The wind howled.
The night had ended, but dawn did not come. The horizon was dark — too dark — as though someone had smothered the rising sun with an invisible hand.
Qi Shan Wei stood in the center of the courtyard where he had burned the Shadow Executioner to ash.The courtyard stones were still warm.
Ling Xueyao beside him.Feng Qingyue behind him.Drakonix perched on his shoulder, tense and trembling.Jin Wei towering behind them like a half-repaired titan of war.
The Pavilion Master and elders assembled nearby — pale, anxious, waiting for answers that could change the fate of everyone present.
And then—
A gust of wind whispered across the courtyard.
But the whisper did not fade.
It multiplied.
Whispers became footsteps.Footsteps became presence.Presence became dread.
Shan Wei felt goosebumps race across his skin.
"They're here," he whispered.
Ling Xueyao's frost aura surged with instinctive protectiveness.
Qingyue's golden eyes sharpened, phoenix flame swirling around her like a divine halo.
Elder Lu swallowed.
"Qi Shan Wei… we must retreat into the inner sanctum—"
"No," Shan Wei said quietly."If I run now, they'll follow. And the Pavilion will burn."
His voice was calm.Cold.Resolute.
Xueyao stared at him, startled by the strength in his tone.
Qingyue looked at him with something close to admiration.
The Pavilion Master stepped forward.
"Qi Shan Wei… the Pavilion stands with you."
Shan Wei shook his head respectfully.
"No."
Everyone froze.
He looked to the elders.
"This fight is mine."
The air tightened — as though the world held its breath.
The Pavilion Master closed his eyes in pained understanding.
"…Very well."
A low hum echoed from the forest.
Then nine silhouettes stepped out of the shadows.
Nine figures.All cloaked.All masked.All bearing the blood-red sigil:
影屠 — Shadow Executioner.
They spread out, forming a half-circle around the Pavilion.
Their collective killing intent hit like a tidal wave.
Several disciples collapsed instantly.Lanterns shattered.The sky itself darkened further.
One of the figures stepped forward — taller than the rest, eyes glowing a deeper crimson.
"The First has fallen," the leader hissed."Qi Shan Wei… your fate is sealed.We are the Nine Executioners."
Another whispered:
"The heavens commanded your death.""We obey.""You cannot fight us.""You cannot flee."
Jin Wei stepped forward, shield-arm rising.
"THREAT LEVEL: CRITICAL.MASTER: STAND BACK."
Shan Wei stepped forward instead.
"No."
He looked up at Jin Wei.
"We fight together."
Jin Wei's core pulsed in response.
Ling Xueyao unsheathed her sword, frost spiraling into the air with a chilling hum.
Qingyue spun her phoenix staff, flames dancing along the feather-tip like a celestial firestorm.
Drakonix launched off Shan Wei's shoulder—
"FWEEEE!!!"
—and his body erupted with prismatic sparks.
The lead Executioner tilted his head.
"Cute."
Then he raised two fingers.
And the world exploded.
The Assault Begins
The Executioners vanished.
All nine disappeared at the exact same moment — even the air couldn't register their movement.
Shan Wei felt killing intent behind him.
He spun—
Only for Ling Xueyao to appear instantly, blade intercepting a strike aimed at Shan Wei's spine.
CLANG!
Ice shattered.Frost erupted.Ling Xueyao slid back, boots carving lines into the stone floor.
Another attack came from the left —Qingyue blocked it with a burst of phoenix flame.
A third Executioner lunged from above —Drakonix shot upward in a streak of prismatic light, claws glowing, meeting the killer mid-air.
The fourth went straight for Shan Wei's heart—
Jin Wei slammed into the assassin with his shield, knocking him across the courtyard so hard the wall cracked.
But the Executioners didn't stop.
All nine attacked at once.
And for the first time, Shan Wei understood the horror of a Heaven Decree:
They didn't want to fight him.
They wanted to erase him.
Shan Wei Takes Command
Shan Wei clenched his fists, prismatic flame sparking.
"Xueyao, take the far left! Freeze their footing!"
She nodded, frost aura exploding outward.
"Understood."
"Qingyue, you control the sky! Don't let them get air advantage!"
"Already on it," she whispered, rising into the air with phoenix wings of flame.
"Drakonix—stay unpredictable, hit them when they least expect it!"
"FWEEE!!"
He shot upward, leaving streaks of rainbow flame.
"Jin Wei—guard the center.No one reaches the Pavilion Master."
"COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED."
Shan Wei stepped forward.
His heart raced but his voice remained steady.
"Let's end this."
The Executioners laughed.
"Bold child," the leader hissed."You think leadership will save you?"
"Yes," Shan Wei whispered."Because they stand with me."
He lifted his hand.
And the battlefield bent around him.
The First Casualty
Three Executioners lunged at Ling Xueyao.
She spun gracefully, frost lotus petals swirling like deadly snowflakes.Her ice blade struck with precision, leaving trails of frozen air.
One Executioner froze mid-step — literally — as her domain took hold.
CRACK!
She shattered him like brittle glass.
Qingyue descended from above, eyes blazing with phoenix fire.
