The mountain trembled.

It was subtle , a faint vibration rippling through the stone floor, a low, resonant hum threading through the air like the breath of something ancient waking from slumber. 

But to Jiang Xuan, it might as well have been the roar of a war drum heralding battle.

[System Prompt: Relic Pulse Surge , 60 Seconds to Peak.]

Jiang Xuan’s gaze sharpened into cold steel as Liu Tianyi took another step forward, his sneer widening, utterly oblivious to the storm of power awakening beneath his very feet.

“You don’t look so smug now, cripple,” Liu Tianyi spat, a cruel grin twisting his face. 

His two cronies flanked him like obedient hounds, weapons drawn and gleaming in the dim light. 

“I’m going to carve that grin off your face, then feed your corpse to the demon beasts.”

Jiang Xuan didn’t flinch. Not once.

Instead, his system interface flared to life within his mind, cascading lines of data flashing across his vision like lightning in a storm.

[Relic Resonance Field Expanding.]

[Passive Bloodline Ability Triggered: Relic Pulse Sense Overdrive .]

[Temporary Power Surge: +1 Major Realm for 30 Seconds.]

A violent surge of raw, ancient energy erupted through Jiang Xuan’s meridians like wildfire breaking through dry tinder. 

His once-crippled core howled in protest as unfamiliar power flooded his limbs , a floodgate thrown open after years of suppression.

The broken pathways within him mended , knitting together with brutal efficiency. 

The fractured spirit sea cracked, then sealed , its surface rippling with newfound strength.

For the first time in his life, true, unrestricted strength surged through him , unshackled and absolute .

He smiled.

Not a smug one.

No , this was something far colder. Far deadlier.

A grin carved from vengeance and fury.

“I hope you said your goodbyes,” Jiang Xuan whispered, voice barely above the wind.

The ground beneath them shuddered as the relic pulse reached its peak. 

A dull, invisible shockwave exploded outward, rolling through the Mistveil Grove like thunder before a storm. 

In its wake, the fragile veil between mortal power and ancient forces cracked , torn apart by something long buried and now awakened.

Before Liu Tianyi could even draw breath, Jiang Xuan moved.

One step.

And he vanished.

Reappearing behind Liu’s nearest lackey in the blink of an eye, his palm struck like a blade of pure force.

Crack.

The disciple’s chest caved inward with a sickening, wet crunch. 

Blood sprayed across the walls like crimson ink. 

The second henchman spun around, screaming in panic , but it was already too late.

Jiang Xuan’s fingers pierced through his throat like damp parchment.

Only Liu Tianyi remained.

Panic flashed across his face , raw, unmasked terror.

“What… what are you!”

Jiang Xuan appeared before him in an instant.

His fist shot forward.

Liu Tianyi’s body flew backward like a ragdoll, crashing through the wooden wall and skidding across the earth like discarded trash.

Foamy blood bubbled at his lips. He coughed violently, eyes wide with disbelief and dread.

“Y-you’re a cripple !”

Jiang Xuan knelt beside him, gripping a fistful of his blood-soaked robes with ironclad fingers.

“I was ,” Jiang Xuan hissed, voice laced with venom. “Now I’m what nightmares pray to.”

Then , he struck.

Not to kill.

Not yet.

A precise, calculated blow , aimed to shatter . 

To cripple . 

To erase .

Meridians severed. Dantian walls collapsed. 

Core shattered beyond repair.

Liu Tianyi screamed , a high-pitched wail that echoed through the ruins.

His entire cultivation base imploded, reduced to nothing more than drifting spiritual ash.

And at that exact moment.

[System Prompt: Blood Debt Resolved , First Tier Complete.]

[Reward: Spirit Devouring Orb Shard.]

A faint, ghostly glow flickered within Jiang Xuan’s palm , a fragment of a relic artifact long lost to the tides of history.

 His pulse thundered in his ears like war drums.

This was only the beginning.

From the shadows beyond the grove, a figure clad in dark robes stood motionless , unseen, unheard.

Watching.

“So it begins,” the man murmured, his voice like the rustling of dead leaves in a forgotten tomb.

Then, like smoke in the wind, he vanished without a trace.

Jiang Xuan rose slowly, the blood-soaked clearing behind him littered with corpses, bathed in crimson and mist. 

The Relic Pulse had subsided, but its echoes still reverberated through his bones.

His system chimed once more, cold and mechanical within his mind.

[New Quest Unlocked: Mistveil Depths Breach.]

[Estimated Threat Level: Catastrophic.]

Jiang Xuan exhaled slowly, the weight of power settling into his limbs like iron forged in fire.

“Good.”

He turned toward the heart of the grove, where darkness gathered like storm clouds before a reckoning.

Let the mountain shake.

Let the heavens rage.

He would tear them all down.