Kai was soundly asleep, nestled within the comforting warmth of the menagerie of creatures that surrounded him. Their rhythmic breathing had lulled him into a rare and peaceful slumber. Suddenly, a searing, fiery pain erupted throughout his entire body, tearing him violently from his dreams.

  “Augh!” he cried out, his voice breaking the stillness of the stable. His body curled instinctively into a fetal position, wracked by the intense agony.

  Through the haze of pain, Kai’s eyes focused on his hands. The markings of the Jade King Seal etched into his skin pulsed with an ominous orange glow, their light flickering like embers across the darkness of the stable. The same radiance spread across his entire body, illuminating every line and symbol burned into his flesh. It felt as though molten fire coursed through his veins, each glowing mark radiating heat and torment.

  The creatures stirred around him, their worried murmurs and distressed sounds echoing in the stable. Snow let out a low, mournful howl, while Igni prowled anxiously around him, its golden eyes reflecting the eerie glow of the marks. Even the smaller creatures pressed closer, their instincts compelling them to comfort Kai despite the inexplicable power radiating from him.

  Kai gritted his teeth, his breaths coming in shallow, ragged gasps. He clenched his fists, the glowing markings on his knuckles burning brighter with the effort. "Damn it," he whispered hoarsely, his voice trembling with both pain and determination. "Why!?l… I thought I had seven days!"

  The searing agony coursing through Kai’s body made his mind race with a singular, horrifying conclusion: the Jade King Seal was activating. He braced himself for what he thought was the end, his heartbeat pounding like a drum against the walls of his chest. Each pulsation of pain convinced him that his time had come, that death was mere moments away.

  But then, as abruptly as the torment had arrived, it began to subside. The fiery sensation ebbed, receding like a tide pulling away from the shore. The glowing markings etched across his skin, which had seemed so menacingly alive just moments ago, started to dim. The orange light flickered and faded, and to Kai's astonishment, the intricate symbols began to vanish altogether, melting away like ink washed clean by rain.

  He sat frozen, barely daring to move, his breaths uneven and shallow. He glanced down at his hands, where only moments ago the seal had burned with ominous brilliance. Now, there was nothing but bare skin—no marks, no glow, no sign that the Jade King Seal had ever been there. Kai frantically pulled back his sleeves, searching the rest of his body, but the markings were gone, as if erased by some unseen force.

  "What... what just happened?" he murmured, his voice trembling with confusion and disbelief. His heart still hammered in his chest, but a glimmer of hope began to flicker within him. Had the seal malfunctioned?

  The beasts around him seemed to sense the shift. Snow nudged his arm gently with a cold nose, and Igni let out a soft rumble, their collective presence grounding him amidst the chaos of his thoughts.

  “No,” Kai muttered, his voice hoarse as he clutched his trembling hands, staring at the now unmarked skin. “There’s no way the Jade King Seal would malfunction. It’s impossible.” His thoughts raced, tumbling over one another as he tried to make sense of what had happened.

  He shook his head, his mind clinging to the only explanations he knew. “The markings... they can only disappear under specific conditions. If I die… or if I complete my task.” He trailed off, his breath hitching as a third, chilling possibility clawed its way to the forefront of his mind.

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  “Or…” His voice cracked as his eyes widened in shock. “The one who placed the marking on me... dies.”

  The weight of the realization crashed over him like a tidal wave. Long Bo. The sect leader. The man who had condemned him, marked him, and set the course of his fate. Could be gone. It seemed unthinkable, yet the evidence was etched—or rather, unetched—across his skin.

  Kai scrambled to his feet, his body trembling as he carefully stepped over the spirit beasts that had been stirred awake by his screams. Their worried eyes tracked his every move, but Kai’s focus was singular. He needed to get outside. Stumbling out of the barn, he was greeted by the cool night air, but what he saw froze him in place.

  In the distance, toward the direction of the main sect grounds, the horizon was painted in a sinister, flickering orange. Giant plumes of black smoke spiraled upward, blotting out the stars. The flames danced like serpents, consuming everything in their path. It wasn’t just one fire—multiple pillars of smoke and fire dotted the landscape, a clear sign that several settlements within the main sect grounds were ablaze.

  "The Ember Sword Sect... it's under attack," Kai muttered, his voice trembling. His mind raced as his eyes remained locked on the distant inferno. "But who would dare…?"

  Then, another chilling thought struck him. The rumors—the whispers that had spread like wildfire among the sect—came rushing back. The rumors about the present of demonic cultivators being somewhere nearby. The reason why the Emerald Tortoise sect was here. The reason why the sect had searched his barn and found the meat fruit and accused him of demonic cultivation. It seemed there was truth to the rumors.

  Kai couldn’t fathom any group daring to launch such a brazen assault on the Ember Sword Sect other than demonic cultivators. Their cruelty and boldness were infamous, and this devastation bore the hallmarks of their dark, unrelenting ambition. But what truly sent a chill down his spine was the unsettling realization of what this attack likely meant: the death of the sect leader.

  It was the only explanation Kai could conceive for the disappearance of the Jade King Seal’s markings from his body. Those markings, a tether to the sect leader’s command and will, could only vanish under three conditions. Kai hadn’t died, and he certainly hadn’t completed the orders. That left only one possibility—the one who placed the seal, the sect leader himself, had perished.

  The thought hit him like lightning. The mighty sect leader, a figure of unparalleled authority and power, laid low? It was difficult to believe, yet it aligned too perfectly with the sudden disappearance of the markings and the plumes of smoke now darkening the sky.

  "Demonic cultivators..." Kai whispered, his voice trembling with equal parts fear and anger. If they had managed to strike down the sect leader, the situation was far worse than he’d imagined. The Ember Sword Sect was no longer just under attack—it was on the brink of collapse.

  The looming collapse of the Ember Sword Sect didn’t stir a shred of concern in Kai’s heart. Any lingering loyalty or affection he might have once felt for the sect had long since withered, burned away during the time he was under the brand of the Jade King Seal. If anything, the impending destruction of the sect felt like karmic justice to him.

  Even his hatred for demonic cultivators, as vile as they were, could not overshadow the bitter irony of the moment. Whether intentionally or not, they had handed him the most unexpected stroke of fortune: freedom. In the midst of the chaos engulfing the sect, Kai now saw an opportunity he could have never dared dream of—a chance to not only save the spirit beasts he had cared for, but to escape himself.

  For the first time in years, a spark of hope ignited in Kai’s chest. He could run, far away from the battles, the politics, the suffocating expectations, and the endless bloodshed of cultivation. Somewhere far removed from the prying eyes of sects and their disciples, he could carve out a quiet life of anonymity. A life where he was no longer shackled to rules or marked as an outcast.

  The prospect filled him with resolve. Glancing back at the barn where the spirit beasts rested, Kai made his decision. Whatever chaos was consuming the Ember Sword Sect, it was the perfect cover for his escape. He would free the creatures and flee, disappearing into the farthest corners of the world, to a place where neither the sect nor the demonic cultivators would ever find him. A place where, perhaps, he could finally live in peace.