The sun had barely risen when the screams began.
Elder Mo, the disciplinary officer of the Jade Cloud Sect, arrived first. His boots squelched in the blood-soaked soil outside the Crystal Hall. The metallic stench of violated bodies thickened the air. Dozens of inner disciples gathered behind him, pale-faced, horrified, some on the verge of vomiting.
And at the center of it all—
Thirty-two female disciples.Clothes shredded.Eyes blank.Bodies twitching with spiritual collapse.Their cores sucked dry. Their dignity stolen. Their minds shattered.
No beast could've done this.
This was the work of a cultivator.A monster with purpose.
Elder Mo's voice roared through the courtyard.
"Seal the entire sect! Lock every gate. No one leaves until we find the one who did this!"
Within the Discipline Hall
One name surfaced.
Ye Xuan.
The forgotten outer disciple. Once beaten, mocked, and left for dead.
He had vanished from record for two weeks. No one noticed. No one cared.
Until now.
A tracking talisman retrieved from the scene resonated with his last known qi signature.
[System Alert: Host has been identified by Sect Tracking Formation.][Status: Wanted Criminal – Level: Absolute Termination.][Mission Triggered: Survive the Purge – Escape within 6 hours.][Rewards: Shadow Step Technique, +1000 Villain Points, "Sinful Rebirth" Skill unlocked.]
Ye Xuan stood at the edge of a cliff in the outer sect, robe fluttering in the cold wind, blood still staining his skin. His eyes were empty.
They finally noticed him.But only now that he was a threat.
He heard footsteps—seven disciples, armed, closing in fast.
Blood Will Answer Blood
"Ye Xuan!" one shouted. "Come quietly! Or we'll take your limbs!"
He didn't move.
The next second, they attacked.
Swords gleamed. Talismans flared. A net of binding qi shot toward him.
But—
Ye Xuan raised a single hand.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Vein Surge – Consume 10% Blood Essence.][Temporary Strength Boost: +300%][Passive Trigger: Wrath of the Defiled – When surrounded, all damage becomes life drain.]
A pulse of black lightning erupted from his palm.
The first disciple's body twisted in mid-air—ribs shattered, eyes popped from sockets. The others screamed, but too late.
Ye Xuan became a storm of motion.
He didn't dodge. He walked through blades—every strike that touched him rebounded, draining their life force into his bones.
Three seconds later, only one was left breathing, crawling away, pants soaked in fear.
Ye Xuan stepped on his neck.
"No one came when I was bleeding."
Crack.
At the Grand Hall
"What do we do now, Master?" Tao Lin stood, her voice hollow.
The Sect Master's eyes were cold. "You knew him once. That's why you must end this."
Tao Lin trembled. "You want… me to kill him?"
"You're the only one who ever got close to him. If you hesitate, more of our disciples will die."
"But… I…"
He stepped closer. "Do not tell me you feel pity. He defiled your sisters, slaughtered your juniors. He is a beast in human skin."
Tao Lin turned away.
She remembered his eyes. The boy she saved. The man who touched her in pain and regret.
Her body still bore the proof of what he'd done to her.
And yet…She couldn't say she hated him.
Only that he broke something inside her.
Edge of the Forbidden Gorge
Ye Xuan stood at the mouth of Demon Fang Ravine, the border between sect land and the no-man's realm beyond.
If he crossed it, the Jade Cloud Sect could no longer pursue without breaking ancient treaties.
But he wasn't alone.
Tao Lin stood before him.
Sword drawn. Heart torn.
He stared at her. She looked like a ghost of a life he once believed in.
"I knew they'd send you," he said quietly.
She didn't respond.
Instead, she pointed her sword at his chest.
"You killed them."
"They would've done worse to me if I hadn't," he said. "You know what they're like."
"You raped them."
"They raped my soul first. They threw me away. Called me filth. You were the only one who didn't."
"So why did you… do that to me?" she whispered.
Ye Xuan didn't answer. His voice broke.
"Because I couldn't tell if I hated you… or if I wanted you to save me again."
She charged.
He didn't resist.
Her blade cut his side—blood spurted.But then—
She screamed.
The same wound appeared across her ribs.
[Twin-Heart Thread Active – Shared Pain Synced.][Damage to one = Pain to both.]
She dropped the blade, gasping.
"You… You didn't sever the link…"
He smiled faintly.
"I couldn't. Part of me… still wanted you to understand."
Tao Lin fell to her knees.
"Then kill me. Finish it."
"I can't."
Silence.
Ye Xuan turned to leave.
But her voice stopped him.
"Ye Xuan…"
He paused.
"If you walk away now… we'll be enemies forever."
"I already am."
And he vanished into the mist.