As a young child, Jiang Tian had always known he was different. The other children in his village laughed and played, but Tian kept to himself, always careful not to excel too much. Being perfect, he had learned, meant being isolated, and all he wanted was to be accepted, to be like them.But that life had been ripped away in a single night. His family, his home—everything he had known—was consumed in fire and blood. Jiang Tian had been left alone, wandering the dark forest with nothing but the clothes on his back and the memories of the life he'd once lived.It was then that the demonic cultivator found him."Come with me, boy," the man had said, his voice a mixture of cold indifference and curiosity. "You'll die out here if you don't."Tian had followed him, having no other choice. The man had taken him to a small, isolated sect—a place where power was everything, and kindness was a distant memory. The sect's teachings were brutal, its methods harsh, and under that guidance, Jiang Tian grew strong. Cold. He learned not to care, not to feel. The pain of his past dulled under the relentless training.Years passed, and his master eventually told him it was time for something bigger."You've outgrown this place," the old man had said one morning, his eyes gleaming with something akin to pride. "You will be transferred to the main sect. There, you will become stronger, colder."And so, Jiang Tian found himself at the main demonic sect, surrounded by powerful cultivators, each more ruthless than the last. It was there that he met Meng Qingshan and Sua Quan.Meng, with his calm amber eyes and quiet demeanor, didn't seem like much at first. But when Tian saw him fight during their first mission together, everything changed. Meng moved like a storm, his demonic energy swirling around him with such force that even the ground seemed to tremble beneath his feet.Jiang Tian watched in awe as Meng tore through their enemies with frightening ease, his every movement precise, calculated, deadly. The others in their group struggled to keep up, but Meng... Meng was something else entirely.As the battle ended, Tian found himself standing still, unable to shake the image of Meng in combat. His thoughts raced, and for the first time in a long while, he felt something close to fear.Shen Fu, he thought, recalling his childhood friend with a pang of sadness. I've met a real monster.