Boom!

In the space of a few breaths, judgment fell.

To Zhao Mei and her disciples, the Crimson Oath was not merely a sword technique; it was the reaper’s scythe. They saw the fire coming—a tidal wave of crimson death that filled the horizon—but their bodies were too slow, their spirits too weak. Panic turned their blood to ice even as the heat incinerated the air around them. They scrambled, they screamed, they burned every ounce of spiritual energy to flee, but the ‘Soul Severing’ blade was a decree, not a request.

A deafening explosion shattered the silence of the valley, a thunderclap that rattled teeth and ruptured eardrums.

Deacon He Tao and the disciples of the Myriad Sword Pavilion watched, mouths agape, as a storm of pure energy blossomed like a deadly flower. It swept outward, erasing everything in its path—mountains crumbled into dust, ancient forests evaporated into ash, and the river boiled into steam.

The hundred-strong force of the Sun Moon Sect vanished instantly, swallowed whole by the inferno.

Whoosh.

The aftershocks rippled outward, a hot wind that carried the scent of ozone and charred meat. The energy storm lingered for a long moment, a testament to the devastating power of a Golden Core master, before slowly dissipating.

Left behind was a scar upon the earth—a crater so deep the bottom was lost in shadow. Scattered within it lay the blackened, twisted remains of the invaders.

“Ugh… ah…”

At the bottom of the pit, Zhao Mei lay broken. Her body was a ruin of burns and shattered bone, but a sliver of life remained. She stared up at the sky, her eyes wide with a terror that transcended pain.

One strike.

She couldn’t comprehend it. Over a hundred cultivators, wiped out in a single breath.

She didn’t know Han Lie had held back. He needed their heads intact for the bounty office. If he had truly wanted destruction, there would be no ash left to scatter.

“As expected of Brother~ You’re so strong!”

While He Tao stood frozen in awe, Xiao Qingge beamed, her face flushed with fanatic devotion. Her eyes sparkled as she looked from the crater to Han Lie, then she turned her gaze toward the Myriad Sword Pavilion disciples.

The sweetness in her expression curdled into something dark.

“Now, it’s my turn,” she giggled, the sound chilling. “You trash dare invade our home? Do you think you have enough lives to pay for that mistake?”

The Pavilion disciples were still paralyzed, their morale shattered by Han Lie’s display.

“Run! Retreat!” someone screamed.

But it was too late. Xiao Qingge moved like a wraith. The ‘innocent’ girl vanished, replaced by a blur of lethal intent. The strongest among the enemy were only mid-stage Golden Core—prey for her blade. To her, they were fish on a chopping block.

She tore through their ranks. The formation collapsed instantly, turning into a heap of loose sand.

Disciples scrambled over each other in a desperate bid for survival. The lucky ones—mostly Foundation Establishment juniors—managed to flee into the treeline. But the Golden Core experts? Xiao Qingge hunted them down one by one, her laughter echoing through the carnage.

When the dust settled, the valley was silent.

“Ooooh—!”

“Senior Brother Han!”

“Senior Sister Xiao!”

The cheers started as a murmur and grew into a roar. Hundreds of Heavenly Void Sect disciples emerged from the mine, waving their weapons, their faces flushed with relief and adrenaline. For months, they had lived in fear, cowering in tunnels. Today, their nightmare had been incinerated.

Han Lie and Xiao Qingge landed near the command post. He Tao approached, bowing deeply, his respect now genuine and profound.

“Thank you, both of you,” He Tao said, his voice thick with emotion. “After this, surely the sects will think twice before attacking.”

“Don’t be naive, Deacon,” Han Lie said, wiping a speck of dust from his sleeve. “I can’t speak for the Sun Moon Sect, but the Myriad Sword Pavilion just lost a significant force. They won’t swallow this grievance.”

“Brother is right~” Xiao Qingge chimed in, resuming her cute persona as she clung to Han Lie’s arm.

He Tao frowned, stroking his chin. “True. I once killed a few of their juniors, and they hunted me for months. This… this is a massacre.”

“We stay for two weeks,” Han Lie decided. “If they don’t return by then, we head back.” He glanced at Xiao Qingge. “Is that acceptable, Fairy Qingge?”

“Anything Brother says!”

“Good,” He Tao laughed, the tension breaking. “Let me arrange quarters for you. And perhaps a tour of the mines?”

Myriad Sword Pavilion

The survivors stumbled back to their sect, tales of fire and death on their lips. The report reached the upper echelons within the hour.

The middle management was incandescent with rage. The Righteous and Demonic paths had always been at war, but losing dozens of disciples in a single skirmish was a humiliation they could not abide. A counter-offensive was immediately drafted.

News of the slaughter trickled down to the elite disciples. Among them was a woman of breathtaking beauty, her demeanor cold as frost.

Xiao Yuruo.

She had little interest in border skirmishes until a specific name was mentioned in the survivor’s report.

“Han Lie?”

Xiao Yuruo froze. A face she hadn’t seen in years—a face etched into her memory—surfaced in her mind.

She bit her lip, a rare flush coloring her pale cheeks. Could it be him?

“It has been so long,” she whispered to the empty air. “I wonder… how strong have you become?”

It could be a coincidence. The world was vast, and names were common. But her heart beat a little faster at the possibility. When they last met, he was mid-stage Golden Core. Now, she stood at the peak of the Golden Core realm, the threshold of the Nascent Soul within her grasp.

She needed to know.

Xiao Yuruo walked to the mission board, her movements decisive. She pulled the scroll for the counter-attack on Mine #1.

“I will lead this team,” she announced, her voice leaving no room for argument.