Ming took a deep breath, his hand bleeding like a fountain. He tore a strip of cloth and wrapped it tightly around the wound, but the pain wouldn't stop. A chilling thought struck him — this is it… I'm going to die.
Despair gripped his mind, and his vision began to fade to black
In the blur of motion he remembered the crow — how it had lunged at the soldier and given him the opening to finish the fight. Without that bird, he'd be the one lying there. Then something strange happened: the crow cocked its head and jabbed the ground with its beak, as if trying to tell him where to go. Ming felt like he was hallucinating, but he had no choice. Another squad would be here any second; when they found their comrade dead, they'd kill him without hesitation.
Ming gathered all his courage and started running. The crow flew above him, circling and cawing as if guiding his path. His pain was intense, but he didn't stop. Anyone who saw him would think he was a madman chasing a bird through the forest.
Following the crow's lead, Ming slipped out of the soldiers' encirclement and escaped the battlefield. The crow was clever — it always seemed to know where people were coming from and changed direction just in time. The thick trees helped hide him, but what saved him most was luck: the soldiers didn't suspect he was fleeing. They thought his companion was still locked in battle, so they didn't bother scanning the area around them.
Soho, the General, their companions, and the soldiers gathered together. Two bodies lay on the ground. The General knelt beside them and spoke calmly, "The blood is still warm. That means he was nearby."
Soho was amazed — Ming had managed to kill two second-grade martial artists it was nearly Impossible feat for a normal human how never killed anyone. Then his eyes caught something strange: blood running across the dirt, forming a thin red line. "I think… this is where he went," Soho said, pointing toward the trail.
The General examined the ground. "How did it end up like this?" he asked sharply. Turning to his men, he demanded, "Did any of you see anything unusual?"
One of the soldiers stammered, "N-no, General. We were too focused on getting here… we might have missed him."
The General's eyes narrowed. "I'll deal with your incompetence later. For now, we have to catch him I think he is trying to cross the read line."
At his command, everyone began running by using there foot technique — Chon-Ji
in the direction of Ming's escape. The trail of blood made it easy to follow.
Ming, clutching his wounded hand, didn't stop running. He knew they would follow him using the trail of blood he left behind. Breathing heavily, he reached closer to the strange red line — but then froze. Before his eyes, a bizarre scene unfolded: the crow that crossed the red line suddenly vanished, leaving not even a feather behind.
That sight made Ming stop in his tracks. What just happened? he thought, staring blankly at the spot where the crow vanished. He looked around, trying to find any trace of it, but there was nothing. Where did that crow go? What's happening here? Confused and uneasy, Ming turned his gaze back — and that's when he saw them. Several figures were running toward him. He instantly recognized who they were — the General, Soho, and all their companions.
Ming stopped thinking and slowly stepped closer to the spot where the crow had vanished.
"Stop right there!" the General roared, his voice amplified by his internal Qi.
Ming froze. He was just a short distance away — only one more step, and he could cross the red line.
He turned to face them. Soho stepped forward, anger burning in his eyes.
"Are you the one who killed my companion?" he shouted.
General didn't need any answer. From the look of the battlefield and the blood on Ming blade, it was obvious — Ming was the one who had slain his soldiers.
Ming was silent for a long moment, then he burst into a wild, high laugh. "Hahaha — you mean that man I killed last night? Yeah. That was me." His eyes glittered with something like madness. "He begged me to stop. He crawled and begged for his life — said anything to get me to spare him. So I kept going. I made him suffer until he couldn't even cry anymore. Then I finished him." voice low and cruel. "And when I was done, I made his body into a perfect gift… for you. did you like it."
Hearing his laughter, everyone froze — was he even human? Soho exploded with rage. "I'll kill you!" he bellowed, leaping forward as he drew his sword. Qi wrapped around the blade like a living ribbon, making it look both beautiful and deadly. A lethal intent radiated from him, sharp enough to silence the forest.
Even the General took a defensive stance, eyes narrowing at the sight of the sword. "So you've improved since last time," he said coldly. "When did you break the wall and ascend to the Peak Realm?"
Ming stared at them, voice slow and deliberate. "The one who's going to die isn't me," he said. "It's all of you."
Without another word he leapt toward the red line. He paused at the edge, eyes cold. "When I return, I'll bathe this world in your blood." Then he vanished into thin air.
Soho was the first to react. He lunged forward, try to catch ming but he already cross the red line. "What do we do?" one soldier asked, panic in his voice.
Soho shot a sharp look to the General. The two of them pulled back and sat down, forcing calm into their faces. Around them, every soldier and companion strained to hear.
"What do you think we should do?" Soho asked.
The General's jaw tightened. "We can't admit that boy escaped," he said. "If the Alliance leaders and the emperor find out he killed all of us, they'll blame us. We need a story."
"So we lie," Soho said quietly. "We say a monster from beyond the red line killed him — that we lost our man fighting that monster."
The General nodded. "Agreed. We'll stick to the lie."
Soho's eyes flicked back to the red line. "Do you think he'll survive out there?" he asked, voice low.
The General stood before the shimmering barrier, his face grave.
"Beyond that line lie creatures no ordinary man can face," he said quietly. "We've always sent the most notorious criminals there… yet none have ever returned. The formation traps all who enter. The only one who ever came back was the First Emperor himself.
And when he returned, he spoke of an enemy that lives within the Red Line — a being so powerful that, should it ever emerge, no one in this world could stop it. That's why he forbade anyone from approaching this place.
But after the First Emperor was slain by his own brother, the new ruler sent every criminal there again. And if that boy words are true — that this enemy will one day bathe the world in blood — then we are living on borrowed time."
A heavy silence fell over the camp. Every soldier turned toward the Red Line, its faint glow painting their faces with dread. One by one, they bowed their heads, praying silently — praying they would never see that boy again.