The vast hall held only Ji Yunshu now. Her fingers clenched tight, Jiang Huai's words clinging to her heart like the most vicious curse.
But in her eyes, a gleam of desperate resolve flickered to life.
"Right. There is still the Mingyue Sect," she murmured to herself, as if grasping at one final straw.
Jiang Che's former master, Mingyue Shengzun, had long since ascended to the Sage Realm and held a position of the highest honor in the Mingyue Sect. If she could persuade the Sage Exalt to intervene, perhaps, just perhaps, she could shield Jiang Che.
The thought gave her a frail sliver of hope. No longer hesitating, her form blurred into a streak of desperate light, speeding toward the Mingyue Sect.
The Upper Realm. The Mingyue Sect.
Bright moonlight hung overhead, its cool radiance draping over the ethereal, otherworldly gates of the sect. Cranes called, spiritual springs chimed. Everything here was tranquil and transcendent, a stark contrast to the opulent oppression of the Jiang family estate.
Ji Yunshu stood inside the Mingyue Sect's main hall, her heart even more uneasy than it had been at the Jiang family compound.
Before her sat a breathtakingly beautiful woman upon a white jade lotus platform. She wore robes of moon-white silk woven with cloud patterns, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, held in place by a single simple jade hairpin. Her features were painted perfection, her temperament as aloof as a moon palace immortal, untouched by mortal dust.
This was Mingyue Shengzun, the revered Sage Exalt of the Mingyue Sect, and Jiang Che's former master.
"What? That rebellious disciple of mine... isn't dead?" Mingyue Shengzun frowned delicately upon hearing Ji Yunshu's report, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible surprise, though it was far outweighed by cold detachment and a faint undercurrent of disappointment.
Ji Yunshu kept her head bowed and repeated respectfully. "Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. It is certain. He is now an elder in a sect in the Lower Realm called Xianling Holy Land."
Mingyue Shengzun fell silent for a moment. A complex emotion flickered across her exquisite features before settling into a soft sigh. The sigh held pity, but also a trace of inevitability.
"Back then, I warned him many times. A cultivator's heart should be vast as the ocean, capable of containing all things. Huai'er's circumstances were pitiable, and his talent was considerable. Yielding to him a little, showing him care and guidance, was nothing more than the duty of a fellow disciple and an elder brother. But him? He refused to listen, narrow-minded and consumed by jealousy, repeatedly scheming against Huai'er for opportunities, even resorting to underhanded tactics."
She shook her head, a flash of revulsion for the past crossing her eyes. "Because of his stubborn obstinacy and refusal to change, he sowed the seeds of his own ruin and reaped the consequences. No one wanted to see that ending, but it was his own doing."
She shook her head again, her gaze turning dismissive. "Now, by some fluke, he has survived, but his cultivation is destroyed and his path to transcendence nearly severed. He can only eke out a meager existence in some Lower Realm sect, living out his days in mediocrity. Truly, he has disgraced the Mingyue Sect."
Ji Yunshu's heart clenched, and she could not help but defend him. "Master, perhaps Jiang Che..."
Mingyue Shengzun raised a slender, jade-like hand and waved it lightly. A gentle but irresistible force sealed Ji Yunshu's words in her throat.
Her tone was detached but carried an authority that brooked no argument. "Enough. The past is past. In the end, they were master and disciple. As long as he is willing to sincerely repent for all his past misdeeds, apologize formally to me, to Huai'er, and to the sect, and swear to turn over a new leaf, the Mingyue Sect is not without mercy. We can give him one more chance to redeem himself, allow him back into the sect, and provide him a place to stand."
Her gaze fell upon Ji Yunshu, and her tone softened a fraction. "Stay here for the night. Tomorrow, I will descend to the Lower Realm with you to see him."
Ji Yunshu was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. There was relief at having secured a sliver of hope for Jiang Che, but also a bitter, powerless frustration at the Sage Exalt's thoroughly one-sided judgment. In the end, she could only bow her head deeply, concealing every emotion, and reply, "Yes. Thank you, Master."
