The masters clenched their teeth, their jaws tight with unspoken fury. Once, they were kings, gods walking among mortals. Now, they stood diminished, like lost boys stripped of their crowns.
The hall hushed. Yet the air buzzed with an unseen charge. Nael lingered there, untouched, as if the storm of chaos swirling around him were no more than a gentle gust.
He tilted his eyes skyward. Gray clouds loomed, thick and oppressive, as though the world itself were holding its breath. To him, though, it was a mere whisper, a fleeting brush against his skin.
"In the end, my family caused problems."
He shut his eyes. For a fleeting moment, the body flashed before him—cold, motionless. Deserved to die, he thought, the idea stripped of warmth or remorse. Everyone present knew it, even if their lips stayed sealed.
A memory of his mother sliced through his mind, sharp as a dagger. She had acted without hesitation, without a flicker of guilt. The ghost of a smile grazed his lips, only to fade before it could take root.
Silence draped over the room, heavy and thick. Nael let it deepen, let it settle into the bones of those around him. He wanted them to feel the earth quaking beneath their feet, to grasp the chasm yawning at their heels.
Wordlessly, he turned. His footsteps rang out, slow and deliberate, against the cold stone floor. This wasn't retreat—he never retreated. He simply moved forward, the past drifting behind him like a leaf caught in the wind.
And to him, that's all it was.
The wind howled through the mountain peaks, biting and cold, laced with a metallic tang that clung to the throat. The air stretched tight, a thread on the verge of snapping.
"How dare you?"
Gao Ping's voice burst forth, sharp as a honed blade. Rage and disbelief seeped from every word. Her eyes blazed, her aura flaring wild and unsteady, a fire itching to devour all in its path.
"He was my elder brother!"
Nael halted. He didn't turn. Mist coiled around him, parting to carve a silent hollow. With a slow, almost idle motion, he lifted a hand and slipped the blindfold from one eye.
The gesture was simple. Yet its weight landed like a thunderclap.
Shadow cloaked the eye. He gazed into an emptiness only he understood, a flicker of something glinting there, unseen by others. Then he closed it, sliding the blindfold back into place with unhurried calm.
"Of course, of course."
His voice flowed soft, almost tender, as if soothing a petulant child.
"You want to defend him, I understand."
He raised his face toward her. His expression held steady, but his presence swallowed the distance between them.
"But tell me, Master Gao Ping…"
His tone sharpened, cold as a winter's edge.
"Do you want me to tell you where the cave is?"
Her breath snagged in her chest.
"What cave?"
The words rasped out, mechanical and dry.
Nael stood still as stone.
"The one where he kidnapped people with special talents. For his research. For his obsession."
He took a step. The air grew dense, pressing in.
"He wanted a cultivation technique all his own. For that, he used bodies, lives, souls. He recorded everything. Every experiment, every failure, every sacrifice."
Silence swallowed the hall whole.
Gao Ping's lips parted, but no sound escaped.
The wind swept through again, carrying the raw echo of his words, unsoftened and bare.
Nael watched her, serene, as if gauging how much truth she could stomach. Then, without a pause, he turned away. His shadow hung in the air, a fleeting specter, as the world spun on—uncaring, just like him.
Mist shrouded the mountain, so thick it felt almost tangible. Nael twirled the Fire Law bead between his fingers, a light, careless dance. In his other hand, the Ice Dao Fruit sat quiet and unassuming. To an untrained eye, they were mere pebbles, dull and lifeless.
But three among them saw deeper.
Kaelan, Elowen, and Yang Ming.
Their gazes shimmered with a knowing beyond the ordinary. Transmigrators and reincarnators, tethered to Systems, they sensed the veiled power cradled in those hands.
"Choose."
Nael's voice sliced the stillness, firm and unyielding.
Elowen locked her eyes on his left hand.
"The left one."
Her tone held firm, though a wisp of doubt curled at its edges.
Kaelan let out a low chuckle, his eyes sparking with hunger.
"Why not both?"
Nael's head turned toward him. A fleeting glint sparked beneath his covered eyes, swift and cutting.
Kaelan missed it.
Elowen didn't.
Yang Ming, lingering at the back, felt a shiver claw up his spine.
The hall sat trapped in a suffocating hush, all eyes fixed on Nael's hands. He stretched out the Fire Law bead toward Mei Xiu, the Peak Master.
She paused. Her gaze flicked to Gao Ping for a heartbeat—Gao Ping, still trembling, fists balled tight, knuckles bleached white.
The air in the room thickened, taut with strain. Nael stood at its heart, a figure who commanded without trying.
"He barely deserves a coffin, let alone compensation."
His voice cut like frost, sealing an unspoken verdict. He released the bead into Mei Xiu's hand. The faint tap of it against her palm echoed, but the burden it carried pressed down like a mountain. Mei Xiu held her tongue. Her dark eyes flared briefly—a spark no one could pin a name to.
Silence engulfed the hall. The bead spun nimbly between her fingers before vanishing into her dimensional ring. She fixed her stare on Nael. He was already gone.
Tension swelled. Two sets of eyes emerged in the space he'd left—small, almost delicate, yet something about them felt wrong.
A black cat, its webbed wings gossamer-thin, rested there. Motionless, soundless, as if time had overlooked it. Only its stare—deep as an abyss—pierced through the haze.
The white snake was another matter. Purple eyes gleamed, cold yet vibrant. It coiled lazily, almost swaying, taking in the hall. Watchful. A chill rippled through anyone who met its gaze.
They were small. They didn't look mighty. But no one dared challenge them.
"This is for the sect."
Nael's voice drifted out, flat and detached, no glance spared behind him.
"Death, for him, would be a favor."
The dry edge in his tone made Kaelan swallow hard, the air lodging in his throat.
