Chapter 12

Hebei Province, Yehun Temple, March 20, 2030 — 9:35 AM

Tiang slowly opened his eyes. His gaze, still hazy from sleep, fell upon Meilin. She was there, peaceful, bathed in the golden morning rays of the sun. The soft glow caressed her skin with a celestial gentleness, and for a moment, Tiang thought he was seeing an angel fallen from the heavens. His breath caught.

Dressed in elegant clothing, radiating a natural grace that commanded respect, Meilin exuded a fatal, hypnotic beauty. A woman who, with a single glance, could make any man melt.

Tiang, almost spellbound, raised a trembling hand and brushed against Meilin's cheek. His fingers then slid through her long silver hair, as soft as silk.

— Hmm…?

A soft murmur escaped Meilin's lips. She shifted slightly, stirring awake under his touch.

Flushing red with shame, Tiang jumped back, flailing his arms as if he had just touched sacred fire.

— M-Meilin…! G-Get dressed and move away! You… You were too close!

He stammered, pointing an accusatory finger at her, his face burning.

Meilin finally opened her eyes. Two glowing crimson irises, burning with a mystical radiance, instantly locked onto Tiang's. For a brief moment, it was as if the world around them had frozen.

Suddenly, the door swung open with a bang. Two figures burst into the room, breaking into laughter at the sight before them.

— So, how are our lovebirds doing?

— You at least remembered to use protection, right?

Tiang's eyes widened in horror, while Meilin, furious, slammed her fist into him.

— Lovers?!

She snapped coldly, trying to mask her emotions under an icy facade.

— WHAT DID I DO THIS TIME?!

Tiang cried out, blood streaming from his nose.

One of the girls, Yin Na, sighed at the sight and stepped forward to apply a bandage to his wound.

— Meilin… You could be a little less rough. That's not how you charm a man, you know?

The second girl, Lijing, chimed in with a teasing smile.

She grabbed Meilin by the arm and pulled her into a corner of the room, whispering something into her ear. Tiang, still dazed, watched the scene with suspicion.

— What is Lijing telling her now…?

He muttered, rubbing his forehead.

Yin Na, finishing up his treatment, gave him an amused smile.

— Tiang… You should learn to talk to Meilin better. And maybe pay her a little more attention.

— Huh?! What do you mean? Don't tell me you're joining in on this too, Yin Na!

Tiang exclaimed, exasperated.

He let out a long sigh before looking up at the ceiling.

— I swear… Meilin is just a friend, okay?

Yin Na raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

— A friend, really? Yet, we clearly saw you staring at her earlier…

Tiang opened his mouth to protest, but the deep crimson of his face had already betrayed him.

— I'm telling you, it's not what you think!

He shouted, but his frustration only provoked another round of laughter.

Suddenly, Meilin approached him. Her intense gaze met his.

Tiang, panicked, scrambled backward on all fours as if he were facing a predator.

— Y-You idiot… What are you…?

To his great surprise, Meilin leaned in and embraced him gently.

A heavy silence filled the room.

Tiang, at first frozen, felt Meilin's warmth against him, and a slight smile formed on his lips.

— You're one too…

Meilin murmured softly.

Finally, he wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace with unexpected tenderness.

— Get out of here, seriously…

He muttered, flustered.

Suddenly, the door exploded with a deafening crash.

A Buddhist monk, covered in dust and blood, collapsed in the entrance. His ragged breaths choked in his throat, his arm hung limply by his side, partially torn off. His eyes, wide with terror, desperately sought help he knew would never come.

— It's an emergency…! Zhao Xunjin… has broken his seal! He—

He never finished his sentence.

The wall behind him imploded.

In a chaos of debris and dust, an invisible force ravaged the room. The ground shook violently, the entire temple trembled under the shockwave.

Tiang was hurled away by the impact. His body lifted into the air before being thrown out of the building like a ragdoll. He tumbled across the ground, each impact tearing pained groans from his throat.

His head buzzing, his vision blurred by the blood trickling down his forehead, he struggled to get up.

And that's when he saw it.

Meilin, standing motionless at the temple's shattered entrance, her wooden sword raised. Her frail figure seemed minuscule against the massive shadow outlined in the morning light.

The wind lifted her silver hair, making red petals swirl around her—like a grim omen.

— Who are you?! How dare you desecrate this sacred place?!

Her voice, though filled with defiance, carried a faint tremor. She knew it. The enemy before her was not human.

From the gaping hole in the wall, Zhao Xunjin stepped forward at a slow, deliberate pace.

His hellish eyes swept across the scene with absolute disdain. He inhaled deeply, as if savoring the air thick with dust and blood, then curled his lips into an icy smile.

— Sacred? If that were true… we would have already been reduced to ashes.

He tilted his head slightly.

The dragon warrior leaped.

There was no battle stance, no elaborate movement. Just a single strike. A simple swing of his staff.

The air itself ripped apart under the force of the attack.

Meilin attempted to block the blow, but the moment their weapons clashed, she felt an inhuman power shatter her bones.

The impact was indescribably brutal. The entire mountain groaned. A wave of destruction swept through the surrounding forest, snapping trees like twigs. Meilin was sent soaring into the air, her body tossed about like a leaf in the storm of Qi.

In a fleeting moment of clarity, she tried to move to soften her landing.

Too late.

The dragon warrior had already leaped.

His staff extended instantly, piercing the clouds like a divine spear. A dazzling light enveloped it… then he struck.

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky.

Heavenly thunder engulfed the weapon and crashed down upon Meilin with a deafening roar.

The impact slammed her into the mountain. A massive crater formed beneath her body, hurling a storm of rock and earth in every direction.

A deadly silence fell.

Then, a calm, scornful voice.

— Weak…

Zhao Xunjin slowly descended from the sky, floating like a cursed specter. He stepped onto the smoking rubble where Meilin lay, unmoving.

With a nonchalant motion, he crouched and seized her head, lifting her battered face.

— So, you don't even know martial arts? The power of the demon queen… is worthless, after all.

Tiang, his mind a whirlwind of fear and fury, struggled to rise.

— Let her go!!

He charged straight at Zhao Xunjin.

A scarlet glow flickered in the cultivator's eyes.

Without moving a muscle, he immobilized Tiang with a mere glance.

The young man's legs froze instantly. His arms refused to obey. A crushing weight fell upon his body, as if a mountain had just crashed onto his shoulders.

With a sickening crack, his knees slammed into the ground.

He tried to scream, to struggle, to resist.

In vain.

Zhao Xunjin slowly approached, savoring his helplessness.

— You… Are you the Celestial Sovereign?

His smile widened.

— Perfect.

He raised his hand. A spirit sword materialized in his palm, its blade pulsating with a bloody glow.