Wraith-043 stared in paralyzed silence at the woman before him. To badmouth a title like Crimson Sword Master, a name cultivators would kill to possess, was insanity. But the sight of the chaotic, elemental Qi spiraling around her fists and the tips of her hair bleeding into a molten red sent a jolt of primal terror through his heart.

For the first time since he had stepped into the world of shadows, he felt a fear so raw it eclipsed any threat he had ever faced from royal decrees or sect masters.

His composure shattered. Cold sweat poured down his face, and his voice came out in a pathetic, jagged stammer. "A-are you... from that Clan?"

Yilan offered no answer. She merely began to walk, each step heavy with the weight of an approaching cataclysm. The air around her shimmered and warped from the sheer heat radiating from her skin.

"I-I’m sorry!" Wraith-043 shrieked, falling back as he tripped over the debris of his own ambition. "Please! Spare me! I was only following the contract!"

The momentum of Yilan’s aura reached a crescendo. She pulled her fist back, the Fire and Wood Qi condensing into a singular, blinding point of destruction. "Why do you think your superiors never came after me, even after I slaughtered hundreds of your kin?" she asked, her voice a low, terrifying hum.

She didn’t wait for his answer and threw the punch.

The world turned white. The air didn’t just ripple, it tore. A pillar of infernal heat erupted, incinerating Wraith-043 where he stood. The shockwave was so perfectly controlled that the nearby 1st-stage Golden Core assassin was turned to ash instantly, yet Shen Yu and the others felt only a warm breeze.

As the roar of the flames died down and the environment fell into a haunting silence, the red light faded from Yilan’s hair. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.

"Mother!" Lixue’s scream pierced the quiet as she sprinted toward her.

Shen Mo and the others moved like clockwork, pinning the sole surviving Foundation Establishment assassin to the ground before rushing to Yilan’s side. Shen Yu appeared a heartbeat later, his face a mask of cold, vibrating fury.

"Take her to the infirmary. Now!" he barked at Lixue and Shen Fu. As they hurried away with her limp form, Shen Yu turned his gaze to the captured assassin. His golden eyes were devoid of any "savior’s" warmth.

He uttered a single, freezing word.

"Who?"

The assassin didn’t hesitate. He knew the peculiar, almost paradoxical code of the Thousand-Ghost Syndicate. It was a policy that seemed like utter madness to outsiders: if an operative failed a mission, they were bound to reveal the employer’s identity to the target.

On the surface, it appeared to be a suicidal business model, who would ever hire assassins that might betray them?

But the Syndicate’s reputation wasn’t built on loyalty; it was built on a staggering 99.98% completion rate. They didn’t just kill; they erased problems.

To them, failure wasn’t a possibility to be managed, it was an anomaly that demanded an immediate settling of debts. If a target was powerful enough to survive a ’Ghost,’ the Syndicate considered the contract void and the employer’s life a fair trade for their own survival.

"The Peng Clan," the man rasped, his voice trembling under Shen Yu’s gaze. "It was the Pengs."

Without a word, Shen Yu’s spear blurred.

CRACK.

The assassin’s head vanished in a spray of gore. Shen Yu then reached down, snatched up the man’s discarded dagger, and with a methodical, chilling calmness, drove the blade into his own shoulder.

"Master!" Xu Yi cried out, reaching for him, but she froze. The killing intent radiating from Shen Yu was so thick it felt like treading through a swamp of blood. He looked at her, his blood staining his white robes, the perfect image of a fallen martyr.

"Spread the word," Shen Yu commanded, his voice dripping with venomous intent. "Tell the city that the Peng Clan sent the Thousand-Ghost Syndicate to butcher us in our sleep. Tell them Mei Yilan is dying. Tell them their ’Savior’ bled to protect his family."

He looked toward the city, his eyes flashed with a demonic brilliance as he thought about the next plans.

"Weaponize their grief. Turn their adoration into a riot. I want the public to tear the Peng Clan gates down with their bare hands. Our men will be the shadows in the crowd, kill every high-level member of that clan. Leave no one to mourn them."

"Go! Now!"

As Xu Yi and the Shen Fu vanished into the night to ignite the city, the air suddenly trembled. A blur of blue light descended, and Meng Yan appeared, her face pale as she took in the carnage.

"Yu’er!" Meng Yan cried, her voice cracking as she rushed to his side. Her eyes widened with genuine horror, her gaze fixed on the blood soaking into his white robes. "What happened? Who would dare do this?"

"Yu’er!" Meng Yan cried, her voice breaking as she reached him. She didn’t care about the carnage surrounding them; her hands trembled as she reached out to touch the blood-soaked fabric of his robes. "What happened? My heart nearly stopped when I felt the shockwave." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"The Pengs finally snapped," he said, his golden eyes flashing with a dark, predatory light. "They sent the Syndicate. Aunt Yilan... she used a technique, something primal... perhaps a forbidden one, to save us. She’s in the infirmary now.

Before she could pull him into an embrace, Shen Yu straightened, his gaze turning toward the city where the first bells of alarm were starting to ring. The frailty he showed the world was gone, replaced by a sharp, lethal focus. "What’s done is done, Yan’er. Now, we turn this tragedy into their tomb.

"I need your help."

"Anything," she replied instantly, her aura flaring with protective fury. "Whatever you ask."

"We are currently inciting the public against the Peng Clan," Shen Yu explained, his voice low. "Their resentment has been boiling for a month; this attack will be the final spark. They will take up weapons. But I’ve heard rumors that Peng Kai has descended into madness. A cornered animal is unpredictable, he might try something catastrophic, or he might simply try to flee the city under the cover of the chaos."

He leaned in closer, his golden eyes locking onto hers. "I want you to track him. Do not engage, and do not fight. Just ensure he never leaves your sight. I have specific plans for him that require him to be alive."

Meng Yan nodded firmly, the weight of the task settling over her. "He won’t escape me."

"Do you have a way for us to stay in contact?" Shen Yu asked.

Meng Yan reached into her storage ring and produced a shimmering, silver-inscribed slip of parchment. "I have a communication talisman. It’s a one-time use, but it can pierce through most interference."

"It’s enough," Shen Yu said, tucking the talisman into his robes. "I will contact you when the stage is set and I am ready for the final act."

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A/N: Hey everyone! Since we hit last week’s goal of 100 Power Stones, I’ll be dropping a bonus Chapter this Sunday as promised. Thanks for the support!

This Week’s Goal:

1 Bonus Chapter per 150 Power Stones