Chapter 1: Who Dares Touch My Sister
The ancestral hall of the Ye Family in Qingcheng hummed with tension.
"By the will of our forebears," a black-robed elder's voice cut through the silence. "Ye Xuan is stripped of his status as Family Heir. Ye Lang shall inherit the title."
Beside the elder stood a smirking youth—Ye Lang. Flanking them were the clan's council elders.
"Why?"
A thin voice trembled from the doorway. All eyes snapped to a girl of twelve, her knuckles white against her skirt. Pallid skin stretched over delicate bones, eyes wide with fear yet burning with defiance. Ye Ling, Ye Xuan's sister, had dragged her sickbed body here upon hearing of her brother's disgrace.
The Grand Elder’s brows knotted. "Ye Ling! Know your place!"
She dipped into a shallow bow, voice quivering but clear. "Honored Elders, my brother fights for our family at South Mountain. How can you strip his title without cause?"
"Silence!" The Grand Elder’s roar echoed. "This is clan affairs. Guards!"
Newly-named heir Ye Lang chuckled. "Make it thirty cane strokes. Set an example."
"Thirty strokes it is," the elder confirmed.
Two guards surged forward. One, seizing his chance for favor, smirked at Ye Lang before slapping Ye Ling hard across the face.
Crack!
Her cheek bloomed crimson. She didn’t cry, just cupped the wound with shaking hands.
"You," Ye Lang appraised the guard. "Name?"
"Zhang Mu, my lord heir." The guard bowed deeply.
"Impressive. I need personal guards. You're hired."
Zhang Mu’s eyes lit. "This humble servant would die for you!"
Ye Lang’s gaze turned icy. "Drag her out. No mercy. Understood?"
As Zhang Mu seized Ye Ling’s hair, the air shifted.
Every head turned.
A figure staggered toward the hall—tattered robes soaked in blood, eyes like shattered obsidian. Ye Xuan, returned from the mines.
Seeing Zhang Mu’s grip on his sister, Ye Xuan’s roar split the courtyard. "Whose dog gave you the right?!"
Zhang Mu blanched. Before he could speak, Ye Xuan pounced. A fist slammedinto his nose. Bones crunched. As Zhang Mu crumpled, Ye Lang shouted: "He’s mine! How dare—"
Ye Xuan’s boot caved inZhang Mu’s chest. Blood sprayed.
"Yours?" Ye Xuan bared bloodied teeth at Ye Lang. His next stomp turned Zhang Mu’s face into pulp. "Save me, lord—" the guard gurgled.
Ignoring the death throes, Ye Xuan gathered Ye Ling. Her tear-streaked face pressed into his neck. "Brother... it hurts..."
White-hot rage scalded his veins. He whirled, boot crushingZhang Mu’s skull against stone steps. Brains splattered. Gasps filled the hall.
Ye Xuan locked onto Ye Lang. "Touch my sister? I’ll desecrate your ancestors!" He charged.
"Insolence!" The Grand Elder blurred, intercepting him with a palm strike sharp enough to slice air.
Ye Xuan metit with a punch. Sleeves shredded as fist crashedagainst palm.
Thoom!
Ye Xuan skidded back to the doorway. The Grand Elder stumbled, shock flashing across his face. Murmurs erupted.
A fifth-layer Unceasing cultivator matching a Qi Control master?
The elder’s eyes hardened. This cub has grown fangs.
"You dare attack the heir?" the Grand Elder spat.
"Heir?"
"Ye Lang is heir now! Council’s decree!"
Ye Xuan’s laugh was jagged glass. "I bleed in battle while you stab my back?"
The elder sneered. "Know what he is?" He gestured to Ye Lang. "A Chosen One."
The words dropped like stones. Chosen Ones—favored by heaven, showered with destiny. In all of Jiang Kingdom, fewer than ten existed. Each became a titan.
Ye Xuan’s fists clenched. They’re discarding me. No—they’ll silence me.
Ye Lang’s smile dripped venom. "Elders, Ye Xuan murdered a guard, attacked the Grand Elder. Clan law demands execution."
Nods rippled through the council. Chosen Ones outweighed loyalty.
"Guards!" the Grand Elder barked. Dozen guards flooded the courtyard.
Ye Xuan straightened. "Clan tradition: any challenger may face the heir." His stare pinned Ye Lang. "I challenge you."
"Challenge?" Ye Lang’s smirk widened. "Life-and-Death Arena. Dare you?"
Gasps echoed. The arena meant one survivor.
"Now," Ye Xuan growled.
"Patience." Ye Lang waved a dismissive hand. "One month. When the Clan Head emerges from seclusion, he’ll witness your end. No... complaints."
"Done." Ye Xuan scooped up Ye Ling, striding past the guards.
In their sparse room, Ye Xuan laid Ye Ling on the bed. His thumb brushed her swollen cheek. "Pain?"
She shook her head, tears returning. "Why? You fought for them! Is being Chosen more important than loyalty?"
He traced her cheekbone. "My failure. I let them hurt you."
"I’m useless," she whispered. "A burden."
"Fool." He tapped her nose. "Protecting you is my purpose."
She kissed his forehead. "When I’m healed, I’ll train. Protect you."
"Deal." He tucked quilts around her shivering form. Her cold damage syndrome worsened without the clan’s medicinal cuisine. Now that I’m disgraced...
As she drifted off murmuring about his terrible stories, he lifted his robe. A vicious gash wept blood beneath his ribs. At South Mountain, he’d fought twelve Li Family experts, only to take a knife in the Dantian.
His cultivation core was shattered.
No reaching sixth-layer Qi Transformation. No hope of entering Cangmu Academy for her cure. To heal her cold damage syndrome, he needed their healers. Entry required Qi Control mastery before nineteen. He had six months. Now? Impossible.
He pressed his forehead to hers. "I’ll heal you. At any cost."
His mother’s black ring felt cold in his palm. She’d left it ten years ago, whispering "Don’t hate me"as a floating man in black robes tore her away. Blood from his split knuckles dripped onto the ring.
It thrummed.
Darkness swallowed him. He stood in a starless void before a twelve-story black tower chained by colossal links. Three swords impaled its peak. Blood-red words blazed above its gate:
PRISON OF WORLDS
Left pillar: Heaven and Earth imprisoned, all gods and demons caged.
Right pillar: Dao and Fate forbidden, every immortal vanquished.
