Five years ago, the elders found him alone.
He had been standing barefoot in a field of corpses — bandits, villagers, even animals — their bodies twisted in unnatural ways. Blood soaked the dirt, but none of it was his.
He didn't cry. He didn't scream.
He just stared blankly at the setting sun.
And when the elders of the Fallen Star Sect arrived to investigate the demonic energy surge, Jiang Xuan turned to them… and asked if the sky was supposed to look like that.
Since then, he had been their most mysterious disciple.
No past. No clan. No origin.
The sect had taken him in anyway.
And now, he was… tolerated.
Not trusted.
Certainly not liked.
But tolerated.
---
Jiang Xuan adjusted the cloth wraps around his arms as the outer sect disciples filed into the practice grounds.
"Line up!" a senior shouted, slapping a bamboo staff against the floor. "Anyone late runs laps until sunrise!"
Groans followed. Jiang Xuan didn't join in.
He stepped into place, quiet, his face unreadable.
Beside him, a smaller disciple shifted nervously. A boy named Lin Tao, barely thirteen, all bones and big eyes. He had been placed near Jiang Xuan by accident on his first day and never moved away since.
Probably because no one else dared talk to him.
"You okay, Senior Brother Jiang?" Lin Tao whispered. "You look… I dunno. More quiet than usual."
Jiang Xuan tilted his head. "Do I talk much?"
Lin Tao blinked. "Not really. But your silence today feels louder."
"…I didn't sleep," Jiang Xuan said simply.
He didn't explain further.
Didn't say that something had watched him from the treetops last night.
Didn't say that his chest felt heavy, like something ancient had stirred inside him.
Didn't say that when he looked into the moon… he thought he saw her.
---
On the other side of the courtyard, Yao Xi crouched atop the inner gate rooftop, her robes blending into the shadows. Her breath was steady. Her eyes locked on him.
It had been a full day since she arrived.
She'd taken a temporary identity scroll from her future-world pouch — enough to forge the appearance of a wandering orphan girl seeking entry to the sect.
If the elders believed her, she'd be placed in the outer ranks.
Close enough to watch him.
Close enough to stop him, when the time came.
But as she stared at Jiang Xuan now, standing in perfect stillness while the other disciples fidgeted and muttered…
She wondered again.
He looked… normal.
Tired. Isolated. Maybe a little cold.
But not evil.
Not cruel.
And yet she knew. Knew.
The blood he would one day spill couldn't be undone by how still he looked now.
A part of her wanted to test him.
To see if there was a hint of the monster inside.
Another part… didn't want to know.
She pulled her cloak tighter and vanished from the rooftop, footsteps silent as a ghost.
---
As the disciples began practicing basic stances, Jiang Xuan moved like water.
Every motion was clean. Controlled. Too precise.
The instructor frowned as he watched.
"Jiang Xuan," he barked. "Come here."
Jiang Xuan obeyed without a word.
"You were told to hold basic forms. Why are you modifying your footwork?"
"I wasn't modifying it," Jiang Xuan said calmly. "I was correcting it."
The instructor's face darkened.
Several disciples snickered behind cupped hands.
"Again," the instructor snapped. "Exactly as taught."
Jiang Xuan turned, lowered into position.
Then held the first stance — sword raised, feet wide.
But this time… he didn't move.
He stood there like a statue, unmoving even when a drop of sweat slid down his jaw.
The instructor waited.
The other disciples shifted uncomfortably.
Jiang Xuan still didn't move.
After nearly a full minute, the instructor sighed and waved him off.
"Back in line. You're not clever, Jiang Xuan. Just strange."
Jiang Xuan said nothing.
But as he walked back, Lin Tao whispered, "That was kind of awesome."
Jiang Xuan blinked.
Then — very faintly — he smiled.
----
Jiang Xuan was fifteen.
Not a child. Not yet a man.
Old enough to wield a blade.
Too young to understand the weight it carried.
He sat under the shade of a crooked pine tree, watching clouds drift across the afternoon sky. His blade lay across his knees — plain, steel-forged, slightly worn at the hilt. Not enchanted. Not special.
But in his hands, it felt like it belonged.