She turned and retreated step by step from the cold, empty hall. Standing at the edge of the Mingyue Sect's cloud-shrouded cliff, she gazed out at the endless sea of mist churning in the distance, her heart a knot of tangled, freezing feelings.
Jiang Che, if you knew that in the eyes of your closest kin and your own master, you are still seen as the "rebellious son" who must repent and beg forgiveness, would you even want to come back? Or had you already seen through all of this long ago, preferring to remain in the Lower Realm forever rather than have the slightest connection to this suffocating past?
The mountain wind was piercing, but it could not disperse the weight pressing down on her heart.
The Lower Realm, outside Xianling City.
Day three of the Heavenly Alliance Grand Tournament. The sun blazed overhead, casting its fierce light over the vast arena outside the city walls. Today's matches featured mostly Tier-Two and Tier-Three cultivators. No true heavyweight had yet taken the stage. Even so, the fights on the platforms were thrilling enough to draw waves of cheering from the spectators.
"Did you hear? A few rogue cultivators came out of nowhere today and defeated several sect disciples in a row!"
"Amazing. That Hong Longxiang from the Hong family. Yesterday he felled a Heavenly Alliance elder with one punch. Today he shattered the indestructible golden body of the Vajra Sect elder, also with one punch. He's unstoppable!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement, singing the praises of the newly emerged talents.
Yet just as the sun dipped toward the west and the matches concluded, while the crowd lingered to discuss the day's events, a sound rolled down from the sky.
"Wuuuuu—hmmmmm."
A deep, penetrating hum, with no warning whatsoever, descended from high above. It was not thunder, yet it carried more weight than thunder. It was not the roar of a beast, yet it radiated a majesty that struck fear into the heart.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up in astonishment.
High in the distant blue firmament, the clouds tore apart as if gripped by an unseen giant hand. An impossibly vast vessel was slowly descending through the breach.
The colossal ship bore a dark, lustrous hue, neither gold nor jade. In the dying sunlight, its surface reflected a cold, metallic sheen. Both sides of its hull were carved with countless intricate and ancient patterns, apparently static but seemingly flowing, radiating a breath of power so vast it made the heart tremble.
It was so enormous that it resembled a floating mountain. Its shadow instantly swallowed half the arena.
"What... what is that?"
"Gods above! Look at the size of that ship!"
The crowd erupted into chaos, gasps and shouts flying in every direction. Every eye went wide at the unprecedented sight. The lower-ranked cultivators, unable to comprehend the vessel's origin, could only guess wildly.
Even more striking was the tallest mast at the ship's peak. A massive banner unfurled in the wind, snapping and rippling. The banner was deep in color, bearing a single character rendered in an ancient, domineering calligraphic style.
"Jiang!"
The character seemed to hold some strange power. One glance instilled a feeling of deep reverence, making it hard to look directly at it.
The ship did not descend fully but hovered hundreds of zhang above the ground, like the mount of a deity in the clouds, coldly surveying the ant-like crowds below.
The oppressive presence of that enormous hull silenced what had been a raucous venue. An unnamed dread and awe spread soundlessly through the masses.
Everyone was bewildered, whispering and craning their necks, trying to guess where this sudden behemoth bearing the "Jiang" banner had come from and why it had appeared above the Heavenly Alliance tournament.
[
Unlock 30 chapters instantly (for the price of the old 20-chapter tier), plus regular updates and extra benefits every month.
If you're enjoying the story, please consider supporting me on Patreon:
patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
I'll be honest—I'm in deep financial trouble right now, and your support genuinely makes the difference in whether I can keep writing consistently.
By joining, you'll get:
30 advanced chapters immediately
Ongoing monthly chapters
Bonus content and extra releases
If this story has kept you hooked even once, now's the time to support it. Every bit helps keep it alive.
Thank you.
]