"The southern gate of the Human City has fallen."
That morning, sunlight failed to pierce the ancestral hall of Dawang Village.
A wind-ford falcon alighted on the altar table, its voice carrying Feng Zhi's words.
Li Mo, his hair now entirely silver, had just lit incense for the ancestors. He gazed silently at the flickering candlelight, its glow dim and unsteady in the breeze.
After a long pause, he finally spoke:
"What of the warriors from the Celestial Clan and the Earth City?"
"They've retreated to the inner citadel, preserving their strength. They’ll reclaim the southern gate only after Emperor Jiang fully bonds with the Divine Sword. But you won’t live to see that day."
"Not necessarily." Li Mo shook his head.
The voice in the wind sounded puzzled. "Your sister has already left the town. Even she gave up. Why stubbornly remain here?"
She could sense that Ying Bing was no longer in Dawang Town.
Perhaps her fleeting interest in mortal life had waned—a brief taste of humanity before drifting away again.
The Celestial Clan, in their endless years, often grew restless. Whims arose and faded like passing breezes.
Just as she had whimsically co to warn Li Mo.
"Regardless, thank you."
Li Mo cupped his hands toward the pale-green falcon.
Seeing his obstinacy, Feng Zhi said no more, dissolving back into the wind.
By midmorning, the villagers had gathered in the ancestral hall. Though unaware of the Human City’s fate, the urgent summons left so with creeping dread.
Besides Dawang Village’s original inhabitants, neighboring villagers and displaced refugees who had settled here also arrived.
Those who entered were all seasoned martial artists—once bare-bottod children splashing in rivers or raiding bird nests, now gray-haired elders.
Any one of them could hold their own in the Earth City. Among them, Er Niu stood out, talented enough to establish his own school.
"Brother Li, why summon everyone so suddenly?" Er Niu was the first to ask.
"The southern gate has fallen," Li Mo stated bluntly.
Gasps erupted. So refused to believe it; others sighed in despair; a few trembled with fear.
They counted the days—the fifty-year cycle had just begun.
The gate’s collapse had been instantaneous.
And from Li Mo’s tone, the Celestial Clan had no intention of reclaiming it anyti soon.
Which ant Dawang Village would soon face the full brunt of rampaging demons.
"What should we do?"
"Didn’t the Earth City’s warriors expand new settlents between their domain and the Human City? Should we head there?"
"Likely too late," Li Mo said.
"Our group could make it if we hurry, even with the elderly and children..." Tiezhu, the honest blacksmith, suggested.
He was the old village chief’s descendant, his mother once a girl who’d admired Li Mo. Li Mo had taught him much of the smithing craft.
After a thoughtful pause, Er Niu said,
"Brother Li ans we might outrun the demons, but not others."
"The Human City is vast, its population imnse. Too many will flee for survival. The Earth City’s new settlents can only take a fraction, and we hold no value to them. We’d likely be turned away."
"Er Niu’s right."
"Since when have the Earth City folks cared about us?"
"If they truly valued lives, they wouldn’t have retreated."
Many villagers had ventured to the Earth City before. After mastering martial arts, so abandoned farming, dreaming of making their mark there.
Most returned.
The reason was simple—like wide-eyed graduates flocking to tropolises, only to find their ambitions shattered. They beca drops in an ocean, cogs in a machine.
Those better than them worked harder; those worse off had connections.
If toiling as beasts of burden was inevitable, why leave the fields?
After letting the tension simr, Li Mo raised a hand, silencing the hall.
"Each must choose their path. Those who wish to seek refuge in the Earth City—no one will stop you."
"But those who stay today must stand together. No one betrays the group."
His voice, though aged, carried the sa firmness as his youth.
So bowed deeply to the ancestral hall and left. Most remained.
Er Niu took a deep breath.
Under everyone’s gaze, he walked to the hall’s entrance—
Then firmly shut the door.
Grinning, he asked, "Brother Li, what’s the plan?"
"Abandon delusions."
Li Mo shot him an exasperated look.
"The Celestials sit aloft; the Earthlings chase profit. Neither can be relied on. We fight alone!"
"All those years training in Form Imitation martial arts—ti to put them to use!"
"Prepare yourselves!"
As the founder of Form Imitation, Li Mo’s mastery was unfathomable.
And everyone knew—Village Chief Li was a genius.
The thought inexplicably bolstered their confidence.
......
"What’s Li Mo planning?"
"His Form Imitation arts are impressive, but against this demon horde? Useless."
"Small groups are manageable, but these demons are coordinated. Kill a few, and swarms retaliate."
"Is he charging head-on?"
Beyond the River-Mountain Scroll, spectators puzzled over Li Mo’s intentions.
If they didn’t know, certain entities knew even less.
"Look! They’re here!"
Soone pointed skyward.
In the scroll’s depiction, a hundred-strong demon troop had arrived a hundred li from Dawang Town.
Hulking and reeking of malice, each dwarfed the demons Li Mo had first encountered.
Yet ironically, their leader was another serpent-man—this one with crimson scales, wielding bloodied axes.
More demons poured through the southern gate.
So, under the Beast Hall’s command, marched toward the Earth-Human border. Others scattered across the Human City.
"A human settlent ahead! Hah! I sll so much living flesh!"
The serpent-leader roared with glee:
"A sizable feast awaits!"
The demons beat their chests or brandished weapons, drunk on bloodlust.
But tempered by the Beast Hall’s discipline, they restrained themselves, awaiting orders.
"Brothers, follow —"
"Hold!"
A gruff voice interrupted.
The demons startled as another serpent-man erged from the woods—equally burly, gripping a sickle and hamr.
Serpent-leader: "?"
Who’d gotten here faster?
"Which faction are you from?"
"Local demon. You wouldn’t know ."
"???"
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