While Lam Minh was streaking across the night sky like a meteor, in a place far, far away, in a space hidden from all forms of detection…
There stood a colossal, obsidian tower, so tall it pierced the heavens, its peak shrouded in blood-red clouds. Surrounding the tower was a dead land, devoid of a single blade of grass, a place where no living creature dared to approach. This was the Holy Sanctuary, the headquarters of the "Holy Way of Salvation."
Inside the tower, on one of the highest floors, was a vast, circular chamber. In the very center of the room sat a round table made of black marble. Around the table were twelve exquisitely carved thrones.
Ten of those twelve thrones were occupied.
They were beings of different shapes and auras, but all of them exuded an air of power and malevolence. They were the remaining members of the "Twelfth Holy Messengers," the wielders of power second only to the Holy Master.
The atmosphere in the room was utterly silent. They just sat there, their eyes closed in meditation, seemingly waiting for something.
Suddenly…
CRACK!
A crisp sound echoed, shattering the silence.
All ten figures opened their eyes in unison, their gazes fixed on the center of the round table.
There, twelve life tablets made of black jade rested on silver trays. Each tablet was inscribed with a number, from one to twelve.
And the tablet inscribed with the number "12" had just developed a crack, before shattering into countless tiny fragments.
The life tablet of Twelfth was broken.
Silence once again enveloped the room. But this time, it was not a tranquil silence, but a heavy, tense stillness.
After a few seconds, a soft chuckle broke the tension.
The one who laughed was an incredibly beautiful and alluring woman, but from behind her swayed six white fox tails. She sat upon the throne carved with the number "9."
"Oh? It seems our little brother has met with some misfortune," she said, her voice sweet yet laced with amusement. "What a pity. I hadn't even had a chance to taste him."
"Ninth Tail," a deep, authoritative voice boomed from the throne marked with the number "2." The one sitting there was a gigantic man, his body a mass of rippling muscles, his entire form encased in a suit of white bone armor. "This is no time for jokes. Twelfth, despite being the weakest among us, was still a Peak Golden Core expert. The one who could kill him is certainly no ordinary person."
"Second Brother is right," another voice chimed in. He sat on the throne of number "7," his body as thin as a dried skeleton, draped in a tattered robe. "The enemy has repeatedly ruined our plans. From Black Shadow to Twelfth. He is a threat."
"A threat, or an interesting new toy?" Ninth Tail laughed again. "I heard he's just a pure human, and a very young one at that. A human who can kill a Holy Messenger. Don't you find that exciting?"
Ninth Tail's words seemed to strike a chord with the arrogance of the others.
"Hmph! Just a lucky insect," a bald man with a vertical third eye on his forehead, sitting on throne number "5," snorted coldly. "If it were me, he wouldn't have survived three moves."
"Don't boast, Fifth Eye," Ninth Tail taunted. "Who was it again that was chased halfway to death by that Fire Qilin in the South Pole?"
"You!" Fifth Eye roared, the third eye on his forehead snapping open, firing a beam of destructive light.
Ninth Tail merely smirked, her six tails swaying gently, creating an invisible shield that easily neutralized the attack.
"ENOUGH!"
A voice of absolute authority resounded from the highest throne, the one inscribed with the number "1."
The figure seated there was completely shrouded in shadow, his form impossible to discern. One could only feel an unfathomably deep aura, like an abyss capable of swallowing everything.
He was the strongest of the Twelfth Holy Messengers, "First."
When he spoke, all the others fell silent.
"Twelfth's death was due to his own foolishness and arrogance," First said, his voice devoid of emotion. "But this new enemy is, indeed, somewhat interesting. The Holy Master has personally given the order to temporarily cease our pursuit of him."
"Why is that?" Second, the giant in bone armor, asked in surprise.
"Because he is like a moth that will fly into the flame on its own," First explained. "The Holy Master's 'sacrifice' plan will continue. We will cast a wider net, a more perfect trap. And he, the most succulent prey, will be unable to escape. When the time is right, we will act together and capture him alive."
He looked at the remaining members. "Your mission now is to continue carrying out the Holy Master's plan. Do not let one small bug affect the grand scheme. Is that clear?"
"Understood!" they all replied in unison.
Their arrogance prevented them from truly seeing Lam Minh as a mortal threat. To them, he was just an interesting toy, a piece of prey in a much larger hunt.
They did not know that the prey they scorned was not only growing stronger by the day, but also held secrets that could topple their entire empire.
And while they were plotting, somewhere in the sky above, Lam Minh's chase was still ongoing. He was drawing ever closer to the mysterious aura, to someone who might hold the key to the first secrets.
...
In the space high above the clouds, the wind howled and chilled to the bone. Two streaks of light, one black and red, the other faint and indistinct, were hurtling forward at terrifying speed, carving two long trails through the clouds.
Lam Minh, in his Dragon God Battle Armor, was pushing himself to the limit to chase the mysterious aura ahead. His dragon wings beat powerfully, each flap propelling him an immense distance. The power of the Golden Core realm allowed him to fly freely, unrestricted by air resistance.
But the one in front was no slouch either.
