The Remnants of Defiance

  Dust still danced in the air, illuminated by shafts of late afternoon light breaking through the shattered ceiling. Broken tiles littered the battlefield, and the stench of scorched Qi clung to the air like smoke after a storm.

  Juwon walked towards Xuan Mo, “Oh, I can sense Yunfei and Xueling nearby. But I can’t sense any other demon practitioner. Did they only send the two of you? Hah what a joke”

  Xuan Mo stumbled backward. The veins along his temples bulged, his eyes wide and desperate, but he still tried to hide his panic behind a cracked mask of arrogance.

  "You-You have numbers right now.. so what?… You think you’ve won?!" he spat, his voice wavering as he backed away. "Keep acting high and mighty—just wait until my reinforcements get here. Let’s see how arrogant you are then!"

  Juwon stepped through the debris calmly, the heavy silence parting around him like waves before a prow. He wiped a streak of blood from his knuckles, his face unreadable save for the faintest smirk tugging at his lips.

  "Oh, you mean the Hei Long reinforcements?" he said with a voice like the edge of a cold blade. He leaned slightly forward, lowering his tone mockingly. "Funny you should mention them. I did have a chat with your commander. Do you want to know who they asked for ?”

  Xuan Mo’s breath caught in his throat.

  "They asked for Tianyu. You heard it. They didn’t even care you were here Hah. Seems like they would rather abandon you"

  The words struck like thunder.

  "Lies!" Xuan Mo barked, trembling. "Impossible… They would never—"

  “Yeah? let me see how talentless you are"

  The Last Desperation

  Xuan Mo’s snarl twisted into fury. He surged forward, one hand brimming with corroded black Qi.

  Bone-Corrosion Strike!

  The air hissed and cracked as his palm slashed toward Juwon’s neck.

  But Juwon disappeared—Void Drifting Step, a ripple of spatial distortion left behind in his wake.

  He countered with precision.

  Dragon Fang Void Break! — A resounding crack echoed as his fist collided with Xuan Mo’s ribs, sending the man flying into a half-shattered pillar. The stone cracked further, dust and debris raining down.

  Juwon approached slowly, stepping over rubble like it was nothing. Xuan Mo coughed violently, blood trailing from his lips. Juwon held Mo’s neck against the pillar.

  "So you can corrode things. It's pretty cool, but quite a pity that you have to consciously touch me to get me"

  As Juwon was speaking Xuan Mo smiled while he held the hand which was lifting him up. “Corrosion Palm”

  But! Nothing happened. Juwon smirked.

  Xuan Mo now panicked, “Why is your Qi not deteriorating?”

  Juwon smirked, “Oh did I forget to mention? My core is special you see. It has the effect of purification.”

  "Anyways, this ends when you say it ends," Juwon said, his tone low, calm. "Tell me where your cult is hiding… and you might live to see tomorrow."

  Xuan Mo's eyes burned with defiance. "I’ll die before I betray the Demon Cult!"

  Juwon’s hand closed around his throat.

  SLAM.

  He pinned him against the pillar, one-handed. The impact shook the floor.

  "That," Juwon growled, his eyes glowing faintly, "can be arranged."

  “Akh! You- I will kill you all”

  Xuan Mo gasped, his hand shaking as it slipped into a hidden pouch. "You… you forced my hand. Don’t regret what happens next."

  Juwon raised a brow. "Regret?"

  In a single, desperate motion—Xuan Mo swallowed a blood-red bead.

  The transformation began immediately.

  Juwon's expression hardened. He slammed Mo back into the wall one last time, his knuckles glowing faintly with restrained Qi. "These insane bastards."

  Xuan Mo coughed, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes gleamed with unhinged delight. "Too late..." he rasped, his voice beginning to distort, becoming deeper—less human. His pupils dilated into vertical slits, and his sclera turned pitch black. A crimson aura surged from his core, coiling around him like wildfire.

