"Ara… ara… what do we have here?"The voice came like a bell — playful, honeyed, and impossibly calm.
Heads snapped toward the sound. For a heartbeat the mountain held its breath, then every eye widened until disbelief turned into silence. Three figures floated down from the sky as if the clouds themselves had bowed to make way: three veiled beauties whose presence stole color from the world. Even the Sacred Grounds' proudest ladies — the very women who fancied themselves paragons of grace — stared and paled beside them.
One wore shadowed black, another a royal purple, the third in a pale, sky-blue white. Their robes were not the crude banners of any sect the onlookers knew — they were art: delicate embroidery, impossible fabrics that seemed to drink the light and give it back as radiance. One had long braided hair that draped like a waterfall; another wore a short, dark bob with a butterfly pin; the third's fuchsia locks spilled down with the innocence of spring. The mountain's warriors felt their purpose dissolve into a dazed, childish awe.
The five Emperor disciples lost their composure first. The younger Sky Profound were not far behind, their faces flushing like boys caught staring at a sun. For a moment, the mountain's atmosphere felt less martial and more like a court of worshipers before altars of beauty.
Then the impossible happened.
The swordsman standing on the ridge — the man they'd all come to kill or capture — sighed in a way that turned the scene from surreal to intimately ordinary. He tilted his head and spoke with a gentle, familiar warmth.
"Mio, Retsu… Yue'er… why are you girls here?"
Silence crashed down like a wave. The Sacred Grounds' disciples could not reconcile the heavenly trio with the casual familiarity in the swordsman's voice. These celestial like women were acquaintances — companions, even — of the man they'd sworn to seize? Their confusion deepened when the three showed no alarm at the Emperor auras pressing into the air. They ignored the weight of power as if it were a passing breeze.
The one with the long braid smiled, voice sweeter than anyone had a right to possess."Mou… Yuu-kun… we waited at the meeting point. You didn't come, so we came looking for you."
The swordsman gave a half-smile. "Sorry. Change of plans. Had to lose some unwanted attention. Where's Kon?"
At that moment a golden streak burst into the clearing and materialized beside him: a small beast that looked more like a crafted doll than a predator. It landed with a dramatic flop and immediately began squawking in a high, irritable voice.
"Korra!! You tried to kill me, you bastard?!?"
"Ho— it's you. Still alive, then?" the swordsman said, tone flat but not unkind.
"Not dead my ass!!" the beast yelped. "You shoved that human straight at me while I was trying to find a beast to level up. Then some fool exploded and I nearly died with him."
A shadow of amusement crossed the swordsman's face. "Hmph. Would've made my day if you were."
The beast's indignation sputtered into a childish pout. "What, you bastard? Kon-sama's not going to level up now." It huffed and then, abandoned by its own outrage, settled at the swordsman's feet — suddenly alert as though it had noticed a buffet.
Its eyes glittered with an animal's greed and mischief; the Sacred Grounds' disciples felt that glitter like a chill. The laughter and awe around them curdled into a nervous, prickling tension. The mountain had rearranged itself around a strange court: a swordsman with a doll-beast, and three veiled goddesses who treated him like a friend.
Somewhere in that pause, the lead of the Emperor disciples ground his teeth and tried to reclaim the moment. "You… you dare bring such—" he started, but his voice thinned under the weight of the three women's gazes.
The veiled trio didn't so much as glare; they merely moved with the lazy, unsettling grace of entities who owned their world. The fuchsia-haired one tilted her head, studying the Sacred Grounds' men like a child examining ants.
"Mou… how rude," she sang. "You've made such a mess of our mountains. What a pity. Shall we tidy up?"
There it was: a promise wrapped in silk.
The Sacred Grounds' disciples felt their arrogance crumple. The air tasted like winter; the snow seemed to hush itself. Whatever game they'd come to play had shifted — and suddenly they were pawns under a sky that had grown far too large and far too dangerous.
The fairy with the butterfly pin tilted her head, her tone lilting and playful as she floated closer to him.
"But… Danna-sama, we didn't expect you to be here of all places."
Her violet eyes curved with mischief, the kind that could make even an Emperor's heart skip.
"We came to see what all the ruckus was about. I see you've gathered some… company?"
When she turned her gaze upon the cultivators of the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, time itself seemed to pause. The men—Emperor-level or not—found their throats tighten. Those eyes, large and liquid like polished amethyst, were not merely beautiful; they were alive, pulling their thoughts and souls toward her as though the heavens had conspired to trap them in a dream.
Yun Che sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I was worried for nothing. Then again, I should've known better than to underestimate you three."
The fuchsia-haired girl beside him giggled softly, her laughter delicate like falling petals.
"Aww, nee-san, you were worried? You know he's fine. This guy escapes danger with a bored face every time."
The Sacred Ground disciples frowned. They tried to probe the fairies' cultivations out of reflex, but their spiritual senses returned… nothing. Only the fuchsia-haired one registered, and barely—her energy hovered somewhere around the Earth Profound Realm, far beneath their weakest disciple. Yet her calmness under their Emperor Profound Realm auras made no sense. Someone that weak should have been crushed under the sheer weight of their presence.
And yet, she sat there, serene, smiling like a spring breeze.
The beast—Kon—snorted, flicking its golden tail.
"Yeah, yeah. You were worried for no reason, nee-san. The guy's untouchable. You think these idiots could even scratch him?"
The braided woman—Retsu—turned her eyes on Yun Che. Even through her veil, her expression was soft, her voice carrying quiet steel.
"That aside… were these men bothering you, Yuu-kun?"
He shrugged, glancing toward the group still trembling in the air.
"Kind of. But I've had my fun. Thought I'd take a break now."
His gaze flicked toward her, a hint of teasing in his tone.
"Besides, Retsu… you've been complaining about needing training. Right?"
She nodded lightly, her long braid shifting with the motion.
