Matriarch Radiant Jade was unable to respond for a while. There was just too much information in that short statement.

“Jingfei asked you to come?”

“Yes.”

She found it hard to suppress the pride that was welling up within her. Not only had her daughter seen past the internal strife within the sect, she had also chosen someone who was actually capable of completing the task of rescuing her. She had even overcome her fear of men to do this. What mother wouldn’t be proud of such a daughter?

She wanted to hear more about her wonderful daughter, but she realised that it wasn’t the right time.

“I would like to have a word with you later. But right now, there are more pressing matters at hand.”

“Mm.”

Up until then, Hei had erected a barrier around himself and Matriarch Radiant Jade so their conversation was kept private. He disengaged it after Ju Li had freed all of the women from their shackles. A tense atmosphere had begun to grow between the newly freed women, who now had their cultivations restored, and the mysterious figure whose intentions were, as of yet, unknown.

The couldn’t help but be cautious around him.

One of the other women, someone who knew Matriarch Radiant Jade quite well, turned to her in an attempt to figure out the situation.

“Who is this?”

“He’s not our enemy, Biyu.” She responded. “He’s here to free us.”

Biyu turned to Hei with a suspicious air about her.

“So, we’re free to go?”

“Yes.” Hei pointed to Ju Li. “Aside from her, you’re all free to go.”

One of the other women stepped in front of Ju Li and aimed an unfriendly gaze to Hei. “Why not her?”

With their cultivations restored, the women weren’t afraid to fight. And with Matriarch Radiant Jade there, they had a minute realm cultivator on their side.

“For the same reason you stand in front of her now.” Hei turned to that woman, who seemed ready to attack him at a moment’s notice. “To protect her.” He looked around the room and saw that the other women were all prepared to face him if necessary. “But I’m afraid there’s a difference between yourselves and me.” To everyone present, it seemed as if his shadow had expanded to connect with theirs. “It seems you have yet to understand the prevailing truth of this world.” Before they could do anything, they found themselves forced to their knees, their hands placed on the ground and their heads bowed. “The weak must prostrate themselves before the strong.”

***

“No, Xiaoli. You need to watch your spacing!”

“I am!”

“No. Not like that. You need to step in more!”

“If I stepped in more, he would have hit me!”

“Not if you twisted your upper body!”

“But then my back would be exposed!”

“That’s why you have to lower your centre of gravity!”

Auntie Yimin watched as Xiaoli faced off against an elder of the Crimson Moon Sect. She struggled to sit back and watch Xiaoli who wasn’t up to her standards.

“You’re the only girl of your generation with any potential, Xiaoli. You can’t waste it like this.”

“If you know so much, then you fight him!”

Xiaoli jumped away from her opponent, fed up with Auntie Yimin’s back-seat fighting. She was trying her best to take in the advice, but the way Auntie Yimin spoke made it difficult not to be upset.

What’s worse is that Auntie Yimin didn’t do anything to encourage Xiaoli to continue the fight. She actually took over. And worst of all, she already had an opponent of her own. She was now fighting two on one.

“You see, Xiaoli? Pay attention to the footwork. You need to familiarise yourself with the flow of battle.”

Auntie Yimin danced between the blade swings and handled her opponents effortlessly. Xiaoli could clearly see the difference between their respective battle experiences.

“How is it like this? We both advanced to the minute realm at the same time!”

“The difference is that I didn’t spend my youth hanging out with my friends and watching movies.”

“That’s because you didn’t have any friends. Everyone was afraid of you. And they didn’t even have movies back then, Grandma!”

“Oh? It seems like someone may have gotten a little too big for her boots. Is it because I look younger now that you think you can talk to me any way you want?”

“… No.”

“Now. Come back and take your opponent. You need to correct these fundamental issues with your technique against easy opponents like these before you can call yourself a real demon slayer.”

“Yes, ma’am…”

“Xiaoli…” Auntie Yimin could see that she had caused Xiaoli’s motivation to decrease. “I only say these things because I want you to be the best you can be.”

“…”

“If only you would put in the effort, I’m sure you could become a great demon slayer, just like Lady Shufang.”

“Really?”

“Well, maybe I was exaggerating a little bit...”

“Auntie Yimin!”