  "See you in hell," he growled—though it no longer sounded like Mo. It was something else speaking through him.

  A blast of crimson gas exploded outward, the air distorting violently as if torn apart by rage itself. The sheer pressure forced Juwon to leap backward, his body instinctively bracing as the corrupted energy flooded the battlefield.

  From within the haze, the outline of a monster began to emerge.

  The Monster Within

  A painful SCREAM.

  ”Ahkh-AAAAAA”

  His scream split the air.

  Xuan Mo’s body convulsed violently, muscles spasming. His bones cracked like dry timber, his limbs elongating, thickening. Blackened horns burst from his skull. His flesh rippled and tore, reshaping into something twisted. Claws erupted from his hands, fangs from his mouth.

  The dark Qi that poured from his core pulsed like a living entity.

  Juwon exclaimed while he held up his hair, "Hah not this again. Its a bad idea to keep you pigs alive I guess"

  Then came the roar.

  A deep, ear-splitting bellow that shook the chamber to its foundation.

  From behind the dust—two figures sprinted into view.

  "WHAT the actual hell?!" Yunfei skidded to a stop, drawing his sword in a blur.

  ”So you guys finally decided to arrive Huh?” Juwon exclaimed.

  "Focus," Bai Xueling said coldly, stepping forward. Her stance shifted—

  Mountain Rooted Stance. Her feet anchored into the stone, her Qi forming a subtle barrier of icy pressure around her.

  The beast lunged, claws raised.

  "Spread out!" Juwon barked.

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  Yunfei moved first.

  Heavenly Lightning Sword! — His blade shimmered with electric light as he slashed horizontally, arcs of lightning slicing into the beast’s flank.

  The creature roared, barely flinching, then retaliated with a wild backhand. Yunfei was flung across the room, crashing into a wall. But the crash itself was not as dreadful as the black blood Yunfei spat out. His Qi was corroding.

  "Yunfei!" Xueling shouted, weaving past a clawed strike.

  Her body glided like water—Ethereal Flow Art. She twisted and spun, her form fluid, blades flashing like silver wind. She struck joints, tendons, weak spots—but the beast’s hide was too dense. A sweep of its tail knocked her back, though she landed gracefully, skidding on her feet.

  "This is not working!" she said, panting.

  Yuxian charged in,

  ”First wyverns then demons? What the hell is happening?” his blade glowing.

  Heavenly Crescent Moon! — A crescent arc of Qi flew toward Mo’s exposed back. It struck—then fizzled.

  The beast turned, eyes glowing red.

  “Uh oh” Yuxian closed his eyes.

  A blur intervened.

  Juwon.

  His fists became a flurry of light—

  Flash Fist Fury!

  A barrage of six rapid punches, each one bursting with shockwaves, pummeling the beast backward.

  Yuxian coughed, eyes wide. “He’s… almost Peak Core Formation now!”

  Juwon stood between them and the beast.

  “Stay behind me.”

  The Battle Unfolds

  The battlefield trembled beneath the weight of the corrupted creature that had once been Xuan Mo. Its form, barely resembling anything human now, pulsed with malignant Qi. Blood-soaked talons dragged grooves across the floor as its hunched frame flexed, muscles swelling with unstable energy. The air itself recoiled around it, warping slightly as if reality was trying to reject its existence.

  Juwon steadied his breath, eyes fixed on the monster, his body subtly shifting into stance. Across the chamber, his comrades took position, silent, focused. There were no orders now—only instinct.

  Yuxian moved first.

  His sword gleamed as he surged forward, boots cracking shattered tiles underfoot. With a deep inhale, he stabilized his footing and activated one of his foundational techniques passed down through the Heavenly Sword Pavilion—Cloud-Piercing Edge.

  With a shout, he slashed upward, and a razor-thin arc of wind-infused Qi tore through the air, sharp and fast enough to split stone.

  But with a flick of its wrist, the creature batted the technique aside, redirecting the energy into the wall behind it, where it exploded in a burst of blue flame.

