later, madness crushes a man."
Wang Qiu gave him a sideways glance.
Wang Qiu:"Mocking a fallen emperor is one thing. Declaring it aloud… another."
But Zhao Heng merely crossed his arms.
Zhao Heng:"I state truth. And truth always comes for the mad."
Shi Feng, the Glacier Hermit, finally spoke, voice like winter steel.
Shi Feng:"Mad or not, the precision needed for such an attack rules out the Blood Demon."
At that name, even the torches dimmed.
Peng Ying leaned forward.
Peng Ying:"The Blood Demon devours. His victims shrivel into husks. But the emperor… was left alive. This was not the demon's doing."
Lan Yuer nodded.
Lan Yuer:"Two shadows walk the continent now—one consuming, one crippling."
Yang Jian tightened his hands behind his back.
Yang Jian:"Then let us speak of the Blood Demon."
One by one, the experts reported:
Two clans annihilated.Entire bloodlines erased.Souls torn from bodies.No trace left behind.
Fear crept through even the strongest among them.
Just then—
A young messenger stumbled into the hall, half-collapsed, trembling.
Messenger:"S-Seniors… urgent news… terrible news…!"
Yang Jian: "Speak."
Messenger:"The Majestic Sect—has been attacked!"
All eyes shot to Mu Tianren.
His broadsword vibrated violently as his qi erupted, shaking the hall.
Mu Tianren (roaring):"WHAT!? Who dares!?"
Messenger:"A cultivator… with strength equal to a Spirit-Shattering Realm expert!"
Silence.Then chaos.
Wang Qiu:"Impossible—there are only eight of us!"
Peng Ying:"Nine… if you count the Blood Demon."
Mu Tianren didn't wait.
He shot into the sky like a blazing comet.
Mu Tianren:"My sect bleeds—I will not let it fall!"
The messenger raised a second scroll with trembling fingers.
Messenger:"T-There's more… The attacker tore through the outer gates in a single strike. Elders are already falling…"
The Seven exchanged grim looks.
Yang Jian clenched his fist.
Yang Jian:"We move—NOW!"
They vanished into the night.
Wind howled across the Majestic Mountain Range as night descended. The Majestic Sect—proud, ancient, revered—glimmered beneath the moon, unaware its final night had come.
At the gates, two disciples patrolled lazily.
"Did you hear? Elder Mu returned fro—"
A drip echoed.
They turned.
A figure stood behind them. Cloaked. Hunched. Breathing like a starving animal pretending to be human.
Crimson eyes flickered open.
Blood Demon.
Blood Demon (hoarse whisper):"I hunger."
A crimson ripple spread.
The disciples turned to mist.
Within minutes:
Elders died.Disciples screamed.Formations ignited and collapsed.Stone shattered.The air turned red.
The Blood Demon walked through the sect like death given form.
He crushed a core elder's spine.Inhaled a disciple's soul.Flattened a golden-ranked guardian beneath his heel.
Screams tore through the night.
A blazing comet streaked through the sky.
Mu Tianren landed in the courtyard—then froze.
His sect was gone.
"…No… no…"
The Blood Demon turned.
Blood Demon:"Ah. The master returns."
The battle began.
Brief.Brutal.Hopeless.
Mu Tianren swung with mountain-splitting force.
The Blood Demon stopped the blow with one hand.
Blood Demon: "Too slow."
A knee to the chest.Bones cracking.Mu Tianren flying back.
He rose again—bloody, shaking, roaring.
But the Blood Demon mocked him with every step.
Blood Demon: "You are merely… seasoning."
He raised his claw—
—and seven beams of light descended.
Annoyed, the Blood Demon clicked his tongue.
Blood Demon: "How troublesome."
Yang Jian's aura split the clouds.
Yang Jian:"Blood Demon! Face judgment!"
The demonic creature only laughed.
A tear in space opened.
Before stepping through, the demon carved a message in blood across the wall:
"MU TIANREN — THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST COURSE."
He vanished.
Silence smothered the courtyard.
Mu Tianren fell to his knees among the corpses of his disciples.
Then—
A roar of anguish tore from his throat, shaking the mountains.
Mu Tianren: "BLOOD DEMON!!! I WILL TEAR YOU APART!!!"
But grief twisted to fury.
Fury twisted to madness.
Mu Tianren: "This never would've happened… without that SHADOW!"
His eyes filled with hatred.
Mu Tianren: "THE QIN CLAN! IT BEGAN WITH THEM!"
Before the Seven could restrain him—
He vanished into the distance.
They chased him across the sky, finally cutting him off.
Mu Tianren didn't listen.Didn't see.Didn't think.
He swung a suicidal blow meant to kill even himself.
It took all seven to restrain him—barely.
His qi was sealed.His body trembled.His mind shattered.
Yang Cao looked down at him.
Yang Cao: "He is no longer sane… only a blade seeking a target."
The Seven carried him away.
Not as a peer.
But as a ruined man.
Whispers spread like wildfire:
"The Majestic Sect has fallen.""The Blood Demon has returned.""A Spirit-Shattering master lost his mind.""No one is safe."
Fear swallowed the land.
The clan grounds buzzed with tension.
Disciples whispered.Elders reinforced barriers.Rumors spread like plague.
But under a peach tree…
Qin Su lounged lazily, an apple in hand, petals drifting around him.
He took a bite.
Crunch.
Qin Su: "Mm. Sweet. Last week's batch was better though."
Chaos raged around him.
He didn't move.
Qin Mei paused mid-practice, staring.
Qin Mei: "Brother… how can you be so calm at a time like this?"
Qin Su pointed at the apple.
Qin Su: "This apple won't eat itself."
She sighed and returned to training.
More fearful whispers floated by.
"The Blood Demon moves unseen!""The Seven barely restrained Mu Tianren!""Who is the mysterious man who crippled the emperor!?"
Qin Su scratched his cheek.
A lazy smirk formed.
His senses stretched outward for a moment—sharp as a blade—before softening again.
Qin Su (quiet laugh): "…So they're coming, huh?"
He stretched beneath the drifting peach blossoms.
Qin Su: "A mother and daughter duo… showing up here of all places."
His smile deepened—mischief and something far more ancient flickering in his eyes.