"Wrath of the Slaughter God!" Jiang Dao bellowed, his body warping and swelling. Veins writhed across his skin like thick cables as his arms bulged with unnatural power. A strange, shimmering energy washed over his blade, exploding outward into an invisible, razor-sharp web that filled the air. He was channeling his most terrifying technique: the Mad Demon Blood Soul Blade.
The attack crashed down, blanketing everything within twenty feet in a vortex of shimmering death.
Pang Long, for all his monstrous size, was swatted from the sky. He hit the ground with the force of a meteor, shattering the earth and sending shards of rock flying like shrapnel. But he was unharmed. A fire blazed in his eyes as he roared, a guttural sound that seemed to shake the very foundations of the world. "Heaven-Defying Seven Kills!" He snarled the name of his technique, then followed it with a staccato chant: "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
With the final word, he vanished. An oppressive, terrifying aura was all that remained before he reappeared in a flash, directly in front of Jiang Dao. The speed was so blinding, so utterly impossible, that Jiang Dao barely had time to react.
His heart hammered in his chest as he threw his blade up in a desperate block. Pang Long's massive greatsword, wreathed in a sinister dark light, screamed down from above.
The world became a symphony of shrieking steel. Pang Long's sword was no longer a single blade but a whirlwind of afterimages, a blur of dark light hacking relentlessly at Jiang Dao's defenses. The air crackled, filled with the shadows of a thousand strikes, each one delivered with blinding speed and overwhelming power. Jiang Dao was forced onto the defensive, his own blade a desperate flicker against the storm. Sparks flew like fireworks as the two forces of nature collided.
Then, with a deafening boom, Jiang Dao was blasted backward. He flew through the air like a cannonball, smashing through a thick earthen wall and disappearing into an avalanche of soil and debris.
Pang Long stomped his foot, the ground cracking under the force, and shot forward in pursuit. A visible wave of heat radiated from his body. "You killed a man from the Spirit Child Palace," he hissed, his voice a venomous rasp. "For that, I'm going to flay you alive, slice by slice. And when I'm done with you, I'll find your family. Every last one of them. I will hunt them down and turn them all into Spirit Children, just for you."
Before the threat had fully left his lips, the mound of earth exploded.
A figure even more monstrous than before erupted from the dirt. Jiang Dao had transformed. He swung a palm shimmering with a virulent purple poison, a blow that carried the weight of a collapsing mountain. It connected with Pang Long's chest with a sickening thud.
The giant was launched backward, tumbling through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, blood spraying from his mouth.
"Kill me?" Jiang Dao's voice was a low, terrifying growl as he stalked forward. "You think you can kill me?"
He was barely human anymore. This form was far more terrifying than the one he'd taken two days prior. His body was a sculpture of brutal, menacing muscle that gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen. Thick veins pulsed beneath his skin, channeling two distinct torrents of energy. One formed an invisible armor over his body, while the other—a raw, untamable force—surged through him, twisting and expanding his muscles and meridians. This power radiated from his hands, making them swell to the size of bear paws. He now stood nearly nine feet tall, his feet alone the size of small tables.
Each step he took was a tremor. Pang Long, still reeling, shook his head to clear it. He saw the titan charging at him and roared in defiance. "You think you're the only one who can transform?"
Instantly, his own muscles began to swell and contort. His skin darkened to a bruised, earthy brown as he grew to match Jiang Dao's monstrous height, raw power radiating from him in waves.
With another roar, Pang Long vanished again, this time moving with even more terrifying speed. In less than a heartbeat, he was at Jiang Dao's side, his black greatsword scything toward his neck.
But Jiang Dao was ready. He didn't even seem to turn, simply swatting backward with an open palm.
The impact was absolute. The sound was a sickening mixture of a boom and a wet crunch. Blood erupted from Pang Long's mouth as his entire body seemed to ripple, caving in on itself. He was sent flying once more, the greatsword slipping from his lifeless fingers as he crashed into the distance.
Jiang Dao was a terrifying spectacle, plumes of hot air jetting from his nose and mouth with every breath. He strode toward the broken form of his enemy, the ground shaking beneath him. "You wanted to kill me? You wanted to kill my family?" he rumbled. "Let's see you try it now."
The members of the Jiang household could only watch in trembling, abject terror. Every time they saw their young master, he seemed less human, more like a demon clawed up from the depths of hell.
