Elder Ling Qiu stood trembling, his boots sliding slightly on the smooth stone floor as he backed away from the woman in green. Shen Xi stood before him like an immovable celestial peak, her expression as calm as a frozen lake, yet her very presence felt like a blade pressed against his throat.
Ling Qiu's state was pitiful. His once-proud ceremonial robes were reduced to tattered rags, scorched and torn by the intensity of the battle. His hair, usually bound in a dignified topknot, was now a dishevelled mess that clung to his sweat-slicked forehead.
His face was darkened by soot and the shadow of looming defeat. He and the other elders had fought with everything they possessed, yet they hadn't even managed to gain the upper hand. Now, with one of his brother lying dead in the ruins of their own trap, the weight of their failure pressed down on him like a mountain.
Mu Chen emerged from the shadows of the inner corridor, in his arms, he cradled Nibi, the golden five-tailed cat. The cat looked particularly pleased with herself, her small, sharp paws clutching a pulsating black crystal ball—the very core of the pagoda.
"Let us go," Mu Chen said, he didn't even acknowledge the presence of the gasping Ling Qiu, treating the elder as no more significant than a piece of background scenery.
Shen Xi turned her gaze away from the cowering elder and looked at the crystal in Nibi's paws. A faint, interested light flickered in her eyes. It was indeed a treasure of significant grade, containing a vast reservoir of purified soul essence.
She decided she would only know exactly what its properties were after she had the chance to study it in a quieter environment.
"Mmm," she agreed softly, stepping away from the shivering Ling Qiu.
...
The black mist that had once choked the tower had completely dissipated. Because the cultivators within hadn't inhaled a lethal amount of the soul-devouring vapor, many were beginning to stir. They woke up groggy, clutching their heads and staring blankly at the dark walls, completely unaware that their very lives had been on the auction block just moments prior.
Shen Xi spoke, without turning back, her voice was imbued with a sharp ripple of Soul Power that resonated through the entire structure.
"This place is the Soul Devouring Tower. If you do not want your Soul Power to be completely devoured by this parasitic formation, leave quickly."
The clarity of her voice acted like a splash of cold water. The grogginess vanished from the faces of the cultivators, replaced by expressions of shock and uncertainty. They looked at the runes on the walls, and then at the tattered Ling family guards who were desperately trying to regain control.
"Yeah, let us go," Xiao Li commented, skipping toward the exit with her hands behind her back. "It was fun."
In the beginning, she had had felt a bit of fear, but as the battle progressed, she had found a strange delight in her role.
She had spent the last hour hurling insults and curses at the old Ling elders while Shen Xi did the heavy lifting, watching them rage in impotence while they couldn't even touch a hair on her head.
"You will pay for this!"
Ling Qiu roared, his eyes bloodshot and bulging with a manic rage. He watched as Mu Chen and the others stepped out onto a cloud, drifting lazily into the sky. The sight of their indifference, of the way they walked away with the core of his family's power, made his vision go red.
He cursed loudly, his voice cracking with the strain.
"Damn it! I will make you regret your decision! You will wish you had never stepped foot in this kingdom!"
He roared with his full cultivation, infusing his voice with a surge of Soul Power that was so loud it acted as a physical shockwave. Throughout the Ling Imperial City, every citizen heard the piercing, shrill cry of a man pushed to the brink of insanity.
Mu Chen, who had just flown up a few distance away looked back down at the tower, his eyes reflecting a mild annoyance.
"Noisy," he said.
Ling Qiu, whose chest was still heaving from his screaming fit, was thrown backward like a broken kite in a hurricane. He hadn't even seen the attack coming.
At the same time, the Soul-Devouring Tower—a structure reinforced by centuries of defensive runes—began to groan. It didn't just break; it began to crumble layer by layer, starting from the apex, until nothing remained of it.
"Hehehe, those who do evil deeds are destined to be doomed!" Xiao Li looked at the collapsing ruins and laughed, waving her small fist in the air with a triumphant grin.
