Shaurya stared at the glowing blue pane hovering in his vision, a sharp spark of curiosity igniting behind his dark sunglasses. His lips curled into an unrepentant smirk as he ran his eyes over the newly surfaced listing.
"Finally… something actually useful," he muttered under his breath.
The interface shimmered, the text coalescing into crisp, golden lines.
[Soul Destroying Array – Cost: 10 Dharma Points]
[Description: A forbidden formation designed to directly annihilate the souls of adversaries. Highly effective against targets below the Core Formation Realm. Upon deployment, the array locks onto the spiritual signatures within its boundaries and incinerates the soul core to cinders.]
[Warning: Irreversible and merciless.]
Shaurya didn't hesitate for a heartbeat. "Buy."
[10 Dharma Points deducted.]
[Current Balance: 3 Dharma Points]
He rubbed his hands together with a low chuckle. "Perfect. Let those Jade Fire clowns come up the hill… I'll give this a proper test drive."
Almost as if summoned by his thought, a sharp whistle pierced the mountain air.
Ten figures descending on flying swords cut through the high mist, touching down on the cleared stone terrace in front of the Main Hall with arrogant thuds. Their vermilion tunics bore the blazing crest of the Jade Fire Sect, and their leader—a burly youth with a scarred brow and a cruel sneer—stepped out ahead of the rest, his hand resting on the hilt of his saber.
"So you're the so-called Sect Master of this destitute Sanatan Flame Sect?" the youth jeered, looking down his nose at Shaurya. "Kneel, kowtow, and beg for mercy. Do it properly, and we might grant you a clean, swift death."
Shaurya didn't budge an inch from his casual stance. Instead, a relaxed chuckle slipped past his lips. "You know… speak of the devil, and the devil lands on your doorstep."
The disciples exchanged bewildered glances.
"What gibberish is he spouting?" one muttered.
"Who cares? He's stalling. Gut him."
Shaurya's gaze chilled, the humor draining from his eyes as his voice dropped into an icy calm. "Turn around and walk down this mountain right now, and you might actually live. Unlike your sect… which is destined to turn to ash."
"Arrogant dog!" the scarred leader barked, stepping forward with bare teeth. "You just sealed your fate. I, Rong Yuan, will personally peel your skin off and make sure you die screaming."
Shaurya smirked, shaking his head slowly. "Torture? Me? You want to torture me? Fine… I'll show you what true torment looks like."
He raised his right hand toward the sky, fingers poised.
"Soul Destroying Array—ACTIVATE!"
Snap!
The sharp crack of his fingers echoed across the plateau, and the flagstones beneath the ten disciples ignited with deep, crimson runes. The interlocking patterns flared like burning veins in the rock, locking the space in an instant.
"What the—?!" Rong Yuan gasped, trying to leap backward.
He couldn't move. An unseen, suffocating weight seized every nerve in their bodies. Then, pale, ghostly flames erupted from the floor—not scorching their robes or singing their skin, but burning inward, targeting their very souls.
Agonized shrieks tore through the mountain quiet.
One disciple collapsed hard to his knees, his eyes wide and bloodshot with absolute horror as fine, glowing cracks spread across his skin like shattered porcelain.
"No! What is this?! My dantian—my soul is burning!" another wailed, clawing frantically at his own chest before his spiritual core collapsed entirely.
One by one, the pale flames consumed them from the inside out. Their physical forms fractured into gray ash, their soul signatures erased from the world without leaving a single trace behind. The morning wind swept across the stone, scattering the dust into the valley below.
Silence reclaimed the terrace.
Shaurya stood with his hand still raised, blinking at the empty stone. "Whoa… that was way stronger than I thought."
In the heart of Blue Stone City, the Grand Hall of the Jade Fire Sect was bathed in oppressive, blood-red lantern light.
At the center of the vast chamber, seated atop an elevated throne of jagged black stone, sat Huo Ling. The Sect Leader was a mountain of a man—broad-shouldered, menacing, and draped in heavy crimson robes that trailed down the steps. To his left and right, eight Grand Elders sat in absolute, stone-faced silence.
Before the dais stood Jiang Lin, the bruised and bandaged young master, flanked by a subordinate elder who was drenched in a cold sweat.
"What did you say?" Huo Ling's voice rumbled like grinding tectonic plates.
The kneeling elder swallowed dryly, his voice shaking. "S-Sect Leader… the vanguard of ten inner disciples we dispatched… their life slips shattered. Every single one is dead."
"WHAT?!"
The hall shook violently as Huo Ling rose to his feet. A terrifying, blistering aura erupted from his frame, the sheer pressure causing hairline fractures to race across the polished marble floor.
"That brat must have relied on some forbidden legacy artifact or a hidden killing formation," Huo Ling snarled, his eyes burning with crimson fury. "We underestimated him. No more! Mobilize the core ranks. Grand Elders—you march with me. I will personally tear that mountain apart!"
Jiang Lin bowed low, a cruel, vicious smirk carving across his swollen face. "He dared humiliate me in the streets… when you break him, Sect Leader, allow this disciple the honor of taking his head."
Meanwhile, across the city in a luxurious, private estate pavilion, several prominent local figures sat around a carved rosewood table. At the head of the gathering rested the City Lord—a broad, imposing powerhouse with a jagged scar crossing his left eye, his hair and irises glowing with a distinct violet hum.
He leaned back, crossing his arms with a low hum. "The Jade Fire Sect, the long-standing tyrant of our territory… versus an unknown sect that materialized overnight? Hmph. This should be an entertaining show. The balance of power in this city is overdue for a shift."