“This is your chance to show me something, Xiaoli. I know you have it in you. And if you do well, I might even consider convincing your parents to take you with them on their next expedition.”

“You mean it?”

“Only if you show me that you won’t burden them.”

“But I’m in the minute realm and they’re still in the transcendent realm. I should be stronger than they are.”

“That’s not always how things work, Xiaoli. There are people out there who can achieve far more than their cultivation levels would suggest. You’ve already met one of them.”

“Are you saying that my parents are like him?”

“Maybe not as unusual as him, but among our current members, there are none who have achieved greater merits than them.”

“Wow. I didn’t know.”

“That’s because they wanted you to have the choice of staying out of all of this. They felt that had you known, you would have felt pressured to follow the same path as they did.”

“Like Jing’er?”

“Mm.”

“Well. I do want to walk the same path. I want to be a great demon slayer!”

“Then you should have moved half a step further just now! And look at that sloppy swordsmanship. It’s as if you haven’t practised at all. Goodness gracious.”

“Ugh.”

***

The Crimson Moon Sect was bigger than Jing’er had expected. Even though it was underground, once one got past the main entrance, it was just like any other sect. The buildings were finely designed and it seemed like a good amount of expertise went into the crafting of the structures.

Looking up, he could see the starry night sky. It wasn’t the real sky, but an image created by a formation which domed the sect similarly to the way Hei’s formation had done to the Zhu Clan.

‘To think demons are living like this.’

All around him, he could see people going about their daily routines, with not a care in the world, as if their lives weren’t built on the suffering of countless people. Even with the disturbance Honghuo was causing, none of them seemed to pay much attention to the situation.

None of them even thought to attack him, they just looked at him as if they were looking at a complete buffoon. Overhearing their conversations, he understood that they were all perfectly secure in the fact that the elders would take care of the intruders, and that their lives would continue on without a hitch.

It was sickening.

As he walked down the pristinely maintained brick roads, he unsheathed his sword which started to glow with a spectrum of colours. A beautiful sword by anyone’s standard. But even as it was pointed at one of the Crimson Moon Sect’s disciples, there wasn’t a trace of fear to be seen in his eyes.

“Stay your hand!”

A booming voice echoed throughout the area. It was accompanied by a suppressive force which weighed down on Jing’er. Behind it, was a middle-aged man who was suspended in mid-air.

“If nothing else, one has to admire your guts.” He said this as he descended to the ground, his hands behind his back, as if perfectly in control of the situation. “Tell you what. Cripple your own cultivation and kowtow to me three times. Then I might let you leave alive.”

Jing’er ignored the elder, his stare locked on the disciple standing in front of his sword tip. He raised his arm.

“Junior, do you dare?!”

Jing’er swung his sword down mercilessly.

“You’re courting death!” The elder immediately moved to intercept the blow. He extended his sword to block the path of Jing’er’s own.

“What?!”

When he expected their blades to collide, he was shocked to see Jing’er’s pass straight through his, cleaving the disciple clean in half.

The elder turned to the disciple in horror, only to see that he was perfectly fine. No sign of injury on him. But it wasn't long before the disciple clutched his chest, his face pale.

While the elder was still trying to parse what just happened, he saw a plain sword slash upward, cleanly bisecting that same disciple, extinguishing his life right then and there.

From behind him, an impassive voice spoke.

“Today, you of the Crimson Moon shall all reap what you have sown.”

***

Pain. All-consuming pain. That was all Honghuo could feel right now. Even though the lightning had only fallen from the Heavens but a single time, his tribulation was far from over. The black markings Hei had drawn on his upper body seemed to have absorbed the majority of the lightning and were releasing it in steady doses, causing a constant stream of pain. There was so much power flowing through his circulation paths that he felt they were about to burst.

At this point, he couldn’t even see the opponents he was fighting against. His vision had been overcome by a sea of flame and he heard a sonorous voice ringing out in his head.

The flame sovereign knows no restraint!

Honghuo knew that he was holding back for a reason. All of the insults he was taking, the perception that he was weak. All of it was for some greater purpose. But as time went on, that purpose became less and less clear. It was being burnt away by the flames, just like everything else in his field of view.

Never has the Flame Sovereign suffered such humiliation. This cannot be allowed to stand!

