“Where did…” the old cultivator whipped his head left and right before snapping around to check behind him, a flicker of panic in his eyes. He was too late.

  A bloody silhouette bathed in scarlet light appeared behind the trembling, middle-aged daoist, glowing ribbons curling toward him like impatient, greedy fingers. Before the old man could shout a warning, numerous razor-like tendrils snapped forward with a sharp hiss, leaving behind a web of faint, crimson afterimages.

  Multiple thin red lines blossomed across the middle-aged daoist’s robes, forming a grisly crisscross pattern. An expression of surprise was still etched on his face when his head split into several parts, collapsing with the rest of his body into a gory, steaming pile. Small fountains of blood burst from his mutilated arteries, only to die down instantly from a lack of pressure as the glistening red liquid soaked into the sand. A blinking gem was still caught between the fingers of the man’s severed hand before it rolled out onto the sand, now covered in bloody fingerprints. It would guide other connected gems to this location. This one was linked to someone overwhelmingly powerful.

  The last surviving elder cried out in sheer terror before erupting into flight, a wave of fiery wind exploding beneath his feet. It blew away the sand around him, leaving a large, shallow crater. The escaping daoist didn't manage to cover fifty feet before a glowing ribbon caught up with him, slashing vertically through his entire body. His qi barrier shattered in a final, brilliant burst before he was split apart from head to groin. Both halves of his body fell onto the sand with a pair of wet, muffled thuds.

  Cade coughed up blood from the awful strain, cracks and tears appearing across his body. But there was no time to heal or gather the spoils. To make his ethereal wings fully corporeal for those two strikes, he had to fill them with the mist—and then ignite all of it, nearly killing himself in the process. The force it unleashed was far beyond his ability to control. He simply wasn’t strong enough yet.

  He didn’t dare ignite the mist again. He was already approaching his physical limits. Blood streamed from his eyes and ears as he shot into the sky, tearing through the air in the opposite direction of the city, away from the source of the incoming danger. Every movement screamed with pain. His ribbon wings folded behind him, propelling him forward with a powerful thrust of ignited blood qi. He moved at such blistering speed that, to a distant observer, it would have been almost imperceptible—if not for the vanishing trail of bloody particles he left behind. A long chain of sonic booms marked his path, merging into a single, continuous roar that shook the sky.

  Below, the desert blurred into a shifting smear of light and shadow. Cade narrowed his eyes to thin slits—just enough to keep a vague sense of direction. All he could distinguish was bright from dark; at this speed, all other details were lost. The air clawed at his wounded form, threatening to flay him to the bone. With a bloodstone in each hand, he released dense waves of blood qi into his body, desperately holding himself together against the crushing forces that threatened to rip him apart.

  The young Asura had no idea how far he had traveled. Even after his danger sense calmed, he kept going. After a while, it stopped signaling anything at all—as if the threat had vanished. But at that moment, Cade couldn’t bring himself to care. He had drained four bloodstones just to survive this frantic escape. No price was too high to stay alive.

  At last, his strength gave out. The ribbon wings unfolded behind him into their sprawling shape once more, their incredible laws slowing him almost instantly and bleeding off the last of his momentum. Cade dropped to the ground, blood dripping from his pores.

  He was exhausted. He was livid. His body was in a terrible, half-collapsed state, and he had been forced to rely on bloodstones. All of this had happened because three people could not restrain their greed. He had lost out big time. The only positive was that he had pushed his Blood Wings to their current limit, both in combat and flight. Their potential was beyond astounding, but sadly, his body was currently incapable of bearing the strain. He hadn't planned on igniting the mist at all. All he had wanted was to try out the wings and see how quickly he could maneuver. By that point, he had only conceptualized making the red mist tangible through blood qi ignition, not daring to try it inside the training hall.

  The beacon had forced him to go all out; otherwise, he risked being killed on the spot by whoever was about to arrive. Considering how dire the pressure had felt, it was likely the same True Core elder who had accompanied the angry young woman at the auction. His flight capabilities were unknown, but even if that old man couldn’t catch him quickly, he would have worn him down eventually. Of the two remaining robbers, Cade might have been able to defeat the middle-aged cultivator swiftly without igniting the mist, but there was no way he could have killed his companion in a single blow. The other man was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment and wouldn’t go down without a fight. At that moment, he had no doubt that any delay would have spelled his death, so he was forced to unleash everything he had. The fact that his danger sense was once again silent baffled him. It’s like the person chasing me suddenly gave up.

  With a gesture of his trembling hand, Cade brought out his trusty Arrow, then dragged himself into the rider’s seat. Coughing up blood, he ascended into the air, then immediately shot in the direction of a faintly visible tower piercing the clouds.

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  “Master, is there a problem?” a warm, young female voice echoed through the chamber.