"Hai. Kon and I have been looking for something stronger to spar with. But…"
Her gaze swept over the quivering disciples. "…these might do for a warm-up."
"Hey, I'm helping too!" Kon puffed his tiny chest and leapt onto her shoulder, his golden fur shimmering with spiritual light.
The other black-haired fairy descended beside Retsu, her eyes sharp and voice level.
"Then I'll make sure none of them run away."
Meanwhile, the fuchsia-haired girl stretched and flopped gracefully beside Yun Che on the rock, her tone half-whining, half-playful.
"I'll just stay here with him. Fighting's too scary. I wish I could cultivate like you girls."
She leaned her head on her hand, utterly unbothered by the killing intent swirling all around.
"Suit yourself," Yun Che said with a faint grin, crossing his arms. "Have fun."
He closed his eyes and reclined slightly, every bit the image of a man watching a show he'd already seen a thousand times. The faint snow drifted past his hat brim, untouched by the aura radiating from his companions.
Retsu's calm smile returned, but her voice dropped to a tone that made the air tighten.
"We'll make this quick, Yuu-kun."
"Kon-sama agrees," the little beast chirped, its tail glowing faintly as energy gathered.
The Sacred Ground disciples—all those who had so confidently mocked the swordsman minutes ago—now stood frozen, sweat running cold down their backs. They couldn't sense the depths of these women's powers, couldn't pierce their veils, couldn't predict their next move.
And in that silence between snowflakes, they realized something simple and terrible.
"Fairies…..we have qualms with the swordsman not you… It is wise you leave that swordsman to us and if you want…. you can come to the sacred….." The disciple's word sounded like he wanted to rope these girls under the sacred ground banner but these girls don't look intimidated by the slightest.
The air froze.
Retsu's voice had been calm—almost too calm—but the chill it carried could have stopped the heart of a god.
"Shut up, will you?" she said, her tone dropping to glacial softness. "His business… is our business."
The words rippled through the clearing like invisible blades.
The five Emperor-rank disciples stiffened. No one—no one—had ever dared speak to them in that tone, let alone with such unshaken grace. The oldest among them, his aura blazing crimson, took a step forward, sputtering with outrage.
"You… You dare! Do you know who we are?! Do you wish to offend the MightyHeavenly Sword Region itself?!"
Their declaration rang hollow in the thin mountain air.
Mio's sigh came light and delicate, but it carried the weight of scorn that could crush mountains.
"Ara, every weakling we meet chants the name of their sect like it's a talisman," she said, eyes half-lidded. "You really think that's enough to frighten us?"
Retsu's smile curved—no warmth in it, only a promise of quiet violence.
"Mio-chan… these people talk too much. Let's end this and move on."
The air thickened as her bloodlust flared, silent but suffocating. It rolled across the mountaintop like a tide of ice. Disciples who had mocked her a breath ago now fought the instinct to kneel. A heavenly fairy was not supposed to have a killer's aura—and yet here she was, a goddess wrapped in velvet cruelty.
They couldn't sense her cultivation before. When she finally let a fraction slip, their hearts steadied—momentarily.
"Seventh-level Sky Profound Realm…" one whispered, relief creeping into his voice."And the other—Eighth Level," said another, smirking. "Strong, but nothing compared to us."
They mistook mercy for weakness. They never noticed the small, invisible twist of Mio's lips; the way her energy folded in on itself, hiding the true depth that even the system itself masked.
"Hmph. Merely two weak fairies daring to posture," their senior sneered. "So what will you do about it?"
Retsu's eyes softened, her voice a silken whisper.
"Well then… why don't you offer your lives to us? It will be painless."
Mio's tone followed, sweeter, deadlier.
"Refuse… and die by your own foolishness."
Their laughter came too loud, too brittle.
"Hah! You're nothing! Pretty toys dressed in silk!" the senior barked. "Men! Cripple them both—leave them breathing. We'll take our time with them once we've finished off the swordsman."
Lust and arrogance burned together in his gaze.
"We'll deal with them!" two peak-Sky Profound disciples shouted, stepping forward as their profound energy flared. Sword light shimmered, their killing intent slicing the air.
They moved fast—too fast for ordinary eyes—blades whistling as they brought them down on the braided fairy before them.
For a moment, they saw only motion.
Then—
Grab.
Two hands rose.
Two blades stopped.
The impact cracked the air like thunder, yet Retsu stood unmoved, calm as still water. Her slender fingers had closed around the steel, halting both full-powered swings as though she'd caught drifting petals.
"What the—?!" one gasped, eyes bulging. "Impossible…!"
The disciples struggled to pull their blades free—nothing budged. The mountain groaned as their profound energy surged, but Retsu's grip only tightened. Her voice, when it came, was gentle.
"You shouldn't have raised your swords at him."
Her braid swayed softly in the wind. Around her, the air began to hum—spiritual pressure building, elegant, deadly, and impossibly beautiful.
The next heartbeat would decide whether the mountain itself survived.
The ridge still rang with the echo of her voice.
Retsu's tone, soft and unhurried, made the snow itself hesitate mid-fall.
"Sigh. I said before—offer your lives to us. You really should learn to heed warnings."
Mio's voice came like the sound of a silk ribbon sliding across glass.
"Guess warnings really are useless to bums like them, Retsu-chan."
The men in crimson armor tried to laugh, but the sound tangled in their throats. A seventh-level Sky Profound? Their pride needed that explanation to make sense of what they were seeing.
"Impossible…" one of the Emperor disciples muttered, his eyes narrowing to slits. "You're just Sky Profound Seventh Level… it must be a treasure, some artifact that—"
The woman didn't let him finish.
"Then again, I do need a bit of leveling up."
She twisted her wrist. The swords she held shattered like glass, and before the nearest attacker could recoil she flicked the broken hilt forward, driving the jagged edge through his shoulder. His scream barely had time to leave his mouth before she raised a finger toward his chest.
"Hado #4… Byakurai."
