The moment the pillar of light erupted from the City Lord's mansion, Ye Ling'er's heart clenched with terror.
"Father!" she gasped, her face draining of color as she watched the ominous dome form over the residence.
Without hesitation, she bolted toward the mansion, her robes billowing behind her as she ran through the chaos.
"Ling'er, wait!" Sheng Qianying called out, reaching for her arm.
"It's too dangerous!"
Ye Ling'er spun around, her eyes blazing with determination and fear.
"My father is in there! I have to get to him!"
"But—"
"You stay with Ye Xian!" Ye Ling'er shouted over the screams and sounds of battle. "Take care of that boy! I'll bring my father back!"
Before Sheng Qianying could protest further, Ye Ling'er had already dashed away, weaving between fleeing civilians and the chaos of the arena.
Her heart pounded as she sprinted . The closer she got to the mansion, the more ominous everything felt.
The white dome above cast eerie shadows, and the air itself seemed to hum with malevolent energy.
When she finally reached the mansion gates, she skidded to a halt.
A young man stood blocking the entrance, handsome, with flowing black hair and sharp brown eyes. His posture was relaxed, almost casual, despite the chaos erupting around them.
"Ru Hei," she breathed, recognizing the City Lord's son.
He looked at her with a cold smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Miss Ye, but no one is permitted to enter. Master's orders."
"Master?" Ye Ling'er's blood ran cold. "What master? Where is my father?"
"Your father is... indisposed at the moment." Ru Hei's smile widened, revealing something unsettling in his expression.
"I suggest you turn around and leave. Now."
Ye Linger's hands clenched into fists. She might have been adopted, but in her heart, she had already accepted him as her real father.
Her father was inside. From the looks of it, the City Lord or whoever this "master" was appeared to be behind everything , the red-eyed cultivators, the white dome formation, all of it.
Fear for her father's safety quickly transformed into blazing anger.
"Get out of my way!" she snarled.
She could sense Ru Hei's cultivation. He had just broken through to the Element Disciple Realm first stage. She was at the seventh stage of the same realm. He shouldn't be able to stop her.
Without warning, she thrust her palm forward. A sphere of crackling flames materialized before her hand, growing larger and more intense.
"Fire Ball!"
The fireball shot toward Ru Hei like a bullet. He barely had time to react before it slammed into his chest and exploded with a deafening blast.
BOOM!
The impact sent him flying backward through the mansion gates, his robes catching fire as he crashed into the courtyard beyond.
Ye Ling'er didn't hesitate. She rushed through the gates, following the path of destruction her attack had created.
But as she entered the courtyard, she heard a low groan.
Ru Hei was getting up.
His chest was charred and bleeding, flesh burned and blackened from her fire attack. He should have been unconscious or worse. Yet he struggled to his feet, his face twisted in agonizing pain.
"You... shouldn't have... done that," he gasped, reaching into his robes. The pain was unbearable, but it didn't matter. Not compared to his master's will.
For his master, he would endure anything. He would give everything.
He could never have reached the Element Disciple Realm without his master's help. The man gave him everything, guidance, cultivation, endless resources.
Even when he found out the Witch Spawn had planted a Gu insect inside him, he didn't care.
He still chose to obey. He admired the Witch Spawn so deeply, he would have died for him without hesitation.
He pulled out a small, dark pill and swallowed it without hesitation.
Ye Ling'er watched in horror as the change began immediately.
Cracks spread outward from Ru Hei's eye sockets, spider-webbing across his face. His brown turned crimson.
Power exploded from within him, his aura surging far beyond what it had been moments before. The burns on his chest began to heal at a visible rate.
"The master gave me this gift," Ru Hei said, his voice carrying an eerie, inhuman echo.
It was a different kind of pill,one that temporarily boosted his cultivation. But in return, it would slowly devour his life force.
"I was told to use it only if someone proved... troublesome."
He straightened, and Ye Ling'er could feel his cultivation climbing rapidly. First stage... second stage... third stage... it didn't stop until he reached the ninth stage of Element Disciple Realm, two stage higher than her own.
"Now," Ru Hei said, flexing his fingers as wind energy swirled around them.
