Chapter 28: Crucible of Ascension( Part 3)

...Zhang Yan was no longer the desperate disciple who had clawed his way through the trials. The Infernal Sanguine Heart Skill had hardened his resolve. The Devouring Nine Shadows had awakened a hunger that could not be quenched.

He clenched his fist, feeling the stolen qi that was now his own, thrumming beneath his skin. Shadows of the fallen whispered to him; a cacophony of pain and power, their fragmented memories etched into his mind. Each one a lesson. Each one a stepping stone on his path to dominance.

As the unit began their march back to the sect, their footsteps were heavy with exhaustion and triumph. Zhang Yan walked among them, but his mind was elsewhere. He thought of the righteous sect woman; the fierce defiance in her eyes, the tremble of her hands.

Monster, she had called him.

Perhaps she was right.

But in this world, monsters thrived. They carved their names into the bones of the weak and ascended on the ashes of their enemies. Zhang Yan would not shy from the title. He would embrace it; wield it like a blade.

The spires of The Nine Hells Demon Sect appeared on the horizon, jagged and foreboding against the dawn sky. His shadow stretched long and dark across the earth. It was no longer just a tool or a weapon. It was a promise; a harbinger of the carnage to come.

The true war was only beginning...

And Zhang Yan would be ready...