Jiang Xuan's POV
The assassin was gone.
His blood trailed off into the cliffs, vanishing into the dark, but Jiang Xuan knew he hadn't killed him. Not fully.
He could've chased.
Could've ended it.
But he didn't.
He just stood there, breath cold in his throat, as the shadows around his hand slowly faded.
That power… it didn't scare him this time.
It felt natural.
Like his bones had been waiting for it to wake.
---
Yao Xi arrived moments later, sword flashing.
Too late.
She saw the blood. The scorch marks on the stone. The torn edge of his sleeve.
And then she saw his eyes.
They weren't glowing. Not fully.
But something inside them had changed.
"You're hurt."
"Barely."
"Who sent him?"
"Didn't say."
She stared at him.
And realized he didn't look shaken.
He looked decided.
---
Back at the sect, Jiang Xuan walked through the inner halls without a word. Disciples stared as he passed. Some bowed. Some avoided his gaze entirely.
He ignored all of them.
He went straight to his room and locked the door.
Then he sat.
Not to meditate.
To think.
For the first time, really think.
---
They want me dead.
Not the demon.
Not Shenlian.
Me.
He unwrapped the cloth from his shoulder wound. It was shallow, but angry.
Then he picked up the serpent ring again.
It pulsed, warm against his palm.
He didn't put it on.
But he didn't put it away either.
---
Yao Xi's POV
She paced in the courtyard, moonlight brushing her hair. Her hands trembled — not from fear, but from conflict.
He hadn't said it, but she could tell:
That fight had changed something in him.
He wasn't just reacting anymore.
He was choosing.
And she couldn't stop thinking—
If the world wants him to become a monster, how long before he stops fighting it?
And what would she do when he did?
---
Meanwhile – Inner Sect Council Chamber
Grandmaster Yao sat alone now. The candle from before had burned halfway down.
Elder Wen had not returned.
But his message was clear.
The first strike had been made.
And Jiang Xuan had survived it.
That meant something more dangerous than failure:
It meant confidence.
And confidence was how Demon Gods were born.
---
Jiang Xuan's POV – Midnight
He stood in front of the mirror.
Shirt off. Wound bandaged.
The mark on his neck glowed faintly — not bright, not wild, just steady. Like a reminder.
A scar of fate.
He raised a hand and stared at his reflection.
"I'm not going to wait anymore," he said.
Not for permission.
Not for answers.
Not for protection.
If the world wanted to treat him like a threat…
Then it better be ready for one.
---
He didn't say goodbye.
Didn't write a note.
Didn't ask for permission.
Before the sun rose, Jiang Xuan stepped out of his room, strapped his blade to his back, slid the serpent ring into his inner sleeve, and walked toward the outer gates.
The guards didn't stop him.
One looked like he wanted to — but hesitated when Jiang Xuan passed. Something in the air around him had changed. He looked calm. Still.
But not safe.
Like a lake before it freezes.
---
At the eastern ridge, Yao Xi was already waiting.
She didn't ask how she knew.
She just felt it.
"You're leaving."
He nodded.
"They'll hunt you."
"I know."
She stepped forward, blocking his path.
"You'll walk into your past. And if you do… there's no turning back."
His gaze didn't waver.
"Then I won't turn back."
---
A long silence.
Then she asked, softer now, "Where are you going?"
He looked toward the horizon.
"The First Temple called. I'm going to hear what it has to say."
"You're not ready."
"I might never be."
"But you're going anyway."
He gave a small nod.
Then, surprisingly, he smiled.
"Since when did I ever listen?"
---
Yao Xi sighed.
And then she did something he didn't expect.
She held out a pendant — obsidian with a tiny red gem in the center. Cold to the touch.
He raised an eyebrow.
"What's this?"
"A ward. Carved with bloodsteel. One-use only. It'll stop one fatal blow."
He stared at her.
"…You expect me to die?"
She shook her head.
"I expect people to try."
---
Jiang Xuan took it gently.
Their hands brushed.
For a moment, the air between them was still.
Not tense.
Not heavy.
Just… close.
Then he turned, walked past her, and down the narrow mountain path.
She didn't follow.
Just whispered to the wind,
"Don't make me your enemy, Jiang Xuan."
---
Somewhere Far from the Sect — That Evening
A river curved through red-stone hills, quiet and cold. Along its edge stood a ruin — cracked pillars and scattered bones half-swallowed by moss and silence.
But beneath it… something pulsed.
A stone gate etched with the same runes as Jiang Xuan's ring began to glow.
Faint.
Then bright.
Then steady.
Inside the ruin, a voice echoed from the stones themselves—
"The Lord walks again. Prepare the Sanctuary."
And all across the ancient temple, candles lit on their own.
No fire.
Just memory.
---
Jiang Xuan – On the Road
He moved fast through the pinewoods, breathing in the cold, night-touched air. The serpent ring hadn't glowed again.
But it didn't need to.
It was pulling him — not with force, but with instinct.
He followed the path not marked on any map.
He knew where to go.
Even if he didn't know why.
---
That night, by a stream, Jiang Xuan built a small fire and sat beside it, knees drawn up, staring into the embers.
Everything he'd known was behind him now.
And what waited ahead?
A title he never chose.
A power he barely controlled.
A fate already written in the stars.
But even so…
"I'd rather become a Demon God on my terms," he muttered, "than wait for someone else to push me into it."
And the ring on his hand?
It flickered.
Like it agreed.
---
End of Chapter 18