The wild woodland appeared devastated. Countless trees lay in segments, their cuts unnaturally smooth.Beimen approached a massive tree. A figure lay camouflaged on the ground beneath debris."Ruoqiao, why are you lying here?"Ruoqiao opened his eyes slowly. "Water..."Beimen tossed his waterskin. His gaze swept the carnage. "Lü Zang did this? Was my message unclear?"After drinking deeply, Ruoqiao rasped a bitter laugh. "I delivered your promise exactly: return to Zhoku, receive ultimate power, claim the Enlightened One's throne. He refused. Then he shattered my body the moment his power returned."Beimen frowned. "Enough. Basic healing first. Time is short." He knelt, fingertips glowing as he reached for Ruoqiao's wounds."What did you say?" Yeluo's grip tightened on her sword, her voice foreign to her own ears. "Repeat it."The Yama, freshly escaped from death, complied hastily. "I said... over a century ago, the Chiluo clan stole intelligence the Yiqi clan paid for in blood during the great war. They used it to claim glory, usurping the Yiqi's place among the Four Great Families."Yeluo raised her sword, killing intent flaring. The Yama waved his hands frantically. "I wasn't there! Don't punish me!""Then how do you know this?"The Yama sat, rubbing his belly. "Girl, do you think demons are simple storybook villains? We have lives, interests. We discuss gossip too." He watched her reaction. "Especially a tragedy like this. Even enemies find it shameful! How could the Chiluo be so brazen?""Silence!" Yeluo roared.
The Yama flinched. "So hard to please? I'm insulting your rivals! Are you secretly fond of them?"Yeluo's face blanched. Without another word, she swung the Trident Vajra Sword. The Yama couldn't evade, but instead of golden light, black smoke wreathed the blade. Sword thunder cracked the earth at his feet, leaving him unharmed."Disaster," Shemen cried. "All phenomena arise from mind! Her heart is clouded—she risks Qi Deviation!"The Yama stared, then laughed wildly. "Haha! You wish to join me, girl? Come!"He lunged. Shemen urged her eight-legged lion forward, but the distance was too great. The Taotie pursued closely.At the last possible moment, a figure snatched Yeluo into the air. The Yama spat black smoke, which coiled around the rescuer's bandaged leg. A cry of pain, a stumble, and they fell.Yeluo blinked. "Bensheng..."The Yama bared fangs, extended claws, poised to strike. His eyes gleamed crimson with excitement.Suddenly, his fangs shattered mid-air.An invisible blade of wind severed them. The Yama shuddered, fled towards the Taotie without looking back.A gentle yet firm wind caught Bensheng and Yeluo, setting them down safely."Lü Zang! Finally!" Bensheng cheered. "Did you schedule your heroic entrance?"The Medicine Master, watching from the lion's back, sighed in relief. "Safe now."Shemen whistled. "Wow, he's handsome!"Lü Zang turned, scowling, his anger palpable, especially towards Bensheng. But seeing Bensheng hopping on one injured leg, face bright with relief, his words shifted. "Hah! Relying on the dead-last? I save Yeluo from your incompetence.""What? I protected her!" Bensheng noticed Yeluo's despondency, her sword dull and heavy in her hand. He changed the subject. "Where's Ruoqiao? Isn't he with you?"Lü Zang's aura shifted instantly. He shot forward without a word.The Yama was ready. A blow to the Taotie's forehead made it roar and inhale violently. The suction pulled even Lü Zang's sleeves forward as he ran."Lü Zang, I'll help!" Bensheng stood, ignoring his leg's protest. He clasped hands, ran on air, passing the lion. "Shemen, protect Yeluo!"
Shemen acknowledged, pulling Yeluo onto the lion.As Lü Zang neared the Taotie's maw, a sudden updraft lifted him high. He fanned his six-ribbed fan. Spiraling blades of wind assailed the Taotie from all sides.The Yama paled, recognizing the technique that had once blinded the beast. He veered sharply—right into Bensheng's path. Bensheng raised his staff, but a wind blade sliced his sleeve.Stunned, then enraged, Bensheng yelled, "Lü Zang, are you crazy? Why hit me?""You're in my way!" Lü Zang dove, fanning more wind blades. The Taotie's eyes glowed gold; it pounced, swallowing the winds whole."It... ate them?" The Medicine Master gaped. "It consumes wind?"Lü Zang faltered. The Taotie charged, swallowing everything in its path. A staff swung, knocking it sideways.Lü Zang fanned again. A vortex of wind and dust surged forward, parallel to Bensheng's sprint."Move aside!" Bensheng shouted."Out of my way!" Lü Zang retorted.Bensheng launched skyward, flipped, and dove. The wind vortex parted the air before him, granting him lightning speed. The Yama saw a blur—then Bensheng's face was inches from his.The staff tip, sheathed in sharp wind, crashed onto the Yama's skull.The Yama vomited black blood, convulsing on the ground. As he stilled, Lü Zang landed gracefully beside him.A vast shadow fell. The eight-legged lion's claws gripped the Taotie's back, lifting the massive beast skyward. It flailed, shrieking horribly.Shemen's performance began. Bensheng heard her triumphant cries, shook his head with a wry smile, leaving her to it, though he pitied the trembling Medicine Master. Relaxing, the pain in his leg flared."Hiss..."He noticed Lü Zang nearby. Those straight shoulders looked perfect for support...Bensheng stood straight, leaning on his staff, and smirked. "See? My takedown."Lü Zang scoffed. "My wind did the work."A long shadow fell by the vine-trapped captives. Shemen stopped her game, dropped the Taotie, and landed nearby.The shadow lengthened until a familiar figure emerged.
