The Lin Family Estate in Heaven's Reach city was a sea of light. Lanterns of gold and vermillion hung from every eave, and the smell of roasted spiritual beasts and expensive wine wafted through the air.
"To the Lin Patriarch! For bringing order to the province!" a local governor toasted, raising a jade cup.
Patriarch Lin, a man with a sharp, eagle-like face and a 9th-layer Qi Condensation cultivation, laughed heartily. "The Ye Clan was a rot. We simply pruned the branch. Tonight, we celebrate a new era of—"
CRACK.
The massive reinforced oak gates of the outer courtyard didn't just open—they disintegrated into a cloud of black splinters.
The music stopped. The dancers froze. A heavy, suffocating pressure descended upon the garden, making the wine in the cups ripple and the lanterns flicker with a sickly purