[Yuexi's POV]
The golden light around me flickered and died.
I crashed to the ground, my legs too weak to hold me. Every muscle in my body screamed. Breaking the seal had felt like being reborn through fire.
But I was alive. And I could feel my power now—really feel it—flowing through me like a river that had finally broken through a dam.
Tianzhao caught me before I collapsed completely. "Easy. Your body needs time to adjust to—"
"Step away from her, Tianzhao." Sect Master Shen's voice was cold and commanding.
I looked up to see him approaching, flanked by four other sect elders. They all stared at me with the same hungry expression. Like wolves who'd just spotted a wounded deer.
"Uncle, she's injured and weak right now," Tianzhao protested, his arms tightening around me protectively. "She needs medical attention, not—"
"What she needs is to be taken into sect custody immediately." The Sect Master's eyes never left me. "A Divine-grade spiritual root that was deliberately sealed? This is a serious matter. She must be questioned. Examined. Tested."
"She just saved my life!" Tianzhao's voice rose with anger. "Have some gratitude!"
"And we are grateful." But the Sect Master's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Which is why we'll offer her a place in our sect. Protection. Training. Everything she could want." He looked at me. "What is your name, girl?"
My mouth felt dry. "Lin Yuexi."
"Lin?" His eyebrows rose. "You're related to Lin Qingwan? The girl my nephew just got engaged to?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Fascinating." He exchanged glances with the other elders. "So the Lin family has been hiding a Divine-grade cultivator while parading their Earth-grade daughter as the family genius. Your father has much to explain."
Fear shot through me. If they questioned Father, he'd blame me. Say I was lying. Maybe even try to have me killed to hide his crime.
"Please," I whispered. "Don't tell him you found me. He'll—"
"Kill you to keep his secret?" Sect Master Shen finished. "Yes, I imagine he would. All the more reason for you to come with us now. We can protect you from your family while we investigate who sealed your cultivation and why."
It sounded reasonable. Logical.
But something in his tone made my skin crawl.
"She needs rest first," Tianzhao insisted. "Let me take her to the medical hall, and tomorrow—"
"Now, Tianzhao." The Sect Master's voice turned to steel. "This isn't a request. Divine-grade cultivators are too valuable to leave unguarded. Too dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands." His eyes locked on me. "Demons are attracted to pure, powerful spiritual energy. That's probably why they attacked today—they sensed her seal breaking. Every moment she's unprotected puts everyone at risk."
Was that true? Had I caused the demon attack by breaking my seal?
Guilt twisted in my stomach. All those people who died...
"Don't listen to him," Tianzhao said quietly, so only I could hear. "He's manipulating you. The demons attacked because someone summoned them. This wasn't your fault."
How did he know what I was thinking?
"Young Master Shen." A different elder stepped forward, his robes marked with medical symbols. "Perhaps a compromise? Let the girl rest in our medical hall under supervision. We can discuss her future once she's recovered and—"
A scream cut through the air.
Everyone spun toward the sound. At the far end of the arena, the Demon King that had been fighting earlier was rising again. It wasn't dead—just wounded. And now it was looking directly at me with burning red eyes.
"DIVINE CULTIVATION!" the Demon King's voice boomed across the arena, making the ground shake. "I SMELL DIVINE CULTIVATION! GIVE ME THE GIRL!"
Oh no. Oh no no no.
"See?" Sect Master Shen said grimly. "I told you. Demons can sense her power from miles away now that her seal is broken. She's a beacon."
The Demon King charged toward us, crushing everything in its path.
"Elders, formation!" Sect Master Shen commanded. The four elders moved instantly, creating a barrier of light between us and the demon.
But I could see the barrier cracking already. The Demon King was too strong.
"We need to evacuate her," Tianzhao said urgently. He scooped me up in his arms again. "I'll take her to the sect compound where the protective formations are stronger—"
"You'll do no such thing." A new voice rang out, sharp and furious.
Father.
Lin Bohai pushed through the crowd, his face purple with rage. Behind him, Qingwan looked pale and shocked.
"That girl is MY daughter," Father snarled. "She belongs to the Lin family. I don't care what cultivation roots she has—you have no right to take her!"
"You sealed a Divine-grade cultivator," Sect Master Shen said coldly. "That's a crime punishable by death in most provinces. Be grateful I'm not executing you right now."
Father's face went white. Then red. Then calculating.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said smoothly. "Yuexi has always been worthless. No cultivation at all. If she suddenly has power, perhaps she stole it somehow? Absorbed someone else's spiritual energy through forbidden techniques?"
My mouth fell open. He was accusing ME of being a demon cultivator?
"That's a lie!" I found my voice finally. "You sealed my roots when I was a child! You knew I had Divine-grade potential and you blocked it so Qingwan would seem more talented!"
"Delusional," Father said, shaking his head sadly. "The girl has always been disturbed. Making up stories for attention. Clearly, she's done something terrible to gain this power, and now she's trying to blame me—"
"Enough." Tianzhao's voice was quiet but deadly. He set me down carefully and drew his sword. "You sealed her. Everyone here can feel the residual formation energy around her cultivation base. The seal's signature matches Lin family techniques. You're caught. Stop lying."
