On the deep, desolate street, a streetlamp cast a cold white halo.

Zuo Tian stood atop it, wreathed in white flames. His eyes slightly open, he gazed down coldly at the golden-haired youth.

“Child, when do we strike?”

“Wait until he enters the house.”

“Why?”

A faint smirk tugged at Zuo Tian’s lips. “It’s cold outside.”

He felt benevolent. Gentle. The emotions long suppressed now surged forth.

Not the end yet—

When my sword pierces his flesh, when every motion dictates his life and death…

So beautiful.

Like… a god.

Indifference and languor vanished from Zuo Tian’s face, replaced by a sharp, sudden smirk. Pale teeth bared, crimson gums exposed—he looked like a salivating beast, gaze sharp as a blade.

He watched Luo Qingchuan step into the courtyard. Watched him push the door open.

Zuo Tian’s smile twisted uncontrollably, his handsome features edged with madness. “The time has come!”

Endurance. Patience. Now—the blade reveals its edge!

Since the Spiritual Qi Revival, this was Zuo Tian’s first true taste of transcendent power.

The white flames flickered. From his fingertips, a cold gleam leaped into the night—

An ancient sword!

Zuo Tian closed his eyes with a smile, extending his spiritual sense.

Moonlight rippled across the flying sword like a fish slipping into the sea.

In a blink, it tore through darkness, sliced the evening breeze, flashed across the courtyard—

Unimpeded, graceful, vanishing like lightning into the foyer, aimed at Luo Qingchuan walking toward the living room.

The golden-haired youth stood utterly unguarded.

The sword tip neared his body.

Moonlight glimmered.

A shadow emerged.

Slender, jet-black fingers reached from the void and gently seized the blade.

So it has come…

Luo Qingchuan turned calmly, eyes falling on the trembling ancient sword gripped by “Evil Deeds Come Easy.”

Zuo Tian shuddered. Eyes squeezed shut, brows locked tight, teeth gritted. “Ancestor—there’s a second person!”

“A second person?!”

“Another presence—suddenly appeared… Foundation Establishment Realm! Wait… I can’t sense it anymore!”

Where was the sword?

What was it doing?

It rested in two hands.

“Evil Deeds Come Easy” knelt on one knee, both hands holding the blade’s ends, presenting it to Luo Qingchuan.

“Calamity Blade.”

Luo Qingchuan raised the blade in his right hand, deep eyes fixed upon it.

“Zuo Tian. You’re early.”

His arm fell. Steel cleaved downward.

Crack—

The ancient sword snapped. Two pieces clattered to the floor.

Luo Qingchuan curled a finger, pointing at one fragment.

His eyes dark as ink.

“Calamity Blade.”

A soft sigh.

The broken shard shot forth with a *whoosh*.

Thud…

Zuo Tian tumbled from the lamp, blood seeping from his lip, mind reeling. “Ancestor! My refined flying sword is destroyed! Someone of Foundation Establishment Realm is protecting Luo Qingchuan—in that house!”

Jaw clenched, eyes wide with disbelief. “Why?”

The Ancestor’s voice boomed: “Child—it’s coming! Run!”

Coming? What?

Zuo Tian pushed himself up.

From the villa wall, from the deepening gloom, the broken shard shot toward him—faster than before!

So fast!

In a blink!

Zuo Tian bent low. The shard grazed his brow; strands of hair drifted down.

“Damn it!”

He couldn’t fight a Foundation Establishment expert here. Not after the bar battle. Not with the Golden Tower and his techniques at risk. Exposure meant becoming a target.

Possessing a treasure invites danger.

Staggering upright, Zuo Tian fled down the street into the night.

He glanced back.

The sword hummed.

The shard pursued like a summoned curse, like a monster glimpsed in jungle shadows.

Zuo Tian kicked off the ground, leaping sideways. His uniform billowed as he dodged.

The shard curved like a fish, striking again.

Face pale, a cold smirk forced onto blood-streaked lips. “Fine. I’ve angered you.”

Escape would cost him.

He flung a new, unrefined flying sword forward.

“No mercy,” he murmured. “Detonate.”

Boom—

The sword shattered, erupting in a wave of Spiritual Qi that stalled the shard.

Time bought.

Zuo Tian slapped an ancient yellow talisman to his chest. Spiritual Qi flared. His figure rose gracefully into the night.

“Cloud Soaring.”

Qi Refining Ninth Layer couldn’t break nature’s chains—but within the Golden Tower’s first layer lay countless divine pills, talismans, techniques, artifacts. Even limited, they were terrifying.

He shot skyward. City lights glittered below.

The shard followed… then, at one kilometer, vanished—spiritual sense exhausted.

In the thin, frost-cold air, Zuo Tian breathed raggedly, face pale, heart pounding.

“Not ordinary technique… that Foundation Establishment expert is extraordinary. Luo Qingchuan is lucky.”

He gazed down at the glowing city.

“Child…” the Ancestor’s voice softened. “Let me take your body. I’ll go—”

“No.” Zuo Tian’s voice was firm. “It would consume your remnant soul. I’ll find another chance. Too mysterious. Too risky.”

He descended, landing on a rooftop. Cross-legged, he replenished Qi, mended wounds.

Eyes opened. A violent shudder seized him in the wind. Teeth gritted. “Why can’t I reach Foundation Establishment?! That was *my* path! The future I *saw*!”

Su Yingsnow’s sword intent—

Just thinking of that strike twisting yin and yang, the horrors within “Truthseer” haunting him—he spat blood again.

“Time to go back…”

A sharp pain pierced his crown. Rising, his gaze pierced the endless dark, locking once more on the youth’s location.

“What makes you so special?”

Why would a Foundation Establishment cultivator hide in Luo Qingchuan’s home? Family?

Could it be… Su Yingsnow reached Foundation Establishment?

Zuo Tian’s face drained white. Fists clenched in despair and defiance.

“Who *are* you?! A Foundation Establishment expert can’t be unknown!”

He dashed off, leaped from the rooftop, and plunged into darkness like an eagle.

... ... ...

“Where’d it go?”

“Evil Deeds Come Easy” had vanished.

Luo Qingchuan sat in the foyer. The broken shard circled his fingertips.

“Calamity Blade” was the art of commanding flying swords.

He shook his head, stood. The two fragments followed him into the bathroom.

Facing the toilet, he summoned the ominous flames of “Calamity Shadow” and melted the shards.

A chill of crisis stirred within him.

*I must grow stronger.*

Buzz…

After erasing all traces, Luo Qingchuan returned to the living room. His phone glowed on the table.

[Su Yingsnow: Sorry, I failed. [Sticking out tongue]]

[Su Yingsnow: I’ve left home.]

[Su Yingsnow: I want to see you.]

...

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