Bzzt—SHOO!
A white lance of lightning sprang from her fingertip. It punched through his heart and out his back, leaving only the hiss of burning cloth and the stench of ozone. His body fell limp, eyes wide, and tumbled through the snow.
==============
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
==============
The familiar tone chimed inside Retsu's mind. Her lips curved faintly. It had been a while since she'd heard that sound. Yun Che had been right—there was a strange, almost nostalgic satisfaction to it.
The second attacker froze, terror locking his limbs. He didn't even finish his next breath before pain lanced through his shoulder; another streak of lightning had found him. His scream ripped the sky apart.
"Kon," Retsu said simply.
"Hai! I understand!"
The small golden creature blurred into light. It streaked through the air like a comet, piercing the wounded man's chest cleanly before looping back toward Retsu's shoulder. The body folded into the snow, lifeless.
===================
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
[Ding… Host has broken through to Level 61 — First Level of the Earth Profound Realm.]
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
===================
"KON-SAMA FINALLY LEVELED UP!!!"The beast's shrill celebration echoed across the valley, its tiny paws pumping in triumph. For months he'd hunted for beasts strong enough to push him past his limit; one Peak Sky Profound disciple had given him more experience than a hundred lesser creatures. The joy was ridiculous, contagious even.
The remaining disciples stood frozen, every heartbeat pounding in their ears. Three of their elites gone in the time it took to blink. The braided woman's aura pulsed, climbing higher, sharper—Eighth Level Sky Profound Realm and still rising. Each surge of energy stripped away another layer of their confidence.
"What… what happened?"
"She killed them—just like that."
"The beast too—it was too fast. We couldn't even see it move!"
"Who are these women…?"
Fear bled into their voices, but the five Emperor disciples finally moved. Their combined auras flared, shaking the ridge and snapping the weaker men back to focus. Their intent was clear now—not pride, not greed, but survival.
"Enough!" the lead Emperor roared. "Form up! Protect the disciples!"
Five lights ignited, wrapping the mountaintop in layers of Emperor energy. If this woman gained another step, she could reach parity; that alone was unthinkable. They had to strike now—before the tide turned completely.
Retsu straightened slowly, her braid swaying, her expression the same calm serenity that had preceded every kill.
Mio's eyes slid to her with quiet amusement.
"Looks like they're finally taking you seriously, Retsu-chan."
Retsu's fingers brushed the hilt at her side, her voice soft enough to be drowned by the wind.
"Good. I was hoping for that."
"Forget crippling them. Kill those women—leave none alive. I'll handle the weak one and that swordsman.
"The five Emperor-ranked disciples split like a broken star, four ghosting toward Retsu and Mio while the fifth dove straight for Yun Che.
He had calculated the move: if the swordsman was drained by his earlier theatrics, this would be the moment to finish him. But the moment his blade lashed out, it slammed into an invisible wall.
"What?!" the attacker hissed, fury and disbelief tangling in his voice. His late-stage Emperor technique — poured to its limits — struck the red barrier and did not so much as tremble. The swordsman and the fuchsia-haired girl beneath it remained relaxed, as if watching a child's spectacle.
From Yun Che's lips came a light sigh. "From the start I only wished to be a bystander. I never asked for trouble."
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
The Emperor disciple's strikes rang hollow on the barrier. Sweat beaded at his temple. Weak… he thought miserably. These blows are nothing next to the generals in the trial. He drove his aura harder; the red shield held like a mountain.
On the other side, Retsu and Mio toyed with their opponents. Mio danced through blows with the careless grace of a beast that has never known real hunger; Retsu caught and bent their sword-arcs like a child catching falling leaves. The four Emperor disciples found themselves humiliated by ease.
"This is getting boring," Retsu murmured, her voice cool as the frost around them."I expected more resistance," Mio replied, amused as ever.
Humiliation soured into blind rage. The four generals pulled back to the corners of the clearing and began to channel, their auras coiling like drawn bows.
"Use the Domain!" snapped the lead. "Let them taste the might of the Heavenly Sword Region."
The air shuddered. The snow-still ridge dissolved into something else: wind-swept dunes and a graveyard of blades thrust deep into a barren sand. The heaven itself bent into their art.
Cang Yue's brow lifted with interest. Yun Che barely moved — only a flash of a notification appearing in his HUD caught his eye.
=================
[Ding… Host has stepped into the boundary of the Heavenly Domain of the Swords.]
[Ding… Domain activated: Four Emperor Profound disciples fused to form a compounded domain. Strength ×4. Lingering sword-wills empower allied techniques; movement speed and sword-will manipulation increased.]
=================
The lead attacker smiled with cruel certainty. "The Domain of Swords. These fools are finished. It's ended more than a few Emperor minds — how can Sky Profound weaklings survive this?"
Yun Che's lips curved into a lazy smile of his own. The men had misread everything — and that arrogance would be their undoing.
The air tore itself apart.
Sword-wills hammered against the two women like rain against iron, but Mio's body — Monarch-level and steady as a god — absorbed and redirected them with bored ease. Retsu, however, was the true turning point: the little sparks that had danced around her moments ago braided themselves into a living storm.
"You want domains?" she murmured, amused. "Very well."
She let the smallest fragment of her reserve spill out, and the world shifted.
Her elegant sword shrank—black steel humming with red veins—and the braid at her back seemed to tighten as if wound by some invisible hand. A darkness threaded through her aura, and the mountain's wind turned bitter and metallic. Where her presence fell, breath grew tight; for a moment, every eye felt the crush of a thousand hungry blades.
"Bankai."
It was a word like a blade. It cracked reality enough that even the Sacred Grounds' hardened disciples staggered on their feet.
Retsu's form re-fashioned itself in an instant: the fairy dissolved into something far older and crueller. Her smile remained, but it had the wrong shape now — the sort of smile that belonged to predators and tyrants. The sword in her hand no longer glowed with prettiness; it drew light inward, sucking it like a mouth. Her aura snapped up, fierce and raw, and the little measure all their diviners had taken against her proved laughably insufficient.
