The village was quiet, its streets bathed in the soft glow of lanterns swaying gently in the night breeze. The scent of damp earth and burning incense lingered in the air as Ziyan and I walked through the empty roads. We had traveled a great distance without rest, our bodies aching from battle and exhaustion weighing heavy on our shoulders.
At last, we arrived at the only inn in the village, a small wooden structure nestled between towering bamboo groves. The innkeeper, an elderly man with a kind yet weary expression, greeted us with an apologetic bow.
"There is but one room left," he said, his voice tinged with regret.
Ziyan stiffened slightly beside me, her fingers tightening around the edges of her robe. I glanced at her, seeing the hesitation in her eyes. After everything we had been through—the bloodshed, the countless near-death encounters—sharing a room should have been trivial. And yet, I understood.
"You take the bed," I offered, adjusting the edge of my cloak as I walked toward the farthest corner of the room. "I'll meditate on the floor."
She hesitated, lips parting as if to protest, but then she sighed softly. "Alright… thank you."
The room was small, the walls creaking whenever the night wind blew through the cracks in the wooden panels. The flickering candlelight cast long shadows across the floor, and for a moment, I simply sat there, letting my mind drift. The weight of the battles we had fought pressed against my soul like an unshakable burden.
Ziyan lay on the bed, her back facing me. I could hear her breathing, slow and steady, though I knew she wasn't asleep. Perhaps she, too, was lost in her own thoughts.
I closed my eyes, sinking into meditation, focusing on steadying my qi. The warmth of Heaven's End rested beside me, its presence grounding me in reality.
Then, at the edge of my consciousness, something stirred.
A whisper in the depths of my soul.
"Someone is coming…"
Crimson Veil's voice slithered through my mind like a cold gust of wind.
My eyes snapped open. The air in the room had shifted, the once tranquil energy now laced with an invisible tension. I could feel it—the immense presence drawing closer, like a storm rolling in from the horizon.
A pulse of overwhelming qi rippled through the night, brushing against my senses like a sharp blade. I gritted my teeth. This was no ordinary cultivator.
"Peak Saint Emperor Stage."
Crimson Veil's voice was eerily calm.
My fingers instinctively curled around Heaven's End, my heartbeat steady despite the impending danger.
"If you fight with everything you have," Crimson Veil murmured, "your chances of survival are only fifty percent."
Fifty percent.
I exhaled slowly, calculating my options. I could wake Ziyan, prepare to escape before whoever this was could reach us—but something told me running was not an option.
A voice suddenly echoed through the night, shattering the silence like a blade against stone.
"Mo Wuyuan."
I rose to my feet in one fluid motion.
Ziyan stirred slightly on the bed, but she did not wake. Whoever this was… they knew my name.
With a deep breath, I pulled my cloak around me and stepped onto the roof of the inn.
Beneath the vast, moonlit sky, a lone figure stood against the darkness.
He was clad in robes of deep black embroidered with golden patterns, his long hair swaying with the breeze. His presence distorted the air around him, a silent testament to the raw power he possessed.
And yet, despite his overwhelming strength, he bore no hostility.
He studied me with mild amusement.
"I've been watching your journey," he said, his voice smooth yet unreadable. "Your thirst for revenge, your descent into darkness—it's quite fascinating."
I kept my grip on Heaven's End but did not draw it. "Who are you?"
"A wanderer… a spectator." He smiled slightly. "But tonight, I offer you something valuable. A gift that will aid you in your vengeance."
I remained silent, waiting.
"I will give you an artifact of great power," he continued, "but only if you prove yourself worthy. Fight me, and if you can land a single decisive blow, I will grant it to you. To make this fair, I shall suppress my cultivation to Mid Heavenly Lord Stage."
Crimson Veil hummed in my mind. "I sense no killing intent from him. He isn't here to capture you."
I weighed my options. A battle against someone far beyond my level… the risks were high. But the opportunity to grow stronger—to obtain something that could aid my quest for vengeance—was not one I could ignore.
The stranger's presence was like a storm pressing down upon the earth. Even as he suppressed his cultivation, the sheer weight of his qi distorted the air around him. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to retreat, to flee—but I refused to back down.
I tightened my grip around Heaven's End.
"Very well," I said, voice steady despite the tension crackling in the air.
His smile widened. "Then let us begin."
Then—he vanished.
The moment I lost sight of him, I knew I was already at a disadvantage.
A crushing force descended from above.
