The morning sun cast gold over frostbitten peaks. Below, the Jade Serpent Trail wound like a ribbon through the cliffs and pine-shadowed slopes. Five young warriors stood at its edge.
Ok Seryeon, composed and calm, adjusted her Heaven Splitting Sect robes. "Keep to the shadows. This trail swallows the careless."
Yeon Soheon, radiant and deadly, tied back her blonde hair. "It's too quiet. That never means peace."
Yu Gwanjeong cracked his knuckles. "Let them come. Crimson Gash needs a stretch."
Seo Junrok touched the hilt of Twin Tempest Fang. "Only fools announce their strength. Silence is sharper."
Tian Xuanzi said nothing, running a hand along an old stone marker. "Let's move."
As they walked, warmth found their voices
"What drives you to the Ice Palace?" Seryeon asked Soheon.
Soheon's gaze darkened. "Vengeance. My uncle destroyed my family. I'll master Ghost Wings and end him."
Yu chuckled. "I'm just here for the Ice Beast. Hope it's real."
Junrok smiled faintly. "I seek balance. Not just strength."
Seryeon turned to Tian. "And you?"
Tian's voice was low. "To protect something. Even if I don't know what yet."
Snow deepened. Arrows cut through the wind.
"AMBUSH!" Seryeon shouted.
Bandits leapt from the trees. "Drop your weapons!" barked their leader, Chief Ba Ren.
Yu didn't wait. His flaming spear surged, sweeping aside the front line. Seryeon's bow fired fast and clean. Soheon darted like a phantom, blades flashing.
Junrok's every step was precise—three down before they touched their swords.
Tian moved like mist—striking to disable, not kill.
Soon only Ba Ren remained. "Please—take the girl!"
They found her bound behind a cart: Li Meiyun, daughter of the Golden Plum Guild. Her dress was torn, her lip bloodied, but her glare held fire.
"They killed my guards," she spat. "They stole my mother's pendant. Help me retrieve it—and my father will reward you."
They escorted her to Fengling Market. Her father, Li Shen, a powerful merchant lord, wept with gratitude.
"If you retrieve that pendant," he vowed, "I'll do more than reward you. I'll move our guild to your future headquarters in Longdian."
The disciples struck the bandit fortress that night. It was swift. The jade pendant returned to Meiyun's hand.
She wept. "I swear—we'll help you build a home for your sect. A future."
A week later, snow thickened as they neared Baiyun Hollow. The village looked half-abandoned, but music played from the wellside.
A man, dark-skinned and cloaked in layers, sipped from a gourd.
"I am Imamu," he slurred. "From Zubayra. I walk where I will—and drink as I must."
That night, screams echoed from the woods.
The disciples rushed into the dark.
A monstrous figure loomed over the snow, cloaked in bloodmist.
"I am Morak," he rasped. "Offer yourselves. Let the Blood Furnace feed."
The disciples fought. Soheon and Yu were soon injured, dragged away by summoned beasts. The rest barely held their ground.
Morak sneered. "Weak."
Then came Imamu.
"No," he said. "You're the one who's weak.
Morak's eyes widened. "You… you should be dead."
"I lived," Imamu growled. "And I remember. You betrayed our village. Our teachings."
"Justice is for fools," Morak snarled. "Power is real"
Imamu struck. His fists cracked stone. Morak countered with waves of corrupted qi. The forest trembled.
"Still relying on corruption?" Imamu shouted. "Then fall to truth!"
His spear—Fierce Sun—pierced Morak's chest. The villain fell with a curse.
In a snowlit hut, Imamu crushed herbs and applied them to Yu and Soheon.
"These salves," he said, "are from Zubayra. Taught to me by my mother."
"You saved us," Soheon whispered.
Yu chuckled weakly. "Didn't think a drunk would patch me up."
"Even drunks carry debts," Imamu said with a wink.
Junrok bowed low. "Thank you."
The villagers, faces hollow and frozen, gathered.
"Please," the elder begged, "take us. We can't survive here."
Tian turned to Meiyun. "Can your guild shelter them?"
She nodded. "The Golden Plum will lead them to Longdian. We leave no one behind."
Before dawn, Imamu led the disciples to a sealed cave.
"My ancestors' vault," he explained. "Pirates raided it generations ago. I need one thing from within."
Seryeon studied the formation. "I can unseal it."
Inside: scrolls, treasures, gold, ancient weapons.
Imamu took one thing—his ancestral spear. "This… is all I need."
Tian looked at the rest. "We'll use it to fund the sect
."Meiyun smiled. "Consider it done."
At the edge of the village, Imamu looked back.
"Come with us," Junrok offere
"I can't," he said. "I have a homeland still burning."
That night, beneath silver stars, Imamu stood alone.
"My friend," he whispered, "your son has grown strong. I've paid my debt. I shall see you again… when I've freed my home."
He turned into the darkness, his spear glowing faintly behind him.