A cold wind howled through the ravine where the remnants of the Azure Cloud team had taken shelter.
Of the fifty disciples who had entered, only twelve remained. They huddled around a smokeless spirit fire, their faces gaunt, their robes stained with dried blood and mud.
Ye Chen sat at the entrance of the cave, his heavy sword across his knees. He wasn't meditating. He was staring into the darkness, his eyes burning with a terrifying intensity. The golden light of his Ancient Solar Physique was dim, replaced by a simmering, unstable heat.
Yan Luo sat in the back, hugging her knees. She couldn't look at him. Every time she looked at Ye Chen, she saw the dead disciple with the sword through his chest. She saw the trust in Ye Chen's eyes when he took the poisoned canteen.
I did this, the voice in her head screamed. I am the monster.
"Senior Sister," Ye Chen's voice startled her. He hadn't turned around. "You should sleep. We move for the exit portal at dawn."
"I... I can't sleep," Yan Luo whispered.
Ye Chen turned. His face was hard, aged ten years in a single day. "We will find him. The masked man. I swear on my life, Yan Luo... I will cut him into a thousand pieces. I will make him pay for every drop of blood."
Yan Luo flinched. If you find him, you will find me.
Suddenly, a rustle came from the bushes outside.
Ye Chen was on his feet instantly, sword raised. "Who goes there?!"
A figure stumbled out of the brush. He was limping, his robes shredded, his face covered in soot and scratches. He looked like he had crawled through hell.
"Don't... don't kill me..." the figure croaked, raising trembling hands.
Ye Chen lowered his sword. "Han Fei?"
Mo Tian collapsed forward. Ye Chen caught him, lowering him gently to the ground.
"You survived?" Ye Chen asked, disbelief and relief washing over him. "I thought you were lost in the beast tide."
"I... I hid," Mo Tian gasped, clutching Ye Chen's arm. "I hid in a hollow tree. I saw... I saw monsters. They ate everyone. I just ran. I kept running until I saw your fire."
Ye Chen patted Mo Tian's back. "You're safe now, Junior Brother. You're safe."
Yan Luo watched from the back of the cave. Her blood ran cold.
She saw the "fear" in Han Fei's eyes. She saw the "gratitude." But then, over Ye Chen's shoulder, Mo Tian's eyes locked onto hers.
The fear vanished. A cold, purple amusement flickered in his pupil. He winked.
Yan Luo felt like she couldn't breathe. He was here. The devil was sleeping in their camp, being nursed by the hero he planned to destroy.
Later that Night
Ye Chen took the first watch. The other disciples slept, exhausted.
Yan Luo lay on her bedroll, feigning sleep. She felt a presence shift beside her.
"Senior Sister," a voice whispered, barely audible. "Are you having bad dreams?"
Yan Luo opened her eyes. Mo Tian was lying next to her, facing her. To anyone watching, it looked like two disciples sleeping close for warmth.
"Get away from me," she mouthed, tears pricking her eyes.
"I can't," Mo Tian whispered back, a smile playing on his lips. "I am your porter. Where you go, I go."
He reached out, his hand brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. His fingers were ice cold.
"Ye Chen is broken," Mo Tian murmured. "Did you see his aura? It's unstable. He blames himself. He thinks he failed as a leader."
"He didn't fail," Yan Luo hissed. "We failed him."
"Correction," Mo Tian's eyes narrowed. "You failed him. You poisoned him. You led him into the trap. I just watched."
"Stop it..."
"He trusts you so much," Mo Tian continued, twisting the knife. "Imagine if I told him right now. 'Hey, Senior Brother Ye. The Saintess drugged your water.' What would he do? Would he kill you? No... he's too 'righteous'. He would just look at you with that disappointed, heartbroken stare. He would banish you. You would be the shame of the sect."
Yan Luo shut her eyes tight, shaking.
"But I won't tell him," Mo Tian soothed, his hand resting on her shoulder. "Because you belong to me. And I take care of my things."
He pressed something into her hand. Another vial.
"What... what is this?"
"The exit portal opens tomorrow," Mo Tian whispered. "There will be a chaotic battle. Other sects will try to stop us. Ye Chen will try to be a hero again. He will burn his life force."
Mo Tian leaned in until his lips brushed her ear.
"This is a Berserk Pill. If he takes it... he will have the power to save everyone. But it will burn out his Foundation. He will live, but he will be a cripple."
Yan Luo stared at the vial in the darkness. "You want me to destroy his cultivation?"
"I want you to save his life," Mo Tian corrected. "If he keeps fighting like this, he will die. If he becomes a mortal... he can go home. He can live a peaceful life. Isn't that mercy?"