Bensheng beamed. "Proctor Beimen! You're here!"Beimen smiled kindly. "A difficult battle, I see." His eyes settled on Lü Zang."Master." Lü Zang gazed at him, emotions warring, and stepped forward...Another figure appeared.Beimen approached with him, smile gentle, tone lightly scolding. "Lü Zang, why abandon Ruoqiao?""Proctor Beimen saved him. Good. Neither of you suffered the Yamas' torment." Bensheng relaxed completely. Only Yeluo remained troubled... He glanced at her dazed form on the lion."Bensheng, run..."Lü Zang's trembling whisper reached him. Bensheng turned. Lü Zang stood corpse-pale, shaking as if facing ultimate horror."What..."The sentence died as force smashed into Bensheng's skull. The world spun, limbs screamed. His back hit a tree trunk. Through the shuddering world, he saw Proctor Beimen, smile intact, lowering his left hand."Master! You can't... Ugh..."Beimen gripped Lü Zang's throat, lifting him."You disappoint me profoundly."Lü Zang clawed at the hand, but Beimen effortlessly took his fan.Beimen whispered in his ear, "Why reject the path I forged for you?""I... can... myself..."Beimen slammed him down. A one-handed seal, a chant. A circular arc of five-colored light emerged, solidifying into five points—red, yellow, orange, white, blue—on Lü Zang's limbs and forehead.Lü Zang recognized the Six-Light Body Binding. Formless, colored light—unbreakable even with his fan.Beimen stood, approached the Yama. He rolled a sleeve, lightly scored his arm. Blood droplets fell on the Yama's wounds. The Yama revived, staring blankly. "You... who?""My name is irrelevant. Know this," Beimen spread his hands, "I offer you a grand opportunity. Will you take it?"The Yama trembled. A Practitioner offering demons a "grand opportunity"? But his instincts screamed—hundreds, no, thousands of his kind approached!"What do you want?""All mortal lives here are yours."
Beimen turned. The Yama, ecstatic, vanished with the Taotie in black smoke.The eight-legged lion's claws gouged the earth. Shemen and the others, stunned since the attack began, finally stirred."Little Treasure feels killing intent... Medicine Master, is he truly a Zhoku Proctor? He's the enemy!"The Medicine Master shook his head, distraught. "I... don't know. I study healing, rarely see proctors. Yeluo knows..." He shook her. Yeluo looked up, saw Beimen, flinched. "Proctor... all enemies?"The Medicine Master, speechless, gathered his courage and shouted, "Proctor Beimen, what is your goal?!"Beimen paused, pressed Lü Zang's fan to his lips, and smiled faintly. "My goal? An excellent question... Truthfully, I wish to do nothing.""Nothing?""Correct. I wish not to be a proctor, not to remain at Zhoku. Not to engage with meaningless people. Not... to be 'Beimen' of this family name."Silence fell. The Medicine Master trembled. "But... people need purpose. A life without action is death...""I have a purpose," Beimen gazed skyward. "To remove all obstacles, so every life may live as it desires."The answer stunned the Medicine Master into silence. Beimen seemed inclined to explain. "You are the Medicine Master, yes? Specializing in healing. Have your peers ever mocked you for it?"The Medicine Master froze. He... couldn't deny it. Despite his focus, he'd overheard the whispers: "Lowborn," "fit only for ignorant mortals," "unworthy of comparison.""Why must bloodline and talent dictate fate?"Royals command absolute obedience. Great-family scions inherit vast power. Commoners fight for a chance at Zhoku.This is fate, dictated by blood.Thus, fields of study are ranked noble or base. His mere love for healing became a mark of shame.All because this world... is profoundly unequal."Therefore, I will erase all inequality. Forge a new world—equal and free."For a moment, the Medicine Master felt that yearning. Shemen's voice broke the spell. "Then why sacrifice lives to the Yamas?"Beimen extended a hand. A five-colored light spot swirled, coalescing into a sixth, composite hue. The energy made the
eight-legged lion cower. "Power is necessary to achieve equality. Annihilating Yamas who have consumed thousands is significant merit. Do not hinder me."