Pang Long coughed, his body a broken mess of blood and shattered bone. Rage burned in his eyes, disbelief warring with the agony. He couldn't comprehend it. Even at his full power, he had been swatted aside like an insect. "You little bastard," he choked out. "I'll kill you…"
Jiang Dao's hand blurred. This time, the slap caught Pang Long across the face. The man's head snapped to the side with a sound like wet concrete shattering, and his body was once again sent tumbling through the air. Before he could even land, Jiang Dao was on him, grabbing his massive frame and slamming him into the ground with enough force to leave a spiderweb of cracks radiating from a newly formed crater.
"You want me to die?" Jiang Dao's voice was a low, menacing whisper. "Show me how." He raised his hand, preparing to crush Pang Long's skull.
But with a final, desperate roar, Pang Long vanished from the pit. There was a wet, tearing sound, and Jiang Dao was left holding a severed leg. To escape, Pang Long had sacrificed his own limb.
Jiang Dao turned slowly. Dozens of yards away, Pang Long was propped against a wall, bleeding profusely. He stood on one leg, his face a mask of blood and pure, venomous hatred.
A deep, terrible laugh rumbled from Jiang Dao's chest. He tossed the leg aside and charged.
"Damn you!" Pang Long screamed, his voice thick with pain and fury. "You cost me a leg!" A bizarre, dark light suddenly enveloped his body. Under his skin, black barbs began to squirm and then erupt, turning his body into a living weapon of razor-sharp spikes. He launched himself off the wall on his one remaining leg, a torpedo of flesh and blades aimed straight at Jiang Dao.
Jiang Dao didn't even try to dodge. He met the charge head-on.
The resulting collision was a horrifying symphony of snapping bones and tearing flesh. Pang Long let out one final, agonized scream as every barb on his body shattered against Jiang Dao's unstoppable form. Jiang Dao's own protective aura collapsed from the force, but his physical body was more than enough. Pang Long was sent flying a final time, every bone in his body pulverized. He landed in a broken heap, completely still.
Jiang Dao took a few staggering steps back before steadying himself. A savage grin split his face as he loomed over his fallen enemy.
"You wanted to kill me?" he sneered. "You wanted to kill my family?" He let out another booming laugh. "Get up. What's the matter? Can't get up?" He crouched down, licking his lips as he stared into Pang Long's fading eyes. "Now… what should I do with you?"
Pang Long coughed up a final glob of blood, his body trying and failing to heal itself. He stared up at the monster above him. "What… what kind of creature are you?" he whispered.
A cruel smile spread across Jiang Dao's face. His fingers clenched into a fist. "Creature?" he repeated, and then he struck.
SPLAT.
Pang Long's head exploded like a melon.
"I'm human," Jiang Dao said to the headless corpse. "I'm human. And we're the most terrifying creatures of all."
Jiang Dao stood over the mess, red and white splattered across the ground. He watched Pang Long's headless body twitch a few times before it finally went still. Then, with a cold finality, he raised his massive foot and stomped down, grinding what was left of the torso into the dirt until there was nothing left to scrape up.
"Idiot," he muttered.
He turned his attention to the greatsword lying nearby. It was a strange weapon, a thick, black slab of metal without a traditional edge, more like a monstrous iron ruler than a sword. He walked over, his steps still heavy, and hefted it. It was nearly five feet long and felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.
He took a slow breath, and the monstrous form began to recede. His muscles relaxed and shrank, and in moments, he was back to his normal self—still an imposing six-foot-three—holding the massive weapon. He gave it an experimental swing. The air howled, and the blade carved a deep scar in the earth.
"A fine weapon," he said, his eyes falling on his old Xuan Iron Blade. He picked it up and saw that the edge was hopelessly nicked and dented from the fight.
"Mortal weapons just can't compare to what these monsters use," he thought to himself. "And this was forged from Xuan Iron. Anything less would have shattered." He tossed the ruined blade aside and slung the new greatsword across his back.
"Father," he called out. "Let's go."
Jiang Dalong and the others, still pale with shock, nodded numbly. The horrors they had witnessed had frayed their nerves to the breaking point. Any thought of resting had evaporated; all they wanted was to get away from this place.
Guo Dutian quickly brought Jiang Dao a fresh black robe. He threw it on, mounted a new horse, and led his family toward the gates of Qian Yuan City.
The rest of the journey was quiet.
Half a day later, the sprawling metropolis came into view. The air in Qian Yuan City was thick with the scent of life—food, animals, and thousands of people. The streets were wide and teeming with crowds. Vendors shouted, selling wares Jiang Dao had never seen in his provincial home. For his servants, it was like stepping into another world, a true city in every sense of the word. The food, the entertainment, the sheer scale of it all, was on another level.
Ornately decorated brothels lined the streets, their balconies filled with beautiful, brightly dressed women who laughed and waved silk handkerchiefs at the men passing below.
