The moment Gu Yehan's fist met Zhi Fan's, a wave of pressure burst around them—but neither budged. Their energy clashed in the air, crackling violently. Zhi Fan leapt back with a snarl, flames gathering thicker around his fists.
"Take my Flaming Fist Fury!" he roared, charging in.
Wind swirled around Gu Yehan's body as he stood calmly, unmoving.
Tang Wulin's eyes lit up. "That's wind movement technique... he's channeling the wind element into a basic movement skill!"
Zhi Fan's punches blurred through the air—wild, aggressive, spraying heat in every direction. But Gu Yehan barely moved, each shift of his body graceful and minimal. The wind danced with him, boosting his speed just enough to evade every strike.
Zhi Fan's face twisted in frustration.
Gu Yehan suddenly slid to his side, slipping beneath another strike and reappearing behind him. A blade of wind formed in his hand, humming with pressure as he raised it toward Zhi Fan's exposed neck.
Then—
"Stop. The 100 students have been selected."
The voice echoed like thunder. A powerful energy froze everyone mid-motion.
Gu Yehan's blade hovered less than an inch from Zhi Fan's neck—its tip already brushing the skin.
A beat passed. The energy lifted.
Zhi Fan staggered back, his face pale, sweat dripping down his chin. His lips parted. "I-It was just a test... you didn't have to..."
He met Gu Yehan's eyes—and saw nothing.
No anger.
No hesitation.
Just cold stillness.
Zhi Fan flinched and backed away quickly. His five underlings followed, not daring to look back.
Tang Wulin stepped forward, brow furrowed. "Gu Yehan… were you really going to kill him?"
Gu Yehan glanced at him. "And if I was? What does that matter to you?"
He said it flatly, as if talking about the weather.
Tang Wulin's gaze sharpened. He released a pulse of energy. A golden shard hovered behind his head, glowing with radiant light.
"I don't think you understand the value of life," he said, voice calm, but firm.
Before Gu Yehan could respond, the same voice from earlier spoke again.
"He didn't intend to kill."
All three turned. A man in a red robe stood nearby, bearing the Red Lotus symbol on his chest. His voice carried both warmth and authority.
"He stopped the blade the moment it touched skin."
The man's eyes swept across them.
"Peak 1-shard Asterioc—all three of you. Impressive. You're already selected as students of Red Lotus Academy. No need to participate further."
Gasps and chatter broke out around them.
"Lucky…" "They're monsters..." "If only I'd reached peak 1-shard too…"
With a flick of his wrist, three glowing scrolls floated toward them.
"You'll report to the academy in one week. Prepare yourselves."
Then he turned away, already speaking to the remaining candidates. "The rest of you—continue. Those recently defeated may still have a chance."
Gu Yehan and Gu Yuena turned to leave. Tang Wulin followed.
"Why are you still following us?" Gu Yehan asked over his shoulder.
Tang Wulin scratched his head. "Well, we're all heading to Red Lotus anyway. Also… sorry. I misjudged you. That was some impressive control."
Gu Yehan gave a simple nod, accepting the words in silence.
Then he asked, "Your element?"
Tang Wulin smiled. "Light. My master said the light exists to erase darkness and protect others."
Another nod.
Tang Wulin turned to Gu Yuena. "What about you?"
She paused, thinking for a moment, before answering softly, "Also light."
Tang Wulin beamed. "Then let's team up. We'll erase all darkness from the world."
For a moment, Gu Yehan felt as if they were talking about him.
He sighed.
A passing carriage caught their attention. They climbed in, scrolls in hand, bound for Red Lotus Academy.
Their journey had just begun.
In the palace, the guardian of the planet, Yueyin, sat silently on a balcony chair, draped in flowing white robes. A delicate veil still hid her face, but tears slipped silently down her cheeks as she gazed into the sky. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"When... are we going to meet again?"
The tears kept falling.
The memory returned, sharp and unrelenting.
She had been lying broken on the ground, blood spilling from her lips. Her body was too wounded to move. In front of her stood a man—his back facing her. He wore a white robe, now soaked and stained with blood. His long black hair danced in the wind.
Before him, a monstrous army stretched to the horizon—hundreds of thousands strong. Demons of every kind: ogres with hulking frames, dream spiders with flickering illusions, demonic tigers growling low, and the night emperor bats circling above, their scarlet eyes burning with killing intent.
They all stared at her.
And yet, none dared to move forward.
The space between them was littered with the corpses of those who had tried. Demons of every race lay broken and still, far more in number than those still standing.
And in the center of it all… he stood alone.
Unmoving. Unyielding.
A lone wall between her and annihilation.
Then another memory surfaced.
She was floating in the vast silence of space. Behind her stretched an army of humans—rows of warriors clad in shining armor, weapons gleaming, hearts burning with defiance. In front of them stood the same man, his presence unmoving, and behind him, an endless tide of demons: beasts, monsters, and horrors from every nightmare.
The cries from both sides tore through the void.
"Humanity will rise! Demons shall perish!"
"Demons will rule the world! Humans must fall!"
But Yueyin and the man… their eyes said something else.
Their gazes met across the stars, not with hatred, but with sorrow. Both had tears brimming in their eyes—eyes hollow from pain or perhaps too full of feeling buried too deep to reach. They stood as enemies, yet looked like two souls torn apart by fate.
As one, they raised their hands.
Their voices were low, almost whispered, yet absolute.
"Let the war begin."
In the next instant, both surged forward.
As their energies clashed, space itself began to tear apart. The moment their auras collided, reality fractured. A rift, a gaping void of nothingness, bloomed between them—millions of kilometers wide. Planets shuddered. The once-stable balance of the solar system broke.
Worlds were knocked off course. Moons spiraled. Even the sun trembled, its central position shifted in cosmic alarm.
Armies on both sides—human and demon alike—were vaporized in an instant, reduced to dust by the force of that collision.
Only two figures remained.
The armies had perished.
The stars had gone silent.
But the war... the war had not ended.