Heiyan Castle
The sky above the castle was dark crimson, seething and blending into the thick dusk clouds.
Below it, black smoke billowed from the collapsed towers, devouring the sunlight as it slowly sank beyond the western horizon.
Clang!
The stench of blood and iron mixed with the ringing of weapons—an unmistakable scent of the battlefield.
soldiers clad in swords and armor fought on the front lines, killing and tearing into one another, each driven by the instinct to survive and conquer their enemy.
Their hands and feet moved without pause, striking down every foe in their path.
Siege engines crept slowly toward the castle walls, wooden wheels creaking over ground soaked with blood, pushed forward by the commanders' shouts and the last remnants of human strength nearing exhaustion.
Atop the walls, archers with faces full of despair drew their bows again and again without rest.
Thousands of arrows rained down like a dark storm, swallowing the screams from below.
War was always like this—it never shouted or announced its end. It simply went on, until there was nothing left to defend.
In the castle's main courtyard, the black stone ground was cracked, filled with sword marks and small craters formed by clashes of inner energy.
The corpses of ordinary soldiers had long been cleared away.
This battlefield was no longer a place for mortal men.
This was the stage of martial artists.
'Heiyan has truly fallen this far…'
An old man in a deep blue robe stood atop the ruins of the main gate.
His dark blue hair resembled the depths of the ocean, yet his back remained straight, never knowing the meaning of submission.
In his hand, a slender sword trembled faintly, humming like a living creature restraining its fury.
Opposite him, hovering in midair without any footing, stood a man clad in white armor bearing the emblem of Qin on his chest, holding a spear.
A chilling aura enveloped his body, distorting the air around him.
"Elder Zun, Heiyan Castle is already surrounded. Your Zhan Dynasty has no more hidden cards," the man in white armor said flatly.
Elder Zun chuckled softly, blood coughing from the corner of his lips.
"You're far too confident, General Long. As long as we still breathe, this war is not truly over." His gaze sharpened.
General Long narrowed his eyes, a cold and cruel smile forming on his lips.
"You Zhan people are only good at talking."
The long spear in General Long's hand began to emit icy mist.
Its tip gleamed as black ice slowly crept along the shaft.
"Elder Zun, you are a master worthy of respect, but this is the end of the Zhan Dynasty. Surrender and join us in conquering this continent."
Elder Zun tightened his grip on his sword and replied coldly, "I would rather die than stand atop the same sins as you."
"Hmph."
General Long raised his spear.
The surrounding air froze instantly, and the black stone of the courtyard became coated in a thin, cracking layer of ice.
"Then this is the end of your life."
Without warning, General Long vanished from the air.
Clang!
Elder Zun raised his sword just in time.
A black ice spear slammed into the blade, sending out pale blue sparks and a shockwave of energy that shattered the ground beneath their feet.
Debris flew everywhere, and the remaining ordinary soldiers were blown back dozens of meters.
"You've already stepped into the Ice Transformation Realm…? No wonder Qin dares to attack," Elder Zun murmured, his feet planted firmly into the cracked ground.
General Long reappeared several meters away, standing on the ground with his armored cloak fluttering lightly as he held the ice spear.
"You seem to have grown quite weak. Are you sure you want to continue?"
Elder Zun smiled bitterly. "I will sacrifice my life if I must."
He slammed his sword into the ground.
Wuuung—!
A circle of deep blue light spread instantly from his feet, splitting the courtyard as glowing cracks spread like veins.
A sharp and pure sword aura surged into the sky, cleaving through the dark red clouds above.
General Long looked up at the split heavens.
"Well, I can feel your resolve."
As those words fell, a cold aura wrapped around General Long's body, causing the spear in his hand to shine blue.
"…But this is the battle I've been waiting for."
The next second, both figures vanished from sight.
They reappeared high above the trembling Heiyan Castle.
Two auras—one freezing cold, the other sharply cutting—collided violently.
--
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A village in the far east.
At this moment, dawn had just broken as Bai Ze stood amid the vast rice fields.
A thin mist still hung low, clinging to the stalks of half-ripened golden rice.
Bai Ze stood in silence.
The ground beneath his bare feet was damp and cold, stabbing into his soles.
Each step left a faint imprint that was quickly filled with murky water, as if the fields refused to remember anyone who passed through.
Bai Ze bent down, his thin and rough fingers picking up scattered rice stalks with practiced motions born of habit.
Since childhood, his life had been a series of repeated actions: bend down, gather, bind, then hand it over.
