Chapter One
961 Words
The bell of Qingyun Peak rang nine times.
Its solemn chimes rolled through the mountains like waves, scattering flocks of white cranes into the crimson dawn. Every disciple stopped what they were doing. Every elder turned toward the summit.
Nine bells.
The highest honor.
The sound reserved only for those destined to ascend into immortality.
Today belonged to Bai Lingxi.
The youngest genius in the history of the Azure Cloud Sect.
At only nineteen years of age, she had reached the Nascent Soul Realm, a feat many cultivators spent centuries chasing.
She was the pride of the sect.
The hope of the righteous path.
The child whom Heaven itself seemed to favor.
“Senior Sister Bai!”
A young disciple hurried up the stone steps, nearly tripping over his robes.
“They’re waiting for you!”
Lingxi smiled.
It was a smile as gentle as spring rain.
“I know.”
She lifted the hem of her pale green robes and climbed the final staircase leading toward the Ascension Platform.
Cherry blossoms drifted through the air, carried by a warm breeze.
Below, thousands of disciples stood in perfect rows.
The elders smiled proudly.
Even the usually stern Sect Master allowed himself a rare look of satisfaction.
“You have brought great honor to Qingyun Peak,” he said.
Lingxi lowered her head respectfully.
“This disciple merely followed Master’s teachings.”
Soft laughter echoed among the elders.
“Humble until the very end.”
“As expected.”
“The heavens have chosen well.”
A servant stepped forward carrying a jade tray.
Upon it rested a crystal as clear as still water.
The Heavenly Spirit Crystal.
The final examination.
Every cultivator who wished to ascend had to place a hand upon it.
The crystal would resonate with Heaven and acknowledge their spiritual foundation.
The brighter it shone…
The brighter their future.
The square fell silent.
Thousands held their breath.
Lingxi stepped forward.
Her fingertips brushed the crystal.
For a heartbeat…
Nothing happened.
The elders frowned.
Then—
Crack.
A tiny fracture appeared inside the crystal.
Another followed.
Then another.
Before anyone could react—
BOOM!
The Heavenly Spirit Crystal exploded into countless fragments.
An invisible wave swept across the platform.
Lingxi gasped.
A pain unlike anything she had ever known erupted from the center of her chest.
It felt as though countless invisible hands had reached inside her body…
…and ripped something away.
She collapsed onto her knees.
Blood spilled from the corner of her lips.
“Senior Sister!”
“No!”
Several disciples rushed toward her.
She tried to circulate her spiritual energy.
Nothing.
Her golden core…
Her flowing spiritual veins…
The endless river of qi she had cultivated since childhood…
Silence.
Empty.
Gone.
“No…”
She pressed trembling fingers against her dantian [A RESERVOIR FOR QI]
“No…”
Again.
Nothing.
Her breathing became uneven.
“Impossible…”
An elder hurried forward, placing two fingers on her wrist.
His expression froze.
He checked again.
His face turned pale.
“No…”
Another elder examined her.
Then another.
None spoke.
The silence became terrifying.
Finally…
The Sect Master’s voice broke it.
“…Her spiritual core has collapsed.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“It can’t be…”
“Impossible…”
“How could someone’s cultivation simply disappear?”
A disciple whispered the words everyone feared.
“She’s…”
“…crippled.”
The word struck harder than any sword.
Lingxi stared blankly at her shaking hands.
Only yesterday…
She could split mountains.
Today…
She could barely feel a trace of qi.
Tears blurred her vision.
“No…”
“This must be a mistake…”
“I cultivated every day…”
“I never broke the sect rules…”
“I never harmed anyone…”
“So why…”
Her voice cracked.
“…why?”
No one answered.
The heavens remained silent.
The warm breeze that had carried cherry blossoms moments ago suddenly turned cold.
One by one…
The smiles around her disappeared.
The admiration…
The pride…
The warmth…
Vanished.
Some disciples lowered their heads.
Others quietly stepped away.
A few looked at her with pity.
The pity hurt the most.
From the crowd, a familiar figure emerged.
Su Jian.
Her childhood friend.
Her fiancé.
The man who had promised beneath the ancient plum tree that he would cultivate beside her forever.
Hope flickered inside her chest.
He would understand.
He would stay.
He walked toward her.
Stopped.
Removed the jade pendant hanging from his waist.
The engagement token.
Without meeting her eyes, he placed it gently on the broken platform.
“Lingxi…”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“I am… sorry.”
Her heart stopped.
“You once stood where I could never reach.”
He closed his eyes.
“But our paths are no longer the same.”
He turned around.
And walked away.
Without looking back.
The pendant lay between them like the final breath of a dying promise.
Lingxi reached toward it.
Her fingers trembled…
…but could not close.
The tears she had fought to hold back finally fell.
Not because she had lost her cultivation.
Not because Heaven had abandoned her.
But because, in a single morning…
She had lost everything.
Above the mountain, dark clouds quietly gathered.
Far beyond the mortal world…
Within the highest palace of jade and clouds…
A man dressed in silver armor slowly opened his eyes.
For the first time in ten thousand years…
The cold-hearted Imperial Jade God of War looked toward the mortal realm.
His usually emotionless gaze lingered on a single point.
His lips barely moved.
“…She has awakened.”
Far away, unseen by any mortal…
A faint crimson thread shimmered once…
…before disappearing into the endless sky.
- Writer
