Xu Canghai sat alone in his dimly lit chambers, eyes bloodshot and burning with barely contained fury.
Five long months had dragged by since the Orthodox Alliance had cast his sect out like discarded trash, forcing them to fend for themselves.
The betrayal still tasted like ash on his tongue.
Discontent had spread like poison through the ranks.
Disciples and elders muttered in shadowed corridors, their loyalty fracturing under the weight of isolation and fear.
Many had already abandoned the sect, slipping away under cover of night with whatever valuables they could carry.
In less than five short years, the once-mighty Heaven's Ascension Sect, proud beacon under the previous sect master, had crumbled to rock bottom. Empty training grounds echoed with silence.
Grand halls stood half-deserted. The proud banners that once fluttered with celestial qi now hung limp and faded.
