Qingxu's eyes swept over the martial artists gathered outside. His mind was sharp even in this deadly moment. He could see the truth concealed in their faces—more than half of them hadn't come to destroy Dongyang Sword Sect. They were here for the same reason as Huang Chenglong.
They wanted the secrets hidden in the Heavenly Book stone wall.
The ancestral hall around him was no ordinary building. It had been carved from a natural cave high on Dongyang Mountain. Half of the main hall was built into the mountain itself, making it both a sacred place and a fortress.
"Young sect leader," Elder Coca said urgently. His weathered face was grim as he pointed deeper into the cave. "There's a secret passage back there. It leads directly outside the mountain. But someone needs to stay behind and stop them, or they'll catch up before you escape."
The old man's hand moved to his sword hilt. "You and Qingxu are the most talented disciples our sect has ever had. You must survive!"
"No!" Qingxu shook his head firmly. "Elder Coca, your strength isn't enough to hold off hundreds of armed soldiers for long. I'm the better choice."
He lifted his green sword. The blade caught the light filtering through the cave entrance. "You need to get Senior Sister Ningzhi to safety."
Jiang Ningzhi struggled to sit up straighter. Her face was pale from blood loss, but her eyes burned with determination.
"Junior Brother Qingxu... this has nothing to do with you. Everything is my fault. I should be the one to face the consequences."
Her voice cracked with pain—not from her wounds, but from guilt.
"You're not wrong," Qingxu said quietly. His gaze was steady as he looked at her. "You've never done anything wrong. If you killed those men, no one with a conscience would blame you, even if it leads to our sect's destruction."
"But—"
"Leave this to me." His voice was calm, but underneath it ran steel. "I'm the only one who can stop these soldiers. And my situation is different from yours. You're pure martial world people. Behind me stands a father who's the mayor and a powerful family in Yu Hai Province. They won't dare to actually kill me."
Hope flickered in Jiang Ningzhi's eyes. "Really?"
"Really." Qingxu's smile was gentle. "You know I've never lied to you."
She stared at his young face for a long moment. Then tears began to blur her vision. Without warning, she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a desperate embrace.
"Qingxu," she whispered against his shoulder. "Promise me you'll leave Dongyang Mountain alive. Promise you'll find me."
He breathed in her scent—the fragrance of her hair mixed with the metallic smell of blood. His left hand tangled in her soft black hair while his right arm circled her slender waist.
"I promise," he said carefully. "I will leave Dongyang Mountain alive. I will find you."
"I'll wait for you."
Her words were half promise, half prayer. Then she quickly pulled a necklace from around her neck and placed it over his head.
The chain was delicate silver, and hanging from it was a purple gemstone that seemed to glow with inner light.
Qingxu knew this necklace. It was a family treasure.
It was called "Fortune."
"Go!" he said suddenly.
Jiang Ningzhi nodded, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "You must find me."
With that, she turned and headed toward a small cave opening not far from the Heavenly Book stone wall. Elder Coca followed close behind her.
"Coca," Qingxu called out. "Protect Ningzhi."
The old man paused at the cave entrance. His face was carved from weathered stone, but his eyes were warm.
"The sect leader was kind to me," he said firmly. "Unless I die, I won't let the young sect leader suffer any harm."
"Ningzhi's experience in the martial world is too shallow. I'll feel better knowing you're with her."
Qingxu looked toward the main entrance of the ancestral hall. The sound of marching boots was getting closer.
"I'll do everything I can to make sure they don't take another step into this hall."
Coca hesitated. "Qingxu... what if Ye Qingsong doesn't care about your identity?"
"The hatred of killing one's child runs deep."
The old man fell silent. He understood. Ye Qingsong's son was among those Jiang Ningzhi had killed. No amount of political protection would matter to a father seeking revenge.
As the approaching soldiers grew closer, Coca suddenly pulled out an elegant porcelain bottle. It was covered in intricate patterns and seemed to shimmer with mysterious colors.
