The storm didn't end.
It simply changed shape.
Snow drifted over the valley like a shroud, hiding everything, blood, footprints, even the faint glow that once surrounded Jian Wu.
For hours, the mountain seemed dead. Silent. Still.
Then, light broke through the clouds. A sliver of gold cut across the frost, glinting off shattered weapons and frozen corpses.
The battle was over.
But the hunt had just begun.
---
Far to the south, three figures walked through the snow—disciples of the Azure Tower. Their blue robes fluttered like torn banners, their swords drawn and glimmering with residual spiritual energy.
"Nothing left here," said the tallest, crouching to inspect a crater in the ground. Steam still rose from it, faint but steady. "The Heaven Breaker's trail ends here."
"Or begins," murmured the woman beside him. Her eyes flicked toward a faint scorch mark shaped like a handprint.
The third, younger than the rest, swallowed nervously. "Elder Ren said the entire ridge exploded. You think he survived that?"
The tall man didn't answer. He brushed the snow aside, revealing traces of blue light embedded in the ice.
"Find Yue Shan," he said flatly. "If the boy's alive, she'll know where he went."
---
Half a league away, Yue Shan was already moving.
Her robes were torn, her face pale from exhaustion. She had been searching since dawn, following the faint pulse she felt through her spiritual sense, the same one tied to the strange mark that had appeared on Jian Wu's chest.
Each step sank deep into the snow.
Each breath burned.
But she didn't stop.
Finally, near the base of a frozen waterfall, she found it, the faint echo of a heartbeat, irregular and fading.
"Jian Wu…" she whispered.
She knelt beside a figure buried half under the snow. His skin was cold, his lips pale, but his chest still rose slightly with each weak breath.
Alive. Barely.
Yue Shan pressed her hand to his chest, channeling her spiritual energy. The blue mark under his skin flared briefly in response, like a dying ember remembering fire.
"What did you do…" she murmured. "You shouldn't even be alive."
He stirred faintly. "Guess I didn't get the memo."
She froze. "You.."
His eyes opened slightly, unfocused, but still burning with that same stubborn fire. "You should've left me."
"Shut up," Yue Shan hissed. "You're lucky I found you before they did."
"'They'?" he echoed, voice weak.
"The Azure scouts. They're hunting for whoever caused the surge. If they find you.."
"They'll try to kill me," he interrupted, voice barely above a whisper. "Yeah. I've heard that one before."
---
She stared at him for a long time. "You think this is a joke?"
"No." He coughed, blood staining the snow. "But dying stopped being scary a long time ago."
Something flickered in her expression, anger, maybe pity, maybe both. "Then stop trying to make it happen."
She stood, looking around warily. "We need to move. Can you walk?"
Jian Wu groaned as she helped him up. His legs trembled, but he managed a step, then another. "See? Easy."
"That's not walking," she muttered. "That's falling slowly."
He smirked faintly. "Progress."
Yue Shan shook her head but didn't let go of him. Together, they made their way down the slope, leaving only faint, uneven footprints behind.
---
High above them, two Azure scouts appeared at the edge of the ridge. One raised a spyglass made of spiritual crystal.
"I see movement," he said. "A woman… and someone injured."
The other narrowed his eyes. "Report it."
A few seconds later, a pulse of blue light shot into the sky, bursting into a faint symbol, the mark of the Hunt.
---
By the time Yue Shan and Jian Wu reached the edge of the valley, the air had changed again.
The wind carried something heavier now, pressure, killing intent.
She stopped abruptly. "They're here."
"How many?"
"Enough to bury us."
Jian Wu exhaled slowly. "Then we'll just have to climb out."
"Idiot," Yue Shan hissed. "You can barely stand."
"Standing's overrated."
Before she could argue, the first streak of light cut through the snow. It struck the ground a few feet away, exploding in a flash of azure energy.
From the smoke, three cultivators emerged, the same scouts who had been tracking them.
The leader stepped forward, eyes cold. "Yue Shan of the Azure Tower. By the order of the elders, you are to hand over the boy immediately."
Yue Shan's jaw tightened. "He's my responsibility."
"Your betrayal is your responsibility," the man said, raising his sword. "Step aside."
She didn't move.
"Last chance."
Jian Wu pushed himself forward, staggering to his feet. "She doesn't take orders from cowards."
The man's gaze flicked to him. "You must be the one carrying the seal."
"Guess so."
"Then your death will please the heavens."
"Good," Jian Wu said softly. "I was planning to ruin their day."
---
The man's sword gleamed as he lunged.
Yue Shan moved at the same time, intercepting him mid-strike. The clash of blades sent a shockwave through the snow, scattering flakes into the air like shards of light.
Two more scouts joined in, circling around.
Jian Wu took a deep breath and raised his trembling hands. The blue mark on his chest flickered weakly, then steadied, responding to his will.
The snow around him began to move, rising, swirling, pulsing with faint light.
Yue Shan shouted, "Don't.. ! You'll burn your spirit!"
He ignored her. "I already did."
He slammed his fist into the ground.
The valley exploded.
A surge of blue light erupted outward, swallowing everything within fifty meters. The Azure scouts were thrown back, their armor cracking under the pressure. The ground split, steam rising from the shattered ice.
When it ended, Jian Wu was on his knees again, barely conscious. His breath came in ragged gasps. The snow beneath him melted into a small pool of blood.
Yue Shan knelt beside him. "You're insane."
He smiled faintly. "You've mentioned that before."
---
Far away, in the upper spires of the Azure Tower, a group of elders stood around a crystal sphere. Within it, the image of the explosion reflected in miniature.
One of them spoke. "The Seal has awakened."
Another's expression darkened. "Then Heaven's Hunt must begin."
"And the Seraph Envoy?"
"Already descending."
Lightning flashed across the clouds outside the tower. A distant roar echoed through the heavens, deep and ancient, something awakening after centuries of sleep.
---
Back in the valley, Yue Shan looked toward the sky. The wind had shifted again. She could feel it, something vast, something beyond mortal reach, watching them.
Jian Wu opened his eyes weakly. "They're coming, aren't they?"
She nodded.
He smiled through the pain. "Good. Saves me the trouble of finding them."
"Don't be stupid," Yue Shan snapped. "You can't fight them like this."
"Didn't say I'd win," he said softly. "Just that I'd try."
---
For a long moment, they stood in silence, snow falling between them like ashes.
Then, from somewhere above, a new light appeared, golden, radiant, burning through the clouds. It wasn't sunlight.
It was something else.
The Seraph had arrived.
Yue Shan's expression hardened. "We need to move. Now."
Jian Wu tried to stand again, but his body refused to obey. Yue Shan gritted her teeth, slung his arm over her shoulder, and half dragged him toward the forest.
Behind them, the light grew brighter, too bright to look at.
Wings unfolded across the sky, vast and terrible
.
"Found you," a voice thundered, echoing through the mountains.
Jian Wu glanced back, eyes narrowing. "Then come and take me."
The Seraph descended, surrounded by golden flames.
And the Hunt truly began.