  Before the flash faded, the creature moved.

  Yuxian had no time to move.

  Its mouth opened, and with a mechanical click, a pulse of Qi condensed in its throat.

  The creature disappeared only to appear in front of Yuxian picking him up with both hands.

  A Gas of corrosive Qi aimed at his face.

  “YUXIAN!”

  Yuxian, even before Juwon came in was affected multiple times by the decaying affect of Xuan Mo’s techniques. But now,

  The crimson gas struck him in the face like a battering ram, rendering him motionless.The creature then threw him across the open hallway. He hit the wall hard—then crumpled, limp and unmoving.

  Xueling screamed his name as she rushed to his side, her Qi flaring.

  “Hold on,” she whispered, sliding to her knees.

  Her palms glowed a pale silver, her fingers tracing intricate lines in the air as she activated

  Heaven’s Tranquil Pulse, a technique from the Supreme Harmony Pavilion. Gentle waves of soothing Qi flowed into Yuxian’s chest, slowing his erratic breathing, calming the disruption in his meridians.

  “Stay with me. Just breathe.”

  The beast turned toward them.

  “No”, Juwon moved.

  But not fast enough.

  The creature vanished from sight in a blur—and reappeared behind Xueling.

  A clawed hand slammed into her back.

  The explosion was immediate.

  Corrupted Qi detonated at point-blank range, sending Xueling flying like a broken arrow. Her body rolled once—twice—then stilled. The room fell into a breathless silence.

  Yunfei screamed as he provided Juwon with cover.

  Juwon jumped to her side in seconds, breath caught in his throat. He flipped her gently onto her side, hands trembling.

  She was still breathing—but barely.

  With dread building in his chest, he pulled up the back of her robe.

  And froze.

  Veins of black corruption were spreading outward from the impact point, pulsing like a disease. Her skin had turned an unnatural shade, and the flesh around her shoulder was beginning to rot.

  He gritted his teeth. “You bastard”

  A crash drew his attention. Yunfei had been thrown through a collapsed pillar, his sword clattering beside him. The beast roared, limbs flailing with chaotic rhythm, and sent a tendril of Qi lashing across the room.

  Juwon never fought while protecting others. This lack of experience created a panic. But meanwhile,

  The beast caught Juwon across the ribs.

  Pain seared through his side. He gasped, staggering to one knee, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

  His fingers twitched. His vision blurred.

  Then came the sound of boots—metal, heavy.

  Hei Long soldiers flooded in through the far corridor.

  “Well, well,” one of them said, raising his rifle. “Looks like we caught the last act.”

  Another laughed, his weapon cocking with mechanical finality. “Kill them all. Then we take the body. Easy pay.”

  Juwon’s fingers twitched as he fought to push himself upright, but his limbs felt shackled by molten iron. The corruption crawled under his skin like a thousand needles dipped in fire, biting into his meridians, flooding his core with rot.

  He was almost out of Qi to resist.

  His breathing grew shallow, rasping against the agony that coiled in his ribs.

  But the creature moved.

  The creature had turned towards the soldiers and the soldiers were confused.

  And then—it leapt.

  It was not combat. Not anymore.

  It was butchery.

  The first soldier didn't even manage to scream. One blink, and his torso was gone, carved clean from his hips. A fountain of blood followed, staining the steel walls in a violent arc.

  "Wait! weren't you with us?"

  ”Doesnt matter just shoot” Another shouted.

  Gunfire thundered, brief and useless. Bullets tore through air, never flesh. The beast disappeared and appeared behind their back. Every breath it took came with death. Every motion was poetry in slaughter.

  A man tried to run. His scream cut short as a claw impaled his spine. Limbs spun. Throats opened. Ribcages collapsed inward like crushed paper.

  By the time silence returned, there were no soldiers left—only meat. The ground was slick. The air tasted like iron.

  The beast exhaled, releasing a low, throaty growl that misted the floor with decay.

