The night was still, but the air crackled with malice.
Under the silver glow of the moon, I stood before the gates of the Crimson Lotus Sect, a minor sect that groveled at the feet of the Azure Cloud Sect.
Their disciples walked these halls with arrogance, believing themselves superior simply by association. They were dogs, fed with scraps from my former sect, eager to lick the boots of those who cast me aside.
But tonight, I would remind them—
A monster has returned.
I raised Heaven's End, the blackened blade humming in my grasp, as if urging me forward. The moment the tip touched the sect's gate, a sharp pulse of demonic energy erupted outward.
A low hum resonated through the air, then—
BOOM!
The massive wooden gates splintered apart, the force sending fragments flying into the courtyard beyond.
Before the dust had even settled, I stepped through the wreckage, my presence piercing through the night like a blade of darkness.
Instantly, figures emerged from the sect grounds—disciples clad in deep red robes, their expressions shifting from shock to horror the moment their gazes fell upon me.
"Who… who dares to—?"
Their voices faltered.
They could feel it.
The demonic qi that coiled around my form. The endless bloodlust that tainted the air like the stench of rot.
I was no longer the cripple they mocked and exiled.
I was something else entirely.
A disciple stumbled backward, his face paling. "That aura… he's not human anymore…"
Another gasped, voice shaking. "No… it can't be…"
One of the elders stepped forward, an old man with a hooked nose and narrow eyes, his expression twisted in confusion and unease. "Mo Wuyuan…?"
Hearing my name from his lips sent a rush of amusement through me.
I tilted my head slightly. "Ah… so you still remember me."
The old man's breath hitched. "You should be dead…! Your cultivation was crippled—!"
I chuckled, my grip tightening around Heaven's End. "And yet, here I stand."
The elder's unease morphed into rage. "You dare attack us? Do you know what kind of punishment awaits those who offend the Crimson Lotus Sect?"
I took another step forward, my voice like ice. "Do you know what kind of fate awaits those who betray me?"
The tension snapped.
"Kill him!"
The command rang out, and in an instant, dozens of disciples surged forward, their blades gleaming under the moonlight.
Fools.
I raised Heaven's End, the blade's runes pulsing as I met their charge.
Then—
I moved.
The world blurred, and before the first sword could even touch me—
Blood painted the night.
The cries of the dying faded into the night.
The courtyard of the Crimson Lotus Sect was bathed in scarlet, bodies strewn across the ground like discarded dolls. The scent of iron clung to the air, thick and suffocating.
I stood amidst the carnage, Heaven's End resting in my grip, its blackened blade glistening with fresh blood.
Then—
A deep, primal hunger surged through me.
The essence of the fallen, their life force lingering in the air like whispers of the damned, called to me.
I exhaled, closing my eyes.
And then, I devoured.
A dark vortex of qi erupted from my body, the souls of the slain ripping free from their corpses. Their life force surged toward me in a river of crimson mist, sinking into my demonic core.
Their final screams echoed in my mind, but I felt no remorse.
This was their fate.
Their sacrifice was my ascent.
Boom!
An explosion of power roared through me. My meridians twisted and reshaped, my bones crackling as they hardened under the surge of demonic qi. My body burned, but the pain was nothing compared to the overwhelming ecstasy of power.
Then, it happened—
The final shackles of Mortal Stage shattered.
I stepped forward, my presence shifting—
Demon Initiate Stage
The demonic qi inside me churned violently, denser, more potent than before. The sensation was intoxicating, like stepping into a new existence entirely.
Then—
A deep hum resonated from Heaven's End.
The runes along the blade's surface glowed, their patterns shifting like living shadows. The moment of acknowledgment had come.
A voice—cold and ancient—echoed in my mind.
"You have met the first requirement. From this moment forth, I recognize you as my master."
Heaven's End had accepted me.
I ran my fingers along the obsidian-black blade, feeling the subtle pulse beneath its surface. The weapon was now truly mine.
Then, the familiar whisper of Crimson Veil slithered into my mind.
"You wield power now, but a sword is nothing without the technique to wield it."
I smirked. "And I assume you have something to offer?"
The spirit chuckled darkly.
"Heaven's End is no ordinary weapon. It was forged for a single purpose—to destroy. If you wish to truly wield it, you must master the technique it was born for."
A surge of knowledge flooded my mind.
Visions of a sword swinging through the heavens, rending space itself asunder. Each slash left only oblivion in its wake.
Its name—Heaven's End Sword Art
A technique that could reduce anything in its path to nothingness.
The perfect technique for vengeance.
I exhaled, my grip tightening around Heaven's End.
Tonight, I had ascended.
And soon, I would make those who cast me aside kneel in despair.
The battlefield was silent.
Only the whispers of the dead lingered in the night air, their souls now a part of me.
I stood among the slain, gripping Heaven's End, feeling the hum of acknowledgment from the ancient blade. The moment of acceptance had passed, but now came the true test—mastery.
Crimson Veil chuckled, its voice like a shadow slithering through my mind.
"Now that you've proven yourself worthy, it's time to learn the sword art that was meant to wield destruction itself—Heaven's End Sword Art."
A flood of knowledge surged through me.
Visions—ancient battlefields swallowed in darkness, warriors reduced to mere shadows before they could even scream. A single sword stroke, and the heavens themselves trembled.
A technique born from pure annihilation.
The Heaven's End Sword Art had ten forms, each more powerful than the last. However, power came at a cost.
Each cultivation stage could only withstand three forms.
If one dared to wield a technique beyond their limit—
The backlash alone would shatter their soul.
At the Demon Initiate Stage, I could only learn the first three forms.
