Jin'ao Island sat in the center of the river like a crouching beast, a sprawling expanse of land forged by the relentless currents of the Qianyuan waterways. It was a city within a city, a place where the laws of the mainland dissolved into the mists of the river.
For years, this island had belonged to the Flame Gang. It was the beating heart of their treasury, a "gold-swallowing cave" teeming with over a dozen gambling dens and high-end brothels. By day, it was busy; by night, it was a kaleidoscope of debauchery where countless travelers from the Jianghu—the martial world—came to drink themselves into oblivion, chasing dreams of glory or forgetting the likelihood of an early grave.
The wide surface of the lake was a chaotic ballet of commerce. Skiffs and massive multi-decked vessels wove past one another, carrying mercenaries, merchants, and thrill-seekers from the north and south. They all looked toward the island with anticipation, their eyes reflecting the promise of gold and pleasure.
But today, a different kind of shadow fell across the water.
Cutting through the leisure traffic was a leviathan—a three-story command ship, dark and imposing. At its peak fluttered a crimson flag, snapping in the wind like a tongue of fire. It radiated an invisible, suffocating authority that made smaller boats scramble to clear a path.
Jiang Dao stood on the third-deck promenade, a titan of a man draped in white sable fur. His physique was mountainous, his hands broad and calloused, and his ink-black hair whipped around him like smoke. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the horizon, indifferent to the awe he inspired.
Behind him stood the inner circle of the Flame Gang: Right Guardian Xiang An, former Vice-Gang Leader Yan Wushuang, and a dozen newly minted Hall Masters. They stood in rigid silence, eyes lowered in a mixture of reverence and terror. To them, Jiang Dao was no longer just a man; over the last two weeks, he had become a juvenile Demon God.
The events in Qianyuan and Sifang City had become the stuff of nightmares and legends. Every impossible victory, every brutal massacre—the dark hand behind them all was this young man. These hardened criminals hadn't joined the Flame Gang for money; they had joined for the protection of the monster standing before them.
"Yan Wushuang," Jiang Dao said, his voice calm but cutting through the wind. "Your performance recently has been commendable. You've served the gang with heart. The position of Left Guardian has been vacant for too long. Why don't you assume the post tomorrow?"
Yan Wushuang's knees hit the deck with a hollow thud. His breath hitched, his face flushing with a mix of adrenaline and gratitude. He kowtowed deeply, forehead pressing against the wood. "This subordinate thanks the Gang Leader for his immense grace! I will serve until death consumes me!"
"Mn."
Jiang Dao didn't turn around. He simply acknowledged the loyalty and continued to survey his domain. The river breeze was cool, carrying the scent of freshwater and distant rain, a momentary peace in a life of violence.
But the peace was fragile.
Drifting across the water, cutting through the rhythmic lapping of the waves, came the sound of laughter—light, tinkling, and jarringly cheerful.
Jiang Dao turned his head slightly, his eyes scanning the water.
Several hundred meters away, a massive, ornate "Flower Boat"—a floating palace of pleasure—drifted down the center of the river. It was a stark contrast to the grim efficiency of the Flame Gang's vessel. The deck was awash in colorful silks and littered with young, beautiful women playing games.
In the center of the revelry was a young noble. He was handsome in a delicate, scholarly way, wearing a blue robe and a white blindfold. He stumbled playfully, arms outstretched, chasing the squealing girls.
To the naked eye, it was a scene of innocent hedonism. But to Jiang Dao, it looked like sickness. Waves of invisible, sickly Yin energy pulsed from the young noble, washing over the girls like a miasma.
"Gang Leader?" Right Guardian Xiang An asked, sensing the shift in the air. "Is something wrong?"
Jiang Dao's eyes narrowed into slits. The temperature on the deck seemed to drop.
Among the harem of giggling women, he had spotted a face he knew.
Jiang Lingyan. One of his many half-sisters.
"Pull alongside it," Jiang Dao ordered. His voice was no longer calm; it was the rumble of an approaching storm.
The officers behind him went pale. They didn't ask why. They simply shouted orders. The massive rudder groaned, and the warship carved a hard turn, churning up white foam as it bore down on the gaudy pleasure boat.
On the Flower Boat, the atmosphere was thick with an unnatural euphoria.
"Hee hee hee! Brother, I'm over here!"
"Come catch me! You missed again!"
The voices were sweet, sugar-coated with a chemically induced joy. The blindfolded noble laughed, his movements languid and predatory. He lunged, missing a girl who danced away, before finally snagging one by the waist.
"Got you," he purred, pulling her close. "Let me guess. Feng'er? No, you don't smell like her. Liu Mei? You must be Liu Mei."
The girl in his arms pouted, slapping his hand playfully. "You only think about Liu Mei. Go find her then!"
The noble paused, tilting his head. "Wait. Lingyan? Is that you, Lingyan? Hahaha!"
