A solitary white lotus grew amidst the muck of the fortress perimeter, its petals trembling in the wind.

  Suddenly, the ground vibrated with the rhythm of approaching death.

  A single, heavy drop of crimson blood fell from above, splashing against the pristine white petals, staining the flower in the colors of violence.

  Wei Zheng stepped past the flower, his hands caked in drying blood.

  The acrid stench of smoke filled his nostrils, mixing with the metallic tang of iron.

  He was battered, his chest heaving, but as he looked up at the back of the fortress, a slow, grim curve lifted the corners of his mouth.

  The sky was choked with black smoke.

  "It was worth it," he whispered, his voice a rasp of exhaustion and triumph.

  "Coming all the way here."

  Inside the walls, the fortress had descended into a chaotic hellscape.

  The order of the bandits had collapsed under the sheer, desperate weight of the uprising.

  "You abused me every single day! Ever since I got here!"

  A blonde woman, her hair matted with grime, straddled a fallen bandit.

  Her face was contorted in a mask of pure, unadulterated rage as she plunged a stolen dagger into his neck, again and again.

  "And now, I have the power! What can you do now, huh?! HUH?!" Her voice bellowed, breaking into a sob of fury.

  Nearby, a different struggle was unfolding. Xu Wanxia, armed with only a short blade, was being backed into a corner by three desperate bandits.

  "You started this, bitch!" one of them roared, lunging forward.

  But before his blade could connect, a wall of flesh and resolve interposed itself. Slaves, men and women who had cowered for months, stepped forward, their crude weapons raised.

  "Don't you take another step!" one of them shouted, his voice trembling but firm. "This is our benefactor here!"

  Wanxia wiped a smear of blood from her mouth, her momentary fear shifting back into her natural, dominant demeanor.

  "Looks like screaming really does help," she muttered, a fierce grin returning to her face as her protectors drove the bandits back.

  Near the burning tents, the blonde woman, Mei Ao, finally stopped stabbing.

  She stood, panting, a triumphant smile gracing her lips.

  But her victory was premature.

  From the smoke, a bandit emerged. He was half-dead, a dagger already protruding from his chest, dragging one leg. But his eyes burned with a final, spiteful lust.

  His fist connected with Mei Ao’s chin, a brutal uppercut that sent her sprawling into the mud.

  "Good... you're a beautiful bitch." He loomed over her, his foot stomping down hard on her stomach, pinning her to the filth.

  His hands fumbled with his belt buckle, his face twisted into a grotesque leer.

  "I'll rape you good... fuck your brains out... I'll die churning your guts!"

  Mei Ao’s eyes prickled with hot tears. Her strength was gone.

  After finally fighting back, was she to be violated one last time in the midst of her liberation? She closed her eyes, her body going rigid as she prepared to endure the nightmare one more time.

  Thud.

  Something heavy and wet hit her chest.

  "H-Huh?"

  Her eyes slowly fluttered open. A scream clawed its way up her throat as she scrambled backwards, crab-walking through the mud. Resting on her chest was not a hand, but a head.

  The bandit's severed head, its eyes wide and glassy, rolled onto the ground.

  Standing over the collapsing body of the headless bandit was Wei Zheng. He was covered in wounds, his tunic torn, but he stood tall.

  "You're safe now," he said, his voice calm amidst the screaming. He extended a hand.

  "But we can't keep standing here like idiots... we still have to finish this up."

  Earlier, he was sprinting towards the fortress walls, his movements fueled by urgent purpose. He scrambled up the rough wooden palisade, peering over the edge.

  His eyes widened.

  Below, on the plains leading to the fortress, Hao Yu’s army was assembling. It was massive, a sea of cloaked figures that will dwarf even the caliber of a man like Hao Yifeng.

  Yifeng needs our help... Zheng realized.

  If the main army breaches the walls before we secure the interior, we're all dead.

  His thoughts finally snapped back, aiming to inspire the rest of the slaves.

  "I saw disciples outside earlier! We'll help them kill off the boss!"

  Mei Ao was still on the ground, staring at him.

  She scrambled to her feet, She grabbed his hand, her grip desperate and grateful.

  "T-Thank you! You're the one who helped me sense Qi in this world... you gave me the strength to fight back!"