It was a twisted logic. A devil's logic. But in Yan Luo's traumatized mind, it began to make sense. If he is powerless, he can't fight. If he can't fight, he won't die.
"Think about it," Mo Tian rolled over, turning his back to her. "Goodnight, Saintess."
Yan Luo clutched the vial. She looked at Ye Chen's silhouette at the cave entrance. He looked so lonely.
Mercy, she thought. Is it mercy?
The Next Morning - The Central Plains
The sun rose on the final day of the Trial.
The Central Plains were a vast, flat expanse leading to the Exit Portal—a shimmering gate of blue light hovering in the sky.
But the path to the gate was blocked.
Hundreds of disciples from the Iron Fist Sect, Violet Sword Sect, and other opportunistic groups had formed a blockade. They weren't fighting each other. They were waiting.
"They are waiting for us," Ye Chen said, gripping his sword. "They know Azure Cloud is weak. They want to eliminate the competition before the portal opens."
"We have to fight through," a disciple said, trembling.
"We will," Ye Chen said. "Formation!"
The twelve Azure Cloud disciples formed a wedge. Ye Chen took the point. Yan Luo took the center. Mo Tian (Han Fei) stayed in the back, carrying the bags.
"Charge!"
The battle erupted.
It was a meat grinder. Spells flew like fireworks.
"Solar Slash!" Ye Chen roared, cutting a path through three Iron Fist disciples. He was a demon of war, ignoring his own wounds to protect his team.
But there were too many enemies.
"Die, Ye Chen!" A Violet Sword elite attacked from the flank, his rapier aiming for Yan Luo.
"No!" Ye Chen threw himself in the way.
Splurt.
The rapier pierced Ye Chen's side.
"Brother Ye!" Yan Luo screamed.
Ye Chen grunted, decapitating the attacker with a backhand swing. He stumbled, blood pouring from his side. His golden aura flickered and died.
He fell to one knee.
"He's down!" The enemy disciples shouted. "Kill the Solar Sovereign!"
Dozens of enemies surged forward.
"Ye Chen!" Yan Luo rushed to him, supporting his weight. "We have to run!"
"I... I can't..." Ye Chen gasped, his face grey. "My Qi... is empty."
He looked at the approaching horde. He looked at Yan Luo.
"Leave me," Ye Chen smiled, blood on his teeth. "Take the others. Go."
Yan Luo looked at him. She remembered Mo Tian's words. He will die.
She remembered the vial.
"No," Yan Luo wept. "I won't leave you. Drink this. It... it will help."
She uncorked the Berserk Pill vial and pressed it to his lips.
Ye Chen didn't hesitate. He trusted her with his life. He swallowed the liquid.
In the back of the formation, Mo Tian watched. He smiled.
Checkmate.
The pill dissolved.
Ye Chen's eyes snapped open. They didn't glow gold. They glowed Blood Red.
A scream tore from his throat—a sound of pure, unadulterated agony. His meridians didn't just expand; they ignited.
BOOM!
A shockwave of red energy blasted the attacking disciples away. Ye Chen stood up. His muscles tore and reformed. His aura skyrocketed, bypassing the Foundation Establishment limit and touching the False Core realm.
"KILL!" Ye Chen roared, losing all reason.
He swung his sword. A wave of red annihilation vaporized ten enemies instantly.
"What is that?!" The Iron Fist disciples screamed in terror. "He's a monster!"
Ye Chen rampaged. He slaughtered everyone in his path. Friend or foe, it didn't matter. He was a force of nature.
Yan Luo watched in horror. "Ye Chen... stop..."
Mo Tian walked up beside her, looking at the carnage.
"He is strong," Mo Tian noted casually. "But look at his dantian."
Yan Luo looked with her spiritual sense.
Ye Chen's golden foundation was cracking. It was burning away to fuel the red power.
"He is burning his future," Mo Tian whispered. "But look... he is clearing the path. We can leave."
Ye Chen carved a bloody road to the portal. The enemy morale broke. They fled.
Ye Chen stood before the portal, panting. The red light faded. He collapsed, unconscious.
Mo Tian walked over. He checked Ye Chen's pulse.
"Alive," Mo Tian announced. "But his cultivation... is shattered. He is back to Qi Condensation Stage 1. And his foundation is ruined."
He looked at Yan Luo.
"You saved him, Saintess. Congratulations."
Yan Luo stared at her hands. She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Let's go," Mo Tian said, signaling the other survivors. "Grab the hero. We are going home."
They carried the unconscious, crippled Ye Chen through the portal.
Leaving the Ancient Trial Grounds behind.
And stepping into the ambush Mo Tian had prepared outside.