Ye Tian pushed the heavy oak door of a ground floor lecture hall shut. The iron latch clicked into place and severed the chaotic noise of the invasion echoing through the Alchemy Pavilion. He leaned his back against the thick wood and slid down until his boots rested flat on the floorboards. The darkness of the empty classroom offered a brief sanctuary from the violence consuming the academy.He pressed his hand against his sternum and closed his eyes. His human heart hammered against his ribs with the erratic dangerous rhythm of a failing engine. The raw kinetic output required to obliterate the twin assassins on the marble steps exacted a brutal toll on his mortal vessel. The golden stitches holding his torn cardiovascular tissue together were unraveling.He leaned forward and coughed a thick wad of dark blood onto the polished wooden floor. The liquid smelled of old copper and necrotic rot. The poison from the forest trials crawled up his neck and painted his veins a sickly purple.

Blood dripped from the hem of his grey tunic and stained the polished wooden stairs. Ye Tian gripped the mahogany banister to steady his failing mortal vessel. He reached the seventh floor of the administrative spire and left the chaotic screams of the lower campus behind him. The air grew thin and cold in the restricted upper levels of the Alchemy Pavilion. He needed to secure the physical proof of treason before his torn cardiovascular tissue surrendered to the immense friction of his sovereign soul.The red toxic fog did not penetrate this high into the building. The long corridor stretched out before him in the dim moonlight filtering through the tall glass windows. Intricate woven rugs covered the stone floorboards to silence the footsteps of the academic elites. The opulent decor masked the rot festering at the core of the institution. Ye Tian wiped a fresh trail of dark blood from his chin. His vision blurred for a brief second before he forced his golden energy to sharpen his

The unmarked medical van sped away from the swirling boundary of the red fog. Driver Chen gripped the steering wheel and kept his eyes fixed on the dark asphalt of Silver Avenue. The tires squealed as he took a sharp corner heading toward the industrial harbor district. The cargo bay behind him echoed with the agonizing groans of six mutilated syndicate assassins.The invasion of the orthodox academy was supposed to be a flawless execution. The Ghost Envoy promised them a swift slaughter against defenseless scholars. Driver Chen listened to the erratic breathing of his passengers and realized the intelligence was fatally flawed. Two of the men in the back lacked hands. Their wrists were frozen solid by an unnatural glacial pulse that defied all elemental logic. Another man suffered a collapsed ribcage from a localized kinetic shockwave. The vanguard was taking catastrophic casualties.Chen snatched the two way radio from the dashboard. He needed to coordinate the extraction and reques

The heavy oak desk inside the abandoned lecture hall offered a temporary sanctuary from the toxic red fog swirling through the corridors. Ye Tian sat on the dusty floorboards with his back pressed against the thick wood. The Eastern Literature wing remained quiet for the moment. The syndicate assassins concentrated their primary forces near the dining hall and the central administrative spire.He unrolled the heavy animal hide scroll across his knees. The Demonic Blood Pact rested in his lap like a dormant serpent. The bright crimson thumbprint of the Pavilion Master glowed faintly in the dim moonlight filtering through the shattered window. The physical proof of treason carried a heavy metallic scent that cut through the foul sulfur of the synthetic mist.A sharp violent spasm tore through his chest cavity.Ye Tian clenched his jaw and grabbed the fabric of his grey tunic. The golden stitches holding his torn cardiovascular tissue together were gone. The sheer kinetic friction of his