015 : The World Trembles.

The halls of Heaven's Gate Sect were filled with tension.

It had been three days since Elder Ji Wuye had left to eliminate Lin Tian. The sect elders had been confident in his success. Ji Wuye was a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, one of their strongest. No mere Golden Core cultivator should have been able to stand against him.

Yet now, Ji Wuye had returned.

But not as a victor.

The great doors of the sect's main hall swung open violently. Ji Wuye stumbled inside, his once-grand robes torn, his face pale, his aura weak and unstable.

The elders rose to their feet in shock.

"Ji Wuye…?!"

"What happened to you?"

Ji Wuye's breath was ragged. His body still bore the scars of battle. The energy within him was disordered, half of his qi was missing.

He looked up, his eyes filled with something none of them had ever seen before.

Fear.

Ji Wuye dropped to his knees.

"Lin Tian…" His voice was hoarse, trembling. "He is… a monster."

The elders froze.

The sect master's face darkened. "Explain."

Ji Wuye swallowed, his hands clenching into fists. He had faced countless life-or-death battles before. He had fought against powerful beasts, challenged ancient cultivators, survived deadly tribulations.

But nothing—nothing—had ever made him feel as powerless as that fight against Lin Tian.

"He took half my qi," Ji Wuye admitted. "And he still… toyed with me." His hands trembled slightly. "I hit him with my strongest attack. He didn't even flinch."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

This was impossible.

A Golden Core cultivator had overpowered a Nascent Soul elder?

This wasn't just a rising genius. This was… something unnatural.

The sect master's gaze hardened. "Are you saying he is beyond our control?"

Ji Wuye's throat was dry. He forced himself to speak.

"If we do not stop him now…" He exhaled shakily.

"He will become something the world cannot stop."

The sect master rose from his throne, his expression grim.

"This cannot be ignored."

He turned to the gathered elders. "Send word to the Celestial Dao Palace, the Storm Valley Sect, and the Nine Heavens Pavilion. If we do not eliminate Lin Tian now, he will become a calamity upon the world."

The elders nodded in agreement.

But deep in their hearts, a chilling realization had settled.

This was no longer just about killing a rogue cultivator.

They were about to start a war.

A war against one man.

And none of them were sure if they would win.

Meanwhile, far from the sects, Lin Tian sat in meditation.

The battle against Ji Wuye had been enlightening.

For the first time, he had faced a limit. He had absorbed half of Ji Wuye's qi, but not all of it.

That meant there were cultivators stronger than him—beings whose qi was so dense and refined that he couldn't take everything in a single instant.

This excited him.

"I am not at the peak yet."

He wanted more.

Stronger enemies. Greater battles.

His eyes slowly opened, golden light flickering in their depths.

He turned his gaze eastward.

Beyond the forests, beyond the mountains, beyond the ruins of the world he had left behind—there lay the Ancient Forbidden Lands.

A place untouched by the sects. A place where even the greatest cultivators feared to tread.

That was his destination.

Lin Tian rose to his feet.

He had no interest in hiding. If the sects were coming for him, then let them come.

But by the time they reached him, he would be far beyond their reach.

And when he returned…

The world would bow.

But as Lin Tian prepared to leave, a new danger approached.

High above, concealed in the shadows of the night, a group of silent figures watched him.

They wore dark robes, their movements blending seamlessly with the wind. Their weapons were laced with deadly poisons, their techniques designed for one purpose—absolute assassination.

The Nightshade Pavilion had sent their best.

Lin Tian was no longer just a rogue cultivator.

He was a bounty.

A target that all of the great powers wanted dead.

The leader of the assassins, a woman with cold, silver eyes, observed Lin Tian from a distance.

"This is the one they fear?" she murmured.

Her lips curled into a faint smirk.

"Let's see if he's worth the price on his head."

With a silent motion, the assassins descended.

Lin Tian walked through the dense forest, his pace unhurried.

The night was calm, the wind cool against his skin. But beneath the surface, he felt it.

Something was coming.

He did not stop walking.

But his golden eyes flickered.

And then—

The shadows moved.

From the trees, from the ground, from the air itself—they attacked.

Silent figures rushed toward him from all directions, their blades gleaming under the moonlight, their strikes aimed at his heart, his throat, his dantian.

Each attack was precise, perfect, deadly.

But Lin Tian?

He smiled.

And then—he disappeared.

The assassins blinked.

He was gone.

Before they could react—

SRAK!

A single assassin collapsed, his body drained of all qi before he even realized what had happened.

The others barely had time to register their fallen comrade before—

SRAK! SRAK! SRAK!

Three more fell in an instant, their energy stripped away as Lin Tian moved through them like a specter of death.

The leader of the assassins, her silver eyes widening, took a step back.

She had faced countless cultivators before. She had killed geniuses, taken down powerful sect leaders.

But this—this was something else.

Lin Tian reappeared in front of her.

She gasped, instinctively slashing out with her blade—

Only for Lin Tian to catch it between his fingers.

"Nice try."

She barely had time to breathe before her qi began to drain.

Her legs trembled. Her vision blurred.

She tried to move, but her body refused.

Lin Tian tilted his head slightly.

"You should've stayed in the shadows."

The last thing she saw was his golden eyes, filled with amusement and hunger.

And then—darkness.

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