🏯 Jiang Clan – Southern Courtyard
Smoke rose in black spirals from the shattered southern gates of the Jiang Clan.
Flames devoured the outer walls. Screams echoed from the front courtyard as injured disciples scrambled for cover.
At the center of the chaos stood seven men in iron-grey robes, each bearing the blood-hammer sigil of the Ironbone Sect—a brutal sect known for crushing smaller clans and devouring their talent like wolves.
At their head stood Wei Kang, a broad-shouldered man in late Core Formation realm. A brutal enforcer, known for impaling enemies on pikes and leaving them as warning banners.
He raised his voice, amplified by spiritual Qi.
> "Jiang Clan! Surrender the one called Jiang Chen within ten breaths!"
"Or watch your sect burn to ashes!"
His words echoed across the sky, infused with oppressive Qi. The very clouds seemed to darken in fear.
---
🔔 Inner Courtyard
Jiang Chen stood on the pavilion balcony, arms crossed.
The elders whispered furiously behind him.
"This is insanity! We can't risk open war!"
"We should hand him over for now—"
"Silence! Do you know what you're suggesting?"
Jiang Chen turned, his gaze slicing through them like a blade.
> "I didn't ask you to protect me."
He stepped down, slowly walking toward the battlefield.
> "I said I'd handle it."
---
⚔️ Main Gate — A Moment Later
Wei Kang turned as footsteps echoed across the courtyard.
A lone figure walked forward, calm and unhurried.
Jiang Chen.
He wore black training robes, tattered and loose, and a silver ribbon tied around his arm—a symbol of ancestral mourning.
Wei Kang grinned.
"You're the brat who humiliated my junior brother?"
Jiang Chen's voice was steady.
> "I don't remember weaklings."
Gasps echoed from the crowd.
"You've got a sharp tongue for someone with a death wish."
> "I don't have a death wish," Jiang Chen said.
"But you do."
---
Wei Kang's smile dropped.
"I'll gut you like a pig."
He raised his spear, infused it with iron-qi essence, and stabbed forward—
—like thunder splitting the sky.
BOOM!
The ground cracked as the air warped around the spearhead.
Jiang Chen didn't move.
Until the last possible instant.
Then—
His body vanished.
A second later—
> "You're too slow."
He appeared behind Wei Kang, palm raised.
A violet rune glowed beneath his skin—part of the forbidden Ninefold Soul Destruction Art.
He struck downward.
The air imploded.
CRACK!!
Wei Kang's spiritual shield shattered like glass. The blow connected with his back, driving him into the earth like a meteor.
A crater exploded beneath him, flames and blood erupting.
The Ironbone disciples stepped back, stunned.
> One hit.
> Again.
---
Jiang Chen straightened.
> "Your master trained you poorly."
The remaining six charged, roaring in rage.
"Die!"
They came together, blades drawn, martial arts flaring—Qi condensed into visible forms: swords, flame dragons, crushing fists.
Jiang Chen raised his hand.
He whispered ancient words, and from his palm emerged a symbol—
> 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙡
A forbidden mark that ate spirit Qi from attacks.
As the six advanced—
Their energy faded.
Their legs weakened.
Their eyes widened in horror.
"No—what's happening?!"
"My power—!"
Jiang Chen appeared in front of the first with ghost-like speed and drove his fist through the man's chest.
He didn't stop moving.
The second he beheaded with a snap of his fingers.
The third he caught mid-air, broke every bone in his body with six pinpoint strikes, and let him fall like a discarded sack.
Within eight breaths—all six were dead.
Wei Kang, still twitching in the crater, stared up in disbelief.
"You… monster…"
Jiang Chen crouched beside him.
> "Your mistake wasn't attacking me."
"It was thinking I was still mortal."
Then, with a whisper, he pressed two fingers to Wei Kang's forehead—
And burned his soul from the inside out.
Wei Kang's eyes turned to ash.
---
🌪️ Aftermath
The battlefield was silent.
Blood pooled beneath Jiang Chen's feet.
Disciples stared in awe.
Elders gaped in disbelief.
Even the clan head, watching from the high tower, trembled.
> This power… this brutality…
Jiang Chen stood tall, calm.
He turned to the sect.
> "If any clan believes I can be bullied, come test your luck."
> "But bring coffins."
---
🌙 That Night – Inner Pavilion
Jiang Chen sat cross-legged in meditation.
Around him, black threads of spiritual fire spiraled into his body—drawn from the souls of the men he killed. It was one of the Tyrant's oldest arts:
> Soul Tempering Through Slaughter
A path feared by both demons and immortals.
And he had just taken his first step on it once more.
---
🧓 Elder's Hall — Same Night
Elder Mo spoke softly to the Clan Head.
"He's grown far too quickly. This level of power… it's unnatural."
The Clan Head didn't answer at first.
Then:
> "We either serve him…"
"Or he destroys us like the Ironbone dogs."