The Sword God Sect lay in ruins. Once a bastion of power, its grand peaks were now little more than smoldering wreckage, the air thick with the stench of charred wood and spilled blood. Distant screams and dying embers whispered the final lament of a sect that had once stood unshaken for centuries.
The wind howled, carrying the lingering cries of the fallen, and yet, amidst the devastation, there was only cruel satisfaction in Si Yue's golden eyes. She idly kicked a loose stone, sending it skittering across the blood-soaked earth until it came to rest against the pale, lifeless body of Yan Mo—the Crimson Executioner. His glassy eyes stared blankly at the sky, his greatsword still gripped tightly in death.
Si Yue exhaled through her nose, lips curling into a smirk. "One less problem," she mused, her voice slicing through the oppressive silence like a dagger. "To think he fought so hard… and for what? To prove he's better than us?"
She tilted her head toward Mu Xin, expecting a reaction, but there was none. The man stood motionless, his gaze locked onto a far more gruesome spectacle—the Supreme Elder, suspended right before them, pinned to a shattered stone pillar by a jagged black spear. His robes, once pristine, were soaked in blood that dripped down in slow, rhythmic intervals. His mouth hung open in a frozen gasp as if even in death, he still could not comprehend the full extent of his sect's destruction.
Mu Xin finally spoke, his voice devoid of sympathy. "He served his purpose. A stepping stone to greater things."
Si Yue chuckled, a deep, rasping sound that held no mirth. "Indeed. A rather… pliable stepping stone at that. So desperate to protect what little power he had, yet in the end, he fell like the rest." She extended a hand in a grand gesture toward the impaled elder, her tone mockingly reverent. "A fitting tribute to our victory, wouldn't you say?"
Mu Xin's expression remained unreadable, but a flicker of satisfaction danced in his cold eyes. "Another win." He paused, then turned his sharp gaze to Si Yue. "But this isn't over yet. Where is that monster?"
Si Yue's smirk deepened. "Ah, our elusive Sword Childe. You know, I'm almost disappointed he hasn't arrived yet. He has such a dramatic flair for grand entrances."
Mu Xin's eyes darkened. "He will come."
"Of course, he will," Si Yue said lightly, crossing her arms. "He can't help himself. That infuriating sense of justice, that overinflated sense of responsibility for his 'precious' people…" Her voice turned mocking, laced with venom. "The moment he sees this—sees what we've done—he'll come running."
She took a step closer to Mu Xin, her voice dropping to a low murmur. "Can you imagine the look on his face? When he arrives, expecting to save the day, only to find his beloved sect in ruins? To see his comrades slaughtered? To feel that helplessness gnawing at his soul?"
Mu Xin's lips curled ever so slightly. "Breaking his will is far more important than simply defeating him. If we destroy his belief, we destroy his power." He turned toward the ruins of the sect's inner sanctum, where the last embers flickered and died. "He must understand that his era is over. The Sword God Sect dream? Finished. The so-called righteous path he walks? Meaningless."
His voice took on a weight beyond himself, something almost reverent. "The world belongs to us now. The Hall of Nine Sins does not act alone."
Si Yue's eyes gleamed with something akin to excitement. "The High Court."
Mu Xin nodded slowly. "Their will is absolute. Even though we know only fragments of their plans, but one thing is certain—Dao Wei is a threat. A threat that must be eliminated."
Si Yue hummed as if considering this. "But why him? What could he possibly have done to attract the gaze of the High Court?"
Mu Xin exhaled sharply. "That is not for us to question. The Court moves in ways we do not yet comprehend. We act, we conquer, and we await their next decree."
Si Yue laughed, a sound full of dark amusement. "Then I suppose we'll just have to make sure our dear Sword Childe doesn't disappoint. Shall we prepare his welcome?"
Mu Xin's eyes gleamed dangerously. "Yes. Let's show him what happens when you defy the will of the true rulers of this world."
Si Yue's grin stretched wider, revealing a hint of fangs. "A hero's fall is always the most satisfying spectacle, wouldn't you agree?"
Howl!
The air was suffocating—thick with the stench of blood and death, laced with a sinister energy that made even the heavens seem distant and uncaring. Smoke curled from the remnants of the once-proud Supreme Elder's courtyard, the embers casting eerie, flickering shadows against the cracked earth.