No one taught him how to live this way—he grew up knowing only one identity: a slave.
'Hot…'
Bai Ze wiped the sweat flowing from his temples with the back of his hand.
His skin burned under the sun, while his shoulders ached from working since dawn.
He was still young—only in his teens—yet his body already knew exhaustion like that of an old man.
'Huh…'
He straightened his back briefly, letting his gaze drift toward the sky.
The blue sky looked pale and clear, free of clouds. Yet such beauty felt distant, as if it did not belong to him.
"Hurry up!"
The harsh voice of a guard shattered the silence from across the field.
The whip in his hand had not yet been swung, but it was enough to force everyone to bend down again.
Bai Ze was no exception.
As a slave of the Li family, his worth was no greater than the amount of harvest he could gather today.
With a single command—or ten overly heavy lashes—he could die on the spot, and no one would care.
"Oi, Bai Ze."
The voice came from his right. Bai Ze glanced over without straightening his back.
A slightly burly slave stood a few steps away. His face was darkened by the sun, with narrow eyes that always seemed half-grinning.
His name was Luo Tian, half a year older than him.
Though the age difference was only a few months, it felt significant enough for Luo Tian to look at Bai Ze like a younger brother.
"What?" Bai Ze replied briefly.
"You're working too slowly," Luo Tian said, pointing at Bai Ze's half-filled bundle of rice.
"If a guard walks by and sees it, you'll be the first to get punished."
Bai Ze didn't answer. He was sure the bundle was tightly bound.
Even if it wasn't finished now, he could do it later.
He began to ignore Luo Tian, but Luo Tian seemed unaware of his evasiveness.
"I heard today's harvest will be counted strictly. If it's short, our food rations might be cut," Luo Tian lowered his voice as he stepped closer.
Bai Ze's hands paused slightly. With an expressionless face, he asked.
"Where did you hear that?"
Luo Tian snorted softly. "From guards who were drinking last night. Their mouths are always loose."
'This guy still loves alcohol…'
Luo Tian often went out at night.
Even though slaves had no money, some guards always offered him liquor, causing him to return drunk.
Several times, he even slept on the roadside—the worst being inside a horse stable.
Yet this habit oddly benefited him, as the connections he built kept him relatively safe.
'Come to think of it… he rarely gets scolded by the guards.'
Bai Ze had once thought about trying the same approach, but unlike Luo Tian's smooth talk, he could barely even smile.
He wasn't the type to flatter others. He preferred solitude and letting his thoughts work quietly.
Besides, he felt oddly content with his current life.
It wasn't that he liked being a slave, but in a place where children like him could die over trivial matters, what could he do?
He was just a slave.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed those useless thoughts aside.
"It's fine. I always eat very little anyway," he said flatly.
Luo Tian let out a short laugh. "You're strange. We have the right to be angry!"
Bai Ze almost laughed at that.
If a free citizen said such words, he might consider their sincerity. But coming from a slave? It was nothing but a joke.
"Nothing changes even if you get angry," Bai Ze replied.
It was an undeniable truth—even a fool knew what it meant to be a slave.
Luo Tian stared at him for a moment, as if wanting to say something, but eventually just shook his head. "Yeah, that's…"
Suddenly, the crack of a whip tore through the air.
Plaaat!
All the slaves instinctively bent lower, including Bai Ze and Luo Tian.
"Stop slacking off!"
Silence fell over the fields. No one dared to respond.
"Work!" the guard shouted from the embankment. "The sun doesn't wait for lazy people!"
A second later, everyone bent down again and resumed working.
"We should stay quiet for now," Luo Tian said.
Bai Ze only nodded faintly.
'When will this end…?'
Several hours later, time passed swiftly without warning.
"…That's enough," said a guard holding a whip.
The afternoon sky finally hung overhead.
Bai Ze had gathered, threshed, and even laid out the rice to dry—just enough to avoid the guards' wrath.
The guard waved his hand lazily.
"Take it to the granary."
Bai Ze nodded in response.
He bent down, slipped the sack's rope over his shoulder, and hoisted the bag of rice onto his back.
'So heavy…'
Pain flared instantly in his back, especially since his body was still underdeveloped and far weaker than an adult's.
But after enduring it so many times, his body responded with a familiar ache—almost something he was used to.
Bai Ze left the fields alongside the other slaves.
The narrow dirt path leading to the village stretched ahead, flanked by wild grass and small ditches channeling murky water from the paddies.
The slaves moved almost in unison, forming a long line from end to end.
