The wind howled long before she arrived.
It wasn't the playful mountain breeze that danced around Dawnmist Peak each morning. This wind was heavy. Angry. As if something had followed it across mountains and rivers just to scream.
Luo Feng stood at the edge of the training courtyard, cloak fluttering behind him. A-Yan and Bai Xueyin stood nearby, their eyes fixed on the trail curling up from the forest base. Even Kaelen, the Iceblade of the North, emerged from meditation.
No one had to say it.
They all felt her coming.
The girl appeared just past noon.
She didn't ride a beast or cloud-step. She walked. Barefoot. Through snow and stone, mud and blood. Her robe—black with streaks of dried crimson—dragged behind her like a forgotten war banner. Her hair was silver-white, streaked with red. Her eyes were mismatched—one gold, one pitch black.
And in her hand, she dragged a sword.
Or rather, something that used to be a sword.
It was jagged. Cracked. Wrapped in black chains that pulsed like veins. The blade was curved unnaturally, as if resisting the very idea of being held. Dark red mist bled from the cracks in the metal, whispering broken words in a tongue no one wanted to translate.
The moment she stepped onto the plateau, the grass withered.
Ding! Demonic Curse Level: High.Weapon identified: [Bloodthirst Cinderblade – Unbound].Mental interference threshold: 78% — unstable emotional field detected.System Alert: Disciple candidate is in a volatile state. Interaction must be initiated with extreme caution.
Luo Feng took one breath, then stepped forward.
"Name," he said calmly.
The girl stopped twenty feet away. Her left eye twitched. Her sword rattled against the ground like it wanted to crawl forward on its own.
"Tianya," she said, voice like gravel and ash. "Daughter of no one. Curse of the Ninefold Court. Disciple of the woman you broke."
A-Yan's hand twitched toward her dagger.
Bai Xueyin narrowed her eyes. "She's unstable."
Kaelen's voice was low, cool. "She's more than unstable. That sword eats memory. Keep your mind locked."
Luo Feng kept his hands behind his back. His voice remained steady.
"Did Xuanyin send you to attack me?"
Tianya smiled. It was not a kind smile.
"No. She sent me to test you."
She raised her sword.
"And if I decide you're unworthy, I will kill you and take your system for myself."
A pause.
Then—
Luo Feng sighed.
"You're one of those."
He stepped forward once. His aura didn't rise. He didn't prepare a stance. But the air shifted.
System Boost: "Instructor's Aura" activated.Effect: Targets with chaotic qi suffer -20% clarity. Suppresses hostile intent in non-demonic cultivators.Note: Weapon is resisting suppression.
Tianya snarled and swung the sword in a wild arc.
The slash carved a black gash in the air itself.
Not qi. Not force. Memory.
Luo Feng sidestepped.
The slash missed.
But where it passed, Bai Xueyin's face twisted for a heartbeat—her thoughts shivered.
"I… forgot…" she muttered. "My first sword form…"
Kaelen moved beside her instantly, locking her with a counter-ice mantra.
"That sword isn't physical," Kaelen hissed. "It eats experiences."
Luo Feng stopped walking.
He raised his hand and pointed.
"Tianya. You're not here to test me. You're testing yourself."
She paused mid-step, sword raised.
He continued.
"That weapon is unbound. You haven't mastered it. It's mastering you. You walked all the way up here bleeding from your own feet. You're angry. But you're not sure why."
She blinked.
A tear of blood dripped from her left eye.
"I was told you would break me," she said softly. "That your teachings would rip out what little I still had."
"I don't break disciples," Luo Feng said. "I let them choose what they want to be."
The sword rattled.
Then jerked upward—
And drove itself into the stone beside her, crackling.
She let go.
Her fingers bled from contact.
"I didn't come to kneel," she whispered.
"I'm not asking you to."
"I came to kill you."
"And I'm still standing."
Tianya looked up at him. Really looked. Her mismatched eyes no longer blazing, but confused.
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
Luo Feng stepped forward, crouched slightly, and said:
"Because I've met worse. And taught better."
The system chimed:
Recruitment Complete: Tianya has been accepted as a core disciple.Feedback Pending: Curse Analysis… successful.New Trait Unlocked: "Memory Root Bond" — Host may anchor a disciple's memory to a spiritual root, shielding them from mental corruption.New Passive Skill: "Curse Intercept (Lv1)" — Host may temporarily absorb spiritual corruption from bonded disciples.Warning: Using this skill without rest may damage Host's own mental sea.
Luo Feng reached out and touched Tianya's shoulder.
The moment his fingers made contact, the red mist around her flickered—like a dying breath.
Then stilled.
She blinked, dazed. "What did you—?"
"I anchored you," he said. "To yourself."
She shivered.
Then collapsed.
They carried her inside.
A-Yan sat beside her unconscious form, eyeing her like a cat eyeing a caged fox.
"She's crazy," she whispered.
"She's hurting," Luo Feng replied.
Bai stood at the door, arms crossed. "And that sword is going to be a problem."
Kaelen nodded. "We need to seal it. If that thing feeds again, it could eat your peak's foundations."
Luo Feng glanced at the cursed blade resting in the corner. Even without a wielder, it pulsed faintly.
"Fine," he said. "We'll seal it."
Then, more softly:
"Then we'll teach her how to earn it."
Far away, in the Demon Realms, Xuanyin stood before a black altar.
She closed her eyes as her mirror dimmed.
"So she made it," she whispered.
"She survived him."
She didn't smile.
But the frost at the corner of her eyes melted, just a little.