Without another word, Nael clasped Elowen's hand. In an instant, he melted into her ring.
All eyes swung to the girl left standing.
And the beasts… stayed.
The hall seemed to hold its breath.
Elowen stood rooted, a statue beneath a dozen piercing stares, each one a silent blade.
Kaelan slipped in front of her. The motion was smooth, almost offhand, but resolute. It wasn't blatant sheltering—it was a signal: she wasn't alone.
He swept the room with icy eyes and took his place behind Mei Xiu, his master from the Sacred Heart Peak.
"Give me the girl."
The Harmony Peak Master's voice ripped through the stillness, a command brooking no dissent.
The weight in the room doubled.
Nael's beasts didn't flinch. Their eyes settled on the master—not a threat, but a wordless caution.
Kaelan stood his ground.
"No. I won't."
His answer came steady, solid as bedrock.
"She's my younger brother's employee. If you want to get to her, you'll have to go through me."
Utter silence.
Sheer nerve.
To speak that way to a Peak Master.
Faces twisted, fury simmering beneath the surface, hot and unspoken. The air thrummed.
A faint ding! chimed in Kaelan's mind.
-------------------------------------------------------
A faint ding! chimed in Kaelan's mind.
------------------
Notification:You have provoked emotions of hatred and anger in many powerful individuals with great destinies.
Reward:
➤ 1,500,000 emotion points.
------------------
Another ding! followed.
Notification:You have provoked extreme hatred and anger in the Harmony Peak Master.
Bonus Reward:
➤ Ripe Devil Fruit.
-------------------------------------------------------
He didn't twitch. On the outside, nothing. Inside, a smirk tugged at the corners of his thoughts. So that's how it plays out—she's dumped all her venom on me.
He glanced at the Harmony Peak Master. Her eyes burned, though the flames stayed leashed.
Kaelan didn't mind.
Fear had no hold on him here.
But playing weak?
That was a game he knew well.
The hall hung heavy, the air dense as if every particle bore the weight of the quiet. The Harmony Peak Master stood at its core, a figure forged from ice and wrath, her gaze carving into Kaelan like a blade.
"Hand over the girl."
Her voice held firm, though a thread of impatience frayed its edges.
"I won't hurt her. I just want to get the one who killed my brother."
Kaelan didn't budge. His stone-cold eyes tracked her every move—each breath, each flicker of shadow on the floor. He parted his lips to speak, but another voice cut through first.
"You're being paranoid."
Mei Xiu stepped forward, a living pillar, the pride of her bloodline thrumming in every stride. Her eyes sparked with defiance.
"You did nothing when your brother died."
Her words struck like a whip, swift and unflinching.
"You knelt before the one who killed him. She was here. You saw. And you stayed silent."
The hall stilled, breath suspended. Mei Xiu's accusations lingered, a slow poison seeping into the cracks of buried truths.
The Harmony Peak Master's eyes narrowed, a dangerous gleam dancing within.
"And that changes anything?"
Her tone dripped with scorn, dry as dust. Mei Xiu didn't reply at once. She simply stared, a hunter sizing up prey too blind to see its fate.
The air snapped with unseen force. The white snake, coiled and silent until now, lifted its head. Its purple eyes shone—twin voids without end. A shiver tore through the room, sharp and icy.
And there was the cat—small, black, a living shadow. It gave off nothing—no sound, no aura—just an emptiness that drank in every glance.
Kaelan let out a brief, almost weary sigh.
"It does change things."
He met the Harmony Master's gaze, his voice calm but unshakeable.
"He hasn't said a word since he arrived. He didn't get involved. He avoided fights. He didn't even speak to his own mother or mention your dead brother."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in, heavy as stone.
"And it was I who taught the Seraphim summoning. Your brother had the audacity to pray to a Goddess. And more than that—he profaned her name."
A wry half-smile curved his lips, laced with mockery.
"At the very least, I must admit he had courage. No, what he had were balls of gold."
The Harmony Master didn't blink. Her face remained a frozen mask.
"It doesn't matter."
Her voice sliced through, fine and lethal.
"I will kill him. And make him feel a thousand times the pain my brother felt."
Her fingers flickered in the air, a subtle weave. The power of her cultivation pulsed, reaching for Elowen like an invisible noose.
A boom shattered the moment. Muffled thunder rolled as the white snake slammed into the wall. The floor split. Dust billowed in choking waves. For a breath, silence ruled.
Then the air roared alive with rage. The serpent swelled, its white form gleaming like a tide breaking through shadow. A hundred meters long, its purple eyes blazed—cold, relentless fire. Its jaws parted, and a beam of black light ripped through the hall.
Walls collapsed. The earth cleaved in two. Gao Ping hurtled outward, the force leaving chaos in its wake. She hovered in the dark sky, her face a blank slate, though her eyes simmered with irritation.
The snake hissed, its aura a roiling ocean, fierce and unbound. Unlike the cat—mute, a riddle of darkness—it was raw instinct, pure ruin.
In the wreckage of the hall, disciples gaped, hearts pounding. The fight had ignited.
The serpent surged, a white streak slashing the sky. Its tail cracked down like a whip, the air shrieking under the blow. Gao Ping raised a hand—a golden shield flared, etched with ancient runes. It caught the strike. Barely.
She skidded back, dragged by the sheer power. Before she could find her footing, the snake struck again.
Gao Ping answered. An open palm unleashed a burst of light. The blow hammered the serpent like a god's fist, hurling it hundreds of meters. The ground moaned, fracturing beneath its crash.
Quiet fell.
Then the air grew denser still. The serpent twisted, its white hide glowing with an eerie sheen. It rose—larger, more fearsome. Five hundred meters. The earth buckled under its mass. The heavens quaked.
Its purple eyes flared, vowing obliteration.