He swept Jiang Lingyan up by her slender waist, spinning her around. She shrieked with delight, the sound piercing and frantic.
Inside the opulent cabin of the boat, two women watched the scene through the lattice windows. One wore a regal palace dress; the other, a playful pink gown. They radiated an aura of superiority that separated them from the mortals outside.
"Little Brother is as fond of chasing flowers as ever," the woman in the palace dress sighed, though her lips curved in a fond smile.
"Let him play," the woman in pink giggled. "He's loved playing with girls since he was a toddler. Besides, they're just mortal ants. What's the harm in breaking a few toys?"
"Nanzhou has been dangerous lately," the older woman cautioned. "The Spirit Child Palace and the Anyang Xie Family were wiped out. I worry he might provoke the wrong people."
"You worry too much," the woman in pink dismissed, examining her fingernails. "I've checked. These are common girls. No martial arts, no spiritual energy. Little Brother's charm is just irresistible. Though... I do miss when he belonged only to us."
The woman in the palace dress shook her head. "Enough. The location of the Sacred Artifact has been confirmed. Black Mountain Ridge, in the east. We leave tomorrow."
"Understood—"
The woman in pink stopped mid-sentence. A shadow had fallen over the cabin.
It wasn't a cloud. It was a pressure—a physical weight that pressed against the chest, heavy as a mountain range. The two women stiffened, looking out the window as the sunlight was blotted out.
The Flame Gang's warship had arrived. It loomed over the Flower Boat, a fortress of iron and wood. Standing at the prow, looking down like a judge from the heavens, was a figure with eyes like lightning.
On the deck below, the music died. The laughter caught in the girls' throats. They froze, staring up at the behemoth overshadowing them.
Jiang Lingyan, still in the noble's arms, felt the chill first. She looked up.
Her eyes met Jiang Dao's.
It was instantaneous. The unnatural euphoria, the cloud of Yin energy that had muddled her mind—it shattered under the weight of his gaze. Her soul trembled. The laughter died, replaced by a cold, primal terror. She went rigid.
"Eh? Lingyan?" The noble frowned, sensing her tension. He ripped off his blindfold, blinking in the sudden shadow. "What's wrong?"
"What do you think you are doing?"
The voice came from above, amplifying over the water. Jiang Dao stood at the railing, his silhouette framed by the sun.
"B-Big... Big Brother..." Jiang Lingyan stammered. Her knees knocked together. This wasn't just familial respect; it was the instinctual fear of a rabbit facing a wolf.
"Big Brother?" The young noble looked up, squinting. A smirk tugged at his lips—the arrogant, practiced smile of someone who has never been told 'no'. "So, this is my brother-in-law? You look quite imposing up there!"
He didn't see the danger. But the women in the cabin did.
They burst onto the deck, their silks fluttering, placing themselves between the noble and the ship above. They saw the red flags. The Flame Gang.
"We apologize for the intrusion!" the woman in the palace dress called out, clasping her hands in a traditional salute. "We are travelers from the Northern Wind Clan. We meant no disrespect to the Flame Gang."
Jiang Dao didn't even look at her. His eyes were locked on his sister.
"You have disgraced the Jiang name," he said, his voice flat and merciless. "Look at you. How are you different from a brothel worker? The women of my family are married with eight sedan chairs and dignity, not passed around by some ghost-trash on a river boat. Get over here. Now."
Jiang Lingyan whimpered, scrambling out of the noble's arms. But as she moved toward the edge of the boat, the noble's face darkened.
He flashed a blur of motion, intercepting her and scooping her back against his chest. He looked up at Jiang Dao, his grin turning nasty.
"I say, Brother-in-law, why so serious? We're all family here. Lingyan is with me voluntarily. Don't be such a bore."
"Your Excellency," the woman in the palace dress interrupted, sweat beading on her forehead. "Are you the Clan Leader? Please, let us discuss this." Her heart hammered. If this was the man who annihilated the Xie family, they were dancing on the edge of a cliff.
"Little Brother, let her go!" the woman in pink hissed.
"Why?" The noble tightened his grip. "I like her." He looked up, challenging the titan above. "You wouldn't separate true lovers, would you, Brother-in-law?"
Jiang Dao's expression didn't change. "You touched my sister. Did you consider the price?"
Before the sound of his voice faded, he vanished.
"Stop!" the sisters screamed in unison.
They were cultivators, powerful in their own right, but they were not ready for this.
Whoosh!
The air collapsed. A massive, invisible palm—formed of pure atmospheric pressure and killing intent—slammed down onto the deck. It was faster than thought, heavier than lead.
Smack!
There was no fight. There was no exchange of moves. The two sisters were swatted aside like flies. Their defensive auras shattered instantly. Their clothes exploded, and blood misted the air as their bones pulverized. They were flung backward, smashing into the railings, broken and gasping.