The Heavenly Domain they'd cast—fourfold, gilded, confident—began to fracture. Tiny fissures spiderwebbed across its surface as if some subterranean pressure had risen through sand and split stone. The illusion of a desert and a thousand planted blades collapsed and scattered like paper in a storm. In its wake, only wind and the sharp stench of iron remained.
Panic broke properly now. Men who had come to hunt suddenly became quarry. They turned and fled—shouting, stumbling, bleeding—only to find Retsu already everywhere and nowhere. Slashes tore through the air in dozens of places at once: phantom footfalls, a black sword appearing behind shoulders, a single shadow slicing through a throat. The mountain became a staccato of vanished lives and ragged cries.
"Kon—hold on tight," Retsu hissed, voice like a cold bell.
Kon clung to her braid and squealed, half thrilled, half terrified. "Hai! I'm holding—whoa—too fast!"
"If you throw up on me I'll slice you apart," she said without turning.
"Hai—won't happen!" he screeched.
She sighed at his theatrics, then drew herself to full height. Her aura was a living maw; bloodlust and killing intent pooled into a gravity that made knees buckle and vision blur. The remaining Emperor disciples halted as if someone had slammed a great iron gate into the sky. Their confidence, which had been a roar a heartbeat ago, aged into a brittle whisper.
Retsu tightened her grip on the short black sword, red veins singing at the edges, and raised it high—an executioner's arc held in slow, terrible grace.
She looked down at them—at the men who had thought to measure blades with celestials—and, cool as winter, spoke the single sentence that would echo long after the mountain had been mopped clean of pride.
The mountain groaned in protest.
Retsu's voice, calm and distant as an echo from a nightmare, slid through the air.
"World of Slaughter."
The words were not a shout; they were an invocation.
The ground trembled, and the faint smell of iron seeped into every breath. Blood that had splattered across her blade and the battlefield began to rise—thick, liquid threads spiraling upward, curling around her sword like sentient mist. They twisted together, forming a dome that pulsed with dreadful energy, sealing the mountain peak inside a sphere of living scarlet light.
The instant it completed, the world changed.
The snow and stone vanished, replaced by a wasteland of shadows and crimson vapor. Beneath their feet, the mountain's ground melted into a black pool that rippled as if breathing. The men felt the texture of it under their boots—sticky, warm, and real.
Drip… drip… drip…
The steady sound echoed in the vastness, but it wasn't water. A metallic stench filled the air, sharp and suffocating.
"Blood…?" one whispered, his voice cracking.
Their disbelief became terror when they realized that the dripping wasn't from the sky or ground—it was from their own bodies. Sweat had turned to blood; every pore exhaled red mist.
Cang Yue's heart clenched. She could feel it—the pressure, the suffocating despair. The gentle woman who often smiled at her like an older sister now stood as something entirely other: serene, radiant, and utterly monstrous.
If not for Yun Che's calm presence beside her, she might have fallen to her knees in panic. Yet even as her instincts screamed, part of her heart whispered relief. Retsu was terrifying—but she was also hers. A sister, a protector. That was enough.
The system notification chimed softly, almost too mundane a sound for such horror.
===================
[Ding… Host has activated the World of Slaughter Domain.]
[Effect: All enemies within are affected by despair. Target cultivations decrease by five levels. Host strength increased by +10 levels. Targets slain within the domain replenish Blood Points by 50 each.]
===================
Retsu exhaled slowly, crimson vapor curling from her lips. "Second time using it," she murmured. The first had been in the old test with Yun Che and Little Fairy—back when she'd scared the life out of poor Little Fairy. Yun Che had only smiled that day. And now? He hadn't moved at all, just watching with the same unreadable calm.
All around, the trapped men screamed silently into the dome. The edges of the domain writhed like living tendrils; their spiritual energy was being eaten. Every exit they tried to form dissolved into red haze.
They were sealed—truly sealed.
Mio hovered just beyond the writhing horizon, watching with fascination. Her eyes gleamed like twin moons.
"Ooooh~ dark and creepy. I wonder if anyone will ever dare to cross you again after this, Retsu-chan."
Retsu smiled faintly, turning slightly toward her companion.
"Giggle. It's not often I use it. I only brought it out because Mio-chan wanted to see."
Mio chuckled, patting her back. "Well, you didn't disappoint. Now… what do you plan to do with the survivors?"
Retsu tilted her head, eyes flicking toward the edge of the dome.
"Hmm. Kon, you're up. These weak Sky Profound gnats are half-drained already—you can handle them, right?"
For a moment there was no reply. When she looked over her shoulder, the mighty lion-spirit she expected to see was trembling like a leaf in his plushy form, little paws shaking, button eyes wide.
"N-Nee-san…" he whimpered, voice cracking. "W-What kind of domain is this? It's too scary…"
Retsu blinked at him, unimpressed.
"What are you talking about? You're standing on my shoulder. It shouldn't affect you that much. You're a man, aren't you?"
That struck home. The little beast's eyes lit up again with ridiculous determination.
"K-KON-SAMA IS A MAN!"
He leapt off her shoulder mid-declaration, his body bursting into light. In the next instant, a young lion materialized—a cub no more. His mane shimmered with golden flames, his body larger, stronger, almost regal.
Retsu nodded once, satisfied. The domain had done its work; the Sky Profound cultivators' strength had already been cut in half. They wouldn't last long now.
The lion cub roared—small, but powerful enough to ripple the black pool beneath them. The echoes of despair swallowed the sound, blending into the chorus of the dying as Retsu's World of Slaughter truly awakened.
Kon instantly turned into a streak of light despite being scared by Retsu's domain but it shouldn't affect him at all as she was the one who control the domain. The reason he was scared because he never witnessed such a scary domain after all.
Kon explodes into motion.
