CHAPTER 8: SECT WAR DECLARATION
839 Words
The skies above Azure Dragon Sect turned blood-red three days after Ye Qing’s return.
A dark omen hung over the main peak—a crimson cloud shaped like a serpent, coiled and glaring down upon the sect grounds. At its center floated a scroll wrapped in human skin, pierced by a black dagger.
The Sect Master himself, Bai Zheng, stepped forward.
With solemn hands, he reached into the air and unraveled the cursed scroll. Blood poured from the parchment as its contents ignited in spectral fire, but the message was clear to all cultivators gathered below:
> “To the Azure Dragon Sect:
You harbor a traitor.
One who defiled our sacred Execution Grounds,
who slaughtered Protector Yuan,
and freed the damned.
We declare war.
The next blood spilled… shall be yours.
—The Blood Shadow Sect.”
A heavy silence followed.
Then came the whispers, the gasps, and finally the fear.
Elder Jiang clenched his fists. “They move too fast. That declaration bypasses all treaties. They’re serious.”
“They’re beyond serious,” said Sect Master Bai Zheng. “They’re vengeful.”
But Ye Qing, standing behind the inner elders, said nothing.
He had expected this.
He had welcomed this.
And now… the true battle was near.
---
Later that night, the Azure Dragon Sect convened a war council. The Great Hall pulsed with defensive formations, ancient arrays, and dozens of powerful cultivators. At its center stood the three Grand Elders, Sect Master Bai Zheng, and for the first time—Ye Qing.
“Explain yourself,” Elder Wuxian said coldly. “You went into forbidden lands, attacked an enemy sect without sanction, and now… you’ve brought war to our doorstep.”
Ye Qing stepped forward, unwavering.
“They killed my clan. I ended one of their monsters. I acted not for revenge—but for justice.”
“You acted alone,” another elder hissed. “Justice without command is chaos.”
“Then let chaos come,” Ye Qing replied.
Gasps rang through the room.
But Bai Zheng raised a hand. “Silence.”
He looked directly at Ye Qing.
“Did you truly defeat Yuan… alone?”
“Yes.”
“Did you free the soul-bound prisoners of the Execution Grounds?”
“Yes.”
“Did you draw their attention to us intentionally?”
Ye Qing paused… then nodded.
“I wanted them to come. The Blood Shadow Sect will never stop unless forced to kneel.”
The Sect Master studied him for a long time.
Then… he smiled.
“Then let them come.”
The elders stared.
“Are you mad?” shouted Elder Wu. “You would drag the sect into a war against the Blood Shadow Sect?!”
“They declared war,” Bai Zheng said. “We will not cower like dogs.”
He turned back to Ye Qing.
“From this moment forward, you are no longer a disciple of the Inner Sect.”
Gasps again.
“You are… our sect’s war blade.”
---
By dawn, Ye Qing stood on the Dragon Sword Pavilion—the ancient platform reserved only for the greatest champions of the sect. Carved into the mountain and surrounded by relics of dragon spirits, it was where legends were forged.
And before him stood the entire sect—thousands of disciples, watching as Bai Zheng handed him a black robe embroidered with gold dragons.
“You are no longer just Ye Qing,” the Sect Master said.
“You are the Heaven-Slaying Blade of Azure Dragon Sect.”
A roar echoed across the mountains.
The disciples cheered, some in awe, some in fear.
Ye Qing stepped into the robe, his aura flaring.
His power had reached Heaven-Slaying Foundation Peak, a realm beyond what most elders could comprehend.
But inside him… something else stirred.
---
That night, under the pale moon, Ye Qing sat alone atop the mountain. The Dragon Abyss Sword pulsed softly at his side.
Then came the voice.
“You have chosen your path.”
“I have,” Ye Qing whispered.
“But you still do not know your origin.”
“I will.”
“You are not only a cultivator,” the voice said. “You are… a vessel.”
Suddenly, a mark appeared on his chest—ancient, glowing red. The same sigil he had seen on the cursed scroll.
“The Blood Shadow Sect fears you… not just because you are strong. But because you carry their secret.”
“What secret?”
“Their creator… was once your blood.”
Ye Qing’s eyes widened.
“My ancestor… created the Blood Shadow Sect?”
“No,” the voice said. “He was the Blood Shadow Sect.”
And before Ye Qing could ask further, the mark on his chest burned.
Visions slammed into his mind—a man wreathed in black flames, conquering a hundred sects, and founding the cult with blood arts forbidden even by the heavens.
And that man…
Had Ye Qing’s face.
- Writer
