Night had fallen over the Immortal Living Pool Mountain, bathing its ancient peaks and sacred lakes in silver luminescence. The wind carried a strange unease—whispers of unseen ripples spreading through the currents of fate.
In a quiet corridor near the eastern sanctum, a lone female servant in humble robes crept toward the quarters of Elder Liam. Her face was pale, her breaths shallow, and in her trembling hands, she held a jade slip that burned slightly at the edges as though it carried secrets too heavy for mortal tongues.
Elder Liam sat within his chamber, his aged eyes closed as he ditated with an open scroll of formation patterns in his lap. The knock on the door was timid but urgent.
"Enter," he said calmly.
The door opened, and the servant stepped in, kneeling imdiately, her forehead nearly touching the floor. "Elder Liam… I overheard a conversation between Young Master Lee Dong and… and the Hua family Patriarch who is from Kulu nation.
They were drinking wine in the Pavilion of Thousand Jades. The discussion… it was not about a duel. It was about a death sentence. Kent… Kent is to be killed on the arena stage."
Elder Liam's eyes snapped open like twin bolts of lightning. He rose in a flash, the scroll forgotten, and snatched the jade slip from her hands. As the mory recording inside played, his expression darkened with each passing breath. The words were clear.
"I wish to kill a future king before he learns he can rule."
"If he becos the Golden Heir, my Hua family will fall."
Elder Liam's knuckles tightened around the slip until it cracked like dried bone.
"Kent…" he murmured. "They want to murder him… in broad daylight… beneath the banners of our sacred sect."
Without another word, he vanished in a streak of green light.
—
Grand Arena of Immortal Living Pool...
In the distance, the Battle Arena Grounds lay silent and empty—except for one figure.
There, beneath the pale moonlight, Kent stood alone, his body drenched in sweat. His bare chest rose and fell with fierce breath as he launched himself into the air and struck the marble ground with a blast of energy. Sparks flew as he danced between shadows, wielding no weapon, relying only on fists and footwork.
His eyes were wild—not with rage, but with hunger. The hunger for clarity.
He spun mid-air, landed with a slide, and then whispered a storm incantation—his entire body cloaked in wind and thunder. A wild gale surged around him, sending dust and leaves spiraling toward the stars.
Just then, a voice bood from the stands.
"KENT!"
Kent turned, wiping blood from his lip.
Elder Liam descended from the stands with urgency in his stride and fury in his soul. "What are you doing here, training at this hour?"
Kent shrugged, panting lightly. "Sharpening my instincts. Tomorrow, I'll be facing the Peak Earth Immortal Magus, son of the Pool Master himself. If I don't prepare every hour… I die."
Liam walked to him and grabbed his shoulder, eyes burning. "You don't understand. The duel is not what it seems. The Kulu nation's Hua family—they've bought your opponent's sword. Lee Dong intends to kill you, Kent! Not defeat you. Kill."
Kent blinked, the thunder swirling around him fading into stillness. "Hua family?! Lat ti I warned Hua family patriarch from touching the slave village. I expected it to end there. But the Hua family really crossed the line. Are you certain about this, Master?"
"Yes," Liam growled. "Step down. Refuse the fight. I'll protect you. I'll speak to the elders, to the council, even challenge the Pool Master if I must. This is assassination, not cultivation."
Kent lowered his head. For a mont, Liam thought he would agree. But then, the young man looked up—his eyes clear and terrifyingly calm.
"Elder," he said softly, "all my life, I've walked in the mud. Fought with borrowed ti, wore masks to survive, and climbed realms built to reject . I've relied on everything except my own truth. But this—this fight—it will strip bare."
Liam stepped back. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," Kent whispered, "that I've trained, killed, and bled across realms, but I've never known my limit. I don't know if I'm truly strong, or just lucky."
He looked toward the sky.
"If Lee Dong wants my life, I'll give him the chance to take it. And if the heavens want to live, then let them strike with . Only in death's presence will I finally know my true strength and grew again…"
Liam's face fell. "This isn't bravery—it's madness!"
Kent smiled faintly. "Maybe. But so doors… only open in the fire."
For a while, neither man spoke. The arena wind blew gently between them, stirring the broken leaves at their feet.
Finally, Elder Liam turned away, his shoulders slumped, but his voice steady. "Then I will do the only thing left for ."
He paused.
"I'll prepare your funeral."
Kent smirked. "Save the wine. I'll be drinking it with you after the duel."
And with that, Liam vanished into the night, his heart heavy with dread.
Kent turned back to the center of the arena. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly. He could feel it now—the weight of fate pressing down on him, suffocating, cruel… but exhilarating.
Tomorrow, the arena would beco an execution ground.
And Kent… would either die a warrior.
Or rise a legend.
—
Lee Dong's Personal Chamber...
The moon hung high, casting a luminous veil over the Eastern Pagoda Palace, a private sanctum of grandeur reserved solely for the Peak Disciples and their kin. Here, within the vermillion-carved halls and flowing silk drapes, Lee Dong—son of the Immortal Pool Master—lounged like a tiger with no need to hunt.
Lavish cushions lay scattered across the marble dais. Incense of spirit-calming lotus wafted through the air, mixing with the subtle fragrance of warm wine and even warr flesh.
Across his lap sat a stunning beauty clad in barely-there silk—her na was Yue Li, a courtesan of both rare cultivation and rarer submission, sent from the Red Pavilion to serve the sect's favored sons.
Half naked body is an eye feast for any man. Her giggles filled the chamber, her fingers tracing circles over Lee Dong's chest, but his gaze was not on her.
It was on the black coffin-like box resting on a nearby jade pedestal.
-
Tq for Golden-Tickets!
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