‘It cannot stand…’

The flame sovereign is all-mighty. All who stand in his way shall be reduced to ash!

‘All shall be reduced to ash…’

Who is it that commands you? Say it with your own mouth! Who am I?

“F… F… Flame Sov-”

Flame Sovereign? In the sea of red flames, a small voice echoed, and along with it, a small black flame appeared.

What’s this?

To the surprise of the sonorous voice, the black flame didn’t only persist in the burning sea of fire, it thrived. It seemed to consume everything in its presence, but it destroyed nothing. Everywhere it touched, the red fire receded until it was but a single flame, puny in comparison to its former self.

To think I would run into something like this… How amusing.

The red fire was finally extinguished, along with the sonorous voice, and at the same time, Honghuo regained his awareness.

***

“I think that’s enough now.” Matriarch Radiant Jade spoke when she couldn’t bring herself to watch what was happening any longer. “I’m sure they understand what you’re saying.”

It had been an uncomfortable amount of time since the women had been subdued and as they tried to resist, their bindings only became tighter.

Even after she spoke, the situation didn’t change. The masked one stood perfectly still. It was as if he couldn’t hear a word she was saying.

One of the more strong-willed women, Biyu, a good friend of Matriarch Radiant Jade, tried her best to stand, but she couldn't even do so much as to lift a finger. Even when she had been shackled, she still had some amount of agency. But right now, she couldn’t even give voice to her indignation. It was enough to bring her to tears.

“Shao Hei! Stop this!” When Matriarch Radiant Jade saw this, she couldn’t help but shout. “You’ve already demonstrated your power!”

Unfortunately, no matter how much she shouted, none of her screaming and yelling did anything to change the situation.

The other observer, Ming Ju Li, walked passed the women who were being forced to kowtow and stood in front of the masked one. She stared into the black holes where his eyes were meant to be.

“Is this the change you were talking about?”

“Hm?” Hei’s train of thought was broken by Ju Li’s’ sudden question. When he saw the droplets of water below some of the women’s faces, he was taken aback. He quickly undid Territory, the technique he had used to control them.

“I got lost in thought. My apologies.”

Unfortunately for him, his words alone weren’t enough to erase what had just happened. All of the women had moved behind Matriarch Radiant Jade.

“Damn those two. They allowed an intruder to get here? I’ll make sure they pay for this.” A new person entered the scene and, standing on the other side of the cell, he pointed at Hei. “You there, I’m afraid you’ll have to come with me.”

Seeing this person, Ju Li sighed internally. “This is why you should have let me go. Look what happened.”

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about?”

“Mm.”

“The words of a madman. You think that because you scared away two transcendent realm disciples, you can walk around sideways here? You’ll soon learn what a fool you are.”

Hei ignored his words and turned to the women standing behind Matriarch Radiant Jade.

“I chided you for not understanding the truth of this world. But I had yet to fully realise the implications myself.”

He started walking towards the elder, taking slow and steady steps.

“The weak must prostrate themselves before the strong. That is the truth.”

“So you do understand your situation.”

“…” Hei continued walking, ignoring the elder’s interruption. “Much of this world’s suffering comes from the strong imposing their will on the weak. This is a problem.” He took a step forward. “Some would think then, that the solution lies in giving power to the weak.” He took another step. “I do not believe it to be so.”

“Hurry it up. I don’t have all day to listen to your blathering.”

“Meaningful peace can only be achieved through the strong imposing their will on the weak. That is what I believe.” He stepped out of the cell and turned to face the elder. “There is only one place I know of where there is true peace. God’s domain. The Kingdom of Heaven.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be sending you to the Heavens very soon.” The elder dashed forward, executing a sword technique with the intent of chopping Hei’s head off.

“You are unworthy.”

In one moment, the elder had his sword held high. In the next, his sword had completed its path, but there was no spray of blood. There was no decapitated head falling to the floor. All there was, was unspeakable pain. Pain that should have been experienced by the other person.

Even as his world faded to black, the elder still didn’t know what had happened.

Hei clenched the spirit roots in his hand which rapidly reduced to soul essence. He then pulled his hand from the elder’s back and let his body fall before walking back into the cell and addressing the women once more.

“The Kingdom of Heaven. That is what I will create in this world.”