A young man with silver hair and silver eyes sat quietly in a bar, a sword strapped across his back as he sipped cheap wine.
His posture was relaxed, yet his eyes were filled with boredom.
"I'm so poor… I can't even afford decent wine. And nothing interesting is happen-"
He abruptly stopped mid-complaint.
His silver eyes narrowed as a sudden gust of wind rose around him, his hair fluttering softly.
"…Dark cultivators?"
Without hesitation, he rose to his feet and strode toward the source of the disturbance.
His steps were slightly unsteady, yet the wind gathered beneath his feet, making it seem as though he were walking on air.
At the same moment, inside a bustling restaurant, a ten-foot-tall, bulky man was devouring plates of meat as if they were mere snacks.
The chefs in the kitchen looked half-dead, terrified they wouldn't be able to keep up.
The fat giant suddenly froze, his massive head turning toward a certain direction.
"…Dark bastards," he muttered, his expression darkening.
He stood up and, in a single gulp, stuffed everything on the table into his mouth before heading outside... still chewing, completely unconcerned with the grease dripping down his clothes.
In a serious tone, he said,
"Let's check it out."
The thin, five-foot-tall man beside him didn't complain.
He merely sighed inwardly, placed a few sacks of spirit stones on the table, and followed behind his young master.
His expression remained as dull as ever.
Lance, with his Crimson Grade 3 spear, stepped forward toward the Golden Core Realm cultivators, his dragonoid crimson eyes burning with intensity.
The spear, wrapped in blazing Grade 2 Fire Intent, no longer seemed meant to pierce... but to burn.
"Be careful…" he said without turning back.
Behind him, April nodded as her crimson ribbon fluttered gently in the air.
It looked soft and harmless, but its edges were sharp enough to cut through stone.
Seeing him approach, the two Golden Core demonic cultivators sneered.
"Hmph. A country brat like you thinks he can fight us alone?" said the first Golden Core cultivator.
"Hehe… oh, don't forget... we aren't the only ones here," the second added.
At their command, the two corpse puppets at the sides suddenly rushed toward Lance from both directions.
Lance let out a cold snort.
"Flame Dance!"
He thrust his spear from right to left in a sweeping motion.
Crimson fire spread in a wide crescent as the spear shot out, leaving a trail of heat behind it.
Boom!
The first puppet on the right was struck directly on the head.
Flames exploded on impact, cracking and melting its skull before it shattered apart.
Without stopping, Lance turned and swept his spear to the left.
The spear pierced straight through the puppet's torso, splitting it cleanly in two.
For a brief moment, the body remained still…
Then flames burst out from the cut, and both halves fell to the ground, burning.
Lance stood calmly, spear in hand, surrounded by fire.
"So…" he said coldly,"how many are you here?"
The two dark cultivators froze. Blood leaked from the corners of their mouths.
They hadn't expected that in just two moves, both of their Early Golden Core realm corpse puppets would be blown apart.
The second Golden Core dark cultivator spoke with a twisted expression, his voice trembling with madness.
"My love… my precious love…" He clutched his chest, eyes bloodshot. "You burned it to ashes! You burned the body I refined, cherished, and perfected!"
The first Golden Core dark cultivator was far more rational. Realizing that Lance was no ordinary cultivator, he asked slowly and coldly,
"You are not simple… who are you?"
Lance brought his spear forward, resting it before him.
His expression remained the same as ever... calm, arrogant, and utterly dismissive.
"Oh?" he said lightly. "I'm just that country brat you mentioned earlier…"
A faint curve tugged at his lips.
"But you won't live long enough to remember it.""Lance Longspear."
"Longspear…? Y-you...!" the first Golden Core dark cultivator murmured, his face draining of colour.
Fear surged in his heart, and he no longer dared to harbor any fighting intent.
He glanced sideways at the second Golden Core cultivator, who had clearly lost all rationality, staring at Lance with a twisted, murderous expression.
Seizing the opportunity, he spoke quickly,"You attack him first… I'll support you from behind."
The second Golden Core dark cultivator nodded without hesitation.
He took out a black human skull wrapped in nauseating evil qi.
This was no ordinary skull... it belonged to a Peak Golden Core realm expert after death.
With a wave of his hand, the skull shot forward toward Lance, shrieking as it tried to devour his flesh and blood.
Lance's expression didn't change.
This time, a white light flashed as piercing Grade 3 Spear Intent wrapped around the tip of his spear.
He took a step forward and thrust directly at the skull's forehead, cleanly penetrating it.
The evil skull didn't last even a few seconds before it shattered into ashes.
The second dark cultivator spat out a mouthful of blood, staring at Lance in disbelief.
