The main gate of the Ashen Vein Sect was usually silent. But today, the air itself trembled under a heavy spiritual pressure.
At the foot of the stone steps stood fifty elite disciples of the Yan Clan. Their uniforms were pristine white, embroidered with golden thread—an arrogant contrast against the filthy volcanic ash beneath their feet. Their swords gleamed, radiating pure Qi that stung the eyes.
At the front of the formation stood an old man in a deep ocean-blue robe. His hair was combed neatly back, and his gaze rested on the sect gate with naked disdain—like a noble forced to step into a pigsty.
Yan Bohai.
Second Elder of the Yan Clan.
The man who had personally stamped Yan Kesh's expulsion decree three months ago.
"Ashen Vein Sect!" Yan Bohai's voice thundered, amplified by Peak Foundation Establishment Qi. Dust crumbled from the gate walls under the sheer force of it. "You are harboring the Yin Treasure that belongs to the Yan Clan. Hand over the girl now, and we may spare your dogs' miserable lives!"
Silence.
No answer came from within the black stone fortress.
Yan Bohai snorted. "Trash sect. They must be trembling inside. Break the gate!"
Two elite disciples stepped forward, ready to unleash their sword techniques and shatter the thick ironwood doors.
But before their swords could fall—
Creeeak.
The gate opened on its own.
Not soldiers.
Not defenders.
A single thin young man stepped out.
He wore a dark black robe with silver embroidery at the sleeves. His hair was tied neatly behind his head. His face was pale, but clean. He walked calmly, followed by a one-eyed guard, Gou San, and a cold-faced youth, He Qiu.
Yan Bohai narrowed his eyes.
He recognized that face.
But his mind refused to accept it.
"You…" Yan Bohai froze. "Yan… Kesh?"
Yan Kesh stopped at the top of the steps, looking down at his former elder.
How ironic.
Once, he had knelt below.
Now, he stood above.
"Welcome to the Balance Hall, Second Elder," Yan Kesh greeted politely. His voice was courteous, but colder than ice. "It has been a while. I see your wrinkles have deepened."
Yan Bohai's face flushed red with fury. "You! Trash castaway! How are you here? And wearing the Vice Sect Master's robes?!"
"Fortune turns, Elder," Yan Kesh replied calmly. "Trash you threw away was picked up by someone else—and recycled into gold."
"Shut your mouth!" Yan Bohai roared. "I don't care how you survived. You must have used dirty tricks to deceive this garbage sect. Move aside! Hand over the Pure Yin girl!"
Yan Kesh smiled faintly.
"Su Ran is an asset of our sect. She is not for sale," Yan Kesh said. "And even if she were… the Yan Clan could not afford her."
"Could not afford?!" Yan Bohai laughed mockingly. "We are the Yan Clan! We could buy ten trash sects like this! We offer 1,000 Spirit Stones. That is a generous price for your lives."
Yan Kesh shook his head gently, like correcting a child.
"You misunderstand, Elder. You are not buying goods."
"You are attempting to compensate for a mistake."
Yan Kesh raised his hand.
Behind him, atop the fortress walls, hundreds of Ashen Vein disciples appeared.
They were not elites.
They were crippled, scarred, broken people saved by Yan Kesh.
They held rusted bows, cracked spears, and poison bombs.
Their eyes held no fear.
Only fanatic devotion.
"You came to my home. Insulted my gate. And demanded my finest asset at a discount price?"
Yan Kesh's gaze sharpened.
"Here, the only currency is blood."
Yan Bohai's pride shattered.
His dignity as a great clan elder was trampled by a discarded failure with no cultivation.
"Fine!" Yan Bohai roared, drawing his sword. "If you want blood, I will give you blood! Troops! Flatten this place! Kill the traitor Yan Kesh first!"
Fifty elite Yan Clan disciples surged forward like a white tidal wave.
Yan Kesh did not retreat.
He simply snapped his fingers.
"He Qiu. Gou San. Open the books."
"Yes, sir!"
He Qiu leapt forward, leading the broken army.
War erupted at the gates of the Ashen Vein Sect.
---
Chapter 26: Energy Inflation
By military logic, this battle was completely one-sided.
Fifty elite Yan Clan disciples—each at Qi Refinement Stage 7 to 9.
Against two hundred Ashen Vein disciples—mostly crippled, barely Body Tempering.
It should have been a massacre.
And yet—
Slash!
A Yan Clan disciple stabbed through the stomach of a one-armed Ashen Vein disciple.
But the crippled disciple did not scream.
He smiled.
Madly.
He grabbed his killer in a tight embrace.
"For Master Yan!" he shouted.
BOOM!
His body exploded.
