Two minutes earlier — Lin Chen’s point of view

  When Lin Chen saw what the man was about to do, his gaze turned cold.

  He had already held a low opinion of this group, but now it had sunk to rock bottom. Still, this was the moment he had been waiting for—the man was distracted.

  The moment Da Wei took out the vials and focused entirely on the two girls, Lin Chen’s killing intent surged. The man’s back was fully exposed, his guard nonexistent.

  Lin Chen’s hand moved.

  His sword appeared in a flash of light.

  Lightning Phantom Step.

  A streak of lightning cut through the forest—and in the next instant, Lin Chen was already standing behind Da Wei.

  A single, clean slash.

  The head separated from the torso.

  Blood sprayed into the air.

  “Filth like you,” Lin Chen said coldly, “is better off dead.”

  Before the corpse could even collapse fully, Lin Chen waved his hand and tossed the body into his storage ring.

  To him, this man was already nothing more than trash to be disposed of.

  Lin Chen then turned toward the two girls.

  They were still frozen in place, their faces pale, eyes wide with shock and fear.

  He sheathed his sword and walked over, bending slightly.

  “Are you two alright?” he asked calmly, extending a hand to help them up.

  At that moment,

  His instincts screamed.

  Before Lin Chen could even think, his body moved on its own.

  He twisted around violently and raised his sword just in time.

  BOOM!

  A massive arc of sword Qi slammed into him.

  The impact was overwhelming—far beyond his current strength.

  Lin Chen felt his arms go numb as his sword was forced back, his entire body sent flying into the air like a broken leaf.

  He spun uncontrollably before crashing down several meters away, barely managing to stabilize himself mid-air.

  A cold voice echoed through the forest.

  “Trash. How dare you bully my sisters.”

  A figure descended from above, landing heavily on the ground.

  “Senior Sister, wait! He isn’t an enemy!”

  “He helped us!”

  The girl struggled to stand, her voice shaking but urgent.

  “Huh? He isn’t the one who did this to you?” a confused voice asked.

  On Lin Chen’s side,

  His body slammed backward as he skidded across the forest floor, smashing through bushes and cracking straight into several trees. Bark exploded, leaves scattered, and his vision blurred from the impact.

  At that instant of danger, Aiva seized control.

  Essence Qi surged precisely, reinforcing his meridians and forcibly stabilizing his body. The remaining force was dispersed just enough—otherwise, that single strike would’ve left him heavily injured, if not crippled.

  “Tch…”

  Lin Chen coughed, barely regaining his footing.

  “Thanks, Aiva."

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  The moment that sword arc struck him, Lin Chen understood one thing very clearly:

  He was no match.

  So he turned and ran.

  Running wasn’t cowardice—it was survival.

  The forest blurred as he pushed his body to its limits, Lightning Phantom Step carrying him deeper into the trees.

  After running for some time, Lin Chen finally slowed down.

  “I should be far enough now…”

  He sat down heavily on a large rock, breathing slightly faster than usual. His muscles still ached from the impact, and irritation burned in his chest.

  He stared at the ground, fists slowly clenching.

  “I really want to beat the shit out of that …”

  No matter how angry he was, the power gap was absolute. Right now, the only thing he could do was remember that face—and make sure that one day, he’d be strong enough to return the favor tenfold.

  But Lin Chen didn’t have the luxury to rest for long.

  There were pressing matters to deal with.

  He waved his hand and took out Da Wei’s corpse from the storage ring. Without hesitation, he removed the storage ring from the body and began inspecting its contents.

  Most of it was trash.

  Bottles filled with murky liquids, pills with suspicious labels, powders that looked more poisonous than useful.

  “Figures,” Lin Chen muttered.

  As he continued searching, something caught his attention.

  A blood-red crystal, no larger than a marble.

  Despite its small size, the aura it emitted was unmistakable.

  His eyes narrowed. “This thing…”

  It felt exactly like the blood stone he had discovered within the sect.

  Same wavelength. Same unsettling presence.

  “So it really is the same group.”

  Then he found another item—a dark token etched with faint markings. Lin Chen frowned, unsure of its purpose. After a brief hesitation, he injected a strand of Essence Qi into it.

  The token warmed slightly.

  A voice rang out.

  “Hey, Da Wei—why did you call?”

  Lin Chen’s lips curved upward.

  “Oh,” he whispered. “A communication token.”

  He glanced down at the corpse, then spoke inwardly.

  “Aiva. Simulate that guy’s voice.”

  [Understood.]

