"Water essence barrier!"

  Deacon Bai reacted swiftly, issuing the command. The combat physicians summoned shimmering water essence in unison, instantly erecting a protective dome over the judgment platform.

  Deacon Bai had traveled far and wide—through skies, depths, and abyssal seas. In all her long years, this was the first time she'd seen a human wield such power.

  Her expression shifted from joy to concern. She'd witnessed too many essence wielders warp their natures in pursuit of strength. The very physicians around her were proof of that.

  "Is this... siren power? What bloodline does this boy possess?" Deacon Bai murmured inwardly, her demeanor remaining calm and composed.

  She even stepped aside as Timo passed, clearing a path for him.

  "Elder Bai... are we really doing this?"

  Physician Li's hushed voice reached her.

  Deacon Bai glanced around—the soldiers were focused solely on self-preservation. She signaled with her eyes.

  Li understood and dimmed her essence. The physicians maintained the barrier symbolically, without truly suppressing Timo.

  Timo pressed forward, ascending the platform and glaring intently at Madam Yi above.

  "My sister and I... we've done nothing wrong..."

  As Timo spoke in fury, a deafening crack echoed overhead, and another bolt of lightning struck down.

  The electricity surged through the black chains into Yue Yang's body, her agonized roar piercing the clouds.

  Seeing this, Timo stood stunned, his tolerance shattered as he erupted completely.

  "Sister..."

  From his roar, another surge of immense power burst forth from his body.

  The essence-sealing shackles at his feet shattered instantly.

  Even the suppressing water barrier cracked, forcing the physicians to retreat a couple of steps.

  Deacon Bai watched serenely, her admiration for this force growing.

  Only now did she realize that some legends might hold truth, though whether this boy was truly the Child of Darkness, she couldn't say.

  Seeing Timo calm down and noting that the others behind her remained passive beyond self-protection, Deacon Bai gestured for the physicians to withdraw their essence.

  "Physician Yang, you've seen it yourself—this is the power of the Child of Darkness..."

  "Shut your mouth, you murderer..."

  Madam Yi, seeing Timo defy her, brandished the Elder's token with righteous indignation, pointing at him.

  "The Child of Darkness defies order—it will bring catastrophe upon us, plunging the people into misery and coating the land in blood! Ancestors, bear witness—judge this calamity!"

  At Madam Yi's words, the Iron Law enforcers closed in gradually, while the surrounding soldiers glared at him with fury.

  "How could an ordinary person possess such ability? This is the power of darkness!"

  "Exactly! A mere apprentice with this kind of strength, ignoring the Elder's decree? He'll be a scourge in the future!"

  "Judge him!"

  "Judge the Child of Darkness!"

  Amid the protests, the Iron Law enforcers and some outraged soldiers encircled him.

  Facing the pointing fingers and the crowd's murderous gazes, Timo paid no heed and continued toward his sister.

  The group halted as he reached directly beneath the judgment pillar.

  The towering stone spire, with its thunder zone above, instilled fear—anyone caught in its reach would be maimed if not killed.

  Yue Yang now lay bloodied and smoking, her body charred. In this scene, no one dared question the Elder's authority.

  Timo looked up, tears streaming as he beheld his sister's wretched state. He dropped to his knees with a thud.

  "Elder, Physician Yang saves lives and heals the wounded—she's earned great merits for the regiment. She doesn't deserve this treatment!"

  "Exactly, physicians have privileges! Heavenly thunder judgment is too severe for her!"

  "I'll take the final strike in her place!"

  At these words, the physicians and soldiers pleading for Yue Yang turned their heads.

  Fei stepped forward to the platform's edge, kneeling devoutly on one knee, awaiting Madam Yi's approval.

  How could Madam Yi agree? She knew the physicians were fiercely protective of Yue Yang. To secure her position as Elder long-term, she needed to eliminate all threats permanently.

  "Sister... I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I didn't want to drag you into this. I don't know what happened—it wasn't me. You have to believe me..."

  As he spoke, Timo kowtowed heavily, his forehead thudding against the stone.

  Hearing her brother's words, Yue Yang weakly opened her eyes, nodding painfully as her lips parted with effort. "I... believe..."

  Timo rose upon hearing his sister's whisper and continued forward. The abyss loomed ahead—if his death could save her, he would gladly embrace it.

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  "Seize him! He must not escape!"