  Her tears slowly dried, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, a genuine smile broke through the grime on her face. "I don't want anyone to be hurt again like I was!"

  Wei Zheng looked at her, seeing the fire that had been kindled in her soul. He nodded. "I know. I've resolved myself into doing something after this is all over."

  Mei Ao tilted her head, confusion flickering in her eyes.

  "What's your name, brave woman?" Zheng whispered.

  She stood straighter, wiping the mud from her cheek. "I'm Mei Ao!" she yelled, her voice high and clear.

  A grin plastered itself upon Zheng's face.

  "Then, judging by your resolve not to let anyone get hurt again..." He looked out at the coming battle, then back to her.

  "I hope I'll see you join my journey in the future!"

  Mei Ao's face contorted into confusion at the sudden offer, but as she looked at the boy’s confident, blood-streaked smile, her doubt died down.

  She didn't know where he was going, but she knew she would follow.

  The clearing had become a meat grinder.

  The Inner Disciples, who had charged in with the arrogant confidence of their station, were now a desperate island in a raging sea of cloaked bandits.

  The disciple with the war axe took a staggering step back, his lungs burning, his arms screaming with fatigue.

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  With a final, guttural roar, he swung the massive weapon in a wide, horizontal arc, cleaving through a line of charging bandits in a spray of blood and splintered bone.

  "Back off, Scum!"

  The momentum of the swing died, and his hand lowered, his posture slumping as the heavy axe head dragged in the dirt.

  "How long have I been at it?!" he gasped, his voice a raw, desperate rasp.

  "They're like a swarm! There's no end to them!" For every man he cut down, two more seemed to rise from the earth to take his place.

  Nearby, Dong Kai was a whirlwind of heroic, if reckless, force.

  He released his fist into the open air, a concussive blast of Qi crushing the bandit in front of him and sending the man’s broken body hurtling into the ranks of his comrades like a grisly cannonball.

  "They're not trained," Dong Kai grunted, his gaze tracing the network of shallow, bleeding cuts that now decorated his own arm, "but they're still in the Qi Sensing Realm. Their cuts do real damage if they get you even once."

  His eyes shot towards the silent, watching forest, a new layer of furious impatience in his gaze.

  "Xuan, I swear if you don't get out here this instant!"

  From his position at the head of the army, Hao Yu watched the unfolding chaos with calm.

  His arms were crossed firmly over his chest, his yellow eyes narrowed in calculation.

  Why isn't he just directly attacking us? Dong Kai thought, his own mind racing as he eyed the bandit boss.

  We'd all be dead if he attacked alongside his army… What is he waiting for?

  SWUNG!

  A blade, aimed for Dong Kai’s exposed side, shattered against the intercepting sword of a fellow disciple.

  "Keep your eyes peeled, Dong Kai!" the disciple yelled, the force of the block sending a jarring shock up his arm.

  "Jeez, I know you recently got promoted, but still!"

  "My bad!" Dong Kai apologized, his focus snapping back to the immediate, overwhelming threat of the bandits swarming around him.

  It was in that moment of collective, desperate focus that a new player entered the game.

  Unseen, unheard, a single, sharp blade materialized from the chaos.

  It was not a clumsy slash or a desperate thrust, but a silent, impossibly swift line of steel that swerved through the battlefield, a silver serpent seeking its prey.

  It passed between clashing swords, under a wild swing, and over a fallen body, its trajectory perfect, its purpose absolute.

  It was aimed for Hao Yu's back.

  Click.

  The sound was unworldly sharp, a final, metallic note in the chaos of battle.

  Hao Yu’s dagger, wreathed in the potent Qi of the Meridian Opening Realm, had intercepted the blade aimed for his back, stopping it cold.

  "So, it's you," Hao Yu grunted, the force of the block sending a jarring shock up his arm. He spun, his calm yellow eyes locking onto the furious gaze of Wei Tiexuan.

  "If I weren't on guard, even if I had reacted, my own dagger would have shattered. What a powerful technique, bastard."

  Wei Tiexuan’s eyes were filled with an enraged disbelief. "How could… rubbish like you ever stop my attack!" With a roar, Xuan swung his blade with all his might, a silver arc aimed to cleave Hao Yu’s head from his shoulders.

