If you asked him what he loved most, he would say one thing: power.
But what came after that, the answer was simple: a challenge.
"We're disciples of the Flaming Cloud Sect. My name is Lin," the girl introduced herself, but offered none of the usual courtesy. She stood tall and insolent, as if she already held the upper hand.
Wu Han watched them closely. Two at sixth stage, two at fifth, and one at fourth, quite a formidable group. Two of them matched his cultivation level, and they came from the Flaming Cloud Sect, the rival tied with the Han Clan for second place in the town.
"What do you want?" Wu Han asked, keeping his distance.
"You must have heard about the new disciple in your clan, right?" Lin prompted.
"Wu Han…" Wu Han murmured, though his face betrayed nothing; he spoke as if discussing someone else.
"So, you know him," Lin said, smiling with satisfaction at having found what she sought.
She reached into her robe and pulled a small bottle filled with a dark, ominous liquid.
The flash of poison in her hand made the others glance away, visibly uneasy.
"If you don't want to die, take this poison and bring Wu Han to me. Then I will give you the antidote." She was blunt.
Her senses told her Wu Han was at the sixth stage, same as her and one of her companions. With numbers on their side and juniors to back them up, he didn't have much choice if he wanted to stay alive.
"And how am I supposed to do that? I haven't even seen the man," Wu Han said, showing a hint of panic.
"You are an inner disciple, aren't you? Ask around. Someone will know him." Lin's tone was sharp and practical.
News about him had already spread through the town in a day, finding him within Luo clan shouldn't be difficult.
"If I refuse, you'll just kill me, right?" Wu Han asked.
"Exactly." Lin confirmed with a smile. Her companions began to fan out, forming a circle around him. With a single signal they would strike from every side, leaving him no opening to escape.
"Then I surrender," Wu Han said, dropping his silver spear to the ground and raising both hands.
"Good boy." Lin's lips curled into a slow, knowing smile as she approached, her movements smooth and deliberate. "Don't move. I'll take care of it."
She pried his mouth open with two fingers and poured the poison down his throat. Not a single drop spilled.
Then she closed his mouth with a gentle pat, her tone turning sharp. "You have three days to bring him to me."
One of her companions spoke up, voice slick with greed. "Senior Sister, what about his ring? A Luo disciple must be carrying something valuable."
The suggestion spread among them like a disease, eyes glinting with hunger.
"Wait—that wasn't part of the deal!" Wu Han protested, his voice edged with alarm.
Lin laughed softly, the sound low and dangerous. "A little extra won't hurt." She turned her head just enough for her companions to see the glint in her eyes—cold, predatory. The message was clear: one more word, and she'd make an example of them.
"You're not stupid," Wu Han said, voice tightening. "Try to take my ring, and I'd rather die here."
Lin stepped closer, her smile unfading. "Oh, I don't doubt that. But death can be so… inconvenient. I prefer other kinds of persuasion."
Even poisoned, Wu Han didn't back down. Lin admired that—quietly. A defiant man was always more satisfying to break.
"Then let me pay a toll," Wu Han said evenly, "something to quench your companions' thirst."
Her expression shifted, the cruel amusement returning. "How thoughtful. Our sect doesn't live off generosity, you know. They'll be very grateful for your gift… and they'll keep quiet while their betters talk."
"Sorry, Senior Sister Lin," one of them mumbled, head lowered.
Wu Han tossed several weapons and spirit stones onto the ground. The group's discipline vanished instantly; they scrambled to snatch what they could, shoving and clawing like dogs over scraps.
Lin watched them with thinly veiled disgust, then looked back at Wu Han. "You're richer than I thought."
Her hand traced the edge of his robe, a whisper of touch that could've been mistaken for affection. "Why don't you show me what else you're hiding inside that ring?"
"Then let me give you my most precious belonging," Wu Han whispered, his eyes locked on hers.
"And that is?" Lin asked, lips curling in faint amusement.
"Two seventh-stage cultivators."
Her smile froze.
With a single thought, Wu Han released two figures from his ring—Wu Zhen and Wu Wei—who burst forth.
Their blades flashed like lightning, one piercing straight through Lin's stomach, the other cutting down her distracted companions as they scrambled for treasure.
Sky Piercer.
