A few days had passed since the Vanquishing Call at the Ashen Heart Sect.
The next target had already been announced — and this time, it sent ripples through the entire righteous path.

The Azure Heaven Sect, a renowned first-rate sect celebrated for its benevolence across the Central Plains, had been branded a collaborator of the Crimson Flare.

The news unsettled many, but none more than those who’d fought under the banner of the Alliance.

Jin didn’t care much for the politics — righteous or unorthodox, a sect only found itself on the Vanquishing Call list if it had truly committed something unforgivable.
What concerned him was the manpower.
With five Nascent Soul cultivators and one Soul Formation among its ranks, this would be the most dangerous call yet.

For now, though, he focused on his training.
The halberd hummed through the air, each swing heavy enough to stir the dust into spirals. Sweat glistened across his shoulders as he tried to put into practice what he’d been theorizing for days — the relationship between his upper dantian and the star’s plane.

The upper dantian, he’d come to realize, wasn’t merely a vessel. It was a barrier — a thin, vibrating membrane separating his body from the mysterious plane that held his Red Star.

He’d spent the past week experimenting:
When he compressed that barrier, the star’s energy became sluggish, difficult to draw from — but in return, the star itself began to absorb energy more efficiently, as if drinking deeper from some cosmic well.

When he expanded it, the flow reversed — energy flooded his body in torrents, raw and wild, empowering his strikes but tearing at his veins.

Jin imagined it like two taut sheets of silk layered atop one another, a glowing sphere resting on the upper sheet.
When the top layer thickened and shrank, the sphere sat higher, farther from the lower one — stable, but distant.
When he stretched it thin, the two layers drew closer, the sphere pressing down until it almost touched.

The energy that entered him during that contact was exhilarating — and terrifying.
A single second too long, and the pressure alone could crush him from within.

He steadied his breathing, feeling the pulse of the Red Star flicker faintly in his mind’s eye.

The halberd moved again, cleaving through the air with a low, resonant hum — as though echoing the rhythm of his heart.

Jin went home for the night, he saw Bao Kun and Aunt Mei going for a walk outside. Jin considered teasing them - then remembered Bao Kun's fist and decided against tempting fate.

Half a month remained before the Vanquishing Call. Training went on as usual some stride regarding intent and plane expansion were made during this time.

A few day before Jin was to leave his 16th birthday had arrived. This was a special one, as he'd finally found people who'd celebrate the day he was born. The celebration was small — Lin'er had made a sweet steamed cake with Shen and Bao Kun's help. He'd even received a gift from the Iron virtue sect, he'd received a well made robe from them.

Shen had gifted Jin an ornament to attach to his halberd, it was a silk tassel red and white in color.

Finally Bao Kun had offered to take Jin to a brothel to celebrate reaching manhood, while Jin had rejected the offer in front of everyone, he'd approached Bao Kun later on that night to fix a date.

The morning of departure arrived.

Jin and Shen found themselves about to leave to the camp as two silhouettes approached them. Jin spoke with a composed smile "There seems to be a princess and a Yaojie approaching us"

Bao Kun spoke "I can hear you little bastard."

The four laughed

Bao Kun approached the duo with Lin'er by his side. He spoke with an uncharacteristic sincerity "Remeber", Bao Kun spoke quietly "Righteousness won't stop you from dying".

Jin joked "If anyone else heard this they'd think you were worried about me"

"I'd rather not have to train another idiot disciple from scratch" Bao Kun replied flatly, though there was a softness in his eyes as he said it.

Lin’er stood beside Bao Kun, holding two small cloth pouch. She offered it to Jin with both hands. “For luck,” she said shyly. “It’s… dried tangerine peel. Grandpa said you always forget to eat when you train.”

Shen and Jin crouched down to her level. Jin spoke "There will be something even better in it when I return". Shen patted Lin'ers' head "Don't eat too many sweets before we come back, I'll bring back something nice".

The two departed, the tension from before had eased significantly.

Lin’er waved until the two were nothing but silhouettes down the road.
The morning air carried the faint sound of Bao Kun’s gourd uncorking and his quiet mutter:
“Go make your names, you reckless fools… and come back alive.”

The mist swallowed their figures, and Shuimeng fell silent once more.

So came the day of the vanquishing call.

Jin and Shen had found themselves in a tent in a forest near the Azure Heaven's sect. The members of this meeting were Namgung Ryun, himself, Shen, 3 mid stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and finally Mu Chenghai.

Mu Chenghai sat at the head of the command tent, his robes immaculate, his hair bound by a single silver clasp.
His expression was mild — almost serene — yet every cultivator present felt the thinness of the air, as though his very calmness consumed oxygen.
When he spoke, his tone carried neither warmth nor contempt, only certainty.

“The Azure Heaven Sect once fed half the Central Plains after the drought,” he said, eyes half-lidded. “Their fall will be mourned.”

Namgung Ryun’s jaw tightened. “Then you believe they’re innocent?”

Mu Chenghai’s gaze never lifted from the map before him. “I believe the Alliance cannot afford to appear merciful.”

A faint tremor passed through the tent — not of fear, but of realization. This man was not here to debate morality; he was here to ensure the outcome matched the report.

At first sight he'd seemed like a calm, consolidate, affable person, but, to those who could use intent they could sense a faint chill from his soul.

The plan was simple and yet the one Jin and Shen least wanted to hear. Mu Chenghai would would take on the Soul formation cultivator on his own, where as the remaining 6 would take on the Nascent Soul cultivators.

Jin and Shen had to hold off a Nascent Soul cultivator long enough for one of the other 4 Nascent Soul cultivators to come to their assistance.

The plan in itself was not flawed, in fact its how most would've handled this situation. However, the danger was real. Within the late stage and Grand perfection core formation Jin and Shen could hold their own in a 1v1. But the difference between on who has reached Nascent Soul and one still in Core Formation was extreme.

Akin to the difference between heaven and earth, literally, Nascent soul cultivators could fly. Thankfully the opponent they were assigned to had just reached the Nascent Soul realm.

As the cultivators filed out, Namgung Ryun leaned closer.
“Taking on a Nascent Soul as a Core Formation. The more I hang out with the two off you the more I think you are trying to steal my fame”

Jin exhaled through his nose. “As always.”

Namgung Ryun's mouth twitched — half-smile, half-warning. “Try not to die before I arrive. It ruins my timing.”

Jin grinned. “No promises.”

Dawn broke thin and gray.
The forest mist hung low, swallowing sound until even the clink of armor felt distant.
Banners of the Alliance rippled above the treeline; the sigil of Mount Hua glowed faintly on each.

Jin adjusted the halberd across his back. For a heartbeat, he felt the Red Star stir — a pulse that resonated with the rhythm of the marching steps.

Shen noticed.
“Save that trick for when heaven’s looking,” he murmured. “It’ll notice.”

Jin gave a small nod, his gaze fixed on the mist ahead where light began to turn gold.
The first cries of the Azure Heaven sentries echoed across the valley, and the righteous storm began to move.