Divinity

The Rush of War

It was no small surprise to Gue Henxe that a commoner could evade her throwing dagger with such sharp precision. One had to understand that with her seven open meridians, Gue Henxe could s*******r hundreds of mere mortals without breaking a sweat. Yet the young man before her seemed able to anticipate every subtle shift in the dagger's trajectory, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

"I must thank you for your kind praises, Miss, but I don't seem to know you," Bia Xiao replied, his voice unnervingly steady despite the danger. "Nor do I understand why the other guy wants to kill me."

Though Bia Xiao had stepped out of hiding, his muscles remained coiled, ready to spring into action. He hadn’t let his guard down for even a second. His clothes were tattered from the chase, and though his posture was casual, his eyes constantly scanned for an escape route.

"Since you're about to die anyway, I don’t mind letting you know," Gue Henxe said, her lips curling into a feral smile as she circled him. The way she moved was predatory, like a panther sizing up its prey before the kill. Her blade gleamed menacingly in the dim light, its edge reflecting the cold intent in her eyes.

"We are members of the Gue tribe, and this is our coming-of-age ceremony. To kill a member of the Bia tribe would bring us glory upon our return," she continued, her voice dripping with malice. She twirled the dagger in her hand, savoring the moment like a cat playing with a mouse before striking the fatal blow.

Bia Xiao’s gaze sharpened, but his expression remained neutral. "I see. But what glory is there in killing a boy with no spiritual power whatsoever?" His voice held a hint of mockery, as though he found the situation laughable. "I can tell you're strong, so seeking glory by targeting a commoner seems beneath you, don't you think?"

Gue Henxe’s eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him, her smile faltering for just a heartbeat. "Commoner? Who are you trying to fool? No mere commoner could evade my dagger so easily. And from the looks of it, you seemed to have gotten the better of Gue Man back there."

Her eyes flickered with curiosity, but beneath it was a seething disdain. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what made Bia Xiao so different, but there was something about him—something unsettling. "I'll just take you back to the tribe and let the elders handle you," she sneered. "You must be some hidden genius of the Bia tribe. I’m sure we can squeeze the Bia clan dry with you in our hands." Her eyes gleamed with cruel excitement at the thought of her tribe's elders extorting resources from their rivals.

Bia Xiao let out a dry chuckle, and then, much to Gue Henxe's confusion, he erupted into full-blown laughter. His voice rang out in the tense atmosphere, echoing eerily through the trees. It wasn’t the laughter of a carefree boy, but the deranged sound of someone who had long since left behind any illusions of mercy.

"Me? Haha! You want to ransom me? See the Bia tribe’s elders grovel to save me?" Bia Xiao slapped his knee, nearly doubling over in mirth. But the laughter left his face as fast as it appeared, giving way to a lifeless, icy stare. His eyes turned black, glinting with bone-deep hatred, so profound that, for a brief moment, Gue Henxe almost recoiled.

"In the Bia tribe, I’m the one they want dead the most." His voice dropped to a near whisper, but each word hit her like a hammer. The hatred in his eyes was so potent it felt as though it could swallow the world whole. For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw the shadow of something far darker lurking behind his eyes, a sinister force barely held in check.

Gue Henxe blinked, feeling as if she had slipped into a waking nightmare. She quickly shook her head, trying to dispel the oppressive sensation. "What was that? An illusion? No," she muttered, her heart racing in a way that had nothing to do with the fight.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Gue Man’s enraged shout filled the air. "I'm going to kill you!"

Gue Man charged toward them from a distance, his bloodshot eyes fixated on Bia Xiao, burning with the desire for revenge. He barreled toward Gue Henxe, driven by a singular obsession—to erase the shame of his earlier defeat by crushing Bia Xiao into the ground. But as he closed in, his eyes widened in disbelief. Bia Xiao had already moved, propelling himself off the ground with fists clenched. He moved like a viper, coiling and striking in one smooth motion.

Bang!

Bia Xiao’s fist slammed into Gue Henxe’s chest with shocking force. Though the physical blow itself was not overwhelmingly strong, it carried with it a strange, primal energy. It surged into Gue Henxe’s body like a tidal wave, raw and untamed, bringing with it an indescribable fury that seemed to challenge the very heavens. Gue Henxe’s eyes went wide as the energy exploded within her central meridian. The impact made her feel as though her insides were being torn apart. Blood spurted from her lips, staining the ground a vivid crimson.

As a 7th-level martial artist, she should have sensed Bia Xiao’s attack coming a mile away, but her mind had shaken violently, throwing her instincts into disarray. Her delayed reaction had cost her dearly, and now her central meridian was damaged—a potentially crippling injury for any martial cultivator. Fight! Fight!!

Bia Xiao’s mind buzzed with a singular thought. The energy within him, fierce and chaotic, urged him onward, driving him into a frenzy. The pain, the anger, the overwhelming desire to fight—it consumed him, pushing him to continue the battle with reckless abandon. He lunged at Gue Henxe, tackling her to the ground. His left knee smashed into her side, and his right fist pummeled the side of her head. The blows were brutal, fueled by pure instinct and the savage energy coursing through his veins.

Bang!

"Ahhh!" Gue Henxe’s scream pierced the air as she felt her ribs c***k under the relentless assault. The pain was sharp and excruciating, and for the first time in years, she felt a sliver of fear.

Bia Xiao rolled away, grabbing a nearby rock in desperation. With adrenaline surging through his body, he hurled it at Gue Man, who was charging toward him like a bull.

"Die!" Gue Man roared, his outstretched hand igniting with flame as he made a grabbing motion. The fire engulfed the area, a wave of heat washing over Bia Xiao's left side.

Ugh!

Bia Xiao cried out as the searing flames licked at his arm, the flesh beginning to blister under the intense heat. The agony was unbearable, yet the unknown energy within him surged again, numbing the pain and pushing him to his limits.

"I'm going to repay you all a thousandfold if I survive this!" Bia Xiao’s voice echoed through the trees as he dashed toward the forest, his body a blur of movement as he fled deeper into the wilderness. Reaching the riverbank, he barely registered the blood that trickled down his arm, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He was only fourteen, and yet he had just faced death, narrowly escaping it. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat a reminder of how close he had come to the end. But just as he was about to dive into the river, something cold pierced through his back.

A flying dagger.

It tore through his flesh, its point bursting out of his chest in a spray of blood. Bia Xiao gasped, his eyes wide with shock. He slowly turned his head to the left, catching sight of a young man standing calmly by a tree, watching him with unsettling detachment.

The stranger’s gaze was cold, serene, almost too calm for someone who had just delivered a killing blow.

"Haha... death... never felt so sweet," Bia Xiao murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "Mom... Dad... your boy is coming to meet you." His body slumped, falling into the river as the current swept him away, his last words swallowed by the rushing waters.