Yinmo's legs burned as he raced beneath the darkening canopy along the forest's edge. His ragged breaths broke the evening's silence, while thick streaks of blood marred his face and soaked his tattered tunic. Behind him, the jeering shouts of his clansmen—newly promoted 1st-stage Qi Gathering warriors—echoed through the trees. They were not determined to kill him outright; their vicious aim was to capture, torture, and publicly humiliate him. Had they been bent on a swift death, Yinmo would have long been finished.
At the head of the chase strode Lei Xuan—the clan genius renowned for his exceptional lightning affinity. His light-blue hair flashed like molten currents in each stride, and he carried the confident air bestowed on him by his own father, the clan leader of Moonveil Clan. Amid the fury of the pursuit, Lei Xuan mocked loudly, "Come on, you miserable wretch! Why scurry around like a pathetic chicken? End it quickly and spare us from wasting the clan's precious resources!"
Not far behind, Heng Yi—the proud offspring of Elder Shengming, the Fourth Elder—sneered as he bounded after Yinmo. "Really, why do you persist in your futile flight? If you're already a waste, might as well just give up and die!" His words, laden with the weight of his mighty Earth affinity, cut into the air like a cruel blade, intensifying the humiliation.
Adding to the chorus of mockery, Feng Tao—the quick-witted prodigy of Elder Qingyun, blessed with a graceful wind affinity—laughed derisively. "A chicken? Hah! Tell me, Yinmo—what use is a chicken in our glorious lineage? Even the second elder was fooled enough to wear a green hat, but a phoenix is never meant to give birth to such a feeble fowl!" His voice danced with contempt, as though riding on the very gusts he commanded.
As the taunts cascaded through the forest, two soft voices broke through the general clamor. The twin sisters Qingyu and Lianyun, hailing from the lower first-class clan now subordinate to Moonveil, exchanged a brief, loaded glance. Qingyu—endowed with a gentle water affinity—and Lianyun—possessing the subtle, steadfast touch of wood—showed a mix of relief, sorrow, and secret resignation. Their clan had once suffered under overwhelming misfortune, only to be rescued by the benevolence of Yinmo's late father. Yet those grateful days had long been overturned as the clan now placed all its hopes on Lei Xuan, even going so far as to announce that the beautiful twins would be offered as future concubines to further bolster the rising star's fate.
The relentless mocking and scornful laughter began to fade as Lei Xuan abruptly halted the chase at the forest's deepest bounds. "Enough! Beyond here lie dangers even a Qi 1st-stage warrior like you cannot face—magical beasts await that will show you your true insignificance," he commanded. With the words, a smirking curfew fell over the pursuers. The group slowed to a stop; and in that brief pause, Qingyu and Lianyun sighed with relief, while their eyes betrayed the complex emotions of those caught between duty and personal sorrow.
Breathing heavily, Yinmo slumped against a massive, ancient oak. Though the searing memories of humiliation still pricked at him—Lei Xuan's derision, Heng Yi's biting cruelty, and Feng Tao's scorn—the solitude of the forest provided him a moment to gather his thoughts. Under the shadow of that old tree, he remembered his father's mysterious sacrifice at the east gate and the cold indifference with which he was treated by his own uncle. Despite everything, a spark of forbidden hope stirred deep within him—a secret strength that, one day, might enable him to rise from the very darkness of this moment.