He pressed it into Qingxu's hands. "Take care of yourself."
Then he turned and disappeared into the cave.
Qingxu stood alone in the ancestral hall. The bottle felt warm in his palm. He looked at it for a moment, then tucked it safely away.
"Ningzhi..." he murmured to the empty air. "I'm afraid I might break this promise..."
If he wasn't being reckless, if he had time to grow stronger, his special abilities could take him far beyond just being a martial arts master.
In the future, he might even become a martial saint—someone with the power to negotiate as an equal with the highest levels of government.
But there was no time for future dreams.
"Hands up!"
"Don't move!"
Dozens of soldiers poured into the ancestral hall. Their weapons were trained on him from every angle. Red laser dots danced across his chest.
Instead of raising his hands, Qingxu looked up at the far end of the cave. There, covering the entire back wall, were the ancient symbols that had made Dongyang Sword Sect famous.
The Heavenly Book stone wall.
Thousands of mysterious characters and runes covered every inch of the rock surface. They seemed to shift and dance in the dim light, giving the whole cave an atmosphere of ancient power and deep mystery.
"Damn it, there's another cave back there!" Ye Qingsong's angry voice echoed from behind the soldiers. "Chase them! Don't let a single person from Dongyang Sword Sect escape! Kill them all!"
Qingxu turned his head slowly. His eyes found Ye Qingsong among the crowd of officials and martial artists.
"The Ye family thinks they're the only ones with power?" His voice was quiet, but it carried clearly across the hall. "As long as Ye Qingsong dies, what can one inspector and one businessman do? You won't be able to use the military anymore."
Ye Qingsong's face twisted with rage. "Qingxu! You really think I don't dare kill you just because you're from the Qing family? I'd like to see if your family will tear their faces off with a powerful official like me over some fourth-generation brat!"
His eyes were like a madman's. The death of his son had driven all reason from his mind.
"Kill me?" Qingxu's lips curved in a cold smile. "You don't have the chance."
As he spoke, his eyes suddenly became fierce as a hunting tiger's.
The next moment, a powerful and dreadful force exploded from his body.
"Kill!"
"Shoot! Shoot him down! Shoot!"
"Those who stand in my way will die!"
Qingxu's roar filled the cavern like the voice of an ancient war god. He moved like lightning made flesh, his sword flashing as he dodged through the storm of bullets heading straight for Ye Qingsong.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire erupted like thunder. Muzzle flashes lit the cave in rapid bursts.
But Qingxu was focused entirely on his target. He didn't notice what was happening to the necklace around his neck.
As his blood splattered from small wounds, the purple gem called "Fortune" began to absorb it in like a thirsty plant drinks rain.
The gemstone grew brighter and brighter. Then, without warning, it shattered.
The moment the necklace broke, a wave of strange energy swept through the entire cave like an invisible tsunami. It touched every ancient rune and character on the stone walls.
One by one, the symbols began to glow.
The light started as a dim flicker, like candles being lit in the darkness. But it spread quickly, racing across the walls until the entire Heavenly Book blazed with power that had slept for thousands of years.
The very air began to twist and bend.
Space itself started to come apart.
On that day, witnesses would later say, a miracle appeared on Dongyang Mountain. They claimed a mythical array was born, one with the power to distort reality and turn ten miles of solid ground into nothing but empty air.
The hundreds of martial artists and soldiers on Dongyang Mountain found themselves caught in the awakening of something ancient and dreadful.
Only a few of the strongest martial arts masters felt the danger in time. They fled as fast as their skills could carry them, escaping before the ancestral hall's power fully awakened.
Everyone else was swallowed by the twisting space.
Buildings crumbled. The mountainside collapsed. Where once stood the proud halls of Dongyang Sword Sect, only a crater remained.
In the days that followed, the tragedy of Dongyang Mountain became one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the martial world.