Chapter 93: The Betrayer’s Return

The wind carried the scent of charred stone and blood as Li Feng forced himself upright. His body was still weak, but his resolve had not wavered. Mei Lian stood beside him, her gaze fixed on the group of figures emerging from the mist. Yan Shun had a hand on his sword, tense and ready for a fight.

A lone masked figure stepped forward. The remnants of Shen Longwei's forces had scattered, leaving behind only a few stragglers who either surrendered or perished. But this—this was something different.

The masked one's voice was calm, but there was a gravity in it that sent a chill through Li Feng's spine. "So, you're the one who defied fate."

Li Feng straightened, his hands balling into fists despite his exhaustion. "Who are you?"

The figure chuckled, the sound distant, as though it belonged to someone remembering an old joke. "It is not who I am that matters, but what you have done. The celestial alignment was not the end—it was merely the beginning."

Mei Lian took a step forward, her voice sharp. "We've had enough riddles. If you mean to fight, then say so."

Yan Shun's fingers twitched near his hilt, but the masked figure held up a hand. "No, I do not mean to fight. Not yet."

The warriors behind him, clad in dark, unfamiliar robes, remained still. Their presence was unnerving, disciplined, as though they had been waiting for this moment for years.

Li Feng's chest tightened. He had seen many warlords, many powerful cultivators seeking dominion over the world, but something about this presence was different. There was no hunger in this man's stance, no arrogance in his words.

A low gust of wind swept through the ruins.

"You feel it, don't you?" The masked figure tilted his head. "That empty void where the Coiled Dragon's power once lived. The severed bond. The hollowness inside you."

Li Feng clenched his teeth. He had felt the difference the moment he returned from the Abyss. He was still himself, still standing, but something was missing—something vital.

"And you believe you have the answers?" he asked.

The figure nodded. "I do. And I assure you, Shen Longwei was nothing more than a man playing at being a god. He was always doomed to fail."

Yan Shun scoffed. "Easy words to say after he's dead."

"But not wrong," Mei Lian added, narrowing her eyes at the stranger.

Li Feng exhaled slowly. "Then tell me what you know."

The figure reached up, fingers resting lightly on the edge of the mask. "I will. But first, you should know the truth about your clan. About what they truly were."

He pulled the mask away.

Li Feng's breath caught in his throat.

The man standing before him was not a stranger.

It was someone he had been told was long dead.

Mei Lian let out a soft gasp. Yan Shun, for once, was speechless.

"You..." Li Feng whispered, his voice barely audible.

The man smiled, weary and knowing. "It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

Li Feng felt something crack inside him—not physically, but something deeper. Something tied to his past, to his bloodline.

Because the man before him was of the Azure Dragon Clan.

A survivor of the purge.

And now, he had returned.

The figure from the Azure Dragon Clan steps forward, his expression unreadable. "There is more to your clan's history than you were ever told. And it's time you learned what your ancestors truly did."