Volume One, Chapter Twenty-Five: The Instigator

Staring at the spot where the shadow bird had perched moments before, Kentu raised his brows. The mist spirits he’d dispatched earlier were now relaying messages: the human troops had begun to gather. It seemed his identity was finally exposed. He removed his gray hood, letting his white hair drift freely in the wind, revealing a face etched by the passage of years. Though this place was no longer safe, he was loath to leave just yet. He had journeyed thousands of miles to the Huaxia Domain, surviving on raw meat and dew, avoiding all contact for fear of being discovered. After enduring countless trials to slip into the Qin Emperor’s mountains and searching for half a year, he had finally found the place where the “Twin Lotus” would bloom.

Before him stood a crimson-yellow lotus bud, rooted deep in the veins of Qin’s land—this was, as the Grand Shepherd had said, the key to shedding his lingering ills. He gritted his teeth, calculated the time once more, and a wild glint flickered in his eyes. With a wave of his sleeve, thick mist billowed forth, almost tangible in its density. Kentu decided to wait here another half day: he would use his mist spirits to command mist beasts, delaying the encirclement of the army. Once the Twin Lotus matured and his strength was restored, he could break through before the Huaxia Domain’s strongest arrived.

If the Twin Lotus did not mature within half a day, he would destroy this place himself and embrace his end. Kentu knew that his current power was not enough to summon the Supreme Power to guide him away. To be destroyed by the Supreme was the ultimate wish of every member of the Calamity Church willing to become disaster incarnate. But even if this wish could not be fulfilled, these madmen feared not death.

“I can accept the end that is death, but if I could choose, I would rather complete the trial you set for me. Only after becoming disaster and destroying all, to be destroyed by your own hand.” Pressing his index fingers to the black diamond at his brow, Kentu bowed his head in devout prayer to the Supreme Power within. After repeating his prayers, he lowered his hands and from his breast drew a black-and-white mask, the symbol of calamity, and gently put it on.

The fog rolled in like a tide, engulfing all, and the sky grew ever darker.

“Well, well... I’ve finally found you. You just about killed me with all this trouble.” Suddenly, a woman’s voice rang out, slicing through the thick mist. Kentu froze, turned, and rasped, “Who are you? How did you find this place?”

The figure leaned lazily against a boulder, ignoring his question and muttering to herself, “Let’s see who you are... Oh, the Calamity Church, huh? Not someone I want to mess with. Sorry to bother you, is it too late if I just leave now?” With a nimble motion, she sat up straight. “Just quit my job, and now I run into this mess. What rotten luck…”

“Who are you?” Kentu repeated, ignoring the obscuring fog as he locked his killing intent on her.

“Me? I’m Mu Qing. ‘Mu’ as in ‘admirer from afar,’ and ‘Qing’ as in ‘the sky after rain.’ And you?” She straightened, unzipping her combat suit slightly to loosen the collar, rolling her neck and flexing her wrists and ankles. It seemed this fight was inevitable.

“My name is Kentu,” he replied, lifting his right hand and flicking a beam of black light at Mu Qing. He wanted to end this quickly, to avoid harming the Twin Lotus behind him.

She struck the black light away with a single punch, then waved her hand to scatter the dissipating mist. However, seeing the black fog merge seamlessly into the surrounding haze, she ceased her futile efforts. Pulling a pair of crumpled gloves from her pocket, Mu Qing donned them, her gaze lingering on what lay behind the Calamity Apostle.

“Elemental spirit? Nice find. But come on, man, you’re playing dirty. I was ready to leave without a fight, but you still want to silence me? Try being a little kinder, will you?”

A thought sent the last lingering mist spirit to confirm: the woman was indeed alone.

“Coming here alone, you’re brave,” Kentu’s eyes grew colder, his murderous intent pure and unrestrained. In an instant, the aura of a Peak Willful Realm master erupted from him, sending all creatures within several miles fleeing in terror. Pillars of mist condensed within a thousand meters. Since this woman could ignore the mist and his black venom had no effect, it was better to abandon tricks and overwhelm her with sheer power.

He raised a palm at Mu Qing, clenching it into a fist. The surrounding mist transformed into a massive whip, lashing down fiercely. With a thunderous crash, rocks shattered and sprayed in all directions, centered on where Mu Qing had stood. In one blow, the rocky ground was pulverized.

As the dust settled, Kentu’s pupils contracted— the pit was empty. He whirled around, arms raised, summoning mist to defend.

A black-gloved fist emerged, meeting his thick mist shield with calm precision. The shield’s surface shattered instantly, then reformed, layers of mist pouring in to reinforce it, yet it still could not halt the onslaught.

