The entire atmosphere fell into a razor sharp silence, as if the whole world had stopped breathing. The soft patter of rain against the ground became the only sound still moving beneath the immense pressure that blanketed the sky. Zhang Wen floated in midair, the black umbrella in his hand still releasing an aura that sent a chill deep into the bones of even the strongest.
Then his voice sounded, calm and indifferent.
"So… what will you all do next?"
A short question, yet it felt like a heavy hammer striking directly into everyone's hearts.
One of the elders from the Sword Mountain Sect stepped forward slightly. Though his expression remained composed, his eyes were filled with caution.
"We will leave immediately."
The answer was straightforward, without hesitation.
But when Zhang Wen fell silent for a moment, the three elders immediately grew tense. Their bodies did not move at all, yet their spirits were fully alert, ready to react to any change.
Zhang Wen did not respond. He simply turned his gaze toward Lin Taiji.
The woman's eyes remained calm, like a perfectly still lake, before her voice sounded.
"If I wish to leave… will you let me go?"
Zhang Wen smiled faintly beneath the mask. It felt as though something invisible flowed between them.
It seemed she knew what he was thinking, and more importantly… even the system could not analyze the information within those eyes.
He spoke softly, his tone filled with curiosity.
"It seems your eyes are quite extraordinary. Can they see the threads of cause and effect? Or detect intent and the thoughts of the mind… or perhaps they can even see the future?"
Lin Taiji fell silent for a moment. Her gaze seemed to pierce through everything before she spoke in a soft voice.
"What a frightening child. If not for the fact that both your bone age and soul age are still young, I would think you were the reincarnation of some immortal."
Zhang Wen smiled slightly. He knew she was changing the subject.
But before he could say anything, her voice sounded again.
"Honestly… have you and I met before?"
Zhang Wen chuckled softly.
"Use your eyes to find out."
Lin Taiji let out a light laugh. The sound was relaxed, yet her eyes were serious.
"If I did that, I would probably be crushed into pieces by your umbrella in that very instant, wouldn't I?"
Zhang Wen narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So you can see the future, then?"
Lin Taiji did not answer. Within her eyes now were countless possibilities unfolding.
Images of her moving even slightly only to have her body crushed by overwhelming pressure. Images of the black umbrella's power pressing down until not even ashes remained. Scenes of death repeating again and again, appearing and vanishing within a fraction of a second.
She did not know what power that black umbrella possessed, but she knew it could instantly crush her the moment she chose to move.
Every path where she chose to move her body to resist
Ended in death… without any chance of struggle.
So… the only choice left was to talk.
She took a soft breath before continuing.
"Then what price must I pay to leave this place?"
The question caused everyone to fall silent.
Zhang Wen answered immediately, almost without thinking.
"Sign a blood contract."
The pressure around them seemed to grow slightly heavier.
"The condition is simple. You must not tell anyone, must not write, must not reveal memories, or use any method whatsoever to let anyone know about today's events. Duration of the contract, one month. After one month, the contract will dissolve on its own. After that, whether you speak of it or not is up to you."
"If the contract is broken, you will never be able to advance in cultivation for the rest of your life."
Silence blanketed the area once more. Rain continued to fall steadily.
Lin Taiji looked steadily at Zhang Wen. Within her eyes, countless future paths were slowly shifting.
If she refused, there was only one outcome. Death.
But if she accepted, at least there was still a path forward.
The woman smiled faintly.
"That is kinder than I expected."
The three elders exchanged glances. They understood very well that this was not a negotiation.
The pressure from the black umbrella was telling everyone clearly that it could kill them at any moment.
Lin Taiji slowly raised her hand. A drop of blood floated out from her fingertip before gathering into an ancient rune in midair.
"I accept."
The moment those words ended,
The blood rune glowed deep crimson before sinking into her soul.
The three elders let out soft sighs before following suit. Blood contract runes appeared one by one.
Zhang Wen watched everything calmly. A blood contract was an agreement that used one's own blood to define certain conditions. If the contractor broke the agreement, they would be punished according to the terms they themselves accepted. It was not considered highly dangerous, but it was a contract with a certain level of reliability.
When the contract was complete,
The immense pressure covering the sky gradually eased slightly.
Like a storm pausing for a brief moment, Zhang Wen gently spun the umbrella.
"Looks like I'll have to work harder again."
A single short sentence, yet it felt like invisible chains tightening around everyone's bodies.
Lin Taiji looked at him for a moment, her gaze filled with complexity before she lifted her eyes toward the sky.
The three elders fell silent immediately, now ready to draw their swords at any moment.
The rain continued to fall steadily, but this time it felt as though an even greater storm was forming.
Zhang Wen lifted his head to look at the sky. His eyes beneath the mask were calm like a surface of water that had never known ripples, yet deep within his consciousness he could sense that something was changing.
In the next instant, the sky that should have remained dark beneath the curtain of rain was torn apart by a sacred radiance. Four pillars of light pierced down from the heavens with violent force like celestial spears, striking directly onto the three elders of the Mountain Sword Sect, while another descended toward Lin Taiji.
The shockwave of power twisted the surrounding space. A roaring sound echoed through the air as if the world itself were crying out in fury.
Lin Taiji, who had been immersed in countless streams of future possibilities, merely lifted her head slightly. Her eyes reflected the light for only a brief moment before she raised her hand and… rejected it.
The pillar of light that was about to touch her body vanished instantly as if it had never existed.
Zhang Wen narrowed his eyes slightly before turning to look at the three elders.
They did not refuse.
The radiance poured into their bodies like a raging flood. The spiritual energy around them surged upward at terrifying speed, but what caught Zhang Wen's attention the most was not their rising power…
It was their luck.
Red…
Purple…
Green…
White…
The colors of their fortune were rapidly fading, as if being burned away by invisible flames. In the blink of an eye, red fortune turned into white.
But the price bought them overwhelming power.
Their auras broke through their limits instantly. Their cultivation leapt directly to Ninth Stage Half Emperor, and a certain pressure began to cross the boundary toward the Great Emperor realm.
Then suddenly,
The sky opened once more.
Three swords fell from above.
One was pitch black like the deepest abyss of the universe.
One was pure white like the first light of dawn.
And the last was deep crimson like endless flowing blood.
Each sword released a completely distinct aura, yet every single one was at the Emperor level, and they were falling toward the three elders.
Zhang Wen did not hesitate for even a moment.
The Heaven Sundering Umbrella in his hand released its power instantly.
An immense pressure blanketed the entire area, shattering the rain curtain he had created in a blink. The surrounding air grew unbearably heavy, as if thousands of mountains were pressing down at once.
The purple gold eagle behind Lin Taiji was immediately ordered to retreat.
But then…
All of that pressure was halted by an unknown force.
Boommmmm.
The world seemed to stop turning. The three swords slashed out massive waves of power and surged toward Zhang Wen at the same time.
The sound of impact thundered across the heavens.