Dancing on the golden ashes

"Hahaha!" Lin Feng's laugh shattered the tense silence, his previous gentlemanly demeanor crumbling like glass. The cruel mockery in his voice was unmistakable as his expression twisted into something far more sinister—he no longer resembled the man I once met, but a demon in human form.

"I like the three of you," he sneered, his eyes flicking over Seong-Hoon, Jieun, and Eun-Woo with dark amusement. "Especially you, Kim Seong-Hoon. Our last battle was quite enjoyable. But you're a fool to think you can challenge me again, even with your lackeys by your side."

"They are my friends, not my lackeys!" Seong-Hoon barked, his dragon sword roaring to life. The blade shimmered with brilliant frost light, and the eye embedded in its hilt spun wildly, radiating a fearsome draconic aura that seemed to challenge the oppressive heat Lin Feng exuded.

"Your despicable dragon clan..." Lin Feng snarled, his voice dripping with venom. His grin widened into something feral. "That weapon must be something special. After I slay you, I'll send your corpse back to them as a message!"

With a roar, Lin Feng surged forward, his speed blinding. The seven blazing swords trailing behind him hummed with lethal intent. He grabbed one mid-air, the molten blade glowing like liquid fire, and swung it in a deadly arc toward Seong-Hoon.

Dragon Clan? Is he mistaking Seong-Hoon for someone from the clan of the past world? The thought lingered, but I could barely hold onto it as my heavy eyelids threatened to close. My body screamed for rest, but I forced myself to stay awake. I had to see this fight. If the worst came to pass… I'd have to act.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shook the area as a blazing red light clashed violently with a silvery moonlight. The shockwave rippled through the trees, sending leaves scattering into the air.

Eun-Woo had stepped in, taking the brunt of the slash head-on, his massive frame absorbing the impact. His shield shimmered, holding firm against Lin Feng's blade.

Without hesitation, Eun-Woo's free hand moved, summoning his hammer in a blinding flash. With a roar, he swung, the weapon colliding with Lin Feng and igniting the darkness around us with a radiant burst of sunlight.

The battlefield lit up like day, the oppressive heat of Lin Feng's aura momentarily dispelled by the raw force of Eun-Woo's strike.

"The power of the sun and moon? How is that possible at your cultivation level?" Lin Feng exclaimed, genuine surprise flashing across his face. But it was fleeting. His shock didn't last long, and his confidence remained unshaken.

With a swift twist of his feet, he spun gracefully, his movements almost ethereal. In an instant, he vanished like a phantom, reappearing behind Seong-Hoon with terrifying speed. His blade arced downward, aimed mercilessly at Seong-Hoon's unguarded back.

But Lin Feng had underestimated them.

Jieun was faster.

Your next journey awaits at empire

Celestial light danced gracefully around Jieun's fingers, glowing with an otherworldly brilliance. In an instant, the light surged forward, wrapping itself around Lin Feng like chains of pure energy. Before he could react, the force hurled him several meters away, detonating in a radiant explosion as it propelled him clear of the others.

Seong-Hoon seized the opportunity. His dragon sword shimmered, shifting into a bow as he loosed a flurry of ice arrows with deadly precision. Each arrow crackled with frost, streaking through the air toward their target.

Not one to hesitate, Seong-Hoon followed closely behind his own attack, his weapon seamlessly transforming back into the dragon sword mid-sprint. The blade pulsed with a blue aura, leaving a glowing trail in its wake as he leapt high, bringing the sword down in a devastating strike from above.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lin Feng, however, was already on his feet. He rose swiftly, as though Jieun's powerful attack had done nothing more than inconvenience him. His grin returned, more feral than ever, as the oppressive heat of his aura flared once again.

The two attacks collided with a deafening roar, fire and ice warring violently as they threatened to consume one another. The sheer force of the clash created a shockwave that sent Seong-Hoon flying backward, his body tumbling through the air before crashing to the ground.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, his breath ragged. The impact was clearly too much for his body to handle, his strength faltering under the strain.

I need to help them...

I tried to move, to force my body to respond, but nothing happened. Pain coursed through every muscle, pinning me in place.

Damn it... I overestimated my own ability.

Frustration and helplessness clawed at me as I watched the battle unfold, unable to do anything but hope they could hold their own.