  Lin Chen straightened, his expression calm, his tone coldly precise.

  “I found the entrance to the inheritance. Come quickly.”

  There was a brief pause.

  “What? Already? Fine—we’re coming. Stay there.”

  “Yes… yes,” Lin Chen replied, lowering his voice slightly. “Hurry.”

  The connection cut off.

  Silence returned to the forest.

  Lin Chen slowly lowered the token, a grin spreading across his face—wide, sharp, and utterly unpleasant. It was the kind of smile that belonged on a butcher waiting for livestock to walk into his shop on their own.

  “Perfect,” he muttered.

  [You look really ugly.]

  ***

  Soon, the four hooded figures arrived one after another, their dark robes blending into the shadows of the forest.

  “This is the place?” one of them muttered, frowning as he scanned the surroundings. “Didn’t Da Wei say he found the inheritance? Then why don’t I see anything?”

  All around them were nothing but trees, tangled roots, and shifting shadows. No ruins. No altar. Not even a trace of an entrance that looked like an inheritance site.

  Another snorted and lifted a jade token in his hand. “The location is correct. Da Wei’s signal ends here.”

  “Then where the hell is that little bastard hiding?” someone growled.

  The shortest among them wiped sweat from his brow, his eyes darting around nervously. “Y-you don’t think he ditched us, do you? That brat’s always been slippery. Maybe he found something valuable and ran off to keep it for himself.”

  “Ran off?” the scarred man spat, gripping the hilt of his blade. “If that’s true, I’ll skin him alive. Nobody cheats us and walks away.”

  The four exchanged uneasy glances.

  Something was wrong.

  Then the tallest among them—who always believed himself the sharpest—suddenly stiffened. His brows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed as he inhaled slowly.

  “…This isn’t right. It feels like—”

  BOOM!

  An explosion tore the clearing apart. The ground erupted in a wave of dust and force, flinging the four men like ragdolls. They crashed into nearby trees, blood spraying from their mouths as their bones rattled.

  “Tch, tch, tch…” A lazy, mocking voice echoed through the smoke. “Not a single one of you thought this might be a trap? And here I was worried you’d be too cautious.”

  The four injured cultivators raised their heads, eyes wide.

  From the smoke stepped a young man with a faint smile tugging at his lips. His hair was disheveled. A long sword rested casually against his shoulder.

  It was Lin Chen.

  “You—who are you!?” one of them demanded, coughing up blood.

  Lin Chen tilted his head, his smile cold. “Me? Think of me as… a pest exterminator.”

  Before they could react, he blurred forward. His sword flashed, leaving trails of lightning arcs in the air. One man’s throat was pierced before he even realized Lin Chen had moved.

  In seconds, only one remained.

  “Wait! Who are you? Why are you doing this!?” the fourth man stammered, struggling to circulate his Essence Qi—only to find nothing answering his call. His face paled in horror.

  Lin Chen gave a casual shrug. “Oh, that? You’ve already inhaled a little something special. Met a friend of yours earlier—he really loves his poisons. One breath, and your Qi veins are locked for a good minute. More than enough time for me to cut you down like pigs.”

  The man trembled. “Why? Why?”

  “What grudge do you have against us?”

  The faint smile on Lin Chen’s face vanished, his eyes turning cold and sharp.

  “Grudge? Because I’m one of your victims. You bastards think you can do as you please… take what you want… and no one will stop you. Well—” His sword gleamed in the moonlight. “—you met the wrong person.”

  [Don’t kill him yet. We need to extract information.]

  Lin Chen clicked his tongue. “Tch. Always making me play nice.”

  He stared down at the man writhing on the ground. “Are you sure this guy will talk?”

  The wounded cultivator seized the chance and dragged himself toward the bushes, panic driving him forward.

  FWIP!

  A blade of lightning tore through the air. His screams ripped out as both legs were severed at the thigh, blood spraying while crackling arcs of Qi danced across the ground.

  Lin Chen stepped on the bloody stump, pinning the man to the ground as blood soaked into the dirt. A surge of Essence Qi followed, grinding what remained beneath his foot.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “We’re going to talk,” he continued. “And by the end, you’ll tell me everything.”

  “AAAHHH—!”

  The scream burst out, raw and broken, cutting through the forest. Leaves shook, birds scattered, and the surrounding Essence Qi wavered.

  Want to read ahead? My Patreon is live with 20 exclusive early chapters you won’t find anywhere else.

  ? Bonus content includes:

  Character illustrations

  Object & artifact illustrations

  ??