At the edge of the Eastern Realm, past rivers swollen with winter melt and forests still heavy with frost, a man in silver-blue robes stood alone on a mountain ridge.
Liu Shengjie.
The sky above him was cloudless, but the wind twisted restlessly around his figure. His long black hair was bound by a single jade clasp, and the armor beneath his sleeves shimmered faintly with divine light.
He had been walking without rest.
Each step silent.
Each breath tight.
His destination was the Bai Clan.
But his thoughts were far darker than his path.
It had begun with a whisper.
A soft, ridiculous rumor—"Rumors says thatthe Crown Prince is with one of his concubine in the Bai Clan who was kidnapped in the day of Lingche Ri festival but he only faked his kidnapping to lure the crown prince, the imperial court didn't take any action yet." At first, it seemed like court gossip.
Until he heard another.
And another.
And then: "A beautiful man from the mountain, pale as snow, rescued by the Crown Prince himself. They say his presence shook the Bai Clan's heavenly array."
Shengjie had dismissed it—until someone mentioned the unnaturalYang Qi.
Too potent. Too ancient. As if it had come from the underworld's opposite.
Then came a merchant girl's tale.
A boy from the Bai Clan had brought out a piece of cloth. Delicate. Red. Laced with the spiritual energy of a god—or something beyond. "A gift from Big Brother Xuanji," the child had said proudly.
That was when Shengjie stopped breathing.
That aura—he knew it.
Mo Tianzun.
Shengjie had believed him dead. Vanished. Brokeninto ash. His the one who killed and buriedMo Tianzun, his Lord.
He hadprayed for it.
But now…
He was heading toward the Bai Clan with a blade that remembered his betrayal.
———
Within the Bai estate, laughter still bloomed like flowers.
Lin Xuanji was in the garden, Bai Zhen braiding ribbons into his hair while the Liu Twins bickered over a game of spirit dice.
Longxuan sat beside him, content just to watch.
Xuanji was smiling softly, hair loose, eyes lazy with warmth.
No one noticed the wind shift.
No one felt the frost rising in the distance.
Except one elder of the Bai Clan—his hand trembled on his prayer beads as a pressure settled like thunder above the outer wall.
A messenger came rushing in.
"Elder Bai! A visitor… from the Martial World… His presence—it…"
The elder stood. "Who?"
The messenger swallowed. "Liu Shengjie. The God of War."
.
.
.
.
At the Bai Clan's gates, Liu Shengjie waited with a calm expression.
But his fingers flexed against his sword hilt.
The guard bowed deeply. "Senior Liu… to what do we owe the honor?"
"I heard the Crown Prince is visiting," Shengjie said with a polite smile. "And that he brought someone special with him."
His words were like a thread dipped in venom.
"Of course, if it's untrue, I'll be on my way."
"…May I ask what you mean by special, Senior?"
"A young man," Shengjie said lightly. "One whose energy is so strong it could melt the heavens."
The guard hesitated. "…He is resting. We don't wish to disturb—"
"I insist."
Shengjie's tone was not sharp.
But the snow beneath his boots began to melt from the heat of his suppressed Qi.
He was here.
Shengjie knew it.
He could feel it—twisting through the air, ancient and overwhelming. Not evil… but vast.
Familiar.
And it terrified him.
He'd worked too long. Waited too long.
The Demon Realm had not moved in decades.
If he returned—if Mo Tianzun still breathed, then everything Liu Shengjie had rebuilt would be undone.
'I'll findyou,' he thought coldly, stepping through the gates with a bowed head and a false smile.
'And this time, I'll kill you before you even remember who you are again.'
———
Back in the garden, Xuanji suddenly looked up.
Longxuan immediately noticed.
"What is it?"
"…The wind feels different."
Longxuan sat upright. "Danger?"
Xuanji tilted his head.
"…No. Familiarity."
Zhenhai stood from his game. "Do we need to move?"
Xuanji touched his chest lightly.
The place where his old soul once burned like hellfire.
"…No," he murmured. "I want to see who dares disturbmy peace."