"Impossible… how can an Early Golden Core cultivator destroy my precious skull? No! It can't be…" His voice cracked. "I nurtured it with evil qi for years… and it was destroyed in a single strike!"
Fear finally appeared on his face.
But just as he turned to look for his companion, he realized...
He was gone.
Then, a calm and arrogant voice echoed behind him.
"Don't worry," Lance said lightly as he with a swift action attacked and pierced his heart."I'll send you on first… and then I'll send him to join you."
"Damn it… you useless trash… can't even hold him for a few seconds," the first dark cultivator murmured as he fled in the opposite direction, sensing Lance's spiritual sense firmly locked onto him.
"Why did I have to end up provoking someone I shouldn't have in this forsaken backwater?" His face twisted with equal parts rage and helplessness.
At that very moment, two projectiles hurtled toward him from either side.
Still reeling from his companion's death, he was too slow to react. He could only raise both arms in desperation to defend himself.
A heavy, pointed mace wrapped in Grade 3 Mace Intent smashed into his right arm, completely obliterating it.
At the same time, a sword wrapped in Grade 3 Sword Intent and Grade 2 Wind Intent... sharp and ruthless... cleanly severed his left arm.
"Aaahhh...!"
His scream echoed through the air as unbearable pain tore through him.
Losing both arms, he fell from the sky and crashed into the ground.
Before he could even speak, two distinct, disappointed voices reached his ears.
"Oh… he survived," one voice said regretfully. "I was planning to obliterate him. Looks like I'm getting weak. I'll need to hurry and eat more."
"Tch. Damn this cheap wine… useless," another voice grumbled. "I was aiming for the kill, but that bastard survived."
The fat giant looked toward the silver-eyed, handsome sword cultivator. The latter met his gaze. They stared at each other for a brief moment before nodding.
From afar, Lance noticed the fat giant and nodded in acknowledgment. Then he turned his gaze to the silver-eyed sword cultivator and nodded once more.
On the other side of the battlefield, while Lance fought like an arrogant spear god, April was his complete opposite... cold, steady, and elegant.
She was surrounded by four Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators, two of whom were corpse puppets.
Yet her caution never wavered for even a second.
A puppet lunged at her from behind.
With a flick of her wrist, the crimson silk ribbon danced through the air like a serpent made of light, slashing with surgical precision.
SHRIP!
The ribbon sliced cleanly through its neck, decapitating the corpse puppet.
Without pause, she struck again, severing all of its limbs before it could even fall.
The dark cultivator controlling the puppet seizing the opportunity and spat out a Gu worm, launching it straight toward her head.
April calmly shifted aside, her serpent tail flowing as if she were a fish gliding through water.
She tightened her grip, and the ribbon snapped forward like a whip.
SNAP!
The Gu worm was cut in half.
But the ribbon didn't stop.
As if it had a will of its own, it lunged toward the cultivator's forehead.
Before he could dodge, it pierced straight through his skull, killing him instantly.
"Monster! She's too fast!" the other dark cultivator shouted in terror.
Then he noticed one of the Golden Core dark cultivators was already dead… while the other was fleeing.
His heart sank. He hadn't expected them to be defeated in just a few moves.
Making up his mind, he sent his puppet charging straight at April while he himself turned and fled in the opposite direction.
But...
April remained calm, her expression unchanged.
She flicked her ribbon once more. It transformed into a crimson serpent and instantly reached the puppet.
It coiled around the corpse tightly before contracting... and slicing it into pieces.
The last surviving dark cultivator, only a short distance away, spat out a mouthful of blood.
Seeing his puppet shredded within seconds, he knew his end had come.
April advanced.
Her movements were swift. In just a few breaths, she was already upon him, the tip of her ribbon aimed directly at his heart.
Realizing escape was impossible, he spat out a dying vow, his voice hoarse and filled with hatred.
"I am going to die anyway, but… I'll take you with me!"
He lunged forward, throwing his body straight onto the crimson ribbon.
The sharp silk pierced his chest, destroying his heart.
As his mouth fell open in death, a hidden poison needle shot forth, propelled by a final surge of corrupted evil qi.
Caught off guard by the suicidal counterattack, April reacted instantly, snapping backward.
She hadn't expected him to abandon all defence and rush straight into death just to drag her down with him.
But the projectile was terrifyingly fast.
The needle missed her forehead… but grazed her left wrist, leaving behind a tiny yet vicious black scratch.
The needle carried a flesh-rotting poison.
April hissed softly... barely a sound.
Dark veins spread rapidly from the wound. A piercing pain surged through her entire left arm, her breath trembling for the first time.
Lance turned just in time to see her clutching her wrist.
"April!"
The battle was over.
All the dark cultivators were dead.
But April had been struck.