Though his aura was very weak, seemingly only at the Initial Stage of Foundation Establishment, his speed was unbelievably fast. He wasn't flying so much as gliding on the wind currents, his body lithe, constantly changing direction abruptly, trying to shake Lam Minh off his tail.
"Damn! So fast!" Lam Minh muttered.
He realized this person was extremely skilled in flight techniques and exploiting atmospheric currents. Although his own absolute power was superior, in terms of pure flight skill, his opponent had a slight edge.
The chase dragged on. They flew over mountains, through forests, and across wastelands.
Lam Minh held back no longer. He knew his Dragon God Battle Armor state couldn't be maintained forever. He had to end this chase, and quickly.
He let out a roar. The Golden Core spiritual energy within him surged, pouring into his dragon wings.
The red veins on his wings suddenly blazed with light. His speed soared once more, like a jet fighter kicking in its afterburners.
The distance between the two began to shrink.
Ten kilometers... five kilometers... one kilometer...
The figure ahead seemed to sense the danger. He stopped gliding and abruptly dived straight down, plunging into a dense, overgrown forest, hoping to use the terrain to hide.
"Trying to hide?" Lam Minh sneered.
He dived after him, but did not enter the forest. He hovered high above, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, and his Golden Core spiritual sense expanded to its maximum, sweeping over the entire forest.
Every life form, every movement below, was laid bare in his mind.
"Found you."
He pinpointed the target's location, hiding in a thick bush.
He didn't attack. He simply landed on the ground at the edge of the forest, retracting his armor and wings, returning to his normal appearance.
Then he spoke, his voice not loud but resonant enough to echo throughout the woods.
"Come on out. I know where you are. It's useless to keep hiding."
There was no reply. Only the rustling of the wind.
"If you don't come out," Lam Minh continued, his voice colder, "I will burn this entire forest down. I don't think you want to be roasted alive, do you?"
The silence stretched for a few seconds.
Finally, from within the bush, a figure slowly stepped out.
It was a man, about thirty years old, with a gaunt, haggard face, dressed in old, tattered clothes. He looked more like a disaster survivor than a cultivator.
But what caught Lam Minh's attention the most were his eyes. They were eyes full of exhaustion and sorrow, yet they concealed a resolute will and a deep-seated hatred.
And on the chest of his clothes was an old, faded insignia, but Lam Minh could still recognize it.
It was the insignia of Blacklight.
Lam Minh was stunned. "You... you're with Blacklight?"
The man looked at Lam Minh, his eyes full of vigilance and a hint of... pain.
"You... are you Second Lieutenant Lam Minh?" he asked, his voice hoarse from long disuse.
"Yes. Who are you? Why are you here? Why were you watching the battle?" Lam Minh asked in a flurry of questions.
The man didn't answer right away. He looked Lam Minh up and down, then glanced back towards the destroyed city, a single tear rolling down his gaunt cheek.
"My name is Tran Trung," he finally spoke. "I... used to be the captain of Recon Team 7, under Blacklight. My team... was wiped out three years ago. I was the sole survivor."
Lam Minh's heart sank. He understood that feeling.
"What happened?"
Tran Trung took a deep breath, as if to compose himself.
"Three years ago, my team received a mission to investigate a series of mysterious disappearances of patrol teams in this area. We followed the trail and discovered a secret base belonging to... to an organization we had never known of."
He looked at Lam Minh. "That base is the one you just destroyed."
Lam Minh was astonished. "You knew about them three years ago?"
"Yes," Tran Trung nodded, his eyes filled with bitterness. "We tried to infiltrate, but we were discovered. My entire team... twelve men, were all captured. They... they turned my comrades into test subjects, right before my eyes."
He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking. "I managed to escape, but I was severely injured. Since then, I've been hiding in this area like a wild animal, monitoring their activities, searching for a chance for revenge."
"Why didn't you report back to Command?" Lam Minh asked.
Tran Trung let out a bitter laugh. "Report? You think I didn't try? I attempted to make contact many times. But all my signals were blocked. Every effort I made failed. I realized that within our own ranks, there is a mole. Someone with very high authority, who is covering for that criminal organization."
Another shocking truth was revealed.
"Until you showed up," Tran Trung said, looking at Lam Minh with a complex expression. "I've been watching you since you began your hunt. I don't know who you are, or why you're so powerful. I only know that you are their enemy. And the enemy of my enemy, is my friend."
He sighed. "I had planned to continue hiding. But when I saw you facing Twelfth alone, I couldn't just sit by. I was preparing to make a move, even knowing it was suicide. But I never expected that you... could create such a miracle."
Lam Minh listened in silence. Tran Trung's story answered many of his questions, but at the same time, it opened up even bigger, more terrifying problems.
The enemy wasn't just on the outside. They were also on the inside.
"What are you going to do now?" Lam Minh asked.
"I will follow you," Tran Trung said, without a shred of hesitation. "You are the only hope I have to avenge my comrades, to bring down that damned organization. Please, allow me to fight by your side."
He looked at Lam Minh, his eyes filled with determination and resolve.
A soldier who had lost everything, a ghost who had hidden for three years, had now found a new flame to follow.