Within the Secret Realm, the mist shifted unhurriedly and heavily, as if breathing. Thin rays of spiritual light snaked between the floating rocks and twisted trees, fleetingly silhouetting the serene face of Jun Tian, who moved forward in silence.
His dark gray cloak swayed with the spiritual breeze, and the tip of his spear lightly scratched the ground, leaving a faint trail of energy. The air was thick-not with impending peril, but with something about to come.
Inside his mind, a soft voice from Yue Lian whispered like the wind.
"They are approaching… Six presences, all out of sync. The fluctuations in their blood are abnormal. Burning pills."
Jun Tian didn't answer. His eyes flashed for a moment with coldness and understanding.
The sound of hurried footsteps began to echo among the trees, followed by the crackling of air being torn apart. Six cultivators emerged from the mist, veins bulging and eyes bloodshot—like human beasts.
"Jun Tian!" roared what appeared to be the group's leader. "You dared to challenge young master Li Ze and you're still breathing?!"
The others shouted along, their voices distorted by the boiling energy.
Jun Tian raised his gaze, cold and impassive.
"You chose the worst enemy."
The ground trembled as he plunged his spear in, and in a single movement, his body vanished like a shadow. The air exploded in swirls.
The first cultivator didn't even see where the blow came from. His throat was pierced, and his body was thrown meters back, pinned to a tree trunk.
The others reacted quickly and attacked in unison. A sea of crimson Qi filled the air, vibrating in an uncontrolled rhythm-the power of the Blood-Burning Pills. Their spiritual weapons gleamed, forming a semicircle of steel and energy.
But Jun Tian danced between the attacks. His body moved with almost supernatural precision and fluidity, each step echoing like part of a lethal melody.
Yue Lian was quietly observing everything from within his spiritual consciousness.
"Every movement of his… is an act of perfection. Even among Spiritual Foundation cultivators, few would have this calmness in the face of chaos."
The second enemy had his chest pierced before he could complete a hand seal.
The third one was crushed against the ground when Jun Tian struck him with the spear shaft, shattering his skull like a watermelon.
In less than a minute, silence returned.
Six bodies littered the ground with auras dissipating, and the smell of blood began to mix with the spiritual breeze.
With a simple twist, Jun Tian cleaned the spear and continued on.
His gaze remained cold, without remorse.
On the path of ascension, there was no mercy.
A few kilometers away, Li Ze observed everything through a small spiritual tablet.
His eyes trembled with anger and disbelief.
"They died... all of them?! Six men at the peak of the Third Kingdom, and he killed them like insects!"
His face contorted. Recent memories came like daggers—Yun Xiang's gaze, the purple talent, fixed on Jun Tian during the measurement test, the way the patriarch and even some elders began to notice that overly quiet boy.
Jealousy.
Anger.
And the wounded pride of an arrogant disciple.
He took a deep breath, trying to contain the inner turmoil. In his mind, the voice of his master, Li Heng, echoed in memory:
"Ze'er... if this Jun Tian remains alive, his heart demon will grow until it consumes you. Use the artifact. Kill him. End this before it's too late."
Li Ze opened his hand. A dark talisman with golden veins floated above his palm, radiating a suffocating pressure.
Even sealed, the artifact released enough energy to distort the surrounding air.
— "Master… I will not fail."
And then it disappeared, advancing towards Jun Tian's aura.
Jun Tian stopped abruptly as he felt the space vibrate.
A familiar presence—arrogant and turbulent—approached.
The wind parted, and Li Ze emerged from among the trees, enveloped in flames of dark blue Qi.
"You… really irritate me, Jun Tian," he said, his voice icy and trembling. "Until now, I considered you an insect. But today, I will crush that wretched pride."
Jun Tian stared at him emotionlessly.
"Have you said enough?"
The air between them exploded.
Li Ze advanced first, his spirit sword streaking across the space like lightning. Jun Tian blocked with his spear, and the impact caused the ground to crack open.
The fight was intense.
Each exchange of blows created explosions that shook the surrounding forest. Ancient trees toppled, and the spirit Qi formed violent whirlpools.
Jun Tian took a few steps back, his gaze serious.
Li Ze was faster than before—the use of the pills and his master's secret technique temporarily amplified his strength.
Yue Lian intervened in thought:
"Careful. He hasn't used the artifact yet."
As if responding to her voice, Li Ze laughed.
"Hehe… so you noticed?"
He raised his hand and activated a dark seal. A terrifying aura spread, making the ground tremble.
For a moment, it seemed as if the very sky would descend upon them.
Jun Tian steadied his feet and readied his spear.
But when the glow dissipated, he realized something—the power was real, but incomplete. A deception.
Jun Tian moved and destroyed the attack with a single blow, shattering the illusion.
The energy dispersed like smoke.
Li Ze smiled.
"So you destroyed the fake. Excellent."
Then, the master's true artifact, the Profound Moon Talisman, emerged from his chest, releasing an aura of the Nascent Soul level.
Yue Lian exclaimed internally:
"Jun Tian, this power is too much for your body right now! If you resist head-on, you will be destroyed!"
Jun Tian gritted his teeth.
"Then... let's change the fate of this."
Yue Lian extended her awareness, channeling an ancient formation that covered part of the terrain.
Archaic symbols began to glow beneath Jun Tian's feet, responding to the artifact's energy.
"Divert the flow... guide it to the matrix," she murmured.
The spiritual roar that followed made the world tremble.
The artifact's power collided with the formation and was redirected—a beam of energy destroyed distant mountains, opening a huge chasm.
Li Ze coughed up blood, not understanding what had happened.
"T-this is impossible... the artifact should annihilate everything!"
Jun Tian advanced.
His steps were slow, but each one made the ground vibrate.
The spear spun, emanating a silvery glow with purple hues.
Li Ze tried to raise his sword, but fear paralyzed him.
The blow came swiftly—a streak of light pierced the air and struck his chest.
The metallic sound echoed, and Li Ze's body was thrown far away, falling to its knees, coughing up blood.
Jun Tian approached slowly.
His gaze held no hatred, only indifference.
"You never understood what true cultivation is... fighting against your own limits, not against others."
Li Ze, desperate, tried to activate the artifact again, but it was worn out. The talisman cracked in his hands, crumbling into dust.
Yue Lian murmured softly within Jun Tian's mind:
"She's watching."
Jun Tian looked up.
Among the shadows of a distant rock, a female figure stood.
The lilac robe and intense eyes revealed who she was—Yun Xiang, the purple talent.
Her gaze was indecipherable.
Neither contempt nor approval. Just a deep curiosity and an emotion she couldn't even name.
Jun Tian gripped the spear, the wind blowing between them.
Behind, Li Ze's lifeless body fell, and the metallic echo of the sound was the last vestige of his existence.
"The weak don't deserve compassion," Jun Tian murmured, turning slowly and disappearing into the mist.
Yue Lian remained silent for a few moments before saying,
"With each step you take, you move further away from what is human… and closer to what the world fears."
Jun Tian didn't answer.
The faint glow of the formation still pulsed beneath his feet, as if recognizing the spilled blood.
And, in the depths of the Secret Realm, something seemed to react to the echo of this massacre—an ancient, distant presence… waiting.