Across the courtyard, disciples sparred in pairs, laughing, sweating, grunting through drills. Jiang Xuan didn't join them. He never did, unless ordered.
Lin Tao plopped down beside him, panting and red-faced.
"I think I broke my legs," he gasped dramatically.
"You're walking fine."
"I'm crawling, Senior Brother."
"You're sitting."
"Yeah, but inside I'm crawling."
Jiang Xuan said nothing, but the corner of his mouth twitched — a hint of a smile.
Lin Tao grinned. "There it is. That rare Xuan-smirk. Better than a breakthrough pill."
"I doubt that."
"Me too," Lin Tao admitted. "But still… worth something."
Jiang Xuan leaned back against the tree, his eyes half-closed. The sun felt warm on his face. Too warm, almost. Like it was trying to wake something he didn't want to remember.
"What do you think happens," he said suddenly, "if someone breaks through too fast?"
Lin Tao blinked. "Uh… qi deviation? Internal damage? Your organs explode?"
"That's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?"
Jiang Xuan didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
---
That night, Elder Wen — one of the inner sect instructors — summoned the outer disciples for a group test.
They were led to a clearing beyond the training halls, where tall grass swayed under moonlight and lanterns floated like stars caught in nets.
"We've received word that a low-grade demonic beast has been spotted near the eastern ridge," Elder Wen announced. "Tonight, we hunt it."
Excited whispers broke out.
Demon beasts were rare near the sect, and even the weakest ones offered precious spirit cores for refining techniques.
Jiang Xuan stood near the back, silent as always.
Yao Xi watched him from the tree line, cloaked and unnoticed.
She hadn't joined the sect yet — her forged documents would activate at dawn. For now, she remained a ghost, watching every step he took.
The Jiang Xuan she remembered wouldn't have cared about a beast hunt. He wouldn't have hesitated. Wouldn't have stood in the shadows.
But this version… still seemed to be figuring out who he was.
Elder Wen clapped twice. "Pairs only. Stay in formation. Do not wander. If you see red mist—run. Dismissed!"
The disciples scattered into the forest, blades drawn, spirit sense sharpened.
Jiang Xuan walked alone.
No one offered to partner with him.
Except—
"I'll go with him!" Lin Tao called, trotting after him with his usual nervous smile.
Several older disciples chuckled.
"Sure, go ahead," one said. "You'll die faster."
Jiang Xuan didn't look back. He just kept walking. Lin Tao fell into step beside him.
"You okay, Senior Brother?"
"No."
"…Want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Cool. Just checking."
They walked in silence for a while, leaves crunching beneath their boots.
Then — a low growl.
It came from the shadows ahead. Guttural. Deep. Wrong.
Lin Tao froze. "That's not low-grade."
"No," Jiang Xuan said quietly. "It's not."
A beast stepped into view.
Dark fur. Bone spikes. Glowing red eyes.
A Nightfang Tiger.
Class: Mid-grade. Borderline advanced.
It shouldn't be here.
Not this close to the sect.
Not without someone noticing.
It snarled, and the forest darkened.
Lin Tao took a step back. "We should run—"
The beast leapt.
Fast.
Too fast.
Jiang Xuan didn't think.
He moved.
One step. One breath. One strike.
His blade howled through the air — not with spiritual energy, but something deeper. Something colder.
The tiger landed.
Then paused.
Then its head slid cleanly from its neck.
Thud.
Blood sprayed across the grass.
Jiang Xuan stood in silence, his blade dripping. His eyes dimly red — just for a second.
Lin Tao stared at the body. Then at Jiang Xuan.
"You… you killed it. Alone."
"I didn't mean to."
"What?"
Jiang Xuan looked down at his hand.
He didn't remember swinging that hard.
Didn't remember wanting to kill.
But the beast was dead. And part of him felt… calm.
Like it had always been waiting for blood.
---
Up in the trees, Yao Xi narrowed her eyes.
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't just swordsmanship.
She'd seen that calm before — right before a sect vanished in flames.
She placed a hand over the blade at her back.
It's starting, she thought.
No matter what I do… it's starting.
----
End of Chapter 2