Seeing their exhausted and hopeless faces, some of them might have once thought about escaping—especially at a time like this, when the line was full of gaps.
But the guards weren't foolish enough to let slaves walk without supervision.
They were spread throughout the line, one guard for every five or six slaves, sealing off any chance of escape.
Luo Tian, walking ahead, glanced back briefly.
"Oi, Bai Ze, slow down. If you fall, the rice will spill everywhere."
'My steps are steadier than yours…'
Watching Luo Tian's slightly unsteady gait, his stamina might even be worse than Bai Ze's, despite his larger build.
Bai Ze didn't reply, only nodded briefly.
"Do you still remember how to hand the rice over to the granary guard?"
'This guy is so talkative…' Suppressing his irritation, Bai Ze sighed.
"We've done it many times."
"And after that, getting food—do you still remember where?"
"I'm used to it."
"Hm… What about bowls? When they hand out food, some guards might run out of bowls, so we have to bring our own."
"That too."
"Very good. I'm glad you still remember my teachings since I started working earlier than you."
'I don't remember you ever teaching me.'
"Oh right, do you want to know what we're eating today?"
Bai Ze, "… "
'Just ignore him…'
"Hey, why aren't you answering me?"
'Because you're noisy.' Of course, Bai Ze couldn't say that. He took a deep breath—very deep—then said,
"…I already answered. You just didn't hear me."
"Really? Your voice was very quiet."
In the end, Luo Tian's chatter continued endlessly.
Bai Ze responded only when necessary with short replies, otherwise choosing silence and focusing on his own steps.
He didn't hate Luo Tian. But as a teenager accustomed to solitude, Luo Tian's presence often felt intrusive.
Before long, the dirt path turned into hardened ground packed by countless footsteps and wheels, wide enough for two carts to pass.
They had arrived at the village.
Bai Ze looked at it from afar with a sense of boredom. Aside from the large hill at the far end, the village looked plain.
Perhaps that boredom came from growing up here.
But what if it were seen by outsiders?
Bai Ze wouldn't know—he had never seen outsiders in his life.
Since childhood, his feet had barely stepped beyond his home, and after becoming a slave, his days were nothing but harvesting rice and receiving food.
"Hey, Bai Ze, look!" Luo Tian shouted, pointing ahead.
Bai Ze intended to ignore him, but his reaction came first when he followed Luo Tian's pointing finger.
A line of horse-drawn carriages rushed forward, moving almost in a hurry, accompanied by the clatter of wooden wheels.
Grok—grok—grok—
Bai Ze froze at the sight.
Each carriage was pulled by two horses, but what stood out the most was the yellow banner mounted on top.
A small fluttering flag—yet everyone in the village recognized it as the banner of the Li family.
"Why are they in such a hurry? Did something happen?" Luo Tian asked.
"I don't know."
The Li family was no ordinary family.
In this village, they were like unwritten elders. Their wealth and influence had long surpassed anything that could be denied.
Even though the Su family ruled the village, it was an open secret that the Li family always stood behind them.
But even if the Li family ran into trouble, what did it have to do with Bai Ze?
They were his masters—but he was just a slave.
"Move aside!"
A loud voice rang out, seemingly from a man sitting atop one of the carriages, holding the reins.
"Anyone who blocks the road will be punished!"
As soon as the words rang out, the crowd reacted.
People quickly moved to the sides of the road. Most lowered their heads—especially the slaves.
Bai Ze and Luo Tian were no exception, stepping quickly aside with heavy burdens on their backs.
Once among the crowd, they lowered their heads as they should.
"They seem to be leaving the village," Luo Tian murmured quietly.
"Be quiet…"
From the corner of his eye, Bai Ze continued to watch the line of carriages speeding through the village.
Dust flew, wooden wheels creaked, and the yellow banners kept fluttering until the last carriage passed.
Once the Li family left, everyone finally let out a breath.
"Seems like there's trouble. Maybe something related to the village?" Luo Tian asked.
Bai Ze replied lazily, "…I don't care."
"Hey, this concerns our lives! If the Li family leaves, what about us? Who's going to feed us?"
"If they leave, we'll finally become free people. We can start looking for work."
"Well, um… that's not a bad idea. But still, finding work is hard too. Who would take in former slaves like us?"
"First, we're not former slaves yet. Second, I don't care."
"Even if you say that…"
Bai Ze sighed. "…You can ask the guards later."
Luo Tian's eyes lit up. "That's true!"
To be continued…