  Seeing Timo draw closer to the platform's edge, Madam Yi roared publicly.

  As several essence-sealing shackles flew toward him, Timo crashed to the ground once more.

  Yet he didn't stop, crawling onward with agonizing determination.

  The old soldiers who had watched the siblings grow up turned away, unable to bear the sight.

  The crowd assumed he would halt at the spiked drop ahead.

  Instead, he pressed on desperately, reaching the edge and rolling straight over it.

  Seeing this, Yue Yang—her mind foggy—her bloodshot eyes bulged wide. She screamed gutturally, "Timo!"

  At that moment, another crack echoed as blue light flashed in the clouds, and lightning struck down again.

  As the bolt neared Yue Yang—

  In Timo's despairing gaze, Deacon Bai's figure suddenly blurred past.

  She summoned an essence blade, severing the black chains.

  Fei leaped forward in a few bounds, catching Yue Yang securely.

  "This is the ancestors' just decree! Yue Yang lost control during her essence explosion and rampaged on the platform—confine her to the ice prison! Fei Yuan defied order—three years of mountain watch! Ge Bai..."

  Madam Yi was about to pronounce judgment when the physicians behind Deacon Bai all summoned their essence, ready to face death.

  Deacon Bai remained calm and composed, glancing at Madam Yi before signaling Fei to leave with Yue Yang.

  "Deacon Bai, I trust you're wise enough not to interfere with Iron Law's fair judgment."

  Of course, Deacon Bai wouldn't interfere—but she would never allow her beloved disciple to die before her eyes.

  To save Yue Yang now, she could even slap the Elder across the face or renounce her position in the Watch Regiment. No one would dare utter a word against it.

  As the physicians vanished into the opening rifts one by one, Deacon Gan knelt prudently on one knee.

  "Congratulations, Elder—on eliminating the Child of Darkness!"

  Hearing Gan's congratulations, Madam Yi found her pretext and seated herself on the elevated judgment throne.

  That intricately carved jade chair symbolized the supreme authority of the Watch Regiment.

  "Congratulations, Elder—on shattering the prophecy of the Child of Darkness!"

  Following Deacon Lan's words, Ghost Shadow, the adjudicator, and other warriors knelt devoutly on one knee, offering their praises one after another.

  Seeing this, Madam Yi could no longer suppress the smile curling her lips.

  Masking her inner excitement, she turned to gaze into the cloudy abyss. A ray of sunlight from the horizon illuminated her face perfectly.

  "The ancestors have delivered the wisest judgment. I am merely the guardian of the regiment's Iron Law. I am weary. In the coming days, I beseech you all to assist Regiment Leader Yi. Until the Evil Cultivators are eradicated, we shall not rest!"

  As Madam Yi spoke, her "excited" tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

  Beneath those tears, her smile seemed to proclaim to the world: at last, she had achieved everything she desired.

  In that instant, as Timo Yang witnessed his sister being pulled to safety, all regrets vanished from his heart. He allowed himself to plummet freely.

  Even without the three essence-sealing shackles binding him, he had no desire to cling to life. This fall would proclaim his innocence to the world.

  His figure swiftly disappeared into the thick mist below. Madam Yi's triumphant smile became his final memory.

  The biting wind whipped across his cheeks as his descent accelerated relentlessly. Soon, his ears, fingers, and face went numb from the cold.

  He had never imagined the cliffs to be so towering, the drop so profound. Layer upon layer of fog enveloped him, frosting his hair and leather armor with ice.

  "Dad... Mom... your son hasn't disgraced you! I'm not the Child of Darkness... I'm not..."

  In his fading consciousness, childhood memories resurfaced.

  It was the day before his parents departed for war. His sister returned from her apprentice training, Mom cradling him as she greeted her. Dad was cooking, and the house echoed with their family's pure, joyful laughter.

  Lost in recollection, Timo squeezed his eyes shut, a faint smile curving his lips as he awaited the fatal impact.

  Far below, jagged reefs bordered a foul-smelling beach, battered relentlessly by savage waves.

  Halfway up the cliff, a dark shadow huddled in a stone crevice, warily surveying the surroundings.

  Sensing no danger, he poked his head out and sniffed the air.

  His form defied human norms—propelled solely by two powerful arms, he had no legs. Long, matted hair covered him, giving the scarred figure the appearance of a furred half-wild man.

