The land was littered with ancient scars. Dense thorn-brush choked the foothills, ripping easily through clothing and skin. Wild beasts prowled with increasing aggression that were driven from their dens by the Blood Lotus cult's grotesque rituals.

Each hour Li Wei traveled, he encountered more signs of corruption. Numerous trees were twisted unnaturally, streams stained a faint, sickly red. They were even stones cracked as if heat had pulsed beneath them.

The Heart Stone in his sleeve pulsed in discomfort. "It recoils from the blood path," he muttered. "Perhaps this is a fortunate omen… or an ill one."

He urged the carpet onward.

By mid-afternoon, a distant clamor reached him. It was a crude mix of screams, clashing metal, and the eerie chants of the Blood Lotus scriptures. He veered sharply, rising higher for a clearer look.

Smoke curled upward from a fortified village that was much larger than any he had seen thus far. Its walls were crude but reinforced with timber and stone, and dozens of defenders crowded its ramparts, hurling spears and firing arrows.

Below, like red ants swarming a carcass, hundreds of cultists besieged the gates. Some carried torches; others wielded hooked blades stained with ritual markings. A few even bore talismans dripping with fresh blood, their auras twisted and unnatural.

Li Wei's eyes sharpened. This was no mere raid, it was a systematic extermination. Inside the walls, frightened villagers clung to their families while defenders shouted desperately.

One woman screamed toward the heavens, "Where are the imperial troops?! Where is our damn magistrate?!"

A cult lieutenant laughed at her despair. "Offer your hearts to the Lotus! Resistance only sweetens the sacrifice!"

Li Wei exhaled through his nose, a breath cold as winter frost. " This has gone on long enough."

Li Wei touched two fingers to the carpet, and it dove like a hawk hunting prey. Energy surged through his meridians as he extended one hand, gathering qi at his fingertips.

A sigil appeared beneath him, glowing silver.

He whispered a simple mantra. "Heaven's Mending Art — Falling Star Severance."

A streak of pale light shot downward, clean and precise. It struck the ground behind the cultists and erupted wildly into a concussive wave that hurled the backline into the air.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield froze.

Dozens of eyes turned upward.

"Who—who is that?!"

"Another imperial dog?!"

"No…" murmured the cultist lieutenant, shading his eyes. "His qi is different. Controlled. Focused. Not one of ours… but not empire, either."

Li Wei hovered above them, wind tugging at his sleeves. His gaze was as calm as still water, yet far colder than any winter wind. He spoke not in a loud tone, but with clarity that cut straight to the bone.

"Lay down your blood-soaked weapons," he spoke calmly like a tailor in his workshop, "and I will leave you with your lives."

A silence fell.

Then soon afterwards, Laughter erupted.

"Who does he think he is?!" a cultist spat.

"Break him!" another roared.

Li Wei's lips thinned. "So be it."

Cultists surged up the hill toward him, chanting feverishly. Their blood qi flared in crooked patterns, forming a crimson haze.

Li Wei leapt from the carpet, descending in a swirl of robes. He landed with barely a sound, palm touching the ground.

The earth shuddered.

A fissure of silver light expanded outward—

[Heavenly Vein Pulse]

Dozens of cultists froze mid-charge, their limbs locking as if seized by invisible chains. The qi within their bodies trembled violently, thrown off balance by Li Wei's technique.

Those nearest him collapsed, coughing blood.

A stronger cult warrior lunged with a crescent blade dripping with blood qi.

Li Wei's hand snapped upward.

[Silent Flow Reversal]

The man's blade halted mid-swing.

His arms twisted backward with a sickening crack.

He fell screaming.

Li Wei did not look at him.

He stepped forward, each motion precise and unhurried. His qi flared around him like a veil of pale fire, pushing back the crimson miasma.

Villagers on the walls watched, mouths agape.

A defender whispered tremblingly, "This… is this a celestial envoy?!"

Another bowed instinctively. "No mere mortal fights like this…"

But Li Wei heard none of their words.

His focus was solely on extinguishing the threat.

Within minutes, the front ranks collapsed. The cult lieutenant attempted to retreat, shouting orders, but Li Wei was upon him in a breath.

Their eyes met.

The lieutenant trembled.

"You… what are you?"

Li Wei's voice was ice.

"The one who says: no more."

He struck the man square in the chest with his palm. A burst of qi shattered the blood talisman hidden beneath the cultist's robes.

The lieutenant vomited blood and collapsed.

The remaining cultists scattered like insects beneath torchlight.

The gates creaked open. Dozens of villagers rushed out, some kneeling, others weeping in relief. An elderly matriarch, wrapped in tattered robes, stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Honored one… please. Tell us your name so we may offer proper thanks." Li Wei shook his head. "Names matter less than deeds."

"But your deeds saved us," she insisted.

Li Wei hesitated for a moment, before he bowed his head slightly. "I am Li Wei of the Liu clan. And I have come seeking allies from villages forgotten by the empire, yet strong enough to stand together."

Murmurs rippled through the gathered crowd.

"What would you have us do?"

"Do you mean to fight the imperial forces?"

"Or the blood cult?"

Li Wei's gaze swept across their faces—tired, scarred, but not broken.

"The world above prepares to swallow the weak. I ask not for blind allegiance, only resolve."

He pointed toward the charred horizon.

"The Blood Lotus won't stop at your walls. Unite with me, and I will ensure you never face them alone."

The matriarch looked at her people—then knelt.

And one by one, the others followed.

Li Wei closed his eyes briefly.

A beginning formed from ash.

A spark kindled in ruin.

But war demanded more than a spark.

It demanded a blaze.

And he would feed it.

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