The little lion—now a golden cub with a mane of fire—rips through the domain like a living comet. Under World of Slaughter, the disciples' speed and power are halved; their movements feel sluggish, clumsy, as if they're swimming through tar. Kon takes full advantage, firing concentrated beams and explosive fireballs in rapid succession. Haki-tinged strikes follow, each one hunting for the weakest prey so the cub can gorge on experience.
Twenty-one Sky Profound disciples fall in minutes: scorched, shattered, and overwhelmed. The mountain echoes with the sounds of collapsing hope—shrill cries, metal tearing, and the dull thud of bodies hitting snow turned blood-slick ground.
One of the Emperor disciples refuses to flee. Rage and duty war in his face as he surges forward, sword blazing, to force a path through and buy his fellows time. He screams and slams everything he has into a single strike aimed at Retsu.
Clang.
His full-powered blow meets the black blade like a twig meets iron. For a heartbeat the world holds its breath; then Retsu simply parries, voice cool as winter.
"I told you. Offer your lives without resistance."
She tightens, coating the blade in Haki. The enemy's sword snaps like a reed. Retsu's counter is surgical: a single clean slash across torso and spine. The man splits in two, crimson spray hissing into the air.
==============
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
[Ding… Host has leveled up.]
[Ding… Congratulations — Host has achieved Peak of Sky Profound Realm.]
[Ding… Maximum level cap reached. Host cannot advance into the later stage of the mortal realm until the administrator completes the main mission. Experience gained will be stored and restored after mission completion. Please contact administrator for support.]
===============
For a second Retsu's face goes blank. The system's cold voice shredded the momentary thrill—she cannot progress beyond this cap until some unseen task is done. Quietly, a new irritation blooms in her: a question she'll ask Yun Che when the dust settles.
The remaining three disciples stare, horror-struck. Their strongest is gone. One of them screams, half-prayer, half-curse:
"You bitch! How dare you kill our brother?!"
Retsu smiles—as casual and bone-chilling as winter moonlight. She raises her hand over the two pieces of the slain man.
"Arise."
Blood answers her command.
The crimson pool churns, and from it the shape of a man forms—then armor, then a sword larger than a carriage. The viscous red sews itself into muscle, plates, and a helmet. It kneels, anointed in gore and iron, a creature whose design is alien and terrible: a Blood Knight.
Retsu's lips curve with genuine satisfaction. It has been some time since she called forth Blood Knights—her third bankai skill. The ones she had dismissed before were too weak; Yachiru had told her to let them grow. Now she harvests a ready-made corpse and folds it into service. It kneels obediently, sword planted in the black ground, awaiting commands.
Kon whoops softly from her shoulder, eyes glittering at the prospect of more carnage.
Retsu sheathes a small, satisfied breath. The knight stands, red armor gleaming in the blood-lit haze, and plants its great sword into the earth as if marking territory. It is no mere puppet: it already pulses with brutal intent, hungry for orders and battle.
It looks to her, waiting.
The mountain fell silent again, broken only by the soft hiss of red mist receding back into the soil.
Mio floated closer, eyes wide and sparkling like a child who'd just discovered a new toy.
"Ehh?!? Retsu-chan, what is this? What is this??"
Retsu wiped a speck of blood from her cheek, still calm, almost clinical.
"Giggle… This is my Blood Knight, one of my Bankai skills," she said, her tone somewhere between pride and lecture. "I shape them from the blood of the fallen. The Knight inherits the dead's cultivation and techniques, reborn as my loyal guardian. It's not the corpse I use—only their blood."
The crimson armor beside her glinted faintly, every plate pulsing as if it breathed. Yun Che, watching from his rocky perch, leaned forward. The design looked too perfect—angular plates, a medieval crest embossed across the helm, a weapon forged like something from his own memories. He realized the system had likely pulled the blueprint straight from his subconscious. A faint smile crossed his face; he would inspect it later.
Mio circled the warrior with delight, her energy turning playful again.
"So cool!! Look at this! The shine! The shape! It's really a knight in crimson armor!"
Retsu's voice cut through her awe, gentle but firm.
"Ara, I almost forgot… Blood Knight—no loose ends."
The knight's visor dipped once in acknowledgment before it blurred and vanished.
The three surviving Emperor disciples backed away as the heavy footsteps appeared behind them.
"S-Senior brother! It's us! Please—open your eyes!"
The knight didn't respond. Its blade came down in a clean, efficient arc.
SLASH!
One body fell, split neatly in two.
"Second brother!" the others cried. Rage and panic twisted their voices. "Damn it! Use it—Heavenly Star Frenzy!"
They gathered their power, summoning hundreds of sword-lights that swarmed like a meteor shower. Yet as they moved, so did the knight—mimicking their stance exactly.
"H-How—?!" one gasped. "How did it know the Heavenly Star Frenzy?!"
The truth hit them with the next heartbeat. The Blood Knight was their senior brother—his cultivation, his memory, his art. Every technique he'd mastered now served the woman who had slain him.
The storm broke. Sword auras collided, blinding light slashing through the gloom of Retsu's domain. In the chaos, the knight pushed forward, uncaring of the blades stabbing into its own body. Its strikes grew faster—precise, mechanical, unstoppable.
Slash!
Slash!
Another fell, shoulder cleaved open. The last two fought back-to-back, desperate.
"Fourth brother, you have to live!"
"But you'll—!""If I die, I'll take him with me!"
The third lunged, seizing the knight by the arms and holding tight.
"Fourth brother! Now!"
Tears in his eyes, the last disciple raised his sword, screaming the name of their art.
"Forgive me… Heavenly Star Frenzy!"
The sky rained swords. The explosion of light consumed them both—knight and man. When it cleared, only scraps of red armor and the bodies of three brothers remained.
Mio lowered her hand to shield her eyes from the glare. When the glow faded, she exhaled, a wistful smile playing on her lips.
"Guess that thing has its own limit."
