The night sky was a deep, endless canvas, painted black with only a few dying stars hanging weakly above. The air itself seemed heavy, pressing down on the earth with an invisible weight. On the edge of the towering cliff, Vạn Thiên Phong stood alone, an indomitable figure dressed in flowing black robes, his eyes like frozen voids absorbing all light.
Below, a thousand torches flickered in the darkness, held aloft by the gathered forces of the Azure Sky Sect. Hundreds of cultivators stood assembled, weapons gleaming, faces grim. They had come with a single purpose: to eliminate the one they called the 'Demon Spawn' — Vạn Thiên Phong.
The sect leader, Hua Lin, stepped forward, his expression a mask of righteous fury. His voice, amplified by spiritual energy, thundered across the valley:
"Vạn Thiên Phong! Tonight, your reign of terror ends! Your evil shall be wiped clean by the might of justice!"
A chorus of roars followed, countless disciples and elders raising their weapons high, their confidence buoyed by their overwhelming numbers.
But on the cliff, Vạn Thiên Phong only smiled — a cold, detached smile that sent shivers through even the bravest warriors.
"Justice?" he said softly, voice like a whisper of death. "Is that what you tell yourselves... to sleep at night?"
Without further ceremony, he stepped off the cliff.
He did not fall.
He descended slowly, gracefully, as if the very air bent to his will, lowering him into the heart of the battlefield like a dark god surveying his sacrificial altar.
The army shifted uneasily. Fear crept into their hearts.
---
Moments Before
Inside the grand command tent, leaders of the Azure Sky Sect had plotted meticulously.
"Three flanks. No escape," Hua Lin had said. "We bind him with sealing arrays. We strike with overwhelming force. He cannot survive."
Confident nods had followed. Their arrogance was palpable. They believed numbers would triumph over legend.
They were wrong.
---
Back to the Present
As Thiên Phong landed, silence reigned.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then a foolhardy elder roared and charged forward, sword glowing with fierce qi.
It was a fatal mistake.
Thiên Phong raised his hand lazily. A tendril of pure black energy erupted from his palm, lashing forward like a living serpent. It wrapped around the elder's sword arm and squeezed.
Crack.
The elder's arm shattered with a sickening sound, bone splintering through flesh. Before the man could scream, another flick of the black energy twisted his neck at an unnatural angle. His body crumpled, lifeless.
The army gasped. Some stumbled backward instinctively.
"Attack!" Hua Lin shouted desperately. "All at once! He's only one man!"
The soldiers surged forward like a tidal wave, spells lighting up the night.
Thiên Phong moved.
He was a blur of shadow and steel.
Nightpiercer, his infamous blade, sang a song of death as it danced through the ranks. Each swing reaped lives, slicing through spiritual shields, armor, and flesh with equal ease.
An arrow whistled toward him. He caught it mid-air between two fingers, snapping it casually.
A massive fireball hurtled toward him. He stepped aside, the attack missing by a hair's breadth, incinerating friendly soldiers instead.
Wherever he moved, death followed. Screams and blood filled the battlefield.
---
Elsewhere
From behind a rocky outcrop, a pair of violet eyes watched the carnage unfold.
Bạch Tiêu Nhiên clutched the cold stone, her heart pounding wildly. Her breath caught in her throat.
This was Vạn Thiên Phong.
The man who had been branded a villain.
The man who now slaughtered an entire army without blinking.
She should have been horrified. She should have turned away.
But she could not.
There was something hypnotic in the way he fought — a terrifying beauty, a primal truth. He made no excuses, no pretenses. He embraced his nature fully, something no so-called righteous sect dared to do.
Bạch Tiêu Nhiên felt an unfamiliar heat stirring in her chest. Fear, awe, fascination... and something darker, more dangerous.
---
The Battle Worsens
More elders launched coordinated attacks. Spells of wind, fire, ice, and lightning converged upon Thiên Phong from every direction.
But he stood unmoved.
A dome of black energy expanded around him, absorbing the elements like a bottomless abyss. Their power fueled him, strengthened him.
With a contemptuous smirk, he released the stored energy.
A massive explosion erupted outward, a shockwave of pure annihilation. Soldiers and elders alike were hurled through the air like ragdolls, their bodies snapping upon impact with the ground.
Blood mist filled the air.
The army's morale shattered completely.
---
Hua Lin's Desperation
Realizing the battle was lost, Hua Lin tried to organize a retreat.
"Fall back!" he bellowed. "Retreat to the mountains! Regroup!"
But it was too late.
Vạn Thiên Phong had anticipated their cowardice.
Earlier, he had inscribed invisible blood runes around the valley, a forbidden formation that sealed space itself. No teleportation. No escape.
The disciples tried to flee — only to slam into invisible walls of force, breaking bones and skulls.
They were trapped.
Like cattle in a slaughterhouse.
Thiên Phong advanced slowly, methodically, killing without pity or hesitation. His eyes remained cold and detached, as if he were merely pruning a garden.
One by one, the 'heroes' of the Azure Sky Sect fell.
---
The Last Stand
Hua Lin gathered the last remaining elders around him.
"We must kill him! Even if we die doing it!"
Together, they launched their final attack: a forbidden spell fueled by their very life forces.
For a moment, the night brightened, a massive pillar of light descending from the heavens itself, targeting Thiên Phong.
Victory gleamed in Hua Lin's eyes.
Then he saw it.
Thiên Phong raised Nightpiercer high, the blade absorbing the light like a sponge drinking water.
He smiled — a true, terrifying smile.
"You dare challenge a god?"
With a single downward slash, he split the pillar in two, sending twin rivers of destruction crashing back into the army.
Hua Lin's body was vaporized before he could even scream.
---
Aftermath
As dawn broke, the battlefield lay silent.
Corpses covered the ground as far as the eye could see.
Blood pooled into rivers. The once-proud Azure Sky Sect's army — annihilated to the last man.
Atop the mound of bodies, Vạn Thiên Phong stood alone.
He wiped Nightpiercer clean with a casual flick, the blood sizzling as it burned away.
> [Ding! Azure Sky Sect annihilated!]
[Sin Value + 10,000]
[New Title Unlocked: "He Who Devours Heaven"]
[Reward Unlocked: Abyssal Heart Cultivation Technique]
He laughed softly, the sound low and chilling.
"Another sect down. Many more to go."
Somewhere behind him, hidden in the shadows, Bạch Tiêu Nhiên watched, her heart lost in a storm of emotions.
She knew — this man was not a hero.
But neither was he the villain they claimed.
He was something else entirely.
And she...
She could no longer look away.
[end of chapter 11]