Dao Wei stood frozen, his entire body taut as if carved from stone. He had seen carnage before and had waded through battlefields littered with corpses, but nothing prepared him for this. The Supreme Elder, the only man whom he acknowledged, was pinned to an obsidian pillar like some macabre trophy.
His lips parted, but no words came.
A low, raspy chuckle broke the silence.
Si Yue.
She sauntered closer, her every movement deliberate, like a cat toying with its prey. Her fingers traced the jagged edges of the spear impaling the Supreme Elder, almost… admiringly. "What a sight," she mused, tilting her head. "The mighty Jiang Feng, reduced to a mere warning post. A testament to the times, don't you think?"
Dao Wei didn't respond. His fingers curled into his palms, nails digging into flesh.
Mu Xin exhaled slowly, stepping forward. His presence was heavier, darker—a man who thrived in the despair of others. "I expected more of a reaction from you," he murmured, eyes gleaming. "Perhaps a scream of anguish? A promise of revenge? But no… you just stand there. Cold, detached. Fitting, really. Wasn't it always like this, Dao Wei?"
The words slithered between them like a coiling serpent, testing, probing for weakness. Dao Wei remained still, unmoving, but his aura flared, tendrils of barely contained power crackling at the edges of his restraint. The ground trembled subtly beneath his feet.
Si Yue's smirk widened. "Oh? There it is. That restrained fury." She crouched, resting her elbows on her knees, her piercing gaze drinking in every twitch of his muscles. "Tell me, Favored One, is it pain you feel? Or… something else?"
Dao Wei finally moved, a slow, measured step forward. His eyes, dark and fathomless, locked onto hers. "You talk too much."
Si Yue blinked, momentarily caught off guard. Then she threw back her head and laughed, the sound rich and full of amusement. "Oh, this is fun."
Mu Xin sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked at the impaled Supreme Elder. "Fun or not, we have orders." His gaze flicked back to Dao Wei, and this time, there was no mocking lilt in his voice. "You understand, don't you? The High Court has spoken. You are a mistake that needs to be corrected."
The High Court.
There it was. The veiled puppeteers pulling the strings from the shadows.
Dao Wei's eyes darkened. "And yet, none of you seem to know why."
Mu Xin's lips pressed into a thin line. "It isn't our place to question."
"Blind dogs." Dao Wei's voice was cold, emotionless. "Following orders like obedient little pets, without even understanding who holds the leash…Typical."
Si Yue's smile twitched, but she quickly masked it with a scoff. "Mock us all you want, Dao Wei, but it changes nothing. The High Court has decided your fate. And when our lord arrives—"
Rumble!
The Supreme Elder suddenly convulsed, his body jerking violently as the spear lodged in his chest quivered, its unnatural glow intensifying. Dao Wei's breath caught as the elder's eyes snapped open, wide with something beyond agony.
A pulse of energy erupted from the spear.
BOOM!
The shockwave sent dust and debris flying, forcing everyone to shield themselves. Dao Wei's feet slid back slightly from the force, but his gaze never left the Supreme Elder.
And then—The elder exhaled sharply, a sound that was more of a sigh than a breath, and his body slumped. The life faded from his eyes, his skin graying in mere moments.
Silence took over.
Dao Wei stood there, unmoving.
Then—The spear wrenched itself free with a sickening squelch, twisting unnaturally before launching into the sky, spiraling toward the heavens with a deafening wail.
Dao Wei's entire body trembled.
His breath hitched. His vision blurred, not from tears, but from something far more volatile. His aura exploded outward, crackling with barely contained wrath. The air twisted violently around him, distorting under the sheer pressure of his presence. The sky darkened, the moon itself seeming to dim in response to his fury.
Si Yue and Mu Xin took an involuntary step back.
A deep, primal fear slithered down their spines. They had taunted him, prodded him, ridiculed him—But they had never felt this before.
Dao Wei wasn't just angry.
He was something far worse.
"O-Our Lord… is c-coming." Si Yue's voice was barely above a whisper, her bravado stripped away in an instant.
Mu Xin forced a grin, though his fingers twitched at his sides. "Brace yourself, Glorious Dao Wei," he sneered, though there was a noticeable tremor in his voice. "Your fate is sealed. The sect will—"
BOOM!