Down below, Kai was kneeling, leaning against a tree as blood dropped from his head, he was facing off against an abnormally large demon rooster standing on its hind legs with black and red horns, and it was devouring the other roosters.
Kai panicked, "N-No way ... .its eating its own kind for more power…demonic qi is being spread…I don't wanna die.'
'I was always called the strongest in my sect, I never thought I would be down on my knees like this so easily, am I not giving it my all?'
"Shit, dude."
Kai looked up, seeing Elara swoop in.
"You! The c-crazy girl!"
"Shut up! I'm not crazy! You were gonna kill Joon so I had to stop him."
"So it's true then…you like him? Everyone says you have a crush on Joon—."
Flustered, Elara interrupted, "Shut up! I don't!"
"I-I don't believe you, but why are you helping me?"
"Tch. I don't usually help people at all, I hate it, but there's three reasons why I came back. One: I need as many of you alive as I can because I might need you in the future for my revenge. Two: I might steal the roosters you caught so the sect members could show me favor, and third: After helping Joon, I feel like something just switched on inside of me. So I'm gonna go around and aid people, not because I really want to, but because I have my reasons. Got it?"
Kai nodded fast, "Y-Yeah!"
"So what can you do?"
"I'm a 7th gate qi cultivator."
"Seventh gate?!"
**7th Gate: Gate of Manifestation*- Practitioners can now manifest physical forms from Qi, such as shields, weapons, or even ethereal constructs, which can interact with the physical world.**
Elara continued, "But you're still having trouble with this thing?"
"H-Have you killed one?!"
"Yeah, but from what I can tell, this one is eating his own kind to consume their demonic qi. The Blood sect leaders want us to adapt in fighting in the areas with demonic qi looking around, which is the very thing that makes us weaker, and if we stay in it too long, we could die. Since they're raising us to be assassins for the next four years, they're going all out."
Elara thought, 'Demonic Qi…a corrupt and perilous counterpart to the naturally occurring energies of the world. This malevolent form of Qi originates from the depths of hell itself, brought forth by demons who traverse the planes of existence to sow chaos. At its core, it embodies the essence of demonic beings—a raw and destructive power that, while potent, carries grave risks for any mortal who dares to harness it. And for beasts and beings alike, qi is naturally life energy, and once consumed, the consumer will have more of it. Like the cannibals my family ran into that ate people for more power, it's the same. These are not normal roosters, but their intelligence is evolving …is it because of the demonic qi?'
Elara said, "We can take him down."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. He's doubled up on power, and we have too, because I'm here now. Don't think, just fight. We'll win faster that way."
The air was thick with tension, each breath laden with the stench of demonic energy as Elara arrived on the scene. This rooster stood taller and more menacing than the previous ones, adorned in feathers that seemed woven from the night itself, each quill shimmering with a sinister energy.
The demon rooster spoke, "Come."
Kai, surrounded by a glowing aura of white qi, brandished a newly-formed qi sword, its blade shimmering like moonlight. With a mighty roar, he launched himself at the rooster. Their first clash was explosive, feathers meeting blade in a flurry of sparks and shrieking metal. The rooster retaliated with a screech that distorted the very air. Elara, diving into the fray, initiated a sequence from her sect, the Glacial Fist Harmony from the Frost Lotus Sect. She performed a swift, flowing dance, her movements crisp and precise even under pressure, causing a blue crest to materialize before her. With a fierce twist kick, she propelled a beam of high destructive frosted energy towards the rooster, clipping its wing.
Unfazed, the demonic rooster flexed its powerful legs and stomped, unleashing a surge of demonic energy that rippled through the ground. Both Kai and Elara were thrown off balance, struggling to maintain their footing amidst the trembling earth. Regaining his stance, Kai executed a series of backflips to evade the razor-sharp feathers that the rooster sent slicing through the air towards him. In mid-flip, he transformed his qi sword into a pair of twin daggers, preparing for a closer encounter. Elara, meanwhile, danced her way through a tempest of feathers, each movement a blur of frost and fury. She landed a series of frost covered punches, each hit echoing with the crack of ice forming and shattering upon impact against the rooster's toughened hide.
'It's body is tough, but that only means we have to keep hitting the same spots! The rooster is using his defense to his advantage but that's all it knows. That means it's letting us in close to attack, absorbs our attacks so he could land a clean close range blow. That's proof that the demonic qi is making the beasts and beings and animals intelligent.'