"Not quite…" Retsu shook her head, the words a soft promise.
Mio's eyes widened as the spattered red of the shattered Blood Knight began to crawl and knit itself back together. The pieces slid, rejoined, and the armor sealed, as if the very blood refused to stay broken. Retsu watched with a tiny smile.
"As long as I have my reaitsu, I can remake them whenever I need. They aren't truly dead. They're… immortal," she said simply.
"Wow…" Mio breathed, clapping like a child.
The fourth disciple—already hollowed by loss and terror—could only stare as the knight rose again. It stalked forward as if it bore the patience of a grave, and when it thrust its sword up the man's abdomen there was no scream, only a brief look of bitter regret before he crumpled.
The last disciple, who'd tried to rush Yun Che earlier, stumbled onto the scene too late. His hands shook—part rage, part fear—as he watched one by one his comrades fall: first to the golden lion's merciless bursts, then to Retsu's blades, then to the resurrected knight. Fury snapped through him like a live wire.
"You demon!!" he bellowed, losing the last of his composure, and lunged at Retsu.
The Blood Knight met the charge with one precise parry that sent his blade clanging aside. Before he could compose himself, the knight's fist caught him across the jaw and hurled him sprawling into the center of Retsu's bloodlit domain.
"Demon?" the swordsman's voice drifted over, calm as moonlight. He and the fuchsia-haired girl approached, steps unhurried. "Who's the true demon here?"
"You came for what you could steal," Yun Che said, eyes steady. "For treasure you didn't earn. You thought to loot us and vanish. Greed led you here. You didn't think about the families you'd mark, the wakes you'd invite. Letting you go would only invite worse. So yes—this choice is ugly, but it's the right one."
The slain man's comrade snarled, jaw working. "You… you think killing us is justice? Maybe. But we protect our people. If we let you live, the Sacred Grounds will come again with worse weapons. Better we end you now and be done."
Cang Yue watched, her heart tight. What Yun Che said was terrible and true: mercy could seed future ruin. Sometimes to protect the innocent you had to stain your hands.
The disciple's eyes flared with fanatic conviction. He slammed both palms into the blood-slick ground. The world seemed to inhale.
"Heavenly Might — Absolute Form: UNIVERSE!!!" he howled.
The mountain answered. A blade of light, impossibly vast, tore upward—sixty meters of pure, searing sword energy that split the sky above the blood-red dome, humming with a pressure that made the air itself shiver.
"Hooo," Yun Che murmured, watching the sky split apart, his golden eyes gleaming in the crimson haze. "As expected of the Sacred Ground disciples. Only your kind could shape a technique of that scale in an instant… even at the Emperor Profound Realm."
Above them, the sixty-meter sword of light burned like a second sun. Even Retsu and Mio turned their heads toward it as its radiance painted the blood-stained mountains gold.
"If my brethren die—SO WILL YOU!" the disciple roared, his voice cracking with madness. He poured every last drop of profound energy into the colossal blade. The ground trembled. The air groaned. The sword began to descend, its light consuming the horizon.
He meant to die with them.
But none of them moved.
None of them even flinched.
The disciple's rage twisted into disbelief as he shouted again, "DIE!!!"
"Mou… shut up, will you?"
The soft, bored voice cut through the roar like silk through steel.
He turned—and froze.
The black-haired woman with the butterfly pin stood with one hand raised lazily toward the heavens. Her fingers curled slightly, as though gripping something invisible.
Crack… crack… crack…
The air itself fractured. The massive sword-light froze mid-descent, splintering like glass under pressure.
BOOM!!!
The sky exploded. The sixty-meter sword shattered into a storm of glittering fragments, dissolving into motes of harmless light that rained down around them like dying stars.
The disciple's jaw dropped. "N-No… impossible! That was the Heavenly Sword Region's ultimate form—! How could it—"
"Is that it?" Yun Che's voice was cold, unimpressed.
Then the man turned—and his breath caught. The woman who'd destroyed his technique had let her mask slip. Her aura flared like a nova, burning away the concealment the system had imposed.
Sovereign Profound Realm.
A crushing, divine presence flooded the air. He realized, far too late, that every second of this fight he'd been nothing more than an insect beneath their feet.
"Who… who are you people?!?!"
"You won't live to know."
Yun Che's golden eyes narrowed. His aura pulsed once, and Will of the Dragon Conqueror exploded from him. The disciple's scream choked off halfway, terror devouring his heart before life itself fled his body.
Thud.
He hit the ground face-first.
All across the domain, the last of the lower disciples fell beneath Kon's relentless barrage. With each kill, the golden lion's aura surged brighter, swelling toward the peak of the Sky Profound Realm.
When the final scream faded, silence returned. Only the sound of blood-rain dripping from the rocks filled the air.
Cang Yue broke it softly. "Yun Che… is it wise to kill them? They were Sacred Ground disciples. If word reaches their masters, they'll send a Monarch to deal with us. What happens if you aren't here?"
Yun Che turned to her, calm but firm. "They'll never know. I lured them into the Kidō barrier I placed over these mountains this morning. Nothing that happens inside can be seen or sensed from the outside. If they vanish, the world will assume they died in the tomb."
Mio leaned over with a playful smile, patting Cang Yue's back. "Besides, Yue'er~ these people weren't hunting us. They wanted Dracule Mihawk. Not our names. As long as we stay shadows, the Empire stays safe."
Cang Yue hesitated, then nodded. As ruthless as it sounded, she knew they were right.
A golden streak shot through the air and landed on Yun Che's shoulder, resolving into Kon.
"Yare-yare~ they were no match for Kon-sama!" he boasted, puffing out his tiny chest.
Yun Che gave him the flattest look imaginable. "Says the one who almost fainted before the fight even started."
"Easy for you to say!" Kon barked, tail twitching indignantly. "If it weren't for Nee-san's domain, I'd be cat paste right now!"
