Chapter 82 – The Culling Begins

"Loyalty is a mask that even demons wear. But when the culling begins, all masks fall."

Chaos Sect – Return from the Temple

A streak of silver light cut through the morning sky as a spatial gate tore open above the Sky Flame Platform, where sect disciples often trained under open skies.

Out of the dimensional tear emerged six figures—burned, bloodied, and glowing with the residue of ancient power.

Zero stepped first, robes torn at the edges but his expression unreadable. Behind him came Asha, her Ice Phoenix aura flickering faintly as she stumbled, caught immediately by Arya.

Kala, Yi Feng, and Liora landed in a crouch, their qi still swirling violently, weapons drawn from instinct.

A chorus of gasps echoed from the nearby disciples.

"The Temple of Falling Stars… it's real!"

"Is that Asha? She's—injured?"

"I see Zero! They're all alive!"

System Alert:

Realm Time Passed: 5 Days (Inside Temple)

Outer Time Passed: 5 Hours

Total Tear of the Stars Recovered: 1/12

Chaos Sect Integrity: 92% and dropping

Zero glanced at the message in the Chaos Ring but remained focused. He turned to Arya. "Seal the Sky Flame Platform. No news goes out."

Arya nodded and activated a containment formation.

Within seconds, a jade dome shimmered around them.

"We need to speak to the elders," Liora said. "Immediately. The culling has already started elsewhere."

Outer Sect – Strange Disappearances

While the heroes returned from the Temple, chaos had begun to seep into the Outer Sect, where lower-level disciples, instructors, and staff moved in routine.

Only—routine was vanishing.

Ten disciples failed to report to their spiritual meditation halls. Three low-ranked instructors never returned from supply missions. A senior cook poisoned an entire inner dining hall before disappearing in a mist of black qi.

All incidents were hushed.

But fear simmered.

At the Northern Cliff Dormitories, a young disciple named Tej Ren, who once admired Zero, heard whispers in the night—his roommates murmuring to themselves in an unknown language.

He followed one of them—Juno—into the woods behind the array halls.

There, hidden by a broken shrine, Juno knelt before a dark statue.

Tej stepped back… snapped a twig.

Juno turned—and his eyes glowed red.

Elder Pavilion – False Peace

Back in the Elder Pavilion, the twelve elders had gathered, having been summoned by Zero's personal jade token—a call that overruled even the Grand Decree.

Elder Su Yin, now one of Zero's staunchest allies, opened the meeting.

"We've confirmed Zero's return. The first Tear has been recovered."

Elder Qin Dae nodded. "And the price?"

Asha stepped forward. "We faced a Revenant—part void, part sovereign soul. If even one more of those awakens, entire sects will fall."

Arya stepped beside her. "The Temple also confirmed the Doomheart Protocol. There are sleeper agents. Already activated."

That sent murmurs through the room.

Then Zero raised a single hand. The chamber fell silent.

"I am invoking Chaosfire Protocol: Phase Two," he said. "From this moment, all sect members, regardless of rank, will undergo soul screening."

"Even elders?" someone whispered.

"Yes," Zero said. "Starting with this room."

A pause.

Elder Xu Chang sneered. "You dare question your elders—"

Suddenly, Zero moved. In one step, he was before Xu Chang, pressing two fingers to his forehead.

A scream echoed through the chamber as black mist poured from the elder's skull.

The illusion shattered.

Xu Chang's body twisted—flesh melting into a demon-faced husk. He had been compromised… for years.

Zero didn't wait.

He unsheathed Shadowpiercer and in a single strike cleaved the corrupted elder in two.

The room descended into stunned silence.

System Update:

Chaosfire Protocol: Culling Detected – 1 Elder Eliminated

Remaining Agents Estimated: 47 (within Sect Grounds)

Meanwhile – Juno's Transformation

At the hidden shrine, Juno—once a quiet, unremarkable disciple—finished the ritual before the obsidian statue.

His body trembled as the Mark of Nihilor burned into his chest.

He began laughing.

Tej Ren, hidden behind a tree, watched in horror.

Then he tripped.

Juno's head turned slowly. "You've seen too much."

But before he could attack, a bolt of golden lightning crashed from the sky.

Yi Feng landed beside Tej.

His sword burned with thunderfire.

"Step away from the boy."

Juno screeched—and transformed fully into a Voidling, body shifting into a long-limbed humanoid with cracked horns and an ever-widening mouth.

The Battle for the Outer Sect

All across the Chaos Sect's outer grounds, sleeper agents activated.

Guards turned on their comrades. A training master in the blade hall detonated a soul bomb that killed eight disciples. A group of black-cloaked figures attempted to breach the Spiritual Vault, only to be caught by defensive arrays.

Zero, Arya, and Liora moved like lightning through the sect, each leading strike teams to purge the hidden corruption.

Arya led the Runecloak Operatives, her arrays locking down entire buildings.

Liora invoked celestial flames, burning corrupted souls before they could fully awaken.

Zero personally hunted higher-ranked traitors—elders and instructors with hidden abyssal contracts.

At one point, Zero stood over a senior instructor with a blade through his chest.

The man gasped, "You can't stop it. The roots are everywhere."

Zero's eyes were cold. "Then I'll burn the forest."

Tej Ren's Decision

Back in the woods, the battle between Yi Feng and the transformed Juno was vicious. Wind blades clashed with void tendrils, and the air distorted from the force of their strikes.

Tej watched helplessly.

Then, in a moment of reckless courage, he threw himself between Yi Feng and a surprise attack—activating a spiritual talisman Zero had once gifted to young disciples.

A protective bubble formed just in time.

Yi Feng's blade struck true, ending Juno's twisted existence.

Later, Zero met with Tej personally.

"You protected your own at great risk," he said. "You want to serve the Sect truly?"

Tej knelt. "Yes, Sect Master."

"Then train harder. You'll join the Shadow Wing Division in one year. Survive… and you'll lead them."

Tej bowed until his forehead touched the stone.

Chaos Sect Casualty Report

By nightfall, the purge had slowed.

Total sleeper agents purged: 44 Disciples lost: 129 Instructors lost: 12 Elders exposed: 3 Spiritual Vault breach attempts: 1 (failed)

Zero stood in the Heart Chamber, reading the report. His jaw was tight.

"The Ashen Crown didn't aim to kill the sect," Arya said beside him. "They wanted us to turn against ourselves."

"They underestimated how fast we adapt," Liora added.

Asha walked in then, fully healed. "We're ready for the next."

Zero turned.

Chaos Ring Active Quest Update:

Next Location: Emberdeep Underworld – Realm of Broken Flames

Challenge: Trial of Fire Memories

Estimated Time Required: 14 days realm time

Required Party Level: Sovereign Initiate or Higher

"We move tomorrow," he said.

Final Scene – The War Council

That night, in the highest tower of the sect, Zero convened his personal War Council.

Arya: Intelligence and Infiltration Commander Asha: Vanguard Elite Leader Yi Feng: Thunderblade Division Captain Kala: Beast Command Liora: Arcane Specialist Elder Su Yin: Council Liaison Tej Ren (observer trainee)

Zero stood before a large projection of the Nine Realms.

"Twelve Tears of the Stars. One recovered. Eleven remain."

He pointed to the Emberdeep region.

"Next, we face flame. But the Ashen Crown… will not wait."

Arya pointed to the Chaos Sect symbol.

"They will strike us again."

Asha's halberd shimmered with frost. "Let them. This time, we're ready."

Zero looked out the window.

The stars above flickered, as if remembering something lost.

And far below, hidden in the shadows of reality, Nihilor stirred.