Moonfire arrows shot downward, each striking with the force of an exploding star.
A second Executioner fell screaming, cloak in flames.
Drakonix dove downward toward a third killer.
He screeched—
"FWEEE!!!"
—unleashing a burst of prismatic fire at point-blank range.
The Executioner caught fire from the inside out.
His scream echoed into the forest.
Three down.
Six to go.
The leader hissed.
"Your allies are strong.But you… you are the one we came for."
He appeared in front of Shan Wei.
Their faces inches apart.
Shan Wei's breath caught.
"Die."
The leader thrust a dagger coated in killing qi toward his heart.
Shan Wei's mind blanked.
But his body moved.
Prismatic Step.
He vanished sideways, barely dodging.
The leader appeared behind him instantly.
"You're fast," the killer whispered."Too fast for a mortal."
Shan Wei caught his wrist.
"Good," he said softly."I'm not mortal."
And he unleashed—
Prismatic Flame, Dual-Aspect Explosion.
BOOOM!!!
The leader flew backward, smashing into a stone pillar.
He rose, laughing maniacally.
"Yes… YES…!You ARE the Heaven-Breaker!"
Shan Wei exhaled, sweat forming on his brow.
Ling Xueyao and Qingyue returned to his side.
Qingyue's face was pale.
"Shan Wei… your prismatic flame—"
Xueyao finished for her.
"—it's growing stronger every time you use it."
"That's… not normal," Qingyue whispered.
Drakonix chirped urgently.
"Fwee! Fwee!"
Shan Wei blinked.
Drakonix's body glowed faintly.
His feathers shifting.
Evolving.
Drakonix Begins His Evolution
Drakonix screeched loudly, clutching his chest.Flames burst from his feathers.
"Fweeeee!!"
Shan Wei rushed to him.
"What's happening?!"
Qingyue gasped.
"He's… He's entering a pre-evolution state!"
Ling Xueyao stepped forward.
"Now?! In the middle of battle?!"
Drakonix collapsed, body glowing.
Shan Wei cradled him immediately.
"Drakonix—hold on!"
The small beast trembled violently.
Flames tore from his body.Sparks danced around him.His prismatic aura spiked.
The Executioners froze.
The leader whispered:
"…Impossible.A divine beast evolving at this age?And during combat?"
Qingyue's voice cracked.
"He's reacting to your flame, Shan Wei.Your bond.Your will.He's… evolving because you refuse to die."
Shan Wei held Drakonix closer, heart pounding with fear and awe.
But the Executioners weren't waiting.
The leader raised his hand.
"Kill them ALL.NOW."
The Battle Spirals into Chaos
Six Executioners attacked simultaneously.
Qingyue screamed:
"Ling Xueyao — LEFT!"
Xueyao moved instantly, frost aura colliding with two assassins at once.
"Jin Wei — RIGHT!"
Jin Wei roared, smashing into three Executioners, shield-arm crushing the ground beneath them.
Shan Wei dodged a blade—
Too late.
A dagger sliced his arm.
Blood spurted.
He staggered.
"SHAN WEI!" Xueyao cried out.
Qingyue swung her staff—
"Moonfire Shield!"
Her flames swallowed the assassin who wounded Shan Wei—
But the leader moved.
He blurred behind Shan Wei and whispered into his ear:
"Your death will echo across realms."
His blade stabbed forward—
Straight at Shan Wei's heart.
Xueyao screamed.
Qingyue screamed.
Drakonix shrieked.
Jin Wei thundered:
"MASTER—!"
The blade was inches from Shan Wei's chest.
Shan Wei closed his eyes.
Then—
CLANG!
A metallic fist smashed the leader across the courtyard so violently the ground shook.
Shan Wei's eyes flew open.
Jin Wei stood in front of him.
Both arms glowing.
His cracked armor vibrating with power.
Qingyue gasped.
"His second mode—He's unlocking—"
Jin Wei's voice echoed like a war god awakening.
"MASTER UNSAFE.ACTIVATING:RUNIC DEFENSE MODE."
His body ignited with ancient runes.
The Executioners froze.
Jin Wei took one step forward.
The earth trembled.
He took another.
The air shook.
Then he roared:
"YOU.WILL NOT.TOUCH.MY MASTER."
The Cliffhanger That Will Break Readers
Before anyone could react—
A new voice echoed from above.
Cold.Ancient.Terrifying.
"Interesting."
Everyone froze.
Even the Nine Executioners.
A figure floated down from the clouds — cloaked in black and red, wearing a mask carved like a screaming demon.
Qingyue's face drained of all color.
"No… no… NO…"
Ling Xueyao trembled.
Elder Lu collapsed.
Shan Wei stepped back instinctively.
"Who… is that?"
Qingyue whispered with horror:
"That is not an Executioner."
Her staff shook.
"That is their MASTER."
Xueyao's sword slipped in her grip.
"The… Shadow Abyss Grand Executioner…"
The masked man's eyes glowed like burning pits.
He pointed at Shan Wei.
"Qi Shan Wei.The decree demands your death."
He lifted a hand.
And the sky split open again.
To be continued..
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