Chapter 11: Monster

It is a matter of common knowledge that monsters walk this world.

Yet a distinction must be made, for a mere beast of burden and a true demon are entirely separate entities.

Those creatures that have failed to master the art of channeling their inner vitality, yet possess specialized traits far beyond the reach of ordinary fauna, are known simply as beasts.

But those that command extraordinary power and have awakened a degree of spiritual sentience are branded as true demons.

An individual beast might prove exceedingly aggressive, but it remains tethered to the natural order of living things.

A demon, however, is altogether different; they possess a cunning that rivals mankind, and they wield a terrifying, volatile energy that even seasoned martial artists would go to great lengths to avoid.

To unearth the truth behind the sudden and violent end of Old Eight Han, the brothers Han Li and Han Fei spared no expense, pulling strings in the provincial capital to procure two demonic hounds renowned for an almost unnatural sense of smell.

They had delayed their affairs for days for this single purpose.

Naturally, they would never have committed to such lengths without absolute certainty.

By that same token, it was clear that should they uncover even the faintest thread of evidence, their subsequent vengeance would know no bounds.

...

The village of Li was neither grand nor entirely insignificant.

Having alternated between threats and promises to make the stakes painfully clear, Han Li wasted no more time and began leading the two calf-sized hounds through the settlement, searching from door to door.

To the villagers, this method seemed utterly unreliable.

After all, Old Eight Han had been dead for half a month; whatever traces he might have left behind should have vanished long ago under the passage of time.

Bringing hounds to investigate now was as futile as marking the hull of a moving boat to find a sword dropped in the river.

Thus, though many harbored quiet misgivings, they felt no real dread.

Yet the moment the two demonic hounds completed a single loop near the village entrance, they seemed to catch a sharp, pungent scent and tore off at a frantic sprint along the main path.

Witnessing this, a collective shock paralyzed the onlookers.

A few kind-hearted souls harbored intentions of slipping away to warn the target, but with Han Li, Han Fei, and a small army of martial arts disciples watching like hawks, none possessed the courage to invite ruin upon themselves at such a moment.

...

The demonic hounds carried the Han brothers along at a breathless pace until they halted abruptly outside Li Changan's dwelling, unleashing a chorus of savage barks at the main gate.

At that very hour, Li Xiao sat by the threshold with Li Dashan and Huang Xiaoru, deep in discussion regarding the boy's future.

A prodigy had finally emerged from their humble village; if they could provide him an education in letters and martial arts to secure an official rank, no one within ten leagues would ever dare trample upon the Li clan again.

The sudden arrival of two robust strangers leading a pair of vicious hounds struck terror into the trio, and even Li Xiao’s weathered, withered countenance filled with deep apprehension.

Scanning the three figures before him, who bore every hallmark of ordinary peasantry, Han Li's expression turned subtly peculiar as he voiced a tentative query: "Did you... kill my elder brother?"

At those words, the faces of Li Dashan and Huang Xiaoru shifted dramatically.

Their guilt was written so plainly upon their features that the Han brothers' eyes widened in a sudden surge of furious realization: "Well, by God, it truly was you lot!"

By now, Li Dashan and his companions had deduced the identity of the formidable men before them; their complexions drained of color, leaving them cold as ice.

For days, the husband and wife had lived in constant dread.

They had even debated fleeing the village entirely.

Yet Li Changan had consistently reassured them that there was no need for panic, and bound by their deep devotion to the land of their ancestors, they had chosen to stay, nursing a faint hope of escape.

They had never anticipated that the reckoning they feared could not be outrun.

Despair settled heavily in the hearts of the couple.

Just then, Li Changan caught the commotion outside and stepped calmly through the doorway.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he spoke in a deliberate tone: "Father, Mother, Granduncle, return to the house and hide for a short while. I will handle these two."

Though a mere fortnight had passed since his last encounter, his strength had multiplied with every passing day.

While solitary training offered safety, it left him lacking a true mastery over his own physical limits and developing power.

Now, with so many willing foils delivering themselves to his doorstep, he could fully test the fruits of his bitter cultivation.

Hearing such insolence from a mere child, Han Li and Han Fei nearly laughed in sheer exasperation, shouting, "Boy, have you lost your mind?"

Li Changan offered a faint smile of his own, offering no further words as his inner vitality surged, activating the Shadowless Steps; each stride forward rent the air with a sharp, whistling gale.

Eager to distinguish himself, a martial arts lackey from behind Han Li lunged forward with reckless abandon, seeking to hurl the boy aside by brute force.

Yet, the instant they collided.

A dull thud of heavy impact echoed, and a figure was sent flying backward through the air.

When the onlookers realized the man airborne was the very brute who had just charged, the remaining enforcers froze mid-stride, their expressions turning as pale as if they had looked upon a ghost.

Li Changan did not break his momentum for an instant.

The average strength of these academy lackeys was marginally superior to the thugs Old Eight Han had brought before, but the difference was negligible; if he could dispatch them easily back then, they posed even less of a threat now.

With a few rapid flickers of his Shadowless Steps, the boy bypassed the lesser targets entirely, charging straight toward the leader, Han Li. He wrenched a long saber from the grasp of a fallen foe and brought it down with a resounding ring.

The Thirteen Blades of the Ghost Gate!

Watching the incoming flash of the blade draw closer by the millisecond, Han Li was seized by a profound horror; he had never dreamed a child of such tender years could possess a body flowing with genuine martial vitality.

In that perilous instant, threads of inner energy erupted from Han Li as well; abandoning all arrogance, he drew his own waist-saber to meet the strike.

The two blades clashed violently.

The screech of metal against metal threatened to deafen the ears.

Though Han Li had not yet attained the rank of a true Martial Master, he had already touched the threshold of inner vitality and possessed formidable strength. Yet the moment his weapon met Li Changan's strike, a fierce numbness shot through his palm.

The saber nearly slipped from his grip.

Feeling the dead weight in his aching arm, Han Li's eyelids twitched with a mixture of shock and fury as he hissed, "Monster!"

Previously, he had found it utterly incomprehensible that his elder brother could perish in an obscure hamlet, but now, facing Li Changan, the true horror of the situation dawned on him.

The boy could not have been more than ten years old, yet his inner vitality was vaster than his own.

What manner of demon was this?

By this time, a crowd of curious villagers had gathered in the periphery.

Among them were the very children who had begged to study under Li Changan just days prior; watching him now, a fervent light kindled within their eyes.

...