He turned to Retsu and her looming red knight, awe in his tiny eyes. "So cool… so this is a Blood Knight?"
Yun Che stepped closer, inspecting the crimson armor's intricate etchings. "Impressive work. It really inherits the dead's cultivation?"
Retsu nodded, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. "That's right, Yuu-kun. But because these disciples were stronger than my usual targets, I had to expend extra blood points to forge this one."
She placed her hand on the knight's shoulder. The armor pulsed once, a deep crimson heartbeat echoing faintly across the ruined field.
"How many points you need to make a Blood Knight?"
"If it's several realms stronger than me," Retsu explained calmly, "it costs about twenty blood points just to build one. If it's weaker, ten points is enough. I can only create and store six knights inside my spirit world at a time."
Cang Yue nodded, already used to hearing her and Yun Che toss around strange terms like bankai and reiryoku. After everything she had witnessed, the logic of it no longer surprised her—just the results.
"Sounds about right," Yun Che said, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "So, you're not planning to revive the rest of the disciples to fill your roster?"
Retsu tilted her head slightly, a faint smile playing at her lips.
"But wouldn't it be boring if all six knights had the same skills?" Cang Yue asked, half teasing.
"Not necessarily," Retsu replied. "I can fuse knights together. It combines their power and advances their cultivation."
Yun Che's golden eyes gleamed with interest. "Then maybe we find a powerful Monarch next time and turn him into a knight. Imagine six knights, each with different skill sets and techniques. That's a small army right there."
Retsu's smile widened, almost playful. "Can't wait to try, Yuu-kun."
Without hesitation, she extended her hand. The crimson mist of her domain swirled again, converging on the bodies of the fallen. Four Emperor Realm and two Sky Profound disciples dissolved into streams of blood and light, their essence merging under Retsu's control.
A low hum filled the air.
=================
[Ding… Congratulations host for creating a Third Level Tyrant Profound Realm Blood Knight.]
=================
The new knight materialized, far sturdier and more imposing than before. Its armor gleamed a deeper red, veined with black, and an aura of raw strength rolled off it in waves.
=================
Name: [Unnamed]
Current Skill Set:
• Heaven's Might Sword Formation – Heavenly Star Frenzy
• Dual Blade Combination
• Heaven's Might Absolute Sword – Moon Break
• Heaven's Might Absolute Sword, Final Form – Radiant Sky
• Heavenly Sword of Extreme Lightning
• Heaven's Might Absolute Sword – Universe
• Sword Spirit Doppelganger
=================
Yun Che whistled softly. "You weren't exaggerating. It really inherits all the techniques of its former masters."
Retsu's eyes glowed faintly crimson as she examined her creation. "And much more durable than before. The fusion process refined it."
"You should call him Ichika!" Kon piped up suddenly. "Then the next can be Nika, the third Sanka—"
Yun Che turned to him, deadpan. "You're terrible at naming."
"What was that, you bastard—?!"
Before he could finish, Yun Che grabbed the lion's head between his fingers and gave it a slow squeeze. "You want me to add 'Squishy' to that list?"
Kon flailed wildly. "Gah—! Mercy, mercy! Kon-sama yields!"
Cang Yue stifled a laugh while Retsu shook her head fondly.
"Hmm…" Yun Che looked back at the knight, thoughtful. "What about Ignis? Sounds fitting for a warrior born from blood and fire."
The knight slowly turned its helm toward him, then bowed its head in acknowledgment—as if accepting the name itself.
Retsu's smile softened. "Ignis… such a strong name. Then it's settled. From now on, your name shall be Ignis."
=====================
[Ding… Setting the knight's name to 'Ignis.']
[Host may now summon Ignis without activating Bankai.]
[Ignis consumes host's reaitsu to exist in the real world.]
[Upon destruction, a fixed amount of reaitsu will be required for revival.]
=====================
The red knight straightened, then dissolved into motes of light that streamed into Retsu's chest, returning to her inner world. The oppressive chill of World of Slaughter lifted, and the once-bloody air became clear again.
Cang Yue finally exhaled, her shoulders relaxing as the last trace of that dreadful aura vanished. The heavy scent of death faded with it, replaced by the quiet whisper of mountain wind.
Mio stretched her arms lazily and sighed, smiling. "Mou… that's better. I thought I'd start smelling like iron if you kept that domain open any longer."
Retsu chuckled softly, brushing imaginary dust off her uniform. "Apologies, Mio-chan. It's not exactly a refreshing place to be in."
Cang Yue glanced between the three of them—Retsu's composed elegance, Mio's serene strength, and Yun Che's unshakable calm—and thought quietly to herself:
"No wonder the heavens tremble at their names. If these three ever fought seriously together… even the Sacred Grounds would fall."
Now that the mountain lay silent and the echoes of battle were gone, Retsu turned toward Yun Che, brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear.
"So, Yuu-kun… anything from the tomb?"
Yun Che smiled faintly. "Kind of…"
He raised his hand and tapped his inventory. A soft hum resonated in the air as a glowing feather appeared between his fingers — white and silver, its edges shimmering with divine blue light.
Mio gasped softly. "This is…?"
The light danced in her eyes as she whispered, "So beautiful…"
Retsu and Cang Yue echoed her in perfect unison, their voices hushed by awe.
Yun Che turned the feather gently in his hand, then looked at Cang Yue.
"This isn't for me," he said quietly. "It's the Moon Empress's inheritance — her will, and her exclusive cultivation art. She prepared it… for you."
Cang Yue froze. "For… me?"
Her thoughts scattered. He had entered the tomb, faced death itself for the Moon Empress's treasure—yet the inheritance, the legacy of that divine woman, was meant not for him but for her?
Yun Che nodded slowly. The soft glow of the feather reflected in his golden eyes.
"I can't tell you much more," he said quietly. "Everything within that vault was meant for you. The tomb wasn't just a resting place—it was a seal, a guardian chamber hiding something the world wasn't ready to find… and an inheritance waiting for its rightful heir."