  "Worthless Brat!" Hao Yu gripped his fists.

  Instead of dodging, he slashed his hand through the open air, and from his very fingernails, five invisible blades of pure, condensed wind shot forward.

  "What?! From his mere nails?!" Xuan leaped backwards, his own blade a whirlwind of steel as he desperately slashed the wind blades from the air. The impacts were like hitting solid rock.

  "They were no joke…" His eyes shot towards his sword. The fine steel was chipped, the edge marred by the clash with pure Qi.

  "I'll repay that favor, tenfold!"

  Hao Yu grinned, his own aura beginning to pulse with a gathering, murderous power. "I'd like to see you try—"

  Blood choked the words in his throat. A searing, hot agony erupted in his chest. He looked down. A hand, pale and familiar, was buried to the wrist in his sternum, a gaping hole punctured through his body from behind.

  He turned, a slow, mechanical motion, and leaped away.

  That kind of attack… I couldn't sense him… could he be at the same realm as mine… or higher?!

  His feet landed on the ground, his legs almost buckling. There, standing before him, his hand drenched in a familiar pool of crimson, was Hao Yifeng.

  "Sorry, father."

  The words were a quiet, devastating blow. Hao Yu’s mind paused, the world seeming to slow to a crawl.

  "How does it feel?" Yifeng asked, his voice a silken whisper.

  "This… betrayal? Is it the same as her betrayal?"

  Hao Yu’s eyes went bloodshot. Veins popped on his forehead, a roadmap of pure, unadulterated rage. "Y-You…"

  Yifeng took a step forward, opening his arms wide in a gesture of mock welcome. "How could you be so trusting, father? Despite your cruel and cautious nature, you are still far too… naive."

  His own aura blazed to life, a pressure so immense the very air seemed to fold in on itself. Wei Tiexuan, seeing the wounded titan before him, felt his own body begin to temper to its absolute peak.

  "Be thankful you'll get to witness me at the very peak of my strength at this age," Xuan declared, his voice ringing with an arrogant confidence.

  "After this, you'll never see it again." He swung his blade outwards, unleashing not one, not three, but twenty wind slices that coursed through the air, aimed squarely at the grievously wounded Hao Yu.

  The wind blades pierced his body, and fresh blood gushed from a dozen new wounds.

  Yet, he remained unfazed. He leaped forward, planting his fist against the ground where Xuan had been standing a moment before.

  "Too slow, geeze—" Xuan’s thought was cut off as Hao Yu spun, his body a whirlwind of motion, his leg lashing out in a powerful kick.

  Xuan skillfully blocked it at the last second, the impact vibrating through his entire body.

  "Buzz off, brat! I'll deal with you later!" The kick was filled with an enormous surge of Qi, sending Xuan flying into the forest. Hao Yu then swung himself up, landing before his son.

  "You better explain yoursel—"

  His words stopped. Yifeng’s hand shot forward. It was halted by Hao Yu’s palm, a desperate block that was more instinct than thought.

  "Y-You!"

  "You're still naive," Yifeng cut through his father’s voice, his own smile unwavering.

  "Are you still trying to reason with me, your son? The son who caused everything? The flames of the fortress, our numbers thinning, and the reason for that gaping hole in your body?!" He laughed hysterically. Hao Yu’s patience, worn thin by betrayal and pain, finally snapped.

  Then, spikes shot from Yifeng's palm.

  They pierced Hao Yu’s hand, one by one, before firmly encircling his wrist.

  Blood gushed, and Hao Yu let out a low groan of agony, but the sound was deafened by Yifeng’s own triumphant, manic scream.

  "This is such a neat technique, right?! FATHER?!"

  "Ma Niu…"

  The name was a shredded ruin, a whisper of disbelief from Ying Xia’s throat that was swallowed by the sudden, profound silence of the forest.

  Her breath trembled, her hands shaking so violently the golden spear in her grip seemed to vibrate with a life of its own.

  "N-No! I must stay focused!" she snarled, her grief instantly incinerated by a surge of pure, unadulterated rage.

  "That pathetic idiot! How could he have lost to this… this zombie?!"

  Hao Xua stepped on Ma Niu’s corpse, his boot pressing down on the man’s skull. With a casual, almost bored indifference, he applied pressure until a wet, final squelch echoed in the clearing.

