On the deep and desolate long street, the streetlights cast a circle of cold white light.

Wreathed in white flame, Zuo Tian stood atop a streetlamp, his eyes half-open, coldly looking down at the figure of the golden-haired boy.

“Child, when will you strike?”

“When he goes inside.”

“Why?”

Zuo Tian curled his lips slightly and muttered,
“It’s cold outside.”

He felt so kind, so gentle. The emotions that had long been suppressed in his heart now flowed freely.

It wasn’t over yet—
When my sword pierces his body, when every move I make decides his life or death...

How beautiful.
It felt like… being a god.

Standing atop the streetlamp, Zuo Tian’s indifferent, lazy face suddenly twisted into a chilling grin.
He bared his pale teeth, his gums red like blood, like a beast hungry to devour, his gaze sharp as a blade.

He saw Luo Qingchuan walk into the yard. He saw him push open the door.

Zuo Tian’s grin could no longer be restrained—his lips stretched wide, that handsome face now tinged with madness.
“It’s time!”

All the patience, all the waiting—this moment was the first flash of his blade!

Since the spiritual energy’s return, this was the first time Zuo Tian had truly felt the power of transcendence.

Then the white flames around his body wavered.
From his fingertip, a streak of cold light leapt out into the night.

An ancient sword!

Zuo Tian closed his eyes with a smile, using divine sense to control the sword.

Moonlight shimmered along the flying sword’s surface, flowing like a fish slipping into the sea.
In an instant, it tore through the night, sliced through the evening breeze, flashed past the courtyard—
Nothing could stop it.
Graceful and agile, it glided into the entryway, vanishing like lightning, aimed straight at Luo Qingchuan walking toward the living room.

The golden-haired boy looked completely off guard, didn’t react at all.

The sword tip was about to pierce him.

The moonlight reflected—

A shadow appeared.

Slender, dark fingers—long and elegant—emerged from the void and gently caught the flying sword.

It still came...

Luo Qingchuan turned calmly and unhurriedly, seeing the ancient sword now trembling in the hands of the shadowy figure of Evil Unleashed.

Zuo Tian trembled as well. His eyes were shut tight, brow furrowed deeply, teeth clenched.
“Old Ancestor, there’s another person!”

“Another person?!”

“A second aura appeared—suddenly. I don’t know who... It’s Foundation Establishment level! Wait... I can’t sense it anymore!”

The sword?
What’s the sword doing?

It was in their hands—both hands.

The shadowy figure held the blade at both ends, one knee on the ground, presenting it to Luo Qingchuan.

Misfortune Blade.

Luo Qingchuan raised his right hand, gazing deeply at the sword.

“Zuo Tian, you came too early.”

His right hand swung down. The blade cleaved.

Crack!

The ancient sword broke in two, clattering to the ground.

Luo Qingchuan bent two fingers on his left hand and tapped a piece of the broken blade on the floor.

His eyes dark as ink.

Calamity Sword.

A soft sigh.

The broken blade whooshed through the air.

Thud…

Zuo Tian fell from the streetlamp, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his spirit shaken.
“Old Ancestor, my flying sword—it’s been destroyed! Inside Luo Qingchuan’s house—there’s someone at the Foundation Establishment realm protecting him!”

He gritted his teeth, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Why?!”

But the Old Ancestor suddenly shouted,
“Child! Incoming! Run!”

Incoming? What’s incoming?

Zuo Tian pushed himself up from the ground.

From the villa walls, from the ever-darkening night, a piece of that broken sword came hurtling even faster than before!

So fast!
There in a blink!

Zuo Tian reacted instantly, bending low—
The broken sword grazed his forehead, slicing off several strands of hair.

“Damn it!”

He couldn’t afford to fight a Foundation Establishment expert here.
Even with many cards up his sleeve, Zuo Tian didn’t want to stir up another major battle after the bar incident.

If he did, the city would be thrown into chaos. If the Golden Tower or his techniques were exposed...
Zuo Tian knew people would come for him.

To hold a treasure is to invite danger.

Staggering to his feet, Zuo Tian fled down the long street into the night.