Not gunpowder—
Poisonous Qi detonation.
His blood and flesh, modified through Yan Kesh's experiments and medicines, turned into corrosive mist.
"AAAAAH! MY FACE!"
The elite disciple screamed as his skin melted.
Yan Bohai's eyes widened in horror.
"Suicide soldiers?! They turned their own bodies into weapons?!"
Yan Kesh stood silently above, observing with Audit Mode active.
He did not see deaths.
He saw asset liquidation.
Every Ashen Vein disciple had signed a Life Insurance Contract.
If they died for the sect, their families would live in prosperity.
So they died willingly.
"Madness…" Yan Bohai whispered. "This isn't a sect. It's a demon nest."
He could not allow this to continue.
He had to kill the root.
"Yan Kesh! Die!"
Yan Bohai shot forward, flying above the battlefield.
His sword blazed with condensed water Qi, forming a massive ten-meter blade.
Technique: Ocean Wave Cleave.
A Foundation Establishment attack powerful enough to split fortress and man alike.
Yan Kesh did not move.
He had no Qi.
No speed.
But he had a calculator.
[AUDIT: INCOMING ATTACK]
Type: Pure Qi Attack (Water Element)
Energy Output: 2,500 Units
Cost to Yan Bohai: 10% Qi Reserve
Yan Kesh raised his hand.
"When demand rises, price increases," he whispered.
Technique activated:
The Markup.
He did not block the attack.
He corrupted its efficiency.
Injected friction into its structure.
Zrrrt—
The massive blade trembled violently.
Yan Bohai's expression changed instantly.
His Qi began draining uncontrollably.
"What?! Why is my Qi leaking?!"
The technique that should cost 10% now demanded 50%.
His reserves plummeted.
Yan Kesh smiled faintly.
"You are inefficient, Elder."
The blade destabilized.
Before reaching Yan Kesh—
It shattered.
Splash.
Only water remained, soaking Yan Kesh harmlessly.
Yan Bohai landed, gasping.
Pale.
Terrified.
"What… sorcery is this…"
Yan Kesh wiped his face calmly.
"Not sorcery."
"It's luxury tax."
"You tried using a premium technique in my territory without permission."
"Of course the cost increased."
Yan Kesh stepped down one stair.
"Now, it's time to collect."
He pointed at Yan Bohai.
Technique:
Deferred Retribution (Reverse)
Source: Su Ran (Remote Contract Link)
Target: Yan Bohai
Inside the fortress, Su Ran shivered as cold energy was extracted from her body.
On the battlefield—
Yan Bohai froze.
His blood crystallized.
From within.
"Ugh—!"
He coughed frozen blood and collapsed to his knees.
"H-how… can you use ice…"
Yan Kesh crouched before him.
"I have no element," Yan Kesh said softly.
"I simply borrowed from the asset you tried to steal."
"You wanted Su Ran."
"Here. A free sample."
Yan Bohai tried to resist.
But every effort triggered The Markup.
His energy consumption skyrocketed.
He went bankrupt in seconds.
Around them, the battle was over.
Yan Clan disciples were dead, surrendered, or broken.
Yan Kesh grabbed Yan Bohai's hair and forced him to look up.
"You once called me a failed investment."
He gestured to the battlefield.
"Your army is gone."
"Your Qi is empty."
"Your life belongs to me."
He leaned closer.
"So tell me, esteemed evaluator…"
"…who is the loss now?"
Yan Bohai saw nothing in Yan Kesh's eyes.
No hatred.
No rage.
Only emptiness.
"Kill me," Yan Bohai whispered. "The Yan Clan will hunt you forever."
Yan Kesh chuckled.
"Kill you?"
"That would be wasteful."
He stood.
"Seal him. Bring him to the Therapy Chamber."
He Qiu hesitated. "Therapy… Chamber?"
Yan Kesh looked toward the sect peak.
"Sect Master Qiu needs a new filter."
"A Foundation Establishment cultivator like him…"
"…is durable."
Yan Bohai's face turned white.
"No—NO! KILL ME! YAN KESH! YOU DEVIL!"
His screams echoed as he was dragged away.
Yan Kesh did not turn back.
He looked at the battlefield.
Corpses everywhere.
Friend and foe alike.
All reduced to the same ash.
"He Qiu."
"Yes, Master."
"Send a letter to the Yan Clan."
"Inform them their Second Elder was lost in the Black Mist Forest."
"And attach an evacuation expense invoice."
"We should still profit from administrative costs."
He Qiu bowed deeply.
Today—
Yan Kesh had not only defeated his past.
He had privatized it.
Turned trauma into assets.
And converted his enemy into a living battery.