Cang Yue's voice trembled. "But… why me? Why would any of this be meant for me? I can't even fight beside you. I'm weak, Yun Che. How could the Moon Empress—someone like her—ever choose someone like me?"
He smiled gently, brushing a loose strand of her hair aside.
"Because strength isn't always about how hard you can strike. She must have seen something else in you—your heart, your kindness, your will that never bends. Another part is probably because of your ancestor."
"My ancestor?"
"Whatever her reason, Yue'er, it's hers to tell, not mine. The answers you're looking for are inside that feather. Let her show you why she chose you."
He released it.
The feather drifted from his hand, glowing brighter as it floated toward her — but instead of landing in her palm, it passed through her, rippling the air like a drop of light through still water.
Cang Yue gasped. Her eyes widened as the radiance sank into her chest, then closed as though overtaken by a deep, unseen current. The divine glow pulsed once, then faded.
"Yue'er—!" Yun Che caught her just in time as her body went limp. They descended slowly, the wind stirring his hair as he held her in his arms.
A notification flickered across his HUD.
==============
[Ding… Cang Yue has entered Hibernation Mode.]
[She will remain dormant until she receives the complete message and assimilates the Moon Empress's inheritance.]
==============
Retsu knelt beside him, worry flickering behind her calm eyes.
"Yuu-kun… is she going to be alright?"
He nodded, his expression softening.
"Yeah. She's fine. The process just put her into hibernation. We can't interfere — she has to face the Moon Empress's will on her own."
Mio folded her hands behind her head and exhaled gently.
"So the Empress really chose her, huh? Figures. She's got that same quiet strength."
Retsu smiled faintly at the sleeping girl. "Then, let's keep her safe until she wakes up."
Yun Che's golden eyes lingered on Cang Yue's peaceful face. The feather's light still glowed faintly beneath her skin, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
"Yeah," he murmured. "She's walking her own path now. We'll be here when she returns."
"Hibernation?" Mio tilted her head, curiosity sparkling in her crimson eyes. It was the first time she'd ever heard the word.
"It means she's asleep until she completes the inheritance," Yun Che explained, his tone calm but protective as he looked down at Cang Yue's resting face. "Until then, we just have to keep watch and make sure nothing disturbs her."
Mio nodded slowly in understanding.
Retsu's sharp gaze turned toward the distant mountains, her expression growing cold. "Yuu-kun… what's the plan now? There are hundreds of cultivators gathering outside the barrier. If we remove it, they'll see us immediately."
Her spiritual sense extended outward, detecting countless signatures—both ground and aerial—closing in on their position. The power signature of Yun Che's earlier Getsuga Tenshou had already drawn half the empire's attention.
"Those ants…" Mio muttered with a grin, shadows rippling faintly behind her. "Danna-sama, shall I erase them?"
Her playful tone didn't match the oppressive black aura spreading from her shoulders. The air around her warped slightly, as if the world itself feared her intent.
But Yun Che merely reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.
"No. We've caused enough chaos already. I'd rather not reveal myself again."
Mio pouted softly but reined her power back in.
Kon, perched on Yun Che's other shoulder, folded his tiny paws. "Then what do we do? They'll sniff us out eventually."
Yun Che's lips curved into a grin. "I can think of one way."
He raised his hand and summoned an item from his inventory—a smooth, radiant golden orb. The moment it appeared, it pulsed with ancient power, illuminating the dark mountain clearing with lines of light that resembled constellations.
Retsu and Mio's eyes widened.
"Danna-sama… this is?"
"The Apple of Eden," Yun Che replied simply. "A relic I found in the tomb. I'll explain later—but for now, we'll borrow one of its functions."
He activated the orb with a focused thought. Golden threads of light spiraled outward, weaving around them until a faint hum filled the air. In seconds, a shimmering dome of translucent gold surrounded the group.
Their bodies flickered—and vanished.
From the outside, the clearing was empty. The ground, the wind, the fading traces of battle—all perfectly ordinary.
Even Retsu gasped softly. "They… can't see us."
Yun Che nodded. "Full-proof invisibility. Even divine sense can't penetrate it. The Moon Empress left it as one of her personal artifacts. I'm guessing it was meant for emergencies like this."
He turned to Retsu. "Alright, drop the barrier. Trust me—they won't see a thing."
Retsu raised her palm and dispersed the Kidō barrier. Golden ripples faded from the edges of the mountain range. Almost immediately, the sound of hundreds of cultivators filled the sky as they descended toward the ruins.
From within the dome, the group could see them clearly—armored elders and disciples scanning the terrain, shouting orders, releasing waves of profound energy in vain. Some passed mere feet from them, completely oblivious.
Mio covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. "Mou~ they look so serious."
Yun Che smirked. "Let them search. We're ghosts to them now."
Once they had flown several leagues away from Gao Ling's outskirts, Yun Che finally dismissed the Apple's power. The golden veil dissolved into harmless motes of light that drifted away on the night wind.
Retsu summoned Minazuki, her massive manta-like spirit beast, and the group landed atop its soft, fleshy back. Yun Che carefully laid Cang Yue down upon it, covering her with a thin spiritual barrier to protect her during the flight.
Retsu's curiosity finally broke through her composure. She approached him, eyes drawn to the orb still faintly glowing in his palm.
"Incredible… what kind of artifact is this, Yuu-kun?"
He smiled faintly and patted her head. "I'll explain soon. For now, we've got somewhere to go—a place where we can stay low for a while."
Mio blinked, her expression softening. "A place?"
"Yeah," Yun Che said quietly, his tone suddenly tinged with something wistful. "I need to send someone home. She deserves it."
The girls exchanged puzzled looks, but none pressed further. Even Kon stayed silent, sensing the weight in his voice.
Above them, the night stretched vast and star-filled. Minazuki glided silently through the clouds, carrying them toward whatever farewell awaited.