"Let me show you what happens to those who disobey the master's orders."
Ye Ling'er took a step back, her heart racing. The Ru Hei before her was no longer the person she knew. Those crimson eyes held no trace of humanity, only hunger and malice.
But behind him, deeper in the mansion, she could see the glow of the formation growing brighter. Whatever was happening there, it was getting worse by the moment.
She had to get through.
"I don't care what kind of monster you've become," she said, flames beginning to dance around her hands.
"You're not going to stop me from saving my father."
Ru Hei's twisted smile widened, revealing teeth that now seemed sharper than before.
"We'll see about that, little fire girl."
She pulled her saber from her spatial pouch. In an instant, flames burst to life along its blade as she infused it with her fire element.
Whoosh!
Brilliant flames erupted from the blade, the blue and orange hues dancing wildly as they devoured the surrounding air.
With a burst of speed, she shot forward, becoming nothing more than a streak of light that left a blazing trail in her wake.
Ru Hei barely had time to react.
His twisted smile was cut off as his instincts screamed at him. Eyes widening, he hastily raised his arms.
BOOM!
Her flaming saber clashed against his dark energy-infused claws with earth-shattering force.
A thunderous explosion rang out as a shockwave of flames and razor-sharp dark energy burst outward, tearing through the mansion courtyard. The very ground beneath them cracked and shattered, forming a crater dozens of meters wide.
The force of the impact sent chunks of stone and debris flying in all directions. Dust clouds billowed violently, obscuring the battlefield.
Ru Hei gritted his teeth as he staggered backward, his boots skidding against the cracked stone.
The sheer power behind Ye Ling'er's strike had forced him to retreat several steps, an outcome he had not expected, even with his enhanced cultivation.
When the dust settled, the courtyard revealed its devastation. The ground where they once stood was reduced to ruins, scorch marks and deep fissures spreading outward like veins.
Ru Hei's grip on his clawed hands tightened, his fury simmering beneath his transformed exterior. The crimson cracks around his eyes pulsed with malevolent energy.
He had intended to simply guard the entrance to ensure no one could interfere with his master's blood sacrifice ritual.
But now, standing before him, radiating overwhelming killing intent, was a prodigy he had not accounted for.
Ye Ling'er.
Her eyes, colder than the deepest winter, locked onto him with unwavering resolve.
"You talk too much," she said, her voice carrying a deadly calm.
"You dare serve whatever monster is using my father for this ritual? You dare block me from saving him?"
She took a step forward, and the flames around her saber roared even fiercer.
"Then let's see if your borrowed power can withstand my blade."
Ru Hei's expression twisted in anger, the crimson glow in his eyes intensifying.
"You have no idea what forces you're dealing with, girl! Master's plan cannot be stopped. Your father's sacrifice will fuel something greater than you can imagine!"
As Ru Hei's words echoed, dark energy swirled around his transformed body, and a fierce wind began to roar around him. His original wind element now corrupted by the dark power.
Hundreds of shadow-infused wind blades materialized in midair, their razor-sharp edges reflecting a cold, crimson light.
With a flick of his clawed hands, the storm of blades howled forward, tearing through the courtyard toward Ye Ling'er like a hurricane of death.
Ye Ling'er's eyes narrowed. She lifted her hand, and a surge of crimson flames erupted around her, forming a protective barrier.
The corrupted wind blades crashed into the fire, causing bursts of steam and shockwaves to ripple through the air.
Some of the blades managed to slip through, slicing past her robes and leaving faint cuts on her arms, but her expression remained composed.
With a swift step, she retaliated. A fiery lotus bloomed in her palm before she swung it forward, sending waves of searing flames toward Ru Hei.
The heat distorted the air, forcing Ru Hei to leap back while slashing his claws in a defensive arc, generating a powerful gust of corrupted wind that temporarily quelled the fire.
The battle intensified. Ru Hei moved with incredible speed enhanced by the dark pill's power, his figure flickering like a phantom as he unleashed wind-infused claw strikes wreathed in shadow.
Ye Ling'er countered each attack with flames, her movements fluid and precise.