The rumors began quietly.
Too quietly.
"Did you hear…?"
"They say Li Feng injured a junior during training."
"No, no… I heard he stole cultivation resources."
Li Feng heard the whispers wherever he went.
At the training grounds.
Near the spirit hall.
Even inside the outer courtyard.
But no one dared say it to his face.
One evening, Li Feng was stopped by an elder he respected.
"Li Feng," the elder said, brows knit together.
"Be careful. Someone is guiding the sect's opinion against you."
Li Feng bowed deeply.
"Thank you for the warning, Elder. I will be cautious."
Yet even as he said those words, he knew—
Caution won't be enough.
That same night, Tian Hao met with a group of inner disciples.
"You all know I dislike injustice," Tian Hao said softly, hands clasped behind his back.
"But lately… I've heard troubling things."
One disciple hesitated.
"Holy Son… are the rumors about Senior Brother Li true?"
Tian Hao sighed.
"I don't want to believe them either. But if someone walks the wrong path…"
He paused.
"…we must protect the sect."
The disciples exchanged uneasy glances.
Seeds were planted.
Meanwhile, Mei Lan noticed the change.
Li Feng no longer trained with others.
He ate alone.
Cultivated alone.
One afternoon, she approached him.
"Li Feng," she said gently.
"You've been avoiding everyone."
Li Feng smiled faintly.
"I'm fine."
She frowned.
"That's a lie."
Before he could reply, Tian Hao arrived, naturally placing himself beside Mei Lan.
"Li Feng," Tian Hao said warmly, though his eyes were cold.
"If you're troubled, you should speak to us. We're fellow disciples."
Li Feng looked at them.
At Mei Lan's concern.
At Tian Hao's perfect smile.
"I'll handle it myself," Li Feng said.
He walked away.
Behind him, Mei Lan sighed softly.
"Tian Hao… he feels different lately."
Tian Hao's smile deepened.
"People change."
Late that night.
A scream echoed from the junior disciples' quarters.
By the time elders arrived, a young disciple lay injured—his meridians damaged.
And beside him…
A broken jade token.
Li Feng's token.
By dawn, the sect was in uproar.
Li Feng stood in the main hall, surrounded by cold gazes.
"This token was found at the scene," an elder said sternly.
"What do you have to say?"
Li Feng looked at the token.
His token.
"I wasn't there," he said calmly.
Silence followed.
Then someone laughed.
"Who else could it be?"
Tian Hao stepped forward, voice heavy with disappointment.
"Li Feng… I truly hoped it wasn't you."
That sentence—
Hurt more than any accusation.
Li Feng clenched his fists.
So this is how it begins.
Far away, in the deepest shadows of the world, crimson eyes slowly opened.
A low voice echoed through the darkness.
"So… the boy has finally been pushed."
Junior disciples stood in clusters, whispering, their eyes constantly drifting toward the figure kneeling at the center. Blood stained the stone floor. The air itself felt heavy with judgment.
Li Feng stood straight despite the pain tearing through his body.
In front of him lay the corpses of several junior disciples.
Silence shattered when Su Yan stepped forward.
Her eyes were cold. Disgusted.
"So it really was you," she said loudly, making sure everyone could hear. "I always knew there was something wrong with you."
Li Feng frowned.
"I didn't do this."
Her lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Didn't?" Su Yan scoffed. "Then what is this? Are you saying these juniors killed themselves?"
Murmurs spread through the hall.
Tian Hao moved to Mei Lan's side, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. Mei Lan lowered her head, pretending not to meet Li Feng's eyes.
Su Yan didn't stop.
"A useless madman like you," she continued, her voice sharp as a blade, "killing people without hesitation. If someone like you stays in this sect, who's to say you won't kill us next?"
Li Feng clenched his fists.
"Su Yan," he said quietly, "you know I wouldn't—"
"Don't say my name!" she snapped. "You disgust me."
She pointed at him openly now.
"You've always been unstable. Always hiding something dark. I warned everyone about you, but no one listened."
Mei Lan finally spoke, her voice trembling—but not in his favor.
"Li Feng… why?" she asked softly. "Why would you do something like this?"
That single question hurt more than any blade.
Tian Hao stepped forward, his expression filled with righteous anger.
"Enough," he said. "The evidence is clear. There's no point defending someone who's already fallen this far."
Li Feng looked at them—Su Yan, Tian Hao, Mei Lan.
Only then did he realize.
This wasn't an accusation.
It was a trap.
The whispers grew louder.
Fear turned into hostility.
"He's dangerous."
"He killed juniors without mercy."
"He doesn't belong here."
Li Feng lifted his head slowly.
Deep down, something cracked.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
But the last fragile thread of trust he had in people.
And in that moment, surrounded by faces filled with condemnation, Li Feng understood one thing clearly:
They were never going to let him walk away alive...