  Then—it turned.

  Toward Yunfei.

  The swordsman was crouched, one knee bent, blade dragging as he tried to rise. Blood trickled from his forehead, his breathing shallow.

  The creature reached him in a blur, faster than thought.

  Its massive claw coiled around Yunfei’s neck, lifting him with ease. His legs dangled. His hands clawed at the vice around his throat. His blade slipped from his fingers.

  The other hand curled into a monstrous fist.

  The beast was preparing to punch through his heart.

  Juwon saw it all—paralyzed.

  His vision tunneled. The scream in his throat choked on his own blood. He clawed at the stone beneath him, trying to drag himself forward. He couldn’t. Not this time.

  "No! Not again"

  His eyes closed. Helpless to do anything.

  Then—

  A memory.

  A warm hand brushing dirt from a scraped knee. The scent of barley fields. A boy crying beneath an old fig tree.

  She knelt beside the swing set, the sun casting long shadows over the dusty yard.

  His knee was scraped, blood trickling down, and tears clung to his lashes as he sniffled.

  She gently dabbed the wound with the edge of her sleeve, blowing softly over the sting. Then, with a warm, patient smile, she tapped his chest lightly.

  "It doesn’t matter how you fall, my little heart," she said, brushing the dirt from his knee as the scent of wildflowers drifted on the breeze. "You know, even these flowers sink beneath the mud before they rise to bloom. So will you bloom for mumma?"

  He remembered her smile—soft, the way her fingers brushed against his cheek like falling petals, the way her voice cracked when she whispered things too big for a child to understand.

  The memory blurred again, vision is changing—

  FLAMES.

  He was older, but still a kid. The hallway burned orange as fire consumed the mansion around him. Smoke coiled like serpents through broken beams. The ceiling groaned. Voices shouted. The walls screamed.

  “Cough! Cough! Mommy! Where are you?!”

  The child—staggered through collapsing halls, choking on ash and fear.

  Then he saw someone closing the door, arms stretched. Strong. Familiar.

  A man in a black coat, his face is a blur, swept him up.

  “It will be alright,” the man said. “Just hold on.”

  A CRASH

  They jumped out a window.

  They ran.

  Gunshots echoed behind them—shouts and voices the kid couldn't understand.

  The memory starts getting blurry almost gitchy.

  “Y*n*m… I won’t let **** find you! When you reach Seoul, tell J***** you are th son of J**g*u*i**." The man turned to the carriage master.

  “Take him through the forest.You know the location right?”

  “Then the man brushed the kid’s hair. You must survive. You are our only hope.” The man smiled, “Don’t worry I’ll join you in a bit.”

  The man’s voice was strained. A promise whispered through fire.

  Then—darkness.

  Now, lying broken in the dust, pain crushing his lungs and vision swimming in and out of darkness.

  Juwon's eyes opened.

  Silver light poured from his pupils. His hair blazed white at the ends. His Qi didn’t rise—it thundered.

  Dragon Vein Convergence

  The earth cracked beneath him, as the earth itself poured its Qi into his core.

  A lotus appeared appeared at his footstep.

  The lotus bloomed.

  The Lotus of Samsara.

  Each petal broke off into multiple smaller petals.

  It was a storm of light, a bloom etched into the very air, each small petal shimmering with Qi so dense it left spiraling trails of color in its wake. They spun. The petals hummed with an ancient resonance, the sound like a choir of echoing bells buried deep within the fabric of reality.

  They wove a cyclone above Juwon’s head, circled his body like sentinels, burned through the corruption clinging to his skin. Their motion was precise, rhythmic—like the breathing of the earth itself.

  The chamber lighted up; light shimmered from the lotus as if it were inhaling the world. The scent of ash faded. The blood in the air stilled. Thousands of small petals drifting downwards in a gentle motion.

  And the beast—for the first time—stood frozen, not from fear.

  But reverence.

  To all xianxia fans!

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