He looked back.

Sword cry.

The broken sword followed like a curse, like some beast glimpsed in a forest, swift and terrifying.

Zuo Tian kicked off the ground, leaping high to the side. His school uniform billowed as he narrowly dodged the sword’s attack.

But the broken blade was incredibly nimble. Like a fish, it curved and came at him again.

Zuo Tian’s face turned pale, blood at the corner of his mouth as he forced out a cold grin.

“All right, I pissed you off, didn’t I.”

It looked like he’d have to pay a price if he wanted to escape from that mysterious Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Zuo Tian summoned another flying sword and sent it charging at the broken blade.

But this one hadn’t been refined. It couldn’t possibly stop the attack.

Without hesitation, Zuo Tian muttered coldly,
“Explode.”

Boom—

The spirit sword shattered instantly, erupting in a burst of dense spiritual energy.
It bought him a moment.

Zuo Tian pulled out an ancient yellow talisman and slapped it onto himself.
Spiritual energy activated—
The figure on the streetlamp shot upward into the night.

Cloud Soar.

He was still only at Qi Condensation level 9, far from truly transcending the natural limits. He couldn’t fly freely.

But inside the first floor of the Golden Tower he’d opened, there were endless treasures—divine pills, talismans, techniques, artifacts.

Even with limited cultivation, Zuo Tian still had terrifying resources.

He shot up into the sky,
the lights of the city glowing brightly below.

The broken sword followed for a while,
but once it reached a thousand meters, beyond the range of divine sense control, it finally turned and flew back.

In the thin, freezing air high above—

Zuo Tian panted heavily, his face shifting between blue and white, still rattled.

“That wasn’t some ordinary technique… that Foundation Establishment cultivator is something else.
Luo Qingchuan’s luck is insane.”

He looked down on the brilliant cityscape.

“Child…” the Old Ancestor sounded a bit pained,
“Should I take control of your body? Let me handle this—”

“No.” Zuo Tian replied,
“That would drain your soul. I’ll find another chance. That Foundation Establishment cultivator is too mysterious, and their technique is special. We can’t take risks.”

Zuo Tian dropped, landing on the rooftop of a tall building.

He sat down at once, began meditating to replenish his energy and heal.

Then—
His eyes opened wide. His body convulsed in the cold wind.
He clenched his teeth.
“Why can’t I reach Foundation Establishment?!
That path should’ve been mine!
I should’ve already seen that future with my own eyes!”

Su Yingxue’s sword intent.
It was all because of that sword intent—

He had tried to forget. But once he thought of that blade that split yin and yang,
the terrifying vision from his broken illusion surged back again.
Zuo Tian coughed up more blood.

“I need to go back…”

His spiritual sea ached fiercely.
He stood, but in the darkness, his eyes seemed to pierce through endless shadow,
locking again onto the place where that boy was.

“What exactly makes you so special?”

Why would a Foundation Establishment-level cultivator be hiding in Luo Qingchuan’s home to protect him?
A family member?

Could it be…
Su Yingxue broke through?

Zuo Tian’s face went ghostly pale.
He clenched his fists in despair and frustration.

“Who is it?!
A Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn’t go completely unnoticed!”

He ran.
Leapt off the rooftop.
Dove into the darkness like a hawk.

……

“Where did he run off to?”

Evil Unleashed had already vanished.

Luo Qingchuan sat by the entryway, raising his head.
The broken sword returned, circling his fingertips.

Calamity Sword—a technique for controlling flying swords.

Luo Qingchuan shook his head and stood.
The two halves of the broken sword followed him into the bathroom.

Before the toilet, Luo Qingchuan summoned the ominous flame born of Disaster Shadow,
and melted the two sword pieces.

A sense of danger welled up in Luo Qingchuan’s heart.

He had to get stronger.

Buzz, buzz.

After erasing all traces, Luo Qingchuan returned to the living room and saw his phone glowing on the table.

[Su Yingxue: Sorry, I failed 😝.]
[Su Yingxue: I left the house.]
[Su Yingxue: I want to see you.]

……

……

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(Signed now—need more votes, heroes, please descend~)