  After a moment, detecting no acrid stench, he agilely scrambled out toward a nearby puddle.

  Vigilantly glancing around, he waded in cautiously.

  Spotting the trapped fish inside, he pounded his chest in excitement, his mouth gaping in silent glee—revealing, only then, his missing tongue.

  He raised a stone to smash them when bubbles suddenly erupted on the water's surface.

  Instantly alert, he dropped flat to the ground.

  With a mighty push from his massive arms, he vaulted back among the boulders, hiding to observe.

  The sea churned violently.

  A dozen grotesque fish demons surfaced, their forms varied and hideous.

  Leading them were two with sharp snouts and monkey-like faces, almost human: one bulky, resembling an adult male; the other petite and feminine.

  Emerging from the water, they balanced on powerful tails that swung back and forth, their scales chipped and marred with green veins.

  The half-wild man recognized them: cursed outcasts abandoned here, greedy and diseased.

  He had survived in this place for untold years, while his companions had long been devoured by these creatures.

  Though he couldn't understand their gurgling speech, he guessed their purpose: hunting wild spirit herbs once more.

  The leaders gripped sharpened sea-beast bones, scanning warily.

  A signal—all clear.

  The rest slithered ashore: some crawling like crocodiles, others hopping like rabbits, all baring fangs in ferocious displays.

  The leaders gurgled orders, and the group split into three teams, heading toward the thriving wild herbs on the slopes.

  Then, the smallest, ugliest demon lunged into the puddle upon landing, snatching two fish in its jaws.

  The leaders gurgled angrily. One raised a maimed hand, crackling with lightning.

  A zap—and the small demon convulsed, its tongue lolling out as it collapsed, stunned.

  More gurgling ensued. The teams scrambled up the steep slopes in pursuit of the herbs.

  The hidden half-wild man eyed the lone demon.

  His food stolen? Unacceptable.

  He flipped forward, blocking its path, reaching to snap its mutated head.

  Mid-motion, his ears twitched at an anomaly above.

  Even the demon in his grip stared skyward, eyes wide.

  A human figure plummeted from the heights.

  It crashed through sparse branches.

  A sickening thud echoed on the ground.

  Crows scattered from the trees, circling before diving down.

  The half-wild man glanced up: someone had fallen from the unreachable peak. Excitement surged—this was the first human in decades. Could escape be possible?

  He dropped the feigning demon and bounded toward the site.

  Arriving, he remained concealed.

  A human child lay mangled beyond recognition, limbs twisted and broken, flesh torn.

  Strangely, the nearby crows lay dead, as if decayed for ages.

  Confusion gripped him. This Forgotten Land—cursed with inescapable seas—had trapped him for decades.

  The first voluntary human arrival... dead.

  Unwilling to accept it, he crept closer cautiously.

  Up close, it was clearly a child.

  Long-buried memories flooded back.

  "Ah-ba... ah-ba..."

  Muffled sounds escaped, wordless despite his foaming excitement.

  He babbled incoherently, tears streaming down.

  Turning away, he gathered stones to build a grave.

  This Forgotten Land burned with heat.

  On the unrecognizable Timo Yang, the frost from his fall had melted.

  Blood poured from his shattered limbs, pooling toward a nearby spring, crimson streams flowing downward.

  Below, in the river, four fish demons approached.

  One sipped the water, tasting blood.

  A gurgling alert.

  Human blood ignited their frenzy.

  They scrambled on all fours, tracing the stream upward.

  "Ah-ba... ah-ba..."

  The half-wild man searched for smooth stones—this wasn't his first burial.

  Long ago, he had done the same for his fallen comrades, lost in this cursed domain.

  Painful memories resurfaced.

  He dared not wail, lest beasts hear. He dared not shout, lest demons drag him back for stew.

  Arms laden with blue stones, he climbed back—his ears twitching.

  Splashing in the spring: the sound of a demon ambush.

  He dove into the grass, parting it to watch the boy.

  His eyes widened.

  The boy's gushing wounds had miraculously stopped bleeding, the injuries shrinking.

  Closer inspection revealed a red glow emanating from his waist.

  Wherever it touched, the grass withered to yellow instantly.

  The glow expanded, reaching the spring and lapping at the half-wild man's feet.

  Seeing this, he braced his powerful arms and vaulted up a tall tree.

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