As Kai darted forward, daggers in hand, the rooster's neck stretched out with alarming speed, its beak aiming to peck him. Kai's response was a swift sidestep and a slashing counter, leaving a shallow cut across the rooster's neck, drawing first blood.
"I…I hit him!"
Elara replied, "Keep hitting the same spots you've hit before. Don't try and go for any new spots, we can wear out his hide and defense if we hit the spots we've wounded before."
"Alright!"
"It's like a hammer hitting a nail in the same hole. Hit it over and over and it's bound to give in."
The rooster's eyes flared red, and it retaliated with a demonic howl that distorted the air. Elara, sensing the increase in demonic Qi, spun and launched another frost beam, this one larger and more concentrated. It struck the rooster squarely in the chest, pushing it back a few steps.
Using the distraction, Kai closed the distance, his qi daggers dissolving and reforming into a long, gleaming spear. With a primal yell, he thrust forward, the spear piercing through the rooster's side. Dark, viscous blood oozed from the wound. The rooster, enraged, shook off the pain and unleashed a flurry of feather darts en masse at Kai. He rolled away, but not before several feathers sliced his skin, leaving behind stinging gashes. Elara, eyes narrowed in focus, continued her dance, each step a buildup to a crescendo of power. The air around her crackled with icy intensity as she summoned multiple crests from the dance, and began punching and twisting kicking them, which blasted a destructive frost beam, firing them in rapid succession.
Kai, bleeding but undeterred, said, "I'm not losing…I never lost. I won't lose to a stupid demon rooster.." He caught the rooster's next attack with his spear, redirecting it before kicking the creature squarely in its chest. The force of his blow resonated with a qi explosion, momentarily illuminating the battlefield.
(FLASHBACK)
In the shadowed valleys of Hyunmin, where the mist hugged the mountains like a widow its last memory, there resided the White Crane Sect, known throughout the lands for their ethereal sword techniques and the stoic mastery of their disciples. Amid these peaks lived Kai, a child prodigy whose prowess with the Crimson Feather Blade was unmatched even by the elder masters of the sect.
At the fragile crest of twelve winters, Kai had been elevated to the rank of Sujin, a title reserved for those expected to transcend mere martial capability and touch the divine essence of swordplay. His ascension was celebrated throughout Hyunmin, his name whispered in winds that crossed distant shores.
But his elevation was not without its shadows. The politics of power within the sect brewed like a storm; envy and fear among the elders grew as swiftly as Kai's reputation. Elder Hwan, one of the sect's most influential voices, observed Kai's rise with a skepticism hardened by years of inner-sect betrayal.
One twilight, under a canopy of whispering stars, Elder Hwan summoned Kai to the Chamber of Reflection, a sacred place where the sound of falling water was said to reveal the true nature of one's spirit.
"Kai," Elder Hwan's voice was a blend of steel and silk, "you have risen high and fast, like a firework in the night sky. But remember, what ascends swiftly can also fall swiftly."
Kai, folding his hands within the wide sleeves of his robe, bowed respectfully. "I understand, Elder. I live to serve the sect and its wisdom."
"Be wary, young Sujin, of the paths your feet find in the darkness," Hwan warned, his eyes narrowing. "Not all that glitters in the moonlight is a guiding star."
Confused yet undeterred, Kai continued to excel, each duel solidifying his legend. Until the night of the Blood Moon, an event that came once every nine years, promising great power to those in tune with its mystic energies.
That night, under the guise of a crucial mission, Kai was taken blindfolded by several elders to the Heartwood Forest, known for its dense demonic qi and the savage beasts it morphed from lost travelers. They spoke not a word as they stripped him of symbols of his rank, binding him to an ancient yew tree at the forest's malignant heart.
As the blindfold was removed, Elder Hwan's silhouette melded with the darkness, only his voice slicing through the thick air. "Forgive us, child, but the sect cannot harbor a star that threatens to outshine the dawn. May the forest dissolve what our hands cannot."
Abandoned, with the night air searing his lungs, Kai felt the surge of demonic qi clawing at his spirit, the distant howls of beasts a cruel symphony to his despair. Yet, as dawn painted the sky with strokes of defiant crimson, Kai, seared by betrayal yet unbroken, managed to free himself from his binds using a shard of the yew tree that had pricked his bound wrists. His martial spirit, rather than being quenched by the demonic qi, adapted, learning the volatile essence of his perilous cradle. And when he sat up, he saw the Blood Sect members surrounding, reaching their hands out to them, saying:
"Join us."
