The Bloodstone Arena was still wrapped in a heavy cloud of dust after the duel. Disciples crowded at the edges, their whispers sharp with fear and suspicion. Chen Liang lay unconscious, his once-proud figure crumpled, while Li Shen stood trembling, his body bleeding, his breath ragged.
As he took a step toward the exit, his gaze caught something at the side of the arena. A young girl in the robes of a new disciple had fallen to the ground, trampled by the panicked crowd. Her knee was bleeding, her hands shaking as she struggled to stand.
Li Shen hesitated for a heartbeat. He could have ignored her—but instead, he walked toward her.
Despite his own wounds, he reached out and helped the girl to her feet.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
The girl blinked in surprise when she recognized him. "Y-You…" Her lips trembled, but finally, she gave a small nod. "Thank you…"
Li Shen offered a faint smile and released her hand.
"Be more careful next time."
Several disciples who witnessed the scene froze. They had expected Li Shen to be cold or violent, yet here he was helping someone, despite the pain etched across his own body. The contradiction unsettled them even more.
"He… can actually be kind?"
"Don't be fooled. It's just an act."
"With that cursed Qi, he'll lose control eventually."
Li Shen heard every word, but he didn't respond. He simply walked away, calm on the surface, though inside, his heart was a storm.
The girl he helped was Mei Lin. From that moment onward, her gratitude grew into quiet conviction—belief that Li Shen was not what the sect whispered him to be.
---
When the dust finally settled, silence fell over the arena. No cheers, no applause—only an eerie stillness.
"He wields both Qi?"
"Light and darkness… that's impossible."
"If he loses control… this sect will be destroyed."
Rumors spread like poison, sinking deeper into every corner of Rising Cloud Sect.
---
On the high platform, the elders exchanged heavy gazes.
Elder Bai spoke first, his voice grave. "Light and darkness in one vessel… if the world learns of this, it will shake the heavens."
Elder Wu sneered. "We need not wait. That boy is a disaster in the making. Better to eliminate him now, before it's too late."
But Elder Yu, usually silent, leaned forward, his eyes sharp. "Or perhaps… he is the answer to the ancient prophecy. The child of two worlds—the bridge."
His words made the chamber fall silent.
From the shadows, a hooded figure—an envoy from another sect—watched intently. A thin smile curved across his lips.
"Interesting… the world may have finally found the heir of forgotten bloodlines."
---
Back in his room, Li Shen sat cross-legged, his wounds barely bandaged. The two Qi inside him surged violently, clashing like waves against stone.
"Look, Shen," the voice of darkness whispered. "They all fear you. They will destroy you before you ever rise. Let me take over, and the world will kneel."
But the voice of light pushed back, soft and steady like a lullaby.
"Don't fall, Shen. You are not a curse—you are hope. Endure, and you will see."
Li Shen clenched his fists, sweat dripping down his face. The two voices pulled at his soul, threatening to tear him apart.
And then, in his dreams, he saw them. A man wielding a spear of darkness. A woman holding a sword of light. Between them, a crying infant.
Li Shen woke with a gasp, heart pounding.
"Who… who are they? What do they have to do with me?"
---
By morning, the duel's outcome had spread far beyond the sect walls.
"The traitor's son wields two Qi."
"He is a walking disaster."
"Or… perhaps he is the one the prophecy spoke of."
As Li Shen walked through the courtyard, whispers followed him like shadows. Each word struck deeper than any blade.
But then, a gentle voice called out.
"Li Shen…"
He turned. Mei Lin stood there, carrying a small bundle of medicine. Her hands trembled, yet her eyes shone with determination.
"I know what they say about you. I know they're afraid. But I don't believe you're a curse. I believe… you're different."
Li Shen stared at her, stunned. Warmth bloomed in his chest—something he had never felt within these walls: recognition.
"…Thank you," he murmured.
---
Meanwhile, in the council hall, the elders argued fiercely.
"We cannot allow him to roam freely," Elder Wu declared coldly.
"Agreed. He must be tested. If he fails, we eliminate him."
"But if he succeeds…" Elder Yu added, "then we must protect him, even if the world turns against us."
Their decision was made: Li Shen would be sent into the Spirit Trial Grounds, an ancient place meant to measure talent. But everyone knew—the trial was as deadly as a battlefield.
And beyond the sect walls, in the shadows of the night, envoys from rival sects whispered among themselves.
"That boy… we must claim him before the others do."
---
That night, Li Shen sat in his dimly lit room, the moon casting pale light through the window. His hands trembled from both pain and the inner storm raging within him.
Yet Mei Lin's words echoed in his heart:
"I believe… you're different."
For the first time, he felt a fragile reason to endure—not just for survival, but for a truth still hidden in the shadows.
Unbeknownst to him, this fragile seed of hope was guiding him straight into a storm that would change the fate of the continent forever.