The morning mist had yet to fade when the metallic clash of chains echoed across the mountains—heavy, cold, and inhuman. These were not shackles for mortals, but spiritual restraints forged to imprison traitors and sinners.
At the end of those chains, a black prison carriage rolled slowly along the sect's stone path. Its wheels scraped against gravel, producing a grating sound fit to unnerve even the boldest.
Inside the carriage, Lin Xuan sat bound, his clothes shredded, his skin carved with unhealed sealing sigils.Each sigil siphoned away his spiritual energy, turning every breath into a fresh wound.
The disciples escorting him spoke with open contempt."Pathetic. Caused a public loss of control during selection and almost killed his peers. And he still thought he could join the sect.""Maybe one of the elders likes crippled trash. Who knows."Another snickered. "A defective spiritual body getting chosen? That would be a comedy."
Lin Xuan remained silent.Not because he agreed—because disagreement meant nothing.In the Shadowless Sect, the weak had no voice.
The sect gate loomed ahead like a monolith forged from darkness, swallowing light whole.Four ancient characters carved into it read: Guard the Peril of Heaven.
Not glory.A warning.
The carriage halted.The disciples activated a formation, spiritual chains hooking onto the vehicle and dragging Lin Xuan into the depths of the sect.
Just then, a breeze swept through—carrying the fragrance of blossoms in stark contrast to the bleak surroundings.A girl in white descended the stairs with quiet steps and an unreadable expression.
Yun Qingyao.
Personal disciple of the sect master.The chosen successor, admired, untouchable, immaculate.
The escorting disciples immediately bowed."Senior Sister Qingyao, the prisoner has already—"
She raised a hand—silencing the speaker instantly.Her eyes settled on Lin Xuan. There was no hatred. No pity.
"Remove the restraints. I need to speak with him."
The disciples froze."Senior Sister… he is extremely dangerous!"
Qingyao's tone remained even, yet absolute."I said—remove them."
The shackles dissolved.Lin Xuan nearly collapsed, like a drowning man dragged from the abyss only to learn there was no shore.
"Raise your head," she said.
He did not move.Not out of defiance—out of exhaustion, mistrust, and bone-deep resignation.
The disciples lashed out, striking him with the hilt of a sword, forcing his head upward.
Qingyao's expression shifted—barely, yet undeniably.She did not see a criminal.She saw a soul crushed until it no longer recognized itself.
"Lin Xuan," she spoke his name for the first time, "during the outburst—were you conscious?"
His voice was frayed. "No."
A pause.
"But it wasn't without intent."
Silence.
It was not a defense. It was a confession.
"You understand," she said slowly, "that your answer decides your fate."
"I do."
Because Lin Xuan knew the Shadowless Sect did not require truth.Only obedience.If he claimed innocence, he would be branded defiant.If he claimed guilt, he might survive.
Qingyao turned. "Take him to the Trial Hall."
The disciples grabbed him instantly.
She did not turn back.She did not watch him leave.
Because only she understood the meaning buried in his words.
"Not without intent" did not mean he wished for harm.It meant—he had intervened knowingly and willingly.
He had saved her.
Every report painted him as the cause of the disaster.He never corrected them.He accepted every consequence.
Qingyao whispered to the wind, her voice barely audible:"Why did you save me?"
The mountain wind gave no answer.
The Tribunal stood deep within the core of the Shadowless Sect—an obsidian fortress without doors or windows, its walls engraved with soul-binding runes.Those brought inside rarely emerged intact. Truth never mattered here. Only verdicts.
Lin Xuan was dragged to the center and chained to the floor.
High Elder Tie Yue sat upon the judgment platform, his gaze sharp enough to cut bone. Spiritual pressure poured from him like a collapsing mountain.
"Lin Xuan. During the recruitment trial, you lost control and unleashed a rampage that severely injured three disciples and caused grave losses to the sect."His voice echoed like thunder."Do you plead guilty?"
A long silence.
"Yes," Lin Xuan said.
Satisfaction glinted in the elder's eyes.A confession. The easiest path to sentencing.
But before Tie Yue could continue—
Lin Xuan added, "Those three lived because of me. Had I not lost control, fourteen others would have died."
The chamber exploded with outrage.Some believed he slandered the sect's records.
Tie Yue roared, "You dare justify your actions?!"
"I'm not justifying," Lin Xuan replied. "I'm stating facts."
There was no fear, no rage, no plea.Only acceptance—from someone who already knew the ending.
"If you hadn't lost control," Tie Yue snarled, "none of this would have happened! All consequences stem from you!"
Lin Xuan closed his eyes."If I hadn't lost control, fourteen people would be dead."
The tribunal froze.
Tie Yue let out a predatory grin."So you claim your rampage was… heroic?"
Lin Xuan did not answer.
Because his answer did not matter.
Tie Yue slammed his hand down. "Soul Visitation!"
Gasps filled the chamber.
This was the cruelest method of judgment—forcing one's consciousness into the memories of the accused, exposing every truth by force.The weak-minded would lose sanity or shatter entirely.
The formation activated.Light pierced into Lin Xuan's mind—
And suddenly the tribunal saw it all.
Flames. Explosions. A collapsing formation.Demonic energy erupting from a breached array core.Fourteen disciples trapped at the epicenter.
Lin Xuan had not attacked.He had locked himself around the unstable core, using his spiraling rampage to suppress the detonation.
He had willingly become the cage.
His flesh melted. His meridians tore. His consciousness broke.The three survivors were the very people who now spat on him.
Silence suffocated the hall.
Tie Yue's face twisted."A failed spiritual body cannot restrain a collapsing core! This is impossible!"
