Rui's blade cut through divine flesh.
The Heavenly Commander's scream tore through the battlefield, twisted with shock, fury, and something he had not felt in centuries—terror. The blade sank deeper, splitting golden armor, rending celestial bones, severing the last thread of pride that bound him to his mandate.
A burst of light erupted as the divine body cracked apart. Golden radiance spiraled upward like escaping fireflies. The sky trembled, the clouds darkened, and winds howled across the devastated land.
Rui stood over him, chest heaving, blood dripping from his arms, his eyes dark and unwavering.
The Commander's voice shredded itself in his throat as he spat,
"You… mortal bastard… you dare… kill… me…"
Rui didn't speak.
He didn't need to.
His blade answered for him.
The final strike pierced the Commander's heart. A shockwave pulsed outward, and the divine body disintegrated into countless shards of fading light.
A god had fallen.
Silence devoured the battlefield.
Even the wind seemed afraid to move.
Rui slowly lowered his sword. His knees buckled, and he caught himself with one hand against the ground, breath ragged, vision trembling between clarity and blackout.
Blood soaked the earth beneath him.
From every corner of the battlefield, voices whispered in disbelief.
"He… killed him…"
"A mortal… killed a celestial envoy…"
"Impossible… impossible…"
The enemy sects—once confident, zealous, fearless—now stared with pale faces, their morale completely shattered. If a Heavenly Commander couldn't defeat Rui… what chance did they have?
Elder Shaya broke the paralysis first.
"RUI!!!"
She sprinted toward him, sliding to her knees beside his half-collapsed body. Her shaking hands hovered over him, afraid to touch him and hurt him further.
"Senior Brother… you idiot…" she whispered, tears lining her eyes.
Rui forced a faint smile. "Still… standing… aren't I?"
Barely. His breath was shallow, and his heartbeat was uneven. Inside him, Qi frothed violently—burning, cracking, tearing at his meridians. His body was a battlefield within a battlefield.
Elder Lin and the Sect Master rushed over next.
The Sect Master's composure broke. "Rui… you fought a heavenly being head-on. Stay still. Don't—don't move."
Rui coughed blood and laughed weakly. "If… if I stay still… I might not get up again."
The Sect Master clenched his fists. "Then lean on us. This victory is yours—but the price—"
Rui cut him off with a rasped whisper. "Victory… isn't mine alone."
He lifted his head.
Every disciple of the Evergreen Moon Sect stood behind him.
Exhausted.
Wounded.
But alive.
Because he stood in front.
Rui's vision blurred as he stared at them—women and men who believed in him, who fought because he fought.
A warm voice broke the silence.
"Senior Brother Rui… you saved us."
It was the young female disciple from earlier. She bowed deeply, tears dripping onto the dirt.
Her voice shook. "Thank you… thank you…"
The disciples followed her lead.
One by one, they bowed.
Ten bowed.
A hundred bowed.
A thousand bowed.
Even the strongest elders lowered their heads in respect.
Rui closed his eyes briefly, overwhelmed. He had fought the heavens… and won. But the weight of it was settling on him like an anchor.
The Sect Master rose and faced the enemy sects.
"Your Heavenly Commander is dead!" he shouted. "Retreat now—or follow him to the underworld!"
The enemy forces broke instantly.
Fear turned their ranks chaotic. Disciples dropped weapons, scrambled over one another, trampled their own comrades.
The allied sects that attacked the Evergreen Moon Sect had completely lost the will to fight.
In less than a minute, the battlefield emptied, leaving only broken weapons, shattered earth, and the lingering scent of smoke.
Rui exhaled slowly.
The war…
It was over.
Or so he thought.
The sky cracked.
A deep rumble echoed through the heavens—not like thunder, but like giant doors grinding open. Golden veins split the clouds, forming patterns reminiscent of ancient seals.
Every cultivator froze.
Even Rui's weak heart skipped.
Something was coming.
But it wasn't a person.
It was a voice.
Ancient.
Multilayered.
Omniscient.
"WHO… KILLED MY SERVANT?"
Pressure crushed the battlefield instantly. Many disciples coughed blood. The ones already injured fainted under the weight.
Rui's eyes narrowed.
A second voice joined the first.
"HEAVEN FEELS… DEFIANCE."
Then another. And another.
A chorus of divine fury.
"Heaven… has been violated."
"Heaven's mandate… has been challenged."
"A mortal… has slain a messenger."
"Retribution must be delivered."
Rui forced himself upright, sword shaking in his grip. "So… the heavens are really watching."
The Sect Master screamed, "Rui! Don't speak! These aren't entities we can face—"
Rui stepped forward.
The shadows around him thickened, swirling like smoke around a flame.
He stared at the sky with defiance burning in his eyes.
"If you want vengeance…"
He raised his sword.
"Come down here and get it yourselves."
Suddenly—
All the golden cracks vanished.
The sky went silent.
Then—
A single beam of celestial light struck the earth before Rui.
But instead of a divine figure emerging, the light collapsed into a floating sigil—a glowing emblem pulsing with heavenly energy.
The Sect Master's face drained of all color. "No… no, this is bad… Rui—this is—"
Rui stared at the sigil.
A symbol of judgement.
A heavenly bounty.
A decree.
Words formed across it.
HEAVENLY HUNT DECREE
TARGET: Rui of the Evergreen Moon Sect
CRIME: Slaying a Divine Envoy
SENTENCE: Death
REWARD: Ascension and Divine Favor to any who bring his head
Every disciple gasped.
Elder Lin shouted, voice trembling with fury, "THIS IS UNFAIR! THIS IS—"
Rui interrupted him calmly.
"It's fine."
Everyone stared at him in horror.
Rui stepped toward the glowing sigil, watching it reflect in his eyes like a challenge.
"So heaven declares war on me," he said softly. "Good."
He gripped his sword tighter.
"Then I'll walk the path of heaven's enemy."
He turned to his sect—his people.
"Prepare. From today… the world will hunt us."
The sigil burst into golden flames and vanished, echoing a final whisper across the scorched battlefield:
"The hunt begins."