The sun dipped beneath the blood-red horizon, painting the heavens with fire and sorrow. On the outskirts of Azure Cloud Sect, the wind whispered ancient songs as if mourning the battles that had scarred the earth. The last light of dusk glinted off Vantian's blood-soaked robes as he stood alone on the crumbling cliffside, watching the bodies of his enemies burn below.
His breathing was shallow, his aura flickering like a candle in the wind. The battle was over, but victory tasted like ashes.
"Is this it...?" he murmured, looking down at his trembling hands.
The final battle against the Northern Demon Alliance had ended with him standing tall—but the cost had been staggering. Thousands of disciples perished. Elder Mo sacrificed himself to seal the last demon general, and even Bái Tiêu Nhiên, the one person who always believed in him, had gone missing in the chaos.
His fingers clutched the jade pendant she had left behind—a silent promise of return. But it had been three days. And she never broke her promises.
"You're not alone."
The voice came from behind—calm, familiar.
He turned. It was Ling Xuan, his childhood friend and now the newly appointed leader of the Azure Cloud Sect. She wore mourning white and held a scroll tied in black ribbon.
"What is it?"
"A letter. It was found among Elder Mo's belongings. It's... about you."
Vantian opened the scroll with trembling fingers. The parchment was old, yet the ink was recent. It read:
> If you're reading this, it means I've failed to survive. But listen closely, Vantian—your true enemy is not the demons. Not even the Heavenly Courts. Your fate was tampered with long before you were born. Seek the mirror in the Valley of Broken Stars. There, the truth will shatter everything you believe in.
His heart sank.
"Tampered... with fate?"
Ling Xuan nodded. "There's more. He marked this location on the map. It's far—deep into the Forbidden Wastes. No one's returned from there."
Vantian's eyes narrowed. "Then it's where I must go."
The world had changed since his return. He had reclaimed the name he once lost, avenged his past life's death, and earned the fear and respect of even the most ancient sects. But if there was a shadow darker than all he'd faced, it lurked somewhere he hadn't looked.
As the two stood on the edge of twilight, the sky rumbled—not with thunder, but something else.
A black rift tore across the sky.
From within it, a figure emerged. Cloaked in chains, its face hidden behind a porcelain mask, and its voice—
"So, the reincarnated pawn awakens... but you're still dancing to someone else's tune."
Vantian's hand flew to his sword, but the air around him froze. Even his breath halted.
The masked figure raised one finger.
"You were never the villain, nor the hero. Just a variable. A deviation. Soon, the true game begins."
And just as quickly, the rift sealed, vanishing like a dream.
Ling Xuan's voice trembled. "Was that... a Celestial Being?"
Vantian shook his head, his gaze distant. "No. That... was something older."
He looked down at the jade pendant once more.
"Bái Tiêu Nhiên... I will find you. And I will uncover the truth. Even if I must tear apart the heavens themselves."
The flames of the funeral pyres below crackled louder, as if echoing his vow.
Thus, the curtain fell on one act—but the true stage had only begun to rise.
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End of chapter 20