A faint, knowing grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
Back atop Black Peak Mountain, Shaurya sat leisurely by the edge of the lotus fountain, gazing up at the serene blue sky.
Even though the Sanatan Flame Sect had only just taken root, the dense natural qi flowing through the Demonic Beast Valley was already being pulled toward the peaks by the palace's ancient architecture. It was precisely why cultivation houses prized mountain roots—cultivating in such concentrated spiritual currents accelerated progress by bounds.
Ding!
[System Notification: Disciple Xiao Rui has broken through from Qi Initiate Level 3 to Level 4.]
"Oh?" Shaurya mused aloud, leaning back against the marble rim. "The kid is genuinely sharp. Jumping a minor realm in just four hours. The pills did their job, of course… but Xiao Lian, she—"
BOOM!
A deafening shockwave tore through the courtyard, cutting him off mid-sentence.
The air above the western pavilion warped violently. The sky shifted into a pale, crystalline hue as creeping frost materialized out of thin air, encasing the surrounding roof tiles in shimmering white ice.
Shaurya jumped to his feet, wide-eyed. "System! What's going on over there?!"
[System Notification: Congratulations, Host. Disciple Xiao Lian has awakened a legendary constitution—the Ice Phoenix Body.]
Shaurya took in a sharp breath. "Ice Phoenix Body…?"
[System: Indeed. One of the rarest and most devastating physiques in the entire cultivation realm.]
Hovering a few feet above the courtyard stones, Xiao Lian drifted in the air, her small frame enveloped in a brilliant, silvery-blue aura. Her eyes glowed with chilling luminescence as the spectral manifestation of an ancient, frost-crowned Phoenix took shape behind her shoulders, letting out a majestic, piercing cry that echoed across the peaks.
Xiao Rui came bolting out of the corridor, his face pale with worry. "Master! What's happening to my sister?!"
Shaurya snapped out of his stupor, letting out a burst of joyous laughter as he scooped the boy up by his shoulders. "Your sister… is an absolute monster of a genius!"
He set Xiao Rui back down on his feet, grinning ear to ear. "She awakened the legendary Ice Phoenix Body!"
Xiao Rui's jaw dropped so low it nearly hit his chest.
The sky flared with brilliant silver light as consecutive chimes rang through Shaurya's mind.
Ding!
[System Notification: Congratulations! Disciple Xiao Lian has broken through: Qi Initiate Level 3 → Level 4… Level 5… Level 6!]
Shaurya's grin froze. He blinked once. Twice.
"She just jumped three consecutive levels… in one breath?! Hold on… she's a whole realm higher than me now?!"
Xiao Rui looked from the sky back to Shaurya, chuckling with raw pride. "Master! Did you see that? My sister is already Level 6!"
Shaurya forced a stiff, proud smile while a single, tragic tear dramatically welled in the corner of his eye. "I'm her master… and I'm officially the weakest one on this mountain…"
[System: Which is why I continuously advise you to apply yourself, Host.]
"How am I supposed to apply myself when my entire cultivation pathway relies on your shop and missions?!" Shaurya hissed back mentally.
[System: Tch. Instead of whining about your limitations, go offer proper encouragement to your disciple. What kind of sect master behaves like this?]
Shaurya let out a long, defeated sigh and walked toward the center of the courtyard.
Xiao Lian descended gently to the flagstones, her icy aura receding as the Phoenix phantom dissolved into glittering blue mist. Radiating pure, unburdened joy, she dashed forward and threw her arms around her brother.
Shaurya approached and gently patted her back. "You did brilliantly, Lian. Truly exceptional work."
"It's all thanks to you, Master," she replied, looking up at him with shining eyes. "You gave us a home and handed us the path to walk. You are the greatest master in the world."
Shaurya puffed his chest out, coughing into his hand to clear the awkwardness. "No, no… you flatter me far too much!"
The courtyard filled with the sound of their easy, shared laughter.
Down in the lower skies, a colossal flying dreadnought sheared through the cloud cover.
The crimson war pennants of the Jade Fire Sect snapped wildly in the gale. The broad observation decks were packed with rows of armored disciples, and at the prow, seated on an elevated command chair, sat Sect Leader Huo Ling, radiating dark, suffocating fury.
In the valleys and hamlets below, common folk and rogue cultivators peered upward in dread.
"The Jade Fire war barge is moving… that newly sprouted sect is going to be erased before the ink on its banners even dries."
"Who knows? The world is vast… maybe a miracle will happen."
The warship thundered onward, tracing a direct course toward the jagged crags of Black Peak Mountain.
On a distant, lonely rooftop along the city perimeter, a youth who appeared no older than twenty sat cross-legged against the wind. His hands rested atop the pommel of a battered broadsword across his knees, his tattered white robes flapping violently. A clean white veil masked his lower face, leaving only a solitary, brilliant purple eye that gleamed with cold amusement as he watched the war barge vanish into the mist.
At the edge of the Sanatan Flame Sect's main terrace, Shaurya's casual smile slipped away.
Ding!
[System Notification: The Jade Fire Sect strike force is within boundary range. Defend your sect and finalize the mission.]
Shaurya slowly raised his chin, his dark glasses reflecting the churning gray clouds above.
"So… the delivery boys have arrived."
Straightening his white robes, he cast a firm, steady look toward his two young charges. "Disciples! Form up. The battle has come to our doorstep."
Xiao Rui and Xiao Lian stepped up to his sides without a hint of hesitation, their postures rigid and their eyes burning with quiet resolve.
"Yes, Master!"
Side by side, the trio stood upon the marble precipice, looking up at the approaching horizon where the shadow of the massive warship began to tear through the clouds.
The siege of Black Peak Mountain had begun.
TO BE CONTINUED...