With a gentle rotation of her fist, Mu Qing shattered the pale shield entirely, scattering the mist with the force of her blow.

“Hm, impressive,” she remarked, surprised that the seemingly insubstantial shield had not been pierced in a single punch. Kentu had already leapt away, putting distance between them.

“Late Willful Realm—truly exceptional.” Mu Qing flexed her fingers, the sleek black gloves accentuating her slender hands. She stretched both arms, lowered her stance into a bow, preparing for her next assault.

“How does someone at the early Willful Realm wield such might?” Kentu asked, wary. He sensed only an early-stage aura from Mu Qing, yet her destructive power had nearly caught him off guard.

“Guess.” Before the word was finished, Mu Qing vanished. In midair, her figure reappeared, torso twisting as her long leg swung down like a giant axe, dispersing the mist with sheer force. Her ponytail stood on end, and all traces of laziness or jest were gone from her face—her demeanor was as still as a dry well, her expression unruffled, but every movement brimming with decisive, tidal killing intent.

Suddenly, a giant python manifested around Kentu, its lower half absorbing mist, its upper jaws open wide—ten meters across—to devour the descending figure like a skyscraper rising from the earth.

A dull crunch resounded as a shadow flashed—Mu Qing’s kick smashed the serpent’s head, then continued downward, splitting the mist beast from crown to tail, sundering the clouds like a blade of creation. Kentu had clearly underestimated her lethality. A tentacle of condensed mist snaked from afar, lashing around his waist and yanking him away.

With thunderous force, Mu Qing’s kick shattered the mist python and smashed the ground where Kentu had stood, sending tremors through the mountain and deep fissures radiating from the crater.

Silently, Kentu ordered his mist spirits to guard the Twin Lotus. He now reassessed Mu Qing as an equal, matching his own strength at the late Willful Realm. Pity his old wounds had dragged him down from his peak, and most of his mist spirits were out stalling the mountain garrison and reinforcements—otherwise, he wouldn’t be so constrained.

“I admit, you’re strong. Perhaps you are the final trial before I become calamity. Only by overcoming you can I continue on my pilgrimage to the Supreme Power.” Tearing off his gray robe, Kentu revealed his bare torso, crisscrossed with chaotic black and white lines.

“What’s this, are you a performance artist?” Mu Qing’s tone was unchanged, though her quip undermined the atmosphere of deadly resolve.

She did not attack recklessly. Her instincts screamed danger—this man had grown more lethal. “Why don’t we each take a step back, Mr. Artist? You wait for your elemental spirit, I’ll be on my way, and we’ll stay out of each other’s business.” While Mu Qing did not fear fighting a late Willful Realm opponent, this was a Calamity Church apostle—a true madman. Better to leave him to the big shots than risk a life-or-death struggle herself.

“I will shatter the stones in my path,” Kentu intoned suddenly, folding his arms across his chest. The black and white patterns on his body began to writhe as if alive.

“I will break the trees that block my way. I will savor the trial bestowed upon me by the Supreme Power. I will destroy all, until destruction descends.”

“Come, trial of the Supreme Power—destroy me, or be destroyed by me!” Kentu howled at the sky, the black and white lines bursting from his body and dissolving into mist. The two colors did not blend, but coexisted eerily, swirling and weaving about him—black mist light and agile, white mist thick and heavy, conflicting yet harmonious, creating a fractured beauty. The earth around him strained under the pressure, cracking and shattering anew. The already ravaged canyon suffered yet another blow.

The ethereal mist formed steps beneath his feet, lifting Kentu into the air. He was moving the battlefield away from the canyon, to prevent collateral damage to the still-maturing elemental spirit.

Adjusting her amber sunglasses, Mu Qing saw, through the clear lenses, the madman’s aura surge wildly in midair—his power, previously at the late Willful Realm, now breaking through to the peak.

She drew a deep breath, sucking in all the air around her, her combat suit’s zipper threatening to give way. She shrugged off the outer jacket and tied it around her waist, revealing a black combat shirt beneath. Mu Qing set her stance, gloved hands open.

With a sudden clench, two sharp cracks overlapped. Mu Qing exhaled slowly, compressed air swirling around her, stirring the dust. This one truly was a lunatic—escape was off the table. Time for Plan C: settle this in a real fight.

As for Plan B—dragging things out until reinforcements arrived—she dismissed the thought. If she fought just to buy time, she’d be the one needing rescue by the time help showed up.

Supreme Power? Ha, what’s that to me? I’ve seen things far more astonishing. Behind the tinted lenses, Mu Qing’s eyes sparkled with laughter, her lips curling into a smile.

“Come on then. Hit me if you can.” She crooked a finger, her tone gentle, her smile bright—a beauty tinged with wildness.