The valley still echoed with the faint spiritual residue of the devoured Azure Cloud Tiger. Golden morning light filtered through the mist, turning the dew on every leaf into tiny prisms.
Xiao Lin stood at the center of the clearing where the beast had fallen. In his palm rested a small, condensed drop of azure blood essence—the last unabsorbed fragment of the tiger's core. He crushed it between his fingers.
The essence dissolved into violet-black threads that sank into his skin.
His aura shifted again—sharper, more predatory. A faint striped pattern flickered across his forearms for a heartbeat before vanishing.
Yue Ning watched from a few steps away, arms folded loosely.
"You're taking beast essences now too?" she asked.
"Everything," Xiao Lin replied. "Beasts, humans, artifacts, laws. If it has essence, it feeds the void."
He turned to face her fully.
The black-violet in his eyes had deepened; tiny spatial cracks sometimes appeared in the pupils when he focused.
Yue Ning stepped closer until only a hand's breadth separated them.
She reached up and touched the corner of his eye—gentle, curious.
"You look… older again."
Xiao Lin tilted his head slightly into her touch.
"The void accelerates growth when fed enough. Soon I won't look like a child at all."
Yue Ning's lips curved in a small, private smile.
"Good. I don't want to wait years to stand beside you as equals."
She lowered her hand.
Then she did something unexpected.
She drew a thin spatial blade from the air—sharp as starlight, no thicker than a hair.
Without hesitation she pressed the edge to her own left palm.
A single crimson bead welled up.
Xiao Lin's eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing?"
Yue Ning met his gaze without flinching.
"Making a vow."
She pressed her bleeding palm to his chest—right over his heart, where the void spun endlessly.
The blood didn't stain his ragged tunic.
It sank in.
The moment it touched his skin, the black thread tattoo on her wrist flared violently.
A matching mark appeared on Xiao Lin's chest—violet-black runes forming a perfect circle around the point of contact.
Pain flared for both of them—brief, searing, then gone.
In its place came absolute clarity.
They could feel each other's heartbeat.
Each other's thoughts—surface level at first, then deeper.
Yue Ning's voice entered his mind, soft and clear.
«Now you can never abandon me. And I can never betray you. If one of us dies, the other follows within three breaths. Our souls are linked through the void.»
Xiao Lin stared at the mark on his chest.
Then at her.
"Why?"
"Because I'm tired of being a prize," she answered aloud. "Because I choose this. Because I choose you."
She lifted her chin—small, defiant, unbreakable.
Xiao Lin studied her for a long moment.
Then he raised his own hand.
A tiny spatial rift opened above his palm.
He drew a drop of his own blood—black-violet, shimmering like liquid night—and pressed it to the wound on her palm.
The cut sealed instantly.
A second rune appeared on her chest—mirroring his.
«Then the oath is mutual,» he sent back through their new link. «You are mine. I am yours. Until the void itself collapses.»
Yue Ning's eyes glistened—not with tears, but with fierce satisfaction.
She stepped forward and rested her forehead against his.
For the first time since the village burned, Xiao Lin allowed himself to close his eyes and simply breathe in her presence.
The moment lasted only seconds.
Then both of them stiffened.
Distant qi signatures—dozens, powerful, closing fast from three directions.
Not Silver Moon Sect.
Something colder. Darker.
Yue Ning pulled back slightly.
"Shadow Pavilion," she whispered.
Xiao Lin nodded.
"They're not hiding anymore."
He turned toward the northern approach—the strongest group.
"Let's greet them."
Yue Ning fell into step beside him.
Space folded around them both now—working in perfect harmony.
They vanished from the valley.
They reappeared on a high ridge overlooking three converging forces.
To the north: thirty black-robed figures moving in silent formation. At their head floated a man in a long shadow cloak—peak Core Formation, aura like a bottomless well.
To the east: twenty archers with blood-red bows, arrows already nocked. Mid Foundation Establishment each.
To the west: a single woman in veils, surrounded by ten shadow clones. Early Core Formation, but her qi felt… fractured, like she existed in multiple places at once.
All three groups stopped when they sensed the two children appear on the ridge.
The shadow-cloaked man spoke first—voice low, carrying across the distance like wind through graves.
"Void Child. Spatial Bride. The Pavilion Lord extends an invitation. Come willingly. Serve. Or be taken."
Xiao Lin looked down at them.
His voice was calm, childlike, yet it rolled like thunder through the valley.
"No."
The man sighed—as if disappointed.
"Then die."
He raised one hand.
All three groups attacked at once.
Arrows screamed.
Shadow clones multiplied.
Black chains erupted from the ground.
Xiao Lin raised his right hand.
Yue Ning raised her left.
Their palms met in the center—fingers interlaced.
The void between them exploded outward.
Space shattered.
Reality folded.
Arrows reversed mid-flight and pierced their own archers.
Shadow clones collapsed into singularities, pulling their caster inward.
Black chains twisted back on their summoners, binding and devouring.
Screams rose—then silenced.
One after another, bodies folded inward.
Essence poured into the linked void shared by husband and wife.
The shadow-cloaked man tried to flee—tearing open a shadow portal.
Xiao Lin and Yue Ning stepped through space together.
They emerged directly in front of him.
The man's eyes widened.
Xiao Lin placed one hand on his chest.
Yue Ning placed hers beside it.
Together they pressed.
The man's body imploded faster than any before—peak Core Formation, rich and potent.
When it ended, only a black cloak fluttered to the ground.
Xiao Lin caught it.
Crushed it.
Power surged through both of them.
Xiao Lin broke through to Foundation Establishment—first layer.
Yue Ning followed—Foundation Establishment, first layer.
Their linked auras flared violet-black, shaking the ridge.
The remaining survivors—barely a handful—turned and fled in terror.
Neither child pursued.
They simply stood there, hands still joined.
The sun climbed higher.
Below, the valley was silent once more.
Yue Ning looked up at Xiao Lin.
Her voice was quiet, but certain.
"They'll send more. Stronger."
Xiao Lin nodded.
"Then we grow stronger faster."
He turned his gaze toward the distant Azure Cloud Mountains—where ancient ruins and forbidden zones waited.
"Where the next key hides."
Yue Ning squeezed his hand.
"Together."
"Together."
The Ruthless Void Sovereign and his first destined wife stepped forward.
The continent had begun to tremble.
**End of Chapter 8**