The sky above the eastern peak of the Dusk Sky Sect was painted in hues of violet and red, a sign that day was surrendering to night. Li Yun stood alone before the sect's rear gate. He wore a simple robe of faded grey, carrying a worn cloth bag filled with pills, scrolls, and spirit stones. Behind him, everything he once knew felt distant—like shadows that no longer wished to cling.
Li Yun had made his decision.
He would leave the sect.
Not out of fear, but because he had realized this place could no longer offer him anything but limits. And more than that—he needed answers. About his family. About the fall of the Li Clan. About himself.
"If you regret this, it's not too late to turn back."
A gentle voice came from the shadows beneath a cypress tree.
Yan Zhiya stepped forward with light steps. Her eyes remained calm, yet something in her gaze was different—as though she was hiding something.
Li Yun didn't turn to face her. "I won't regret this. This sect... holds too many lies."
Zhiya was silent for a moment. "I examined that scroll."
Li Yun finally turned. "And?"
"That symbol... it originates from an ancient clan. Long ago, there were two dominant clans in the east: the Red Sky Clan and the Black Soul Clan. The scroll carries an inheritance technique from the Red Sky Clan. But—"
"But?" Li Yun pressed.
"But the curse symbol on that scroll... it comes from the Black Soul Clan. The very clan that annihilated yours."
A heavy silence fell. The evening wind rustled the leaves. Li Yun clenched his fists tightly.
Zhiya stepped forward and offered another scroll.
"I found this sealed deep within the sect's inner chambers. I don't know why they kept it... but there's a name written inside. Li Guangyun."
Li Yun swallowed hard. That was... his father's name.
"Are you sure it's not a forgery?"
"No. The seal is ancient. And the only one who can unlock it without destroying the contents... is someone of that bloodline. You."
Night deepened. Zhiya accompanied Li Yun to the sect's outer boundary. They walked in silence, yet each step felt heavier than the last.
"I'll head to Silent Stone City first. There's an ancient temple ruin there. It might hold clues about the Red Sky Clan," Li Yun said, eyes fixed on the path ahead.
Zhiya looked up at the stars. "You know\... you could die on a journey like this."
"I know."
"But you're still going."
Li Yun gave a small smile. "Because staying here is worse than dying out there."
Before they parted, Zhiya handed him something: a transparent purple pill, inscribed with tiny formation runes.
"This is a 'Bloodburn Pill.' It can only be used once. It'll boost your strength by two levels for ten breaths. But after that... you might be unable to move for a whole day."
Li Yun stared at the pill. "Why are you giving me this?"
"Because... I don't want to hear news of your corpse being found headless in some ditch."
Li Yun chuckled. "So you do care, huh?"
Zhiya turned her face away, her cheeks faintly flushed. "Don't get the wrong idea. I just hate watching idiots die for nothing."
Li Yun stepped onto the stone path, leaving the sect behind. Behind him, the gate closed with a soft thud. No send-off. No parting whistle. Only silence... and the deepening night.
Yet within his chest, a small flame began to burn. A flame of vengeance, and a flame of hope.
Far in the distance, beyond the dark mountains, a cloaked figure stood atop a cliff. He watched as Li Yun departed from the sect.
"That boy... has begun to move," he murmured.
A large black bird landed on his arm. Reflected in its eyes was the same symbol—the one etched into the cursed scroll. Beneath that symbol... was a red seal belonging to the Night Blood Pavilion, an organization that hunted ancient legacies.
"Everything... will begin with that boy."