I threw myself sideways as his palm struck where I had just stood, the impact shattering the tiles beneath him. The sheer force of the strike sent a tremor through the entire inn. The wooden beams groaned, dust spilling from the ceiling.
Before I could fully recover, he was already upon me.
A blur. A gust of wind. A palm slicing through the air.
I barely raised my forearm in time to block. The moment his palm connected, a violent shockwave exploded outward. The ground beneath my feet cracked, the wooden planks splintering. My entire arm went numb from the sheer force.
"Too slow."
His voice was calm, almost amused.
I gritted my teeth, forcing my muscles to move. The moment my feet found stability, I countered.
"Crimson Moon Slash!"
A crescent-shaped energy wave surged toward him, its crimson glow illuminating the night.
The stranger did not move.
Instead, he lifted a single hand and spoke softly:
"Void Reversal Palm."
The moment his palm met my attack, the energy of my Crimson Moon Slash collapsed inward, spiraling into nothingness. It was as if my technique had been erased from existence.
I cursed under my breath. His mastery of palm techniques far exceeded mine.
But I had yet to show my full strength.
I exhaled slowly, shifting my stance. The air around me trembled.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
I sheathed Heaven's End. If I wanted to match him directly, palm against palm… then I would need to go all out.
I gathered my qi. The warmth of my dantian surged outward, flooding every meridian in my body. The night air grew dense with unseen pressure, the energy around us shifting like a tide before a storm.
The stranger's smile faded.
He recognized the change.
I brought both hands forward. My palms burned with gathered power.
"Falling Star—Silent Annihilation."
I vanished.
A single step launched me forward at a speed that tore the air apart.
He reacted instantly.
His own palms came up, his robe billowing outward as he channeled his own technique.
"Ethereal Sky Collapse."
Then—we clashed.
Palm against palm.
The world erupted.
A massive shockwave burst outward from our collision, shattering the roof of the inn and sending debris flying in all directions. The force was enough to flatten trees, the distant bamboo forest bending beneath the weight of our exchange.
The very sky seemed to tremble.
For a moment, we stood locked in place—a struggle of raw strength and will.
The energy between our hands twisted and coiled like two opposing storms vying for dominance. I felt my qi burning, my muscles screaming in protest, but I refused to yield.
I gritted my teeth. "You're holding back."
The stranger's eyes flickered with amusement. "You're still standing. That alone is commendable."
Then—he pushed.
A force like a collapsing mountain slammed into me.
I felt my feet leave the ground as I was blasted backward, crashing through the remains of the roof and skidding across the courtyard below. The impact sent a crater rippling through the earth beneath me.
Pain lanced through my body, but I forced myself up.
He descended slowly, landing gracefully atop the shattered remains of the inn's roof. His robes remained unblemished, his breathing steady.
"Impressive," he mused, "but you still lack control. Your qi flares wildly in battle—you must learn to refine it."
I exhaled sharply, wiping blood from the corner of my lips. I was injured, but I was far from done.
I reached for Heaven's End once more.
The stranger's gaze flickered. "Still willing to fight?"
"Until I land a decisive blow," I said, my grip tightening.
For the first time, his amusement faded. He studied me for a long moment—then, to my surprise, he nodded.
"Then try again."
The battle was far from over.
I moved.
My speed increased tenfold. The world blurred.
In an instant, I was behind him.
"Star Piercing Slash!"
The edge of my blade grazed his wrist.
He stepped back, examining the thin line of blood drawn by my attack. Then, to my surprise, he laughed.
"Well done," he mused. "It seems I've underestimated you."
I exhaled sharply.
He reached into his sleeve and tossed me a black jade pendant.
"This is the Soul-Binding Talisman. It enhances one's spirit energy."
I caught it, studying its inscriptions.
"Why help me?" I asked.
His eyes gleamed with something unreadable.
"Perhaps I am merely curious," he said. "Or perhaps… I want to see if a man consumed by vengeance can still find his way back to the light."
Then, just as swiftly as he had arrived, he vanished.
I stood there beneath the moonlight, the talisman in my hand, my heart still pounding from our battle.
When I returned to the room, Ziyan was still fast asleep, unaware of the battle that had just taken place above her.
I sat beside the bed, gazing at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Tonight, I had grown stronger.
But I had also been given a question I was not yet ready to answer.
Was vengeance truly my only path forward?
Tomorrow, our journey will continue.
But tonight, I will let that question linger.