Chloe watches him in this state, a chill spreading through her chest. The Julian she remembers, confident, gentle, always in control of everything, seems to have died completely in this very moment. In his place stands a man who can't handle losing, a lunatic screaming hysterically. Her faith in him collapses in an instant.
Right then, Steward Cole of the Azure Sun Sect, an executive who's long served the outer sect, his expression shifting several times, finally moves. In a flash, he appears beside Julian, hauling him up out of the rubble.
"Julian, we can't stay here. Let's head back to the sect." Cole makes the call instantly. He understands deeply. This wild variable you represent is far beyond his ability to handle. Everything that's happened here must be reported to the sect at once.
"I'm not leaving. I'll make him pay." Julian keeps thrashing wildly.
"Enough." Cole snaps, driving a burst of spiritual energy into Julian's body, temporarily suppressing his wounds and his chaotic energy flow. He glances at you warily, holding back any further threats, and, carrying the badly wounded Julian, streaks away without a backward glance, racing off toward the Azure Sun.
"Ethan, you wait for me. If I, Julian, don't tear you limb from limb, I'll disown my own humanity."
A venomous roar echoes from far off in the sky, lingering long after.
You pay it no mind. You turn toward the utterly stunned Reed clansmen. Wherever you walk, the crowd instinctively parts to clear a path. Everyone lowers their heads without meaning to, not daring to meet your gaze.
You finally come to a stop before family head Damian Reed, your tone flat. "Father, I'm tired. I want to rest."
"Of course, of course. I'll send someone right away to prepare you the finest quarters and cultivation resources." Damian snaps out of his daze, scrambling to respond.
You shake your head. "No need."
With that, you walk straight through the crowd, heading toward your own run-down little courtyard, leaving behind a whole clan of Reed family members whose expressions are more conflicted than words can describe.
The Azure Sun Sect sits atop the Azure Sun Mountains, a hundred li beyond Bluestone City. Spiritual mists swirling, cranes soaring overhead.
Inside the outer sect executive hall, a battered figure stumbles in half crawling and drops to his knees on the floor with a heavy thud, right before an elder in grey robes meditating with eyes closed.
"Elder Thorne, save me. You have to make this right for your disciple."
It's Julian. Tears and snot streaming down his face, not a trace left of his once brilliant bearing.
The grey-robed elder slowly opens his eyes, a flicker of gold light passing across them. He looks at Julian's wretched state, brow furrowing deeply. "Julian, what's got you in such a panic?"
This is Elder Thorne, the most powerful figure in the sect's outer branch, a Core Formation Realm master, and the one who's always thought most highly of Julian, intending to take him as his personal disciple.
"Elder." Julian sobs out. "In the Dragon Ascension Secret Realm, I found an incredible opportunity for the sect. But that man from the Reed family, Ethan, cut in and ruined everything. Not only did he steal my chance, he used some bizarre technique to gravely wound me."
From here, he downplays the truth and embellishes freely, twisting everything that happened in the secret realm into nothing but Ethan's crimes. "He even declared that in his eyes our Azure Sun Sect is nothing but chickens and dogs. He said one day he'll trample the Azure Sun Mountains flat, and that you wouldn't even be fit to carry his shoes."
"What?" Elder Thorne flares with fury on hearing this. A terrifying aura explodes from his body, every table and chair in the executive hall shattering to dust in an instant. "That whelp dares insult the Azure Sun Sect like this?"
He hauls Julian to his feet, pouring vast amounts of spiritual power into him. Julian's injuries heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Tell me in detail. What exactly is so strange about this Ethan?" Elder Thorne's voice is ice cold.
A flicker of vicious triumph crosses Julian's eyes. He knows his gamble has paid off. Ethan, your time has come.
Three days later, at the Reed family estate in Bluestone City, the mood across the entire Reed family has been unusually tense and unsettling these past few days. The terrifying power you displayed that day has completely shattered everyone's understanding. Clansmen who once looked down on you now go out of their way to avoid crossing your path, terrified of angering someone this powerful.
Grand Elder Marcus has visited your courtyard for days straight, bringing rare treasures to try to mend relations, yet hasn't even made it through your door. Family head Damian has locked himself away in his study, and no one knows what's on his mind.
The entire city of Bluestone, because of you, has settled into an uneasy stillness. The calm before a storm. Everyone knows the Azure Sun Sect will never simply let this go.
This afternoon, the cloudless sky abruptly darkens. A terrifying pressure, far beyond anything the Heaven-Piercing Realm could produce, descends from above, blanketing the entire city as if the sky itself were caving in. Countless low-level cultivators within the city, under this crushing pressure, drop to their knees, legs giving out, hearts seized with terror.
Inside the Reed estate, panic spreads through everyone. Damian and the elders rush out of the main hall, looking up at the sky, every face etched with horror.
High above the Reed estate, an old man in grey robes stands with hands folded behind his back, riding the wind through empty air. His eyes, like two bolts of cold lightning, look down on the crowd below as if they were ants. The aura radiating from him warps the very space around him.
Core Formation Realm.
"Where is the Reed family head? Damian, come out and face me." His cold voice, like a decree from the highest heavens, rings out across the land with undeniable authority.
Damian's heart lurches. Steeling himself, he leaps into the air, bowing deeply toward the grey-robed elder from a distance. "Damian Reed greets Elder Thorne of the Azure Sun Sect. What brings you here, Elder? What are your instructions?"
His posture is exceedingly humble. Before a Core Formation Realm powerhouse, he, the Reed family head, a so-called Heaven-Piercing Realm expert, barely registers at all.
Elder Thorne doesn't even look at him directly, simply scoffing. "Spare me the pleasantries. Hand over that little wretch from your family, Ethan, to this elder. Or after today, the Reed family will cease to exist in Bluestone City."
The moment he says this, the entire Reed household falls silent. Despair washes over every face. Annihilation. This Azure Sun elder opens with nothing less than a threat to wipe the family out entirely.
Damian's face turns ghostly pale. He hurries to explain. "Elder Thorne, might there be some misunderstanding here? My son Ethan is wilful, but—"
"Misunderstanding?" Elder Thorne cuts him off flatly, his voice thick with killing intent. "He stole an opportunity meant for my sect's disciple, practised some bizarre technique, and insulted both me and the entire Azure Sun Sect. Tell me, is that a misunderstanding?"
Damian's heart sinks completely. He knows there's no room to negotiate today. Either hand over Ethan and save the family, or let the whole family die for the sake of one son. The choice isn't difficult at all.
He turns around, his conflicted gaze drifting toward the back courtyard, just about to speak, when a calm voice drifts up from below.
"Who's making all this racket outside?"
The moment the words land, a figure steps slowly out of the run-down courtyard. It's you, dressed in black, your expression indifferent, as though this crisis, one severe enough to destroy the entire family, is nothing more than a passing breeze to you.
"Little wretch, you're courting death." Elder Thorne's eyes flare with killing intent the moment he sees you, and he raises a hand to strike.
"Wait." You raise a hand, halting him.