The sun had barely risen above the eastern peaks when the sound of footsteps echoed from beyond the courtyard walls.
Xue Lan's expression turned pale. "Young Master Chen Xiao, they're here!"
Chen Xiao stood calmly, his eyes indifferent. He brushed the dust from his tattered robe and turned toward the gate.
"Let them come."
Moments later, the wooden gate burst open with a loud bang. Several young men dressed in dark crimson robes stormed in, each bearing the insignia of the Ling Clan. The one in front, with slicked-back hair and a mocking smile, raised his chin arrogantly.
"Well, well," he sneered. "The cripple is still breathing."
Xue Lan stepped forward instinctively. "Ling Feng, this is Chen Xiao's courtyard! You have no right to barge in!"
Ling Feng laughed coldly. "Rights? The Ling Clan doesn't need rights to deal with trash. Your 'young master' should have died last night. Seems fate wants him to suffer a little longer."
His words were dripping with contempt. Behind him, the other disciples chuckled, enjoying the humiliation.
Chen Xiao remained silent, his gaze fixed on Ling Feng. There was no anger in his eyes, only calm — the kind that came before a storm.
"Three thousand years," he murmured under his breath, his voice barely audible. "Even after three thousand years, fools like you still exist."
"What did you say?" Ling Feng snapped.
Chen Xiao took a single step forward.
That one step shook the air. A faint ripple of black energy spread from beneath his feet, distorting the ground as if reality itself bent under his will.
Ling Feng's smirk faltered. "W-What kind of trick—"
Before he could finish, Chen Xiao vanished.
A heartbeat later, he reappeared directly in front of Ling Feng. His palm struck out casually, almost lazily.
Boom!
Ling Feng was flung backward like a rag doll, smashing into the stone wall. The wall cracked, dust billowing into the air. Blood spilled from his mouth as he slumped to the ground, his expression twisted in disbelief.
"You… impossible! You were crippled! You couldn't even circulate Qi!"
Chen Xiao looked down at him, his tone calm but colder than ice.
"Your words bore me."
The other disciples hesitated, staring between their fallen leader and the man they had mocked moments ago.
"Get lost," Chen Xiao said softly.
That single phrase carried a weight that pressed on their chests like a mountain. One by one, they staggered backward, dragging Ling Feng away without another word.
Xue Lan stood frozen, her heart pounding. She had seen Chen Xiao fight before — but never like this.
He turned to her, his expression softening slightly. "Don't be afraid. They'll come again, but next time, I'll be ready."
He looked up at the sky, his eyes reflecting both calm and fury.
"The heavens may have erased my past, but I will carve my name into them once more."
As the morning wind swept through the ruins, the name Chen Xiao — once forgotten, once betrayed — began to echo once more through destiny's path.