The silver spear streaked through the air, splitting skulls in an emerald blur.
The first strike blew through the sixth-stage cultivator's head, then curved mid-flight, carving through the rest one after another like a guided bolt.
Now that he had wind affinity, he could bend its path, no longer confined to straight lines.
"You—!" Lin gasped, blood spilling from her mouth.
Her organs trembled, and Wu Han's undead soldiers halted their blades mid-thrust, leaving steel buried in her flesh. She hung there, just as he intended.
Wu Han stepped back, brushing the blood from his robe.
"I'll admit, it was a bold attempt," he said calmly, "but you're not clever enough to play that kind of trick yet."
He sighed, his tone dripping with disappointment.
"Honestly, poison? That was your master plan? You give me poison and then send me to the disciple of the Miracle Doctor? What did you think I'd do instead of asking him for a cure?"
He'd thought he might find someone interesting, an equal worth his attention, but she was just a fool.
"You should've listened to your companions."
He took a step closer, voice cutting.
"Rule one of hostage-taking: take everything they own. You tell them they'll get it all back once the job's done. That way, you don't just hold their lives, you also hold their fortune. That guarantees they'll return, even if they get the cure."
From being cornered to being lectured, Wu Han now taught her how manipulation truly worked.
But Lin only laughed, blood on her lips. "Still, you don't know him. That poison will kill you eventually."
"Interesting choice of words."
Wu Han opened his mouth.
The black liquid she had forced down his throat began to pull itself free, flowing upward in reverse until it gathered into a dark, swirling orb in his palm.
Lin's eyes widened. He controlled the poison? No, that was impossible.
There was only one explanation.
"You… you're Wu Han!"
"Correct." Wu Han smiled and clapped once, mocking applause echoing in the quiet forest. "Finally figured it out."
"Funny, actually, another woman tried to poison me too. She failed horribly, which is why I'm still standing." Wu Han stepped up to Lin. He pried her mouth open the same way she had done to him and dropped the dark poison orb inside.
The moment it hit, Lin's legs went weak.
She stumbled to her knees. Wu Han commanded the Wu Zhen puppet; it ripped the sword free and she collapsed, bleeding from a deep wound in her stomach.
He gathered the scattered treasure back into his ring and walked away.
From the ground, Lin watched him disappear over the horizon.
She spat blood and snarled, "I'll kill you, I swear it, you bastard..."
She forced herself upright, pressed her wound with trembling hands, and called for medicine to staunch the bleeding.
It might hold long enough to get her back to the sect for proper treatment; she'd make everyone hear about his trick and gather a team to hunt him down.
Stupid man. You think you're clever, wait and see. She laughed through the pain, then pulled an antidote pill from her pouch and shoved it into her mouth.
"Oh, that's where it was." A voice said behind her. Qi spilled out and shattered the antidote into dust, which the wind scattered away.
Lin's face went pale as the wind scattered her antidote into the void.
The pain in her stomach twisted deeper, mixing with the poison's spreading weakness, but worse than either was the sinking weight of realization.
Her resolve broke.
Wu Han laughed as she collapsed, his shadow stretching over her trembling form.
"That's what you get for trying to act evil without being clever enough to play the game."
He crouched beside her, his tone cruel.
"Did you really think I would forget you had an antidote? Even if you didn't, I'm sure your sect keeps plenty stocked."
He'd already seen their fear, already read their reactions. Even before absorbing their souls, he'd known what they were carrying, and who sent them. A bounty on his head. A generous one.
He sat down beside her, eyes glinting with amusement.
That same eerie smile, cold, inhuman, spread across his face.
Then, instead of finishing her off, he waved his hand.
The black poison began to seep out of her nose, curling through the air before reforming into a swirling orb in his palm once again.
As the poison left her, her body stopped convulsing. Her breathing steadied. Then, with another flick of his wrist, her wounds sealed, blood evaporating into vapor.
"Why?" Lin's voice trembled as she looked up at him, pale but still burning with defiance. "Why keep me alive?"
Her eyes darted over his face, searching for meaning.
Then, with what strength she had left, she smirked, desperate.
"Is it because…" she breathed, her voice tremble, "…you still have a use for me?"
"That depends." Wu Han grabbed her by the throat.
"What do you offer? Because trust me, what I have in mind is far worse."