  "Much better," he murmured, his gaze sweeping over the smear on the ground. "His ugly face… was… jarring."

  Ying Xia’s anger spiked. With a roar, she shot forward, her spear a streak of vengeful gold aimed directly at the man's chest.

  The thrust was swift, precise, a testament to her weeks of grueling training.

  But Xua moved with a fluid grace that seemed to mock her efforts.

  He blocked her thrust, not with his blade, but with a simple, contemptuous parry of his forearm, swerving to her side and lashing out with a powerful kick that sent her flying off her feet.

  "Shit! This guy's better than those amateurs!" she thought, spinning backwards through the air and landing gracefully on her feet. But he was already on her, a phantom of motion, his blade swinging upwards in a devastating arc meant to cleave her in half.

  She managed to block it, just barely, the shaft of her spear groaning under the immense force.

  "Hoh? You're able to block that fast?" Xua’s voice was a low rumble of impressed surprise.

  But the sheer weight of his blow was too much.

  She was sent hurtling upwards, the vibrations from the impact numbing her teeth as she used the momentum to disappear into the high branches of the trees.

  "Pathetic," Xua scoffed, his gaze sweeping the canopy. "You really are part of that brat's group." He slowly followed, his eyes tracking the rustle of the leaves with an intense, predatory precision.

  Hidden in the foliage, Xia’s heart hammered against her ribs. "His skills are beyond me… I can't contest with him…"

  Her pride, a stubborn and unyielding thing, pulsed in defiance.

  "No! His movements were good, but not the best! I can best him with pure skills! But… he's… faster… stronger…"

  CRACK!

  Hao Xua swung his blade, and the tree beside her hiding spot exploded in a shower of splinters.

  Xia gasped, leaping to another branch, only for a rock to hurtle towards her.

  Her spear cut it in half, but the move had revealed her position. In the air, Xua’s blade was already a blur.

  A searing, white-hot line of fire tore across her arm, almost peeling the flesh from the bone.

  "S-Shit! Noo!" She fell, crashing through the lower branches to land in a crumpled heap on the forest floor, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

  "No, No, Bi Kan, please!" Tears of pain and frustration prickled her eyes. "AGH! Bi Kan! Come out of the shadows alrea—"

  Her voice was cut off as Xua’s boot connected with her throat, hurling her body against a tree with a sickening crunch.

  "Haugh… Bi Kan…" Her tears fell freely through the grime on her cheeks. "It hurts!" She coughed, her gaze falling to her spear, lying just out of reach

  . "I… I… you got lucky!" she yelled, her voice a broken rasp.

  "If I trained a little bit more! I would have cleaved you in two!" She spat a glob of bloody saliva at his feet.

  "So consider yourself lucky." Her pride, though her figure was pathetic, was unwavering.

  "You can still talk so frantically?" Xua’s voice was a low growl of pure, disbelieving rage.

  "Do you realize the predicament you're in?!" His blade shot out, piercing her shoulder.

  "AGHHHH!"

  Her screams were blood-curdling as he slowly, deliberately, twisted the blade. "Don't get cocky just because you blocked my attack once, brat!"

  He spun backwards, a powerful, heavy weight crashing against his blade with the force of a battering ram. He grinned. "It won't work again!"

  The ground cracked. Bi Kan, who had just delivered the blow, leaped back, only to launch himself forward again in a split second.

  "YOU THINK IT'LL WORK THE THIRD TIME?!" Hao Xua roared, swinging his blade in a wide, cleaving arc aimed to kill Bi Kan in a single strike.

  But he was too slow. Bi Kan’s fist, a blur of motion, planted itself squarely against the flat of the blade, pushing it inwards, redirecting Xua’s own momentum against him.

  "F-Fuck!"

  The blade, driven by both Xua's swing and Bi Kan's punch, slammed into its owner's chest with a sickening crunch of bone.

  Both were sent hurtling across the forest, a tangle of exploding force and shattered will.

  Ying Xia sniffed, her body slumping against the tree. Her hands gripped the dirt, forcing her to look up, her gaze fixed on the spot where Bi Kan had disappeared into the trees.

  "W-Win… Bi Kan…!"