Jiang Dao materialized on the deck of the Flower Boat.
The young noble stood frozen, his mouth agape, staring at the crumpled forms of his invincible sisters.
"You... You..."
Jiang Dao looked at him with the dispassionate curiosity of a butcher eyeing a pig. "Will you chop off your hands yourself? Or shall I help you?"
"Don't come over!" the noble shrieked, scrambling backward, abandoning all pretense of grace.
The sisters on the floor coughed up blood, trying to channel spiritual energy to heal, but a burning poison was eating through their meridians.
"Gang Leader Jiang!" the palace-dressed woman choked out. "This is a misunderstanding! We had no malice!"
"No malice?" Jiang Dao walked forward. "You used charm spells on my sister. You turned her into a doll."
"We can apologize!" the woman cried. "The Northern Wind Clan will compensate you! Please!"
"I accept your apology," Jiang Dao said. "The price is his hands. And his manhood. Castrate him."
"No!" the noble screamed, clutching his crotch. "Second Sister, save me! I don't want to be a eunuch!"
He turned to run, but Jiang Dao flicked his wrist.
A net of scorching red energy—Fire Poison Qi—erupted from Jiang Dao's fingertips. It moved like a living thing, wrapping around the fleeing noble.
It wasn't a gentle capture. The Qi net tightened, the strands sharp as razors.
Slice.
Blood sprayed in a high arc. The noble's screams tore through the air, high-pitched and inhuman. He hit the deck, rolling in a pool of his own filth and blood. His shoulders were ruined. His groin was a mess of cauterized flesh and bone.
"Little Brother!"
The sister in the pink dress lost her mind. Seeing her spoiled, perfect brother reduced to a screaming stump broke her. "You animal! Jiang Dao! The Northern Wind Clan will never forgive you! We will hunt you down! We will remember this!"
The woman in the palace dress tried to hush her, horror dawning in her eyes, but it was too late.
Jiang Dao stopped. He turned slowly to the woman in pink.
"I hate threats," he said softly. "If you don't pull up the weeds by the roots, they grow back in the spring."
He reached out. His hand was a blur, closing around the pink-dressed woman's throat.
"Die."
Crunch.
Fire Poison flooded her body. It didn't just burn; it disintegrated. Her skin bubbled, her hair turned to ash, and her face cracked like porcelain in a kiln. She didn't even have time to scream before she exploded into a cloud of burning gore.
"Third Sister!" the remaining woman wailed. She grabbed the mutilated torso of her brother and tried to leap off the boat, terror lending her strength.
She barely made it two steps.
Jiang Dao appeared in her path, a wall of death.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Her eyes widened. "No—"
His palm connected with her skull.
Boom.
It was the sound of a watermelon hitting pavement. Her head evaporated. Her headless body was flung backward, dropping the moaning, limbless noble onto the blood-slicked deck.
Jiang Dao stood amidst the carnage, not a drop of blood on his white sable coat.
"I gave you a life path," he muttered to the corpses. "You sprinted toward death."
He looked down at the noble, Feng Lin, who was twitching in shock.
"Name?"
"Feng... Feng Lin..." the noble gargled, eyes rolling back. "Northern Wind Clan... Sacred Artifact..."
"Where is the artifact?"
"Black... Mountain Ridge... found it..."
"Black Mountain Ridge," Jiang Dao mused. He knew the place. The Flame Gang had a branch there.
"Don't kill me... please..."
Jiang Dao pointed a finger. A single beam of Fire Poison punched a neat hole through the noble's forehead. The screaming stopped.
Silence descended on the river. The other girls on the boat were huddled in the corners, weeping silently, too terrified to breathe.
Jiang Dao turned to Jiang Lingyan. She was pale, shaking violently, staring at the pieces of the people she had been laughing with moments ago.
"Are you awake?" he asked.
"Yes... Yes, Big Brother," she whispered.
"Good." Jiang Dao's voice lost its murderous edge, returning to a cool indifference. "I don't care who you love. But remember who you are. Before you sell your dignity to a man, make sure he's actually a human being."
"I was wrong..."
"Xiang An," he called out to his ship. "Get a skiff. Take her home."
"Yes, Gang Leader!"
As his men scrambled to obey, the other girls on the pleasure boat began to wail, prostrating themselves on the bloody deck.
"Great Lord, save us!"
"We are innocent! We didn't know!"
Jiang Dao looked at them with a mixture of pity and annoyance. They were victims, yes, but they were also loose ends.
"Xiang An," he sighed, turning back to his ship. "Take this boat to the shore. Sort them out."
He walked back to the edge of the Flower Boat and leaped up, defying gravity to land back on the towering deck of his warship. He returned to his spot at the railing, hands clasped behind his back, watching the blood wash away in the current of the river.
The Demon God had passed judgment. The river flowed on.