The heavy gates of the Hollow Vault groaned open as Liu Shen stepped out.
His robes were soaked in spirit sweat, but his eyes burned brighter than before.
The torch flames around him bowed inward.
The air thickened with suppressed rage.
The Flamekeeper stood waiting, staff grounded in silence.
> "You saw it," she said softly.
He gave a slow nod.
> "The Celestial Pact is real.
The betrayal goes deeper than Fei Liansheng.
It involves Sovereigns. Council members.
And likely… the Heaven's Will Sect itself."
Her face turned grave.
> "Then your next moves must be careful. If the pact involves Heaven's agents, open confrontation could collapse the Five Great Sects."
Liu Shen stepped closer, voice low and cold.
> "I'm done with careful."
---
The First Name
Back in his temporary quarters, Liu Shen unsealed the scroll the Mirror had projected into his mind.
Twelve names glowed with black flame.
One stood out—Elder Han Suien, current Keeper of the Sect's Treasury Hall.
Known for his neutrality.
Known for his silence.
But now… revealed as a signatory of the Celestial Pact.
Liu Shen's lips curled.
> "Let's pay him a visit."
---
The Treasury Hall
Han Suien's quarters were buried beneath six layers of golden flame wards.
He thought himself untouchable.
Until the serpent flame broke through the first three without effort.
An alarm blared across the southern spire.
Elder disciples rushed in—only to stop in horror as Liu Shen stepped through the flame, his eyes burning serpentine red.
> "Han Suien!" he called. "Come out, or I'll burn your vaults to cinders."
A blast of wind erupted as Han appeared in a flurry of scrolls and talismans.
> "What is the meaning of this?! You dare assault a sitting elder?!"
> "I dare a lot more," Liu Shen snapped.
"Especially when I know your name is etched into the Celestial Pact."
Han's eyes twitched.
Then… he laughed.
> "So, you found it."
> "Do you think that mirror shows you everything?"
> "We signed the pact to protect this continent. To delay Heaven's wrath!"
Liu Shen stepped forward, conjuring a serpent blade of red lightning.
> "And sacrificed sovereigns like pigs in a pit."
> "Justice begins with your corpse."
---
Flames of Reckoning
Han threw his hands wide—activating Divine Seal Array: Vaultkeeper's Judgment.
Golden chains surged toward Liu Shen.
But he was faster.
He vanished in a spiral of black flame—Shadow Serpent Step—reappearing behind Han.
> "You were never meant to wield authority. You were just… tolerated."
Liu Shen's blade slashed.
Han's spirit core shattered mid-cast.
The elder coughed blood, collapsing backward as the Treasury walls cracked around him.
Liu Shen stood over him, his voice a whisper:
> "You chose the Heavens over your own.
Now, the Heavens won't even bury you."
With a final strike, the blade burned through Han Suien's soul.
The Treasury Hall's protective array dimmed.
One name was crossed from the list.
---
Rising Rebellion
By nightfall, rumors spread.
> "Elder Han is dead."
> "The Sovereign Flame has judged again…"
> "Is Liu Shen rebuilding the ancient purge?"
Many feared him.
Some worshipped him.
And a few… began watching him from the shadows, cloaked in starfire robes.
From a distant spire of the Heaven's Will Sect, a messenger left under moonlight.
The message was brief.
> "The Crimson Serpent knows."