He was not denying the vision.He was denying a reality he could not accept.
Suddenly—
The air trembled.The runes on the walls flickered.Something was interfering from the outside.
The elders scrambled to stabilize the formation—But the disturbance was not coming from Lin Xuan.
It was coming for him.
Tie Yue roared and struck Lin Xuan in the chest with crushing force. "You're summoning demons!?"
Lin Xuan slammed into a pillar, blood spraying across the floor.The moment the blood touched stone, the runes pulled a trace of black mist from within him.
Not demonic energy.Not spiritual energy.But the aftermath of two incompatible forces tearing each other apart.
Tie Yue paled."This… does not belong to any realm."
The elders realized the truth—Lin Xuan was not the problem.He was the prize in a struggle beyond their comprehension.
Then the chamber split apart.
A thin fracture tore through the air—and a delicate white hand reached through it, tapping the formation.
Time stopped.
Not metaphorically—literally.
Energy froze. Movement froze.Sound froze.
Only Lin Xuan remained conscious.
He lifted his gaze.
Hovering above the rift was a girl—hair shimmering like starlit night, irises like crimson butterflies, beauty too exquisite to be safe.
Mo Li.Princess of the Demon Realm.
Her voice bypassed the air entirely, blooming directly in his mind."I finally found you."
She was not here to rescue him.She was not here to kill him.
She was here to reclaim something that belonged to her.
She touched his brow with one finger."What was stolen shall return."
The fracture vanished.Time resumed instantly.
To everyone else, nothing had happened.
They only saw Lin Xuan coughing fresh blood.
Tie Yue slammed down the verdict."His spiritual root shall be destroyed. Exile from the sect!"
Lin Xuan did not resist.
From afar, atop the tribunal steps, Yun Qingyao watched.
Her sword rang free of its sheath, killing intent exploding like a rising tide."Whoever lays a hand on him—dies!"
The moment Yun Qingyao drew her sword, the air recoiled in a violent surge.Her eyes—usually serene and distant—now burned with an anger sharp enough to cut.
"You've lost your mind!" a grand elder barked. "The sect's verdict is absolute! You dare interfere for the sake of a criminal?!"
Yun Qingyao answered coldly,"The verdict is built on lies. Protecting the innocent is not interference. It is duty."
"Innocent?" Tie Yue snarled. "He admitted his guilt!"
Her gaze sharpened like steel."He confessed so the real mastermind wouldn't be hunted."
Shock rippled through the tribunal.Because that meant there was still another truth—one the sect had not uncovered.
Tie Yue didn't allow time for reaction.He summoned a blade of pure spirit energy and brought it down toward Lin Xuan's skull.
In the Shadowless Sect, there were no appeals.An elder's strike was law.
As the blade fell—
Yun Qingyao's sword intercepted it, the collision erupting into a violent crack that shook the entire chamber.Tie Yue staggered half a step back.
"You dare defy me?" he roared.
"If you strike him again," Yun Qingyao replied, her voice deadly calm, "I draw swords with you to the death."
Gasps.This was not a disagreement.It was open declaration of war.
Before steel could clash again, crushing spiritual pressure flooded the hall—commanding, suffocating, absolute.
The tribunal doors opened on their own.
A man in a black-and-gold robe stepped inside, white hair tied high, aura like a deity who judged heavens and hell alike.
Xuan Jiangming — Sect Master of the Shadowless Sect.
Everyone fell to their knees.
Tie Yue bowed low."Sect Master, the criminal has been identified. I was carrying out the verdict."
Xuan Jiangming did not respond to the elder.Instead, he looked directly at Lin Xuan.
And instantly—every person in the chamber felt their breath stop.
His gaze wasn't evaluating guilt.It was evaluating worth.
"There is power inside this boy that belongs neither to the mortal realm nor to the demon realm."
Tie Yue broke into cold sweat."Sect Master — we must execute him immediately!"
Yun Qingyao took a step forward."Sect Master, he—"
Xuan Jiangming raised a hand.She was silenced without being harmed.
"Qingyao, you are not wrong."His eyes returned to the elders."But the Shadowless Sect protects out of interest, not sentiment."
A heartbeat of silence.
Then the sentence fell like a judgment of heaven.
"His spiritual root shall not be destroyed."
The tribunal fell into stunned disbelief.
Tie Yue choked, "Sect Master — you can't—"
One look from the sect master pressed him flat to the ground.
Then came the full decree:
"His root shall remain — yet he cannot remain in the sect."
A verdict as sharp as execution.
"Exile him from the Shadowless Sect. His life or death shall be his own."
Cold.Unforgiving.But the only path that ensured the sect would survive what hunted him.
Lin Xuan's chains dissolved.He knelt but did not stand.He begged for nothing.He hated no one.
Because his fate had never belonged to him.
As he was escorted out of the tribunal—
A sudden burn ignited between his brows.
Mo Li's mark pulsed—and her whisper returned to him like fire:
"You are no one's pawn.You are the beginning of a war."
Lin Xuan clenched his fists until blood ran down his palms.Not with anger—but with clarity that hurt to breathe.
When he crossed the sect gate, disciples lined both sides of the stone steps, their scorn like knives.
But just before he reached the final step—
"Lin Xuan."
The voice was cool, steady—yet no longer distant.
Yun Qingyao stood atop the stairway, sword sheathed, wind tugging at her robes.Her gaze did not waver.
"I will uncover the truth.Whether you accept it or not — you are not alone."
Lin Xuan didn't turn.
His reply was almost lost to the mountain wind.
"I was never meant to belong here."
He took the step.
In name, he was now an exile.In truth—his real battle with fatehad only just begun.