Jiang Dao's useless younger brothers, hearing the alluring calls, immediately threw open the curtains of their carriage, their eyes wide with excitement. They were already dreaming of the debauchery to come.
Jiang Dao saw it instantly and snorted in disgust. "From now on," he said, his voice dropping to an icy temperature, "none of you is to leave the house."
The smiles vanished from his brothers' faces. "Big Brother, but…"
"Are you questioning me?"
They shrank back, immediately silenced.
Jiang Dalong nodded in approval. "Dao'er, you need to be stricter with them. It was their lust that got Hai'er and Rulin killed." At the mention of his dead sons, a shadow passed over his face, and he sighed. The Fourth and Fifth Concubines began to weep quietly, mourning their boys, who didn't even have a proper grave.
An hour later, they finally arrived at the Flying Eagle Hall. Du Feng and his men rushed out to greet them. As Jiang Dao dismounted, he gestured for the servants to start unloading their belongings.
"Du Feng," Jiang Dao said, his voice low. "Any trouble while I was gone?"
Du Feng's face clouded over. "Hall Master," he whispered, "can we speak privately?"
Jiang Dao's brow furrowed, but he followed him to a secluded corner.
"Hall Master, the girl you brought back… Qin Qingqing… she's gone. She was taken."
Jiang Dao went still. The air around him grew heavy, and for a moment, the aura of the predatory beast he had just been returned. Then, just as quickly, it was gone, locked back down under a layer of ice.
"Who?" he asked. The single word was colder than a winter wind.
"We're still investigating, but all signs point to the Golden Feather Tower."
"Golden Feather Tower? What is that?"
"They're one of the most infamous assassin guilds in the entire southern dynasty," Du Feng explained, his voice tight with anxiety. "They've operated out of Qian Yuan City for years, starting with assassinations and now taking any dirty job they can get—kidnappings, extortion, you name it. They're a hornet's nest nobody wants to kick, not even the Raging Flame Gang. The man who came… his skills were otherworldly. He injured eight of our best men and was gone with the girl before anyone could stop him. The Rudder Masters chased him all night, but they lost him. It was clear he was only there for her."
"Damn it, Du Feng. You've failed me," Jiang Dao said, his voice dangerously quiet. A terrifying cold light flickered in his eyes. He had given the girl his word. He had promised her safety. And the moment he turned his back, she was stolen from him. It was a direct insult.
Du Feng felt a prickle of raw fear on his neck.
"When did this happen? Who was the attacker? Where is their headquarters?" Jiang Dao fired off the questions like bullets.
"It happened last night," Du Feng rushed to explain. "The Rudder Masters believe it could only have been one of the Tower's Gold-Medal assassins. No one else moves like that. We don't know where their main headquarters is, but we found their local contact point. It's a place called Li's Coffin Shop, in Wutong Alley in the Southern District. That's where they get their assignments."
"Li's Coffin Shop," Jiang Dao repeated, the name tasting like ash in his mouth. Murderous rage simmered inside him, a pressure building that threatened to consume the entire city. He stepped forward, and the stone paver beneath his foot disintegrated into dust.
"Stay here and guard my family," he commanded Du Feng. "Send word the second you learn anything else." He turned to leave.
"Yes, Hall Master!"
"Dao'er, is something wrong?" his father asked, sensing the sudden shift in tension.
"It's nothing, Father. Don't worry." Jiang Dao paused to look at him. "I have to go out. I'll be back soon."
"Be careful, Dao'er!"
Jiang Dao just nodded, swinging himself onto his horse. With a sharp tug on the reins, he spurred the animal toward the Southern District.
The killing intent in his eyes was so thick it was almost tangible. If anyone had been foolish enough to look him in the face right then, the sight alone might have been enough to stop their heart.
He galloped through the city, a storm of fury on horseback.
Half an hour later, he reined his horse to a stop at the mouth of a dark, narrow alley. A few low-life thugs were loitering at the entrance, their shifty eyes scanning for an easy mark. When they saw the imposing figure on the warhorse, they exchanged greedy glances and started to move toward him, planning to shake him down.
They took one step before Jiang Dao's gaze fell upon them. It wasn't a look; it was a physical force. A cold, predatory weight that crushed the air from their lungs and sent a tremor of pure, primal fear through their souls. They felt like mice being watched by a hawk.
"Get out," Jiang Dao said. It was the only thing he said.
The thugs scrambled over each other to flee, nearly crying in terror.
Jiang Dao's expression was a mask of cold indifference as he guided his horse down the alley toward Li's Coffin Shop. He dismounted, the black greatsword a grim statement on his back, and walked through the door.