The people of the city stood frozen in the streets, staring toward the palace district. The majestic pagoda, a symbol of the Ling family's rule that could be seen from any corner of the city, was no longer there.
In its place was a rising pillar of white dust. They didn't need to guess what had happened; the scream of the elder followed by the collapse of the family's pride spoke for itself.
A collective thought passed through the minds of the citizens: What kind of monsters had the Ling family provoked? Within the ruins, a series of muffled thuds echoed.
...
After several long minutes, a blackened hand clawed its way out from beneath the rubble. Ling Qiu climbed from the ruins of the tower, his movements jerky and pained.
He leaned over and spat out a mouthful of dark blood mixed with several of his own yellowed teeth. He clutched his chest, his breath coming in ragged wheezes; he could feel that most of his ribs were shattered, and his mind was spinning with a dizzying concussion.
His skin was completely charred, blackened like coal by the runic explosions. He looked like a demon that had been spat out of a furnace. But as he stood there, he felt a strange, cold air hitting his scalp. He reached up with a trembling hand to find something.
His fingers met smooth, burnt skin. His hair—
"Damn... bastard..." Ling Qiu tried to curse again, his voice even louder than before, but the result was far from imposing. Because of his missing front teeth, every word was accompanied by a whistling sound of escaping air.
He sounded like a punctured bellows.
At that moment, several younger Ling family members and disciples arrived at the scene of the disaster. They were panting, their swords drawn as they looked for the enemies who had destroyed their landmark.
The disciple in the lead stopped in his tracks, staring at the figure standing in the center of the crater.
He saw a man who was covered in soot, missing his teeth, his face a mask of blackened agony, and most importantly, completely and utterly bald. The figure was waving his arms and whistling curses at the empty sky.
"Hey, idiot!" the disciple shouted, pointing his sword. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in the Ling family's inner sanctum? And did you see the person who did this?"
Ling Qiu stopped his cursing and turned a bloodshot eye toward the youth. He felt his remaining sanity finally snapping. He wiped a layer of soot from his eyes and barked,
"Do I still need to tell you who I am, you blind brat?!"
The moment the disciple saw somewhat elder's clear face, his body began to tremble. The realization hit him like a physical blow. He dropped his sword and bowed so low his forehead hit the rubble, his hands clasped in terror.
"My mistake, Elder! I... I failed to recognize you! Please, spare me!"
His heart was hammering against his ribs. He knew Ling Qiu's temper was legendary, and in this state of humiliation, the elder might very well kill him just to vent his frustration.
But Ling Qiu didn't strike him. He simply turned his gaze back to the ruins of the Soul-Devouring Tower. The tower wasn't just a building; it was the very foundation of the Ling family's development and their dominance over the kingdom.
Not only had their plan to harvest the soul power of a thousand travellers been ruined, but their ultimate treasure had been stolen and their legacy levelled to the ground. From this moment on, the Ling family was practically doomed to a rapid decline.
"...Tell... Ling Xi..." Ling Qiu's voice was weak now, the adrenaline of his rage fading to leave only the cold reality of his injuries. His eyes remained wide with a lingering fury as he stared at the disciple. "Tell him... everything..."
Then, he collapsed silently into the dust. It was unknown whether he had finally succumbed to the severity of his broken bones or if the sheer weight of his anger had made him unconscious.
"Yeah... yes, Elder!" The disciple nodded frantically, his face grim as he gathered the unconscious elder.
Since the Ling family had established themselves as the ruler family of this kingdom, they had never suffered such a catastrophic loss. With the death of one elder, the total humiliation of another, and the destruction of the tower they depended on for survival, the blow was immense.
Only Ling Xi—the proud son of the family and a mid-stage Nascent Soul expert, who had also gone to the ancient site for sect recruitment—could possibly avenge this insult.
He was their last hope to recover the supreme treasure. Otherwise, the Ling family had no future.
Mu Chen and the others had long since left the borders of the Ling Imperial City. They were now deep within the ancient, verdant forest. He and Nibi had collectively decided that they deserve to eat something after doing such hard work.