The Heaven-Judging Sword creaked under Ravian's grip. The spreading black rust seemed to have a life of its own, creeping slowly toward the golden hilt held by the golden-robed envoy. The young man's eyes widened; his face, previously full of divine authority, was now deathly pale."Release it! You monster!" screamed the envoy, his voice trembling violently.Ravian only stared through the cold eye-holes of his mask. "You call this light? This is nothing but scrap metal wrapped in arrogance."Suddenly, Elder Bai of the Blue Cloud Sect leaped forward, but he did not attack. He knelt between Ravian and the envoy. "Please stop! Envoy, Master Yanis, if you fight here, all of Azure City will be destroyed!""He has defiled a heavenly heirloom, Bai!" the envoy roared, even as he frantically pulled his sword away from Ravian's touch. "He must be purified!""Justice will not be achieved through total destruction," interrupted a deep voice. An old man in simp

Smoke from the ruins of the Judgment Ship still rose into the sky of Azure City, staining the dawn with suffocating gray soot. Lin Xuelan stood frozen in the middle of the now completely destroyed plaza. Her pristine white hands trembled violently, not from the morning cold, but because of the small object she gripped tightly in her palm.A broken jade pendant.It felt like a burning coal against her skin. Every crack on the jade's surface seemed to scream a name she had tried to bury deep for the past year. A name that should have vanished along with the ashes at the bottom of the Soul Annihilation Abyss.Ravian."Holy Maiden! You must move back immediately! This area is unstable!" shouted a guard from the Blue Cloud Sect, trying to approach but held back by the pressure of the residual black energy still pulsing in the ground.Lin Xuelan did not budge. Her eyes, which usually radiated holy serenity, now looked empty, staring toward the forest whe

The black blood dripping from Lin Xuelan’s palm still had not stopped. It was nothing like ordinary human blood, thick, cold, and giving off a faint, rotten-smelling vapor. In the silence of her private chamber, hidden behind the walls of the Blue Cloud Sect, Lin Xuelan stared at her hand with an empty gaze.“Does it still hurt?” a hoarse voice asked from a dark corner of the room.Lin Xuelan flinched. She turned slowly, finding an old man seated cross-legged on a silk carpet. He was Elder Jue, the most renowned and most feared soul seer on the Astrala Continent. His eyes were covered with a strip of white cloth, yet his aura felt as though it could pierce through anyone’s skin.“This pain is nothing compared to the horror I saw in the plaza earlier, Elder,” Lin Xuelan whispered. Her voice was raspy. “The Inquisitor’s inspection failed. The entire city was destroyed. And he… he just left after tearing everything apart.”“You did not summon me to complain about a ruined city,” Jue repl

Ravian reappeared atop a tall building, far from the alley of the ambush. He removed his mask briefly, inhaling the night air free of death’s stench. His breathing was slightly uneven, and his chest burned.“System, report the condition of the Hell Meridian.”*[Energy usage level: eighty percent. Open use of “Destruction Flame” has caused minor fractures in your meridian pathways, Master. You require time to stabilize. However, the soul essence absorbed from the guards has increased your level progress by five percent.]*“A steep price for a performance,” Ravian muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead. “But worth it. The fear in Xuelan’s eyes… that was the best recovery pill I have ever tasted.”*[Master, are you certain letting her live was the right decision? She will report your power to the sect elders. They will send far stronger opponents next time.]*“That is exactly w