"Send me flying!" Seong-Hoon roared, his voice cutting through the chaos. Without hesitation, Eun-Woo grabbed his arm, spinning in place like a human catapult. With a powerful heave, he launched Seong-Hoon straight at Lin Feng, the air crackling as the dragon sword glowed in his grip.

At the same moment, Jieun moved swiftly from behind, her fingers tracing intricate patterns in the air. Celestial light surged forth, weaving into a massive, radiant net that descended upon Lin Feng like a falling star.

"What the hell is this clown show?!" Lin Feng bellowed, his voice filled with fury. The flying magma swords orbiting him erupted into motion, dancing like fiery serpents through the sky. They slashed through the celestial net with ease, cutting it to pieces.

One of the blazing swords turned sharply, streaking toward Jieun like a comet, its molten edge glowing with lethal intent.

Oh no!

But my fear was unfounded. A massive, triple-layered celestial veil shimmered into existence around Jieun, deflecting the blazing sword with ease. Her golden eyes shone with a ferocity far beyond her years, a look that no child her age should possess.

She smirked, confidence radiating from her small frame as the celestial light she controlled surged once more, raining down on Lin Feng like a radiant storm. The shimmering strands solidified mid-air, binding him in place like chains forged from the heavens.

The timing was perfect.

Seong-Hoon descended like a meteor, his dragon sword poised to strike. The weapon glowed with a fierce blue light, its aura pulsing with deadly intent.

As he closed in, the teeth along the blade's edge seemed to shift, growing an inch longer, their jagged edges glinting like a predator's fangs. The sword exuded a chilling cold so intense I could feel it even from where I lay, every nerve in my body screaming from its icy grip.

"Die!" Seong-Hoon roared, his voice reverberating with sheer determination.

For the first time, Lin Feng's confident mask cracked. His lips trembled ever so slightly, and fear flickered in his eyes. The sight was almost satisfying—proof that he wasn't untouchable.

But just as victory seemed within reach, something unexpected happened.

A simple bamboo slab shot out from Lin Feng's robes, unassuming yet impossibly fast. It struck Seong-Hoon with overwhelming force, sending him flying backward. He collided hard with the approaching Eun-Woo, the impact toppling them both to the ground like felled trees.

The sudden turn left a tense silence hanging in the air, broken only by Lin Feng's heavy breaths.

What is that thing? Its presence was suffocating, a weight pressing down on my very soul. The power it possessed was nothing to scoff at—it radiated an aura of malice, as if the abyss itself had taken form. I could almost feel the gaze of some entity from hell, watching me, waiting for the moment to claim my soul.

"I can't believe you forced me to use this..." Lin Feng's voice broke through the tension, but it wasn't the same.

It was layered, distorted, almost as if two voices spoke at once—his own and something far darker, more ancient.

It sounded exactly like...

"I'm so glad I accepted this gift from that person," Lin Feng said, his voice laced with a manic glee. "This so-called system will make me the leader of the White Tiger Sect. No... I will become the strongest cultivator ever!"

He laughed maniacally, his unhinged cackles echoing through the forest.

Suddenly, the aura radiating from him surged explosively, a kaleidoscope of colors bursting forth in an overwhelming display of power. The winds generated by the force crashed into all of us, pushing us back as if the very air itself sought to bow to his strength.

"Be the first ones to die by the creation of the god!" he roared. "The one who brought this to us is the almighty himself! Hahaha!"

No... My heart sank as realization hit me like a blade. This isn't just a simple system. He has the same thing inside him as me and Kim Ha-Joon. This is bad... really bad.

Suddenly, the red swords orbiting Lin Feng were engulfed in darkness, their fiery glow extinguished as they turned pitch black. They vanished into the shroud of the night sky, blending seamlessly with the oppressive gloom.

The aura around him shifted, becoming something far more sinister, suffocating in its intensity. The simple bamboo slab hovered briefly before shooting toward his forehead.

It struck with a sickening squelch, merging into his skull in a grotesque display. The sight was enough to churn my stomach. But within moments, his forehead healed, as though nothing had happened, leaving only a faint, eerie glow where the slab had disappeared.

Lin Feng's gaze snapped to me, his expression a twisted mixture of curiosity and malice.

"So, you're called Lee Gaon," he said, his tone chilling. "Level 24... How interesting."

His grin widened, and a cold shiver ran down my spine. "All of you... you're already part of the system."