Father's hand moved to his own sword. "You would threaten me? Over a servant girl?"
"I would execute you," Tianzhao said flatly, "for crippling a cultivation genius. For stealing eighteen years of her life. For every moment she suffered because of your greed and jealousy."
The temperature in the arena seemed to drop ten degrees.
"Tianzhao." Sect Master Shen's voice was warning. "Remember your engagement. Miss Qingwan is to be your wife. Killing her father would be... complicated."
Qingwan stepped forward, tears streaming down her pretty face. "I didn't know," she said, her voice trembling. "Father, you told me Yuexi had no roots. You said she was tested and found worthless. Was that a lie? Have you been hurting her all this time?"
What a performance. I almost believed her innocence.
Tianzhao clearly didn't. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her.
But before anyone could speak, the Demon King's roar shook the arena again.
The elder's barrier shattered.
"RUN!" someone screamed.
The Demon King burst through, heading straight for me. Its massive claw reached out, and I knew I couldn't dodge in time—
Power exploded from my body without me meaning to.
Golden light erupted around me in a dome, blocking the demon's attack. The creature's claw hit my barrier and recoiled, smoke rising from burnt flesh.
Everyone stared at me in shock.
I stared at my own hands in shock.
I'd just created a defensive formation without thinking. Without training. Just pure instinct and power.
"Impossible," one of the elders breathed. "She's never been trained, but her control is—"
"MINE!" The Demon King roared. "THE DIVINE CULTIVATION IS MINE!"
It attacked again, even more ferociously.
My barrier held, but I could feel it draining my energy fast. I didn't know how to maintain it properly. In seconds, I'd run out of power and—
Tianzhao appeared beside me inside the barrier, his sword raised. "I'll protect you. Just hold the barrier as long as you can."
"Why are you helping me?" I gasped. "You don't even know me."
He glanced at me, and something in his dark eyes made my heart skip. "I know enough. You're brave. Strong. And you saved my life when you didn't have to." His lips curved slightly. "That makes you worth protecting."
Before I could respond, his uncle's voice cut through the chaos.
"Tianzhao! Let the demon have her! One girl isn't worth risking the heir of Heavenly Sword Sect!"
My blood ran cold. He was suggesting they sacrifice me.
Tianzhao's grip on his sword tightened. "No."
"That's an order!" Sect Master Shen shouted.
"I said NO." Tianzhao's voice was steel. "I don't abandon people who saved me. I don't leave the innocent to die. And I won't let a demon consume a Divine-grade cultivator who could become the strongest practitioner in a thousand years." He looked at his uncle with cold eyes. "If you have a problem with that, Uncle, you can try to stop me yourself."
The challenge hung in the air.
Sect Master Shen's face twisted with anger. Then calculation. Then something worse.
"So be it," he said quietly. "But remember this choice, nephew. Remember who you chose over your sect. Over your duty. Over your family's interests."
It sounded like a threat.
The Demon King attacked again, and this time my barrier broke.
I fell to my knees, completely drained.
The massive creature loomed over us, victory in its red eyes.
Tianzhao raised his sword for one last desperate strike—
And then the world exploded in silver light.
A figure appeared between us and the demon, moving so fast I couldn't track them. One moment the Demon King was alive and attacking. The next, it was dissolving into black smoke, dead before it even realized what killed it.
The silver light faded.
An old man stood there, leaning on a wooden staff, his white beard reaching his waist. His eyes were sharp and bright despite his age.
"Well, well," the old man said, looking straight at me. "So THIS is what all the fuss is about. A Divine-grade cultivator having her awakening in the middle of a tournament. How dramatic."
"Elder Physician Bai," Sect Master Shen said, his voice carefully respectful. "We didn't expect you to—"
"Of course you didn't." The old man waved his staff dismissively. "I was passing through and felt the disturbance. Curious thing, breaking a Divine-grade seal. Creates quite the spiritual ripple." He walked toward me, studying me with intense interest. "You, girl. What's your name?"
"L-Lin Yuexi," I stammered.
"And you want to live, I assume?"
"Yes?"
"Good. Then you're coming with me." He grabbed my arm.
"Wait—" Tianzhao started.
"No waiting." Elder Bai's voice turned hard. "This girl has a shattered seal, an unstable cultivation base, and half the demon realm now knows where she is. She needs proper training immediately or she'll explode within a week. I can provide that. Can you?"
Silence.
"That's what I thought." Elder Bai looked at me. "I'll take you as my disciple. Teach you to control your power. Keep you alive. In return, you'll study medicine cultivation under me. Deal?"
"I—" I looked at Tianzhao. At his uncle. At my father, who still looked like he wanted me dead. "Yes. Deal."
"Excellent." Elder Bai smiled. "Let's go before these fools change their minds and try to claim you like a prize pig."
He waved his staff, and silver light surrounded us both.
The last thing I saw before we vanished was Tianzhao's face—shocked and somehow... disappointed?
Then the world spun, and we were gone.