The summoning hall of Elder Jinhai was cold, grand, and filled with ancient statues of long-dead heroes. But none of that mattered to Feng Mo.
What mattered was the girl standing in front of him.
She wore plain, sky-blue robes—unmarked by sect emblems. Her hair was snow-white, falling in waves to her waist. Her eyes… unsettling. One eye shimmered silver, the other jet black.
She bowed respectfully, yet without fear.
"My name is not important," she said softly. "But the sect has placed me under your guidance."
Elder Jinhai stroked his beard. "As a reward for your recent… accomplishments, the Azure Flame Sect has assigned you a cultivation partner. She is to assist you in sparring, missions, and breakthrough research."
Feng Mo frowned. "A reward? Or a leash?"
Jinhai's eyes narrowed slightly. "She is talented. Consider this an opportunity."
But Feng Mo had been a servant long enough to know when a snake wore a smile.
He nodded curtly and left.
Back at the shack, the girl followed in silence.
She looked around the sparse room, then sat cross-legged in a corner. She meditated without being asked, without complaint.
Feng Mo watched her.
She's not just a spy. She's… too calm. Too precise.
"Who taught you to suppress your breathing like that?" he asked.
She opened her eyes. "I was raised in the Silent Wind Monastery, in the Western Desolate Plains. We were taught to kill emotions before we were taught to speak."
Feng Mo stepped closer. "Why would a monastery send someone to a sect that values fire and blood?"
She said nothing.
Then finally… "I'm dying."
That stopped him cold.
"My soul is fractured," she continued. "I have no name because names bind karma. I wasn't supposed to live this long. But… you carry something. An aura that stabilizes my pain."
Her black eye shimmered with energy. "That's why I agreed to come."
Suddenly, a knock rattled the shack door—no, a boom.
"FENG MO!" a voice thundered. "Come out and face me, coward!"
Feng Mo opened the door.
A massive youth stood there, muscles bulging beneath tight leather armor. A flaming brand glowed on his forearm—Inner Disciple, Rank 5.
"You crippled Lin Zhen. That was my cousin."
He cracked his knuckles. "By sect law, I can't kill you in public. But if you step into the Wailing Cliff Arena in one hour, I'll bury you there."
The crowd gathering behind him murmured.
Feng Mo smiled.
"Good. I've been itching to test something."
The brute sneered and turned to leave.
The girl stepped forward. "Don't go. That arena is cursed."
Feng Mo looked at her, surprised. "You believe in curses?"
She looked away. "I've seen what happens when blood soaks stone for too long. It remembers."
One hour later, the Wailing Cliff Arena was packed.
Dozens of outer and inner disciples leaned over the cracked stone ledges, eager to see the new legend fall.
Feng Mo walked in slowly, his robes fluttering in the wind.
Opposite him, the brute—Bao Kang—tightened his flaming gauntlets.
"You've got one trick," Bao sneered. "Blood chains. Let's see if they help when your skull hits the cliff wall."
The referee raised his hand. "Begin!"
Bao Kang charged like a boulder, fists igniting with flame qi. The air shimmered with heat.
Feng Mo closed his eyes.
Inside his soul, the Blood Requiem Space trembled. The Second Vein pulsed.
"Pulse of War – Blood Echo Form."
Feng Mo's body split into three afterimages, each real, each pulsing with raw blood essence.
Bao Kang struck one.
It exploded in a burst of red mist—a trap.
"Blood Detonation."
The blast blew Bao off his feet.
Before he could recover, crimson chains lashed from the ground and wrapped around his arms.
"Pulse Bind – Triple Lock."
Feng Mo walked forward.
"You said I had one trick," he said, raising a hand. "Here's my second."
He formed a seal with both palms.
"Blood Extraction."
Bao Kang screamed as a stream of glowing red mist flowed from his body into Feng Mo's palm.
His flame qi—his cultivation base—was being stripped, piece by piece.
The crowd gasped.
Even the elders watching from afar sat upright.
"That's… forbidden soul draining!"
Feng Mo stopped just before Bao passed out.
"Let that be your lesson," he whispered. "Never fight someone who has nothing left to lose."
As Feng Mo left the arena, the girl was waiting for him.
"You awakened another function in your bloodline," she said softly. "Did you feel it?"
He nodded. "The Blood Echo. It copies technique patterns from enemies I fight. Temporary... for now."
She stared at him.
"You're not from this world, are you?"
Feng Mo froze.
She smiled slightly. "Don't worry. I won't ask again."
But her silver eye glowed faintly… and the seal hidden inside her soul pulsed once.
To be continued…