The dense, oppressive air of the Scarlet Flame Forest crackled with tension. A group of disciples from the Azure Valley Sect ventured deep into the heart of the wilderness, their hearts weighed down with both fear and determination. For days, they had been searching for the one responsible for the death of Jin Wei, one of their own. Their quest had brought them here, to the very edge of the forest, where all signs pointed to the mysterious figure who had emerged days earlier. The forest was eerily quiet as they made their way through the underbrush, and the silence seemed to press in on them, magnifying their unease. They could feel the pull of fate drawing them closer to the truth.
After hours of relentless trekking, their patience and dread finally bore fruit. Ahead, beneath a towering waterfall, they saw him. The young man they had been seeking, his back turned to them, standing motionless. He was cloaked in tattered, blood-soaked rags, his body battered as though he had endured a vicious battle. The blood on his skin was still fresh, glistening like crimson armor, yet his expression—his blind, unfeeling eyes—seemed to stare into the distance without acknowledgment of their presence.
The group of elders, their faces hardened by authority and anger, quickly formed a tight circle around him, cutting off any possible escape routes. Elder Yun, the leader of the group, a massive man with a voice like rolling thunder, stepped forward. His features twisted with authority, and his tone was filled with both fury and cold calculation.
"Why did you kill our disciple, Jin Wei?" Elder Yun's words rang out like a storm, heavy with anger. "Explain yourself. You will pay for this, one way or another."
The young man remained eerily silent, his gaze never wavering from the distant horizon. His pale, unseeing eyes gave nothing away, and his stillness only served to deepen the tension in the air.
The elders, frustrated by his lack of response, raised their voices in unison, demanding answers. Their voices were sharp, their anger palpable, but to no avail—the young man remained a statue, unmoved by their shouts, as if their words held no weight.
"Why won't you answer us?" Elder Yun spat, his anger boiling over. "Do you think you can defy us without consequence?"
The silence was suffocating. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, one of the elders moved in, his hands raised as if to restrain the young man by force. He lunged forward with a strike aimed at the young man's head, but it was as if the world itself bent around him.
In an instant, the young man was no longer there. The elder's fist missed by a hair's breadth as the young man's body moved with unnatural speed. Before the elder could react, he was already on the ground, his back colliding with the earth with bone-crushing force. The young man returned to his original position, uncaring and unhurried.
The other elders attacked with a fury born of humiliation, their techniques a blur of power and speed. But the young man danced between them with effortless grace, dodging each strike as though it were nothing more than a passing breeze.
In the span of a few seconds, one elder was sent flying, his body hurtling into a tree with the force of a battering ram. Another was sent sprawling to the ground, clutching at his chest as if the very air had been stolen from his lungs. The remaining elders, their confidence now shattered, stood frozen in shock.
They had underestimated him. The young man was toying with them—mocking their every attempt. It was clear now that he was no ordinary fighter, no mere opponent. His strikes were like lightning, and their defenses were like paper.
Finally, only Elder Yun remained, panting, his once-proud stance now reduced to one of trembling uncertainty. His robes were torn, blood dripping from the numerous wounds that marred his body. He could no longer hide his fear, his arrogance faltering in the face of this overwhelming power.
"We... we are a third-class sect," Elder Yun stammered, his voice cracking under the pressure. "You cannot just kill us! Our sect will have its revenge! The Scarlet Flame Empire will hunt you down!"
His words were desperate, filled with a mixture of defiance and raw fear. But there was no conviction left in his tone—he knew, deep down, that they had lost. His eyes darted around, hoping for a miracle, but all he saw was the cold, unflinching gaze of the young man.
For the first time since the battle began, the young man spoke. His voice was icy, devoid of emotion, as though he were addressing an insignificant fly rather than an elder of a sect.
"Is there anyone in your sect who can kill me?" he asked, his words cutting through the air like a blade.
Elder Yun, trembling, his breath ragged, tried desperately to find some semblance of composure. "Of course... of course! Our sect leader is one of the most powerful cultivators in the Scarlet Flame Empire! We may be a third-class sect, but we have power! The Five Major Families support us, and the first-class sects, the second-class... we stand among the greatest forces of the empire. You are nothing compared to us."
But the young man remained unmoved. His gaze, blank and cold, fixed firmly on Elder Yun, as if waiting for him to finish his speech, but offering no reply.
"Take me to your sect," the young man finally commanded.
Elder Yun faltered. This was not what he expected. The cold, emotionless man who had shown no signs of remorse or negotiation had just given him a direct order. It was as though he was asking to be led to their sect, not for an apology, but for something far more ominous.
A strange sense of discomfort settled over Elder Yun, yet his arrogance kept him from backing down. Was the young man genuinely submitting to their authority, or was he merely testing their patience? The elder could not be sure, but his pride told him that, perhaps, just perhaps, he could still make something of this.
"Very well," Elder Yun muttered, his voice softer now, though still laced with confidence. "I will take you to our sect leader. You will regret this, I promise you."
As they approached the gates of the Azure Valley Sect, Elder Yun's confidence began to return. The sect was formidable, after all, and their leader was not someone to be taken lightly. Soon, the young man would understand the gravity of what he had done and would be forced to repent.
But as they crossed into the sect's grounds, something shifted in the air. The feeling of impending doom hung heavy.
Before Elder Yun could process what was happening, Liang Zhen's body blurred with speed. In the blink of an eye, he was no longer by his side but standing at the sect's gates, motionless, as though he had always been there.
Elder Yun's heart stopped. Before he could even utter a word, a single strike from Liang Zhen sent his head flying from his shoulders, the blood spraying in an arc. The last thing Elder Yun saw was the cold, blind gaze of Liang Zhen before his world went black.
The body crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The head, still locked in a grimace of disbelief, tumbled across the ground, coming to a stop in the center of the sect.
Liang Zhen stood still, as though nothing had happened, his expression unreadable. He gazed down at the severed head with disdain before speaking, his voice cutting through the stillness like a knife.
"I heard there is someone here who can kill me. Whoever it is, let them come out. I want to see who can kill me."
The air thickened with fear as members of the sect froze, their eyes wide with terror. The power of the young man before them was beyond anything they could comprehend. None had dared to challenge him, and now, as they faced the consequences of their arrogance, they realized, too late, that they had drawn the ire of a force that could not be defeated.
The sect, once proud and unchallenged, now stood on the brink of destruction, their fate sealed by their own hubris. The name Liang Zhen would echo through the halls of the Azure Valley Sect for years to come, a reminder of how easily power could be crushed beneath the heel of one man who had nothing left to lose.