Chapter 276: Extermination Mission

Thirty days passed in the Blood Court fortress like a blur.

Every morning, even before the dark clouds dissipated enough to let a thread of pale light through, Kyrian was already in the Blood Core courtyard. The five arrived right after, without delays, without complaints. The training did not lessen.

Kyrian kept the same rule from the beginning. No Qi. Only flesh, bone, technique, and instinct. Without energy to mask weaknesses, every mistake was laid bare, exposed, and painful. A poorly calculated punch meant bruised ribs. A slow dodge meant a slap to the face or a knee to the stomach. And Kyrian never missed the exact force. Enough to hurt, never enough to break permanently.

On the first day of that new one-on-one cycle, Bai Zhu lasted four minutes before dropping to his knees, vomiting. On the tenth day, he lasted eleven minutes.

Kai evolved differently. He stopped trying to be the fastest and began to be the most precise. His strikes stopped being flashy and became surgical.

Yan Ling learned to trust her body more than her mind. Her movements, once too elegant, gained brutality. She stopped calculating every angle and began to attack as if the next strike could be the last.

Li Fen became a shadow. He no longer tried to be the fastest in the group, he tried to be the most invisible. His attacks came from impossible angles, taking advantage of fractions of a second that others would not notice.

Mei Li was the one who changed the most. She was not the strongest nor the fastest, but she understood the entire field. She knew when to retreat, when to pressure, when to sacrifice an attack to create space for another.

“You improved.” Kyrian said after another month of training.

It was the greatest praise any of them had ever heard from him.

Meanwhile, in the silence of his room, the gray flame never went out for long.

Kyrian was already refining rank 3 pills now. Complex formulas, with seven or eight different herbs, some of them volatile enough to explode the cauldron if the temperature control fluctuated for a single second. He failed dozens of times at the beginning. The room smelled of ash and burned herbs.

But failures were just data.

On the twelfth day of that period, he achieved the first usable rank 3 pill. A Qi Condensation Pill with thirty-eight percent purity. On the eighteenth day, the purity rose to forty-seven percent. On the twentieth day, he formed a Spiritual Purification Pill with exactly fifty percent purity.

It was enough for cultivators in the Qi Liberation Realm to feel a noticeable difference. It was not perfect, but it was real. And Kyrian knew that, with more practice, he would reach seventy percent purity or more.

Then, on the morning of the thirty-first day, something changed.

Kyrian opened the door of his room and walked to the Blood Core hall, as usual. But when he arrived, he stopped at the entrance.

Dong Zhen was there.

The leader of the Blood Court stood beside the large pulsating core, arms crossed, expression neutral. Bai Zhu, Mei Li, Kai, Li Fen, and Yan Ling were already lined up in front of him, straight postures, firm gazes.

Dong Zhen slowly turned his face in Kyrian’s direction.

“You are late.” He commented with a faint trace of humor in his voice.

Kyrian simply walked to the group and stopped beside them without responding.

Dong Zhen observed the six for a long moment. His eyes passed over each one, lingering a little longer on each, seeing those who had advanced more visibly in the past months.

“By the shine in your eyes… and the recent bruises… I imagine the training has been productive.” He said.

Bai Zhu opened a wide, proud smile.

“Of course.”

Dong Zhen let out a low chuckle.

“Good.”

“I have a new mission for you.”

He paused, letting the words settle.

“Kyrian.” His eyes fixed on the young man.

“It would be good if you participated in this one. It has been too long since you set foot outside these walls.”

Kyrian remained silent for a few seconds. He had truly sunk into the cauldron and the books. Perhaps… it was time to remember what real combat felt like.

“Alright.” he replied simply.

Dong Zhen nodded, satisfied.

Then, his expression changed. The faint trace of humor disappeared. His eyes became cold like blades.

“It is a total extermination mission.”

The five looked at each other, surprised. Missions like that were not common. And when they happened… it was because someone had crossed a line that could not be forgiven.

Dong Zhen continued, his voice low and firm.

“You know the principle of the Blood Court. Every debt is paid. Favors, alliances, betrayals, deaths… the balance is always settled.”

He raised his hand. A crimson scroll floated to Kyrian.

“Four important disciples of ours, from the military branch, were killed while investigating a newly discovered ruin at the border of our territory. The ones responsible are the Luo family. A small group of bounty hunters that operates in the Minor Domains.”

He looked directly at Kyrian.

“You six will go there. Eliminate everyone involved in the murder. Recover what was stolen from the ruin. Leave no survivors.”

The scroll landed in Kyrian’s palm.

“Prepare yourselves and depart immediately.”

Dong Zhen turned his back and left the hall without another word.

Kyrian opened the scroll. He read the information in seconds. Names, estimated number of combatants, approximate location, cultivation level of the main members of the Luo family.

He passed the scroll to Bai Zhu.

“We leave in fifteen minutes.”

No one questioned it. Fifteen minutes later, the group was already at the stable.

Arcon neighed excitedly upon seeing Kyrian. The Crimson War Ravens spread their black wings, eager.

Kyrian mounted first. The others followed him.

With a powerful beat of wings, they left the fortress behind, cutting through the dark sky toward the Minor Domains.

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