Jin Seong stood alone at the edge of the Lotus Pavilion.
The tranquil courtyard was quiet—too quiet. Even the gentle wind held its breath as he approached the ceremonial platform where elders once tested disciples. This place had once been sacred ground. Now, it reeked of betrayal.
The sky burned with twilight, casting long shadows. His sect robe—once pristine and marked with honor—was now torn, bloodied, and heavy on his back. He could still feel the warmth of his master's blade where it pierced his side.
He didn't stumble. He didn't cry. He just walked.
Each step echoed against the white jade tiles, his breath steady, mind clearer than ever.
They tried to erase me.
But I'm still here.
A voice cracked the silence.
"So… the traitor returns."
From the archway emerged Elder Baek, flanked by disciples—none of whom dared meet Jin Seong's eyes.
"I did not betray the sect," Jin Seong said. "I was betrayed by it."
The elder scoffed. "You speak of betrayal, yet you consorted with forbidden texts—stole the very relic that safeguards our realm."
"I uncovered a lie!" Jin Seong roared. "The relic hides a truth far darker than any demonic scripture!"
"You've said enough." Elder Baek's hand flicked forward.
The disciples rushed in.
Jin Seong's body moved without thought, a storm of reflex and rage. His blade flashed, not with elegance, but purpose. Blood sprayed across the moonlit courtyard.
He didn't want to kill them. But they didn't care if he lived.
Every swing, every dodge, was fueled not just by instinct—but by awakening. Something deep within his dantian stirred. The corrupted meridians that once stifled his cultivation now pulsed with new energy.
He blocked a strike—and his vision blurred.
No, not blurred. Shifted.
For a moment, he saw his opponents moving through red silhouettes—predictive paths, each showing a fatal flaw in their technique. He exploited one without hesitation, slicing through armor like parchment.
It wasn't his martial skill.
It was the Path.
A forbidden thread of enlightenment whispered to him. Not of Qi, but of fate itself.
When the last disciple fell groaning to the ground, Elder Baek took a step back.
"What… what have you become?"
Jin Seong's eyes narrowed.
"Something you were too blind to see coming."
And with one breath, he pierced forward.
Elder Baek blocked with a surge of Qi—but Jin Seong twisted in mid-air, stepping through space as if the world bent to his motion.
The strike wasn't just fast—it was inevitable.
Blood sprayed across the lotus stone as the elder dropped to one knee, gasping.
"I spared you once," Jin Seong whispered, voice cold. "This time, I end it."
But before he could strike the final blow, a new pressure descended from above.
It wasn't spiritual.
It was divine.
A massive palm of golden Qi flattened the sky, and a voice thundered from the heavens.
"ENOUGH."
Jin Seong turned, eyes wide.
The Grand Patriarch had arrived.