I closed my eyes as the runes along Heaven's End pulsed, engraving the forms deep into my mind.
The Three Forms of Destruction
1st Form: Shadow Severance
The blade becomes an extension of the shadows, cutting through anything as though it were never there.
"To master this form," Crimson Veil spoke, "you must let your sword become one with the darkness."
I held Heaven's End before me, feeling the blade's connection to the night itself.
With a sharp exhale, I took a step—vanishing.
The next moment, I was behind a fallen corpse. A clean slice had appeared across its body, though I had never swung my sword.
A cut so fast that even time failed to register it.
I smirked.
2nd Form: Abyssal Rend
A slash that ignores defenses, cutting through the very essence of existence.
I raised my sword.
With a deep breath, I focused my demonic qi, channeling it through Heaven's End. The runes along the blade ignited with a crimson glow.
Then—
I swung downward.
A rift of pure darkness tore through the air, stretching forward like the jaws of the abyss itself. The ground in front of me split open, a deep fissure spreading from the point of impact.
If a living being had been caught in that slash—
They wouldn't just die.
They would cease to exist.
My heart pounded. This power… It was addictive.
3rd Form: Oblivion Surge
An explosive burst of sword energy that erases all in its path.
This form required control.
I focused, gathering my demonic qi into the blade. The energy within me began surging violently, as if it sought destruction on its own.
I gritted my teeth, suppressing the chaotic force.
Then—
I thrust Heaven's End forward.
A wave of annihilation erupted outward, tearing through the ground ahead in a crescent arc. The earth shook as the force obliterated everything in its path, leaving only an empty void where the energy had passed.
I let out a breath, my hands trembling slightly.
Mastering these forms would take time—
But the foundation had been set.
Crimson Veil's voice coiled around my mind.
"Not bad… for your first attempt. But these are only the first three. If you wish to truly wield Heaven's End, you must become stronger. Much stronger."
I exhaled, my gaze drifting toward the crimson-streaked night sky.
The night had only just begun.
And I had only just started walking this path of vengeance.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and death, yet the battle was far from over.
As I stood amidst the corpses of slain disciples, three figures descended from the sect's main hall. Their presence alone sent ripples of spiritual energy through the night.
The Three Elders of this small sect—each one at mid-rank Spirit Adept Stage, a level that should have been my equal.
But I was no ordinary Demon Initiate.
With Heaven's End in my grip and the Crimson Veil feeding my hatred, I was something far worse.
"Demon spawn," the eldest of the three sneered, his long beard trembling with suppressed fury. "You dare bring slaughter to our sect?"
The second elder, a tall woman with piercing eyes, scoffed. "He's nothing but a dog that Azure Cloud discarded. He thinks himself powerful because he butchered a few low-level disciples."
The third elder, a burly man with arms like iron, cracked his knuckles. "It's been years since I've torn a demon limb from limb. This one should be no different."
I smiled, my grip tightening around Heaven's End.
"You think I'm the same as before?" My voice was calm, but my bloodlust surged like an unchained beast. "Then come, elders of the damned. Show me the strength you think you possess."
The three moved in unison, their figures blurring as they lunged at me with the speed of seasoned warriors.
The battle began.
The first elder, the bearded one, swung his staff at me, its surface glowing with golden inscriptions. A defensive weapon, meant to repel demonic qi.
I sidestepped, barely an inch away from the strike, and retaliated with Shadow Severance—the first form of Heaven's End Sword Art.
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
My blade whispered through the air, silent as the abyss.
Then—
A thin line of black sliced across the elder's chest.
His eyes widened in shock. He hadn't even seen my attack.
Before he could react, a fountain of blood erupted from the wound, his body splitting apart as if he had never existed in the first place.
The remaining two elders recoiled in horror.
"Impossible! That sword—" the female elder's voice faltered.
Her hesitation was a mistake.
I was already in front of her.
She barely managed to raise her hands before I unleashed the Abyssal Rend, the second form.
A wave of pure annihilation surged from my blade, carving through the air.
She screamed as the attack bypassed her spiritual defenses, tearing her body apart at the very core.
Only the third elder remained.
His face twisted in rage. "Damn demon!" He roared, clenching his fists as his spiritual energy flared.
With a single stomp, the ground beneath us cracked, and his entire body expanded, muscles rippling as his spirit power surged.
A body-refining technique. He was turning himself into a living weapon.
His fist came crashing toward me, carrying enough force to shatter a small mountain.
I stood my ground.
I thrust Heaven's End forward, activating the third form—Oblivion Surge.
A surge of destruction erupted from the blade, colliding directly with the elder's attack.
The resulting impact shook the entire sect, sending shockwaves rippling through the ruins.
For a moment, the elder's defiant glare remained.
Then—
A hole gaped in his chest, straight through where his heart had been.
He staggered back, eyes wide with disbelief. "…I…" His words never came.
His body crumbled into nothingness, erased by the power of Heaven's End.
The sect was now silent.
Only I remained, standing amidst the bodies, the ruins, the remnants of battle.
Crimson Veil whispered in my mind, satisfied.
"You are finally walking the path of a true demon."
I exhaled, feeling the energy of those I had slain surging into my core.
With the elders dead, the last barrier was broken.
I felt my cultivation surge—
My body trembled as I crossed the threshold.
I was no longer a mere Demon Initiate.
I had stepped into the Demon Soldier Stage.
Power unlike anything before flooded my veins.
I looked down at Heaven's End, its dark blade pulsing with a hunger that mirrored my own.
It had acknowledged me completely.
A smile spread across my face.
The first step of my vengeance was complete.
And this was only the beginning.