CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35

Jake’s heartbeat thundered in his chest as fear seeped into every bone.

He’d followed Alex’s instructions without much thought, taking the spiritual stones and a handful of elixirs, believing it was little more than a harmless errand. He never imagined it would end with so much blood, or that Alex—the one who’d orchestrated it all—would be dead at Ethan’s hands.

"S-senior Brother Ethan, I don’t know anything else!" Jake stammered, nearly babbling as the Moonflood Scythe pressed harder at his throat and blood welled in a thin red line.

"Alex found me, offered spiritual stones, a few elixirs. He just asked me to, to remind you to go to the tomb after dark tonight. That’s all! I don’t know any more, I swear!"

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, voice low.

"That’s all?"

The blade pressed deeper and Jake gasped—the pain was sharp, real, and cold panic overtook him.

"That’s all, really! If I’d known what he was planning or that he’d end up dead, I’d never have said yes. Please, Senior Brother, I’d never dare—"

Tears prickled at Jake’s eyes.

He hated himself for shaking, for groveling, yet now he knew—this was what happened to those who put themselves between Ethan and his quiet.

"One thing I have to know: Alex, who did he serve?" Ethan asked, his tone glacial.

Jake nodded desperately, grasping at anything that might save him.

"He—he served Sam, a direct disciple of Voidshade Peak! If I wasn’t so afraid of Sam myself, I never would’ve agreed. Everyone on Voidshade Peak knows—Sam’s temper is worse than any elder’s. We all do what he wants."

So, that was the heart of it. A peak’s rivalry, a disciple’s pride, and a convenient scapegoat. Ethan let his lips twitch, spelling out the name slowly.

"Sam?"

Then he released his grip on the scythe and kicked Jake away, letting him sprawl in the dirt. He began to stride off into the night, but on second thought, turned back.

He planted a foot beside Jake and leaned down, voice as soft as death’s whisper.

"I’ll spare you this once. But listen, and listen close, if anyone from Voidshade Peak comes to see you—or if you hear any plot against me—you’ll come straight to me. Right away. Do you understand?"

Jake nodded furiously, prostrating before him.

"Yes, yes, I understand! If any Voidshade Peak disciple comes, I’ll let you know myself! I swear it!"

Ethan fixed him with a final cold glance, then turned and vanished like a shadow at the lake’s edge.

Not far off, Jake’s two junior brothers struggled upright, rubbing sore necks where they’d been struck unconscious.

"Senior Brother Jake, what happened to us?" one asked, blinking, bewildered.

Jake hesitated, anger and fear warring on his face.

"It’s nothing," he lied.

"Just got a little too close to something tough." His gaze drifted to where Ethan had disappeared.

"A very tough situation."

His juniors stared at him, puzzled.

"A tough situation? Was it that Ethan guy?"

Jake just grunted, turning away.

"Yeah."

"But isn’t Ethan just a physical cultivator, without spiritual roots? Isn’t he just a trash?" they pressed, confusion lacing their words.

Jake’s face twisted, rage rising.

"Trash? You idiots, that ’trash’ knocked you both out before you could even blink, and handled me like a child—and I’m the team leader here! Don’t believe everything seniors tell you."

The two looked at each other, stunned.

Neither remembered anything but a sudden pain and then nothing.

Jake pushed past them, annoyance radiating from him. But beneath his anger was a chill. He’d failed, and he was sure there’d be consequences—especially now that Ethan had killed Alex.

Killing a fellow sect disciple was a serious offense in the Azure Origin Dao Sect, one that could end in loss of cultivation at best, or execution at worst. The most terrifying punishment, though, was to strip away a person’s power and exile them to Demon-Sealing Cave—a place where death was a mercy and survival a curse.

Ethan was strong, but what hope did a lone exile have against the sect’s law? Jake was certain.

Without a powerful backer, even Ethan would be ground down by the sect’s machinery. After all, those with protectors didn’t end up cleaning tombs by the lake.

Jake’s thoughts churned, but as he walked through the dark toward Enforcer Peak, a twisted relief softened the knot in his chest.

Now Ethan would suffer the consequences. Now everything would reset.

High on the right side of Holy Peak, the towers of Enforcer Peak pierced low clouds. Unlike the other summits, Enforcer Peak was not a bastion of ambition, but a nest of the sect’s functional organs: Punishment Hall, Affairs Pavilion, Treasure Pavilion. Here, bureaucracy reigned as surely as the sword.

Jake made his way through the cold corridors to the residence set aside for Law Enforcement disciples, reporting to his captain—a formidable fellow named Erik, who exuded an edge sharpened by both experience and recent fortune.

Jake bowed. "Senior Brother Erik."

Erik turned, his hackles already up.

"Jake, it’s late. What brings you here?"

Swallowing, Jake recounted what had happened in full: their encounter, Ethan’s violence, and—most damning—Alex’s death.

Erik’s eyes sparked with cruel pleasure.

"That Ethan—after all this time he finally oversteps. Kills a fellow disciple, right in the sect’s territory." He barked a laugh.

"If I bring this to the higher-ups, Ethan’s finished. No one’ll care who started it or why. He’s an outcast, already exiled once. The Law will destroy him. I’ll see to it myself, make him pay—five years ago he broke my arm, remember that? No one could prove a thing, but now? Now I have my chance."

Jake bowed deeper.

Erik’s reputation for grudges was deserved.

He would savor this.

"Come on," Erik commanded, and the pair made their way together to the unique, secluded courtyard that belonged to Core Disciple Rowan.

The moon was barely a ripple above the roofs. They arrived, ready to deliver their news.

But before they could knock, the door opened and Elder Azel—guardian of Serene Mirror Lake, the tomb, and the infamous Demon-Sealing Cave—strode out. Azel’s reputation was ironclad

Not only was he powerful, he was one of the few who dared face the horrors sealed away in the forbidden lands beyond the tombs.

Both Jake and Erik bowed, careful not to meet Azel’s eyes.

"We greet Elder Azel."

Azel hardly glanced at them.

"Yes."

He nodded, then glided away into the night—a living legend vanishing like mist.

"Why would Elder Azel visit Core Disciple Rowan so late?" Jake whispered.

Erik gave him a warning glare.

"Don’t think too much about the elders. Their business isn’t for us to question."

Jake nodded. They waited until the night had swallowed Azel’s steps, then, taking a breath to steel their nerves, reached to knock on Rowan’s door.