Arjun didn't leave Bone Grave Valley immediately.
He did something worse.
He used the corpses.
He piled them into a twisted structure.
A throne of bones.
Then he carved a message into the ground using a broken sword.
Blood-soaked letters:
RUDRA. COME DIE.
The girl he spared watched from afar, shaking.
Arjun looked at her.
"Go."
Her lips trembled.
"Y-you'll be killed…"
Arjun replied calmly:
"No."
"I'll be remembered."
The girl ran.
And the valley returned to silence.
But Arjun's war had already begun.
Because now…
He didn't want to survive.
He wanted the sect to tremble.
He wanted the elders to regret every time they ignored his pain.
And he wanted Rudra to feel it too—
The slow, cruel death of helplessness.
Inside Iron Mountain Sect, the inner disciple tower stood tall like a palace of arrogance.
In the highest courtyard—
A young man sat calmly, sipping tea.
His robe was deep crimson.His hair tied with silver thread.His eyes carried the arrogance of someone who had never been challenged.
This was Rudra.
Inner disciple.
Top Ten.
Karan's older brother.
A disciple ran into the courtyard, panting like his lungs were tearing.
"B-brother Rudra!"
Rudra didn't even look up.
"Speak."
The disciple swallowed.
"It's… it's Karan…"
Rudra's hand paused slightly.
"…What about him?"
The disciple's voice shook.
"He's dead."
The tea cup in Rudra's hand cracked.
The courtyard went silent.
Even the birds stopped.
Then Rudra slowly placed the cup down.
He smiled.
But the smile was wrong.
A smile filled with something poisonous.
"You're joking."
The disciple immediately knelt.
"I swear, brother… he was killed in the Spirit Root Hall… by outer disciple Arjun."
Rudra blinked once.
Then he laughed quietly.
"Hah…"
Then louder.
"HAHAHAHA!"
The disciple trembled, thinking Rudra was about to explode.
But Rudra didn't rage.
He didn't scream.
That would be too humane.
Instead, Rudra stood up slowly and walked forward.
His voice was soft, friendly even.
"Outer disciple Arjun…?"
"A dog killed my dog?"
The disciple nodded rapidly.
Rudra's smile widened.
"Then this is interesting."
He turned to the side, where three inner disciples stood waiting like guards.
"Bring me the people who laughed when Karan bullied him."
The disciple froze.
"Brother… why them?"
Rudra stared at him.
And for the first time, a chill ran through the air.
"Because," Rudra whispered, "I want Arjun to return…"
"…and find no one left alive who ever looked at him as a human."
The disciple's blood ran cold.
Rudra raised a finger.
"Cut out their tongues."
"Remove their eyes."
"Hang them in the outer courtyard."
"And carve one word into their skin."
The disciple's voice cracked.
"W-what word…?"
Rudra smiled.
"TRASH."
The inner disciples bowed.
"Yes, Senior Brother."
They vanished.
The disciple remained kneeling, shaking.
Then Rudra stepped closer and tilted his head.
"What else?"
The disciple swallowed.
"There's more…"
Rudra's eyes narrowed.
"Speak."
The disciple forced the words out.
"Arjun was sent to Bone Grave Valley… but… he didn't die…"
Rudra's eyebrows raised slightly.
"Oh?"
The disciple continued, terrified.
"A survivor returned… an inner disciple girl… she said Arjun killed everyone inside… and built a… bone throne…"
Rudra's expression finally changed.
Not fear.
Excitement.
"…A bone throne?"
The disciple nodded.
"And… he carved a message into the ground…"
Rudra's smile disappeared.
His voice went flat.
"What message?"
The disciple whispered:
"RUDRA. COME DIE."
Silence.
A deep, terrifying silence.
Then Rudra's aura burst out.
The courtyard stone cracked.
The air shook.
The disciple slammed his head into the ground.
"F-forgive me brother!"
Rudra didn't answer.
He stared into the distance like he was imagining Arjun's bones already crushed.
Then he spoke calmly:
"Cancel my cultivation session."
The disciple looked up.
Rudra continued:
"I will personally go to Bone Grave Valley."
His eyes turned cold.
"I will bring him back alive."
The disciple hesitated.
"Alive…?"
Rudra's lips curved.
"Yes."
"Because killing him fast would be a waste."
He leaned down and whispered:
"I want him to beg."
"I want him to crawl."
"I want him to regret being born."
Rudra straightened and turned.
"And when I'm done…"
"I'll make sure his soul can't reincarnate."