Kai, forged in the dark womb of the world's malice, shaped by rejection and honed by survival, realized he never wanted to know defeat—not to foster pride but to ensure that the purity of his purpose, and not the intrigue of men, would dictate his fall from grace, should it ever come. His former sect watched, as the boy they abandoned became a legend they could neither claim nor challenge, a stark reminder of the fate that befalls those who misunderstand the true essence of power.
(Flashback end)
The demonic rooster, momentarily staggered, regained its composure and screeched loudly, weakening Elara's and Kai's resistance. As this happened, it lunged at Elara, who narrowly rolled away, the tips of the rooster's talons scraping her outfit and drawing blood.
Sweeping low, Kai entangled the rooster's legs with his spear, tripping it while Elara maneuvered into position. Breathing heavily, both fighters synchronized their attacks for a final assault. Kai, focusing his qi, formed a heavy flail, glinting with white energy. He swung it, catching the rooster's head and pinning it to the ground, his muscles bulging with the effort of restraining the ferocious beast. Meanwhile, Elara, channeling her ultimate power through her sect's dance, produced the largest frost beam yet. She punched and kicked the crest rhythmically, each motion sending a surge of ice energy straight into the demonic rooster. Blood trickled down her face and body as she kept punching and kicking the crests, more destructive beams shooting out. As she unleashed her final strike, her battle cry echoed through the forest, a chilling sound of victory and wrath.
The beam engulfed the rooster, and, with a final screech, its body disintegrated under the intense cold, leaving behind a lingering aura of demonic qi which slowly faded into the night.
Breathing heavily, covered in blood and frost, Elara and Kai exchanged a look of weary triumph. The forest around them was a testament to their battle, scarred and broken, but for now, they were victors.
Elara said, "Now get out of here. Take your roosters to the finish."
"Certainly! Thanks!" Kai ran off.
'He was serious then. He doesn't want to lose, so he's not gonna risk fighting another demonic rooster. He's cautious, not necessarily a bad thing. But screw it. Now then…'
…
"Weak bastards!"
Caelan dashed through the shadowy underbrush, his movements almost a blur to the untrained eye. His eyes sparkled with a mix of arrogance and thrill, scanning quickly for his quarry. The tall, dense trees bent slightly as if bowing to his prowess. Suddenly, he spotted another of those demonic humanoid roosters lurking ahead, its muscles taut and ready for combat.
"You're just a feather duster waiting to be plucked!" Caelan taunted, confident smirk playing on his lips. His battle stance was relaxed yet poised; a deadly predator coiled to strike. With a swift motion, he wrapped his arms in blazing flames, illuminating the dark woods with a fierce orange glow.
The demonic rooster charged, its sharp talons tearing through the forest floor. In response, Caelan darted forward with incredible speed, his feet barely touching the ground. He spun horizontally, a fiery tornado, and connected a flaming wrap to the rooster's head. The impact sounded a sickening crunch, spraying feathers and blood across the moist leaves.
'They really want my head, huh? I won't let them have it.'
Not wasting a moment, Caelan twisted in mid-air, landing gracefully only to spring forward again. His next move was a low sweeping kick, trails of fire left dancing along the path his foot traveled. The kick swept the rooster's feet from under it, sending it crashing onto its back with a heavy thud that echoed ominously through the forest.
"Come on, get up. Show me you're more than just an ugly chicken!" Caelan goaded, barely containing his laughter. As the rooster staggered to its feet, visibly dazed, Caelan clenched his fists, flames intensifying around them like the sun's corona.
He advanced, each step leaving scorch marks on the earth. With a roar, he unleashed a series of punches, each blow a combination of brutal martial arts precision and raw power. His fists, enveloped in flame, hammered down on the rooster, tearing through feathers and flesh with each strike. Blood spurted wildly, a grotesque fountain tinged by the firelight.
Feeling the rush of battle, Caelan stomped the ground forcefully. The earth beneath him obeyed, trembling as towering pillars of flame erupted all around. The inferno trapped the rooster, scorching it, the air filled with the stench of burnt feathers and flesh.
With the rooster barely clinging to life amidst the fiery cage, Caelan stepped back, his chest heaving from the exertion. "Is that all? I expected more from a creature of darkness," he sneered, wiping blood mixed with ash off his face.
Sensing more movement around him, Caelan didn't miss a beat. He sprinted forward, his fiery armor flaring intensely around him, creating an aura of invincibility. Another rooster appeared from his left, its beady eyes reflecting a murderous intent. Caelan laughed harshly, his long flaming hair swirling majestically behind him as he moved.