  The leader of the Black Sun Sect plopped down into a richly adorned, cushioned armchair with a weary sigh. He had just returned from the desert, where he had collected what was left of his outer elders. He watched as his personal disciple, Jade—the Emperor’s one and only daughter—took out a steaming cup of fragrant tea from her storage ring, placing it on a small table next to him.

  “Just a big mess, that’s all. Nothing you should be concerned about,” he answered, smiling faintly.

  “Master, please drink this spiritual tea. It will help calm your nerves,” she said, her brows drawn together with worry as she sat down opposite the elderly man. “Can you at least tell me what happened?”

  The sect master sighed once again before bringing the cup to his lips and taking a small sip. The pleasant warmth spread gradually through his body, calming his nerves and easing his aches. “Archie, Duval, and Roy are dead,” he eventually said.

  “What?!” Jade exclaimed, rushing to her feet.

  “Calm down, child. Sit,” the elder gestured with his hand.

  “But… what happened?” Jade asked again, sitting down and recovering her poise. Her honest, concerned expression only made it harder for him to tell her the truth.

  “Those idiots tried to rob someone is what happened,” the sect master gritted out, staring at the cup in his hand. He released a deep sigh, drinking the rest of his tea in one gulp. “I suspected they were involved in something shady, but I haven't found any solid proof. I certainly never imagined they’d try to steal while we were in Oasis. Looks like they followed someone into the deep desert and got in over their heads.”

  “Master! Why… Archie was always so calm and quiet, and Duval often made me laugh. Why would they suddenly try to rob someone? Wasn't the sect paying them?” the imperial daughter asked, disbelief in her voice.

  The sect master’s expression softened as he looked at his disciple fondly. This kind-hearted girl is so clueless as to how the world truly works. “It doesn’t matter anymore. They paid the highest price,” he answered in a resigned tone.

  “What about their killer? Shouldn’t we chase him and bring him to justice?!” The petite girl shot to her feet once more, clenching her tiny fists.

  The old man shook his head, waving his hand for her to sit down. “I can’t say for sure who killed them. If I had soul sense, I could perhaps find out their identity, though I have my suspicions. Anyway, there’s really nothing I can do, as I can’t prove he did it. Besides, I can’t exactly fault someone for defending themselves. If I had found out what those three blockheads were attempting, I would have immediately expelled them,” he elaborated with a weary voice.

  “So it was a man! Master, we should at least interrogate him! Maybe it wasn’t their fault? How can you be sure?!” Jade continued, laying out her arguments and supporting them with passionate gesticulation. The old man was long used to this and listened patiently. Suddenly, the girl froze, her eyes widening.

  “Master, you believe it’s that handso... suspicious man from the auction house! I knew it! I bet Archie and Duval were just trying to convince him to sell the blood back to us!” she exclaimed, slapping her fist into her palm as her eyes lit up with realization.

  The sect master was lucky to not be drinking tea at that moment; otherwise, he would have spat it all out. When did that youngster suddenly become handsome? He has a mug fitting a debt collector. This princess must have been thinking a lot about that day. She couldn’t conceive how anyone could challenge her, win, and walk away. Jade was a good girl, superbly talented, but mostly clueless when it to the world beyond Brightheart Castle. This was her first trip outside the Empire. She didn’t understand the cultivation world. To her, everyone was always nice, with the young man being the exception. She could not accept that these outer elders, who were at her every whim, could turn into a bunch of greedy killers at a moment’s notice.

  “We have to confront him!” Jade demanded, giving her Master an expectant look.

  “For what purpose?” the elder asked, his voice weary. “There’s no guarantee he actually did it. If he denies it, which he probably will, what then? And even if he was the one to kill them, are you going to tell him that he was wrong to protect himself because you liked Duval?” The old cultivator questioned his impulsive disciple, trying to guide her into seeing the broader picture. Jade was decisive but also impulsive, and rarely thought things through—a common problem among sheltered nobles.

  Jade’s expression sank, the spark draining from her face. However, she quickly recovered her confidence. “Master, we should at least find out what happened,” she announced in a firm voice, her mind set.

  “You know, that man is dangerous. They may have been outer elders, but they were quite experienced. They all died very quickly, and their deaths… Never mind. This ugly side of cultivation is something you were never exposed to. Besides, why would he even want to talk to you?” The elder tried yet another approach, though he was confident it wouldn't deter his young disciple. She was stubborn as a donkey.

  The girl crossed her arms and continued staring at her Master, her gaze steady, her jaw set. “Master, you're the smartest person I know besides Father. Think of something. If I’m never exposed to the real world, how am I supposed to learn how it works? Besides, I’m confident in your ability to protect me,” she retorted, backing up her words with a confident nod.

  The old man took a deep breath, then released a defeated sigh. Maybe it was good for Jade to gain a better understanding of how things really worked.

  "Fine. I'll see what I can do."