This time, he performed a high jump, flipping over the stunned creature. Mid-air, he formed his fists into flaming hammers, bringing them down with devastating force on the rooster's head as he landed. The ground cracked under the impact, a testament to his strength.
But the forest was not done with him yet. As Caelan continued his relentless assault, a third rooster lunged from the shadows. Reacting instantly, he swept his arms in a wide arc, the flames extending from his fists creating a deadly fire whip that slashed across the rooster's face, searing flesh and feathers alike.
Each move he made was a blend of lethal precision and raw, fiery power, delivered with a smirk or a cocky comment. "What's wrong? Can't keep up?" he taunted, dancing around his foes with ease.
His confidence only grew with each fallen opponent, his steps light, almost as if he was toying with the looming death that shadowed these cursed beings. The forest around him was alight with fire and chaos, the crackling of the flames a fierce symphony to his dance of destruction.
Finally, stepping over the charred remains of his latest adversary, Caelan paused, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. The forest, too, seemed to hold its breath, the silence a stark contrast to the fury just moments before. Blood dripped from his hands, steaming slightly as it hit the ground, each drop a testament to his victory.
"Worthy opponents are so hard to find these days," Caelan mused arrogantly, his gaze scanning the forest for more challenges. With his flaming hair catching the light of the dwindling fires and his armor still aglow, he looked every inch the merciless warrior, ready to conquer whatever darkness would come next in these cursed woods.
Suddenly, a few figures draped in shadows sat in the trees.
Caelan asked, "Who's there? Don't be shy."
"You have good senses."
"That voice."
The boy in the shadows revealed himself, having streaks of silver and blue in his dark black hair in a small ponytail, with his eyes a striking icy blue.
Caelan recognized him, saying, "Ah. It's you. The one who tried to recruit me earlier to kill Joon when he was weakened. Who are you anyway?"
"Jae. That's who I am. And I come to you again for the same question."
"What? You want me to help you kill Joon? Didn't he turn all of you into a pretzel?"
"We were healed, and One of the other Blood sect leaders gave me a shadow qi-rune blade, with it, we have a better chance at winning against that demon. Face it, if we gain favor from the blood sect, that means more of a chance we could use them for our own advantage to succeed our revenge against the sects that claimed we were a part of them. I won't be left behind as a weakling. If Joon is dead, all eyes will be taken off of him, and it saves us from potentially being mauled by him in the future, before the demonic qi within him spirals out of control."
Caelan thought, 'He's not wrong. The strongest resonance of Demonic Qi is with the entities from which it derives. Practitioners may find their minds and bodies overtaken by demonic consciousness, losing their will and becoming mere vessels for demonic intentions. Even if one retains some semblance of control, the volatile nature of Demonic Qi often leads to bouts of uncontrollable rage. A cultivator might gain great strength in this state, but they also risk harming those they care for or destroying themselves in the process. Prolonged exposure corrupts the cultivator's own Qi, twisting their spiritual pathways and degrading their moral compass. Over time, this corruption can lead to a complete metamorphosis into something non-human, or a lost soul wandering without purpose. The ultimate risk, and often the most common outcome, is death—either through self-destruction or at the hands of others who recognize the danger posed by a person tainted with Demonic Qi.'
Caelan sighed, "So the Blood sect leaders are giving prospects weapons now? That's crazy."
"So I've come to ask you to help us. You are the closest in strength to that demon Joon."
"And if I say no?"
"Then I'll make you say yes, even if I have to kill you, I will do that too. Your soul will regret not joining us. You're in the way too, getting rid of you would aid us if all the attention is on you, and they'll be playing favorites, same with Joon. But you're an asset, you won't go berserk, and you don't have demonic qi, so we don't have to worry about you acting all possessed. So what will it be—?"
"Hell no." Caelan answered fast. "I'm gonna take down Joon on my own. I don't need help. And I'm not gonna be dumb, he could easily beat us if he went all out. We barely could beat the centaurs, and he devoured them. You all must be stupid. I'll wait until the right time when I feel I can take him on. For now, take a fucking hike."
"Pity. I was hoping you'd join us."
"Come at me."
"With pleasure. You see you're outnumbered though, I've gathered more prospects to aid me, they believe Joon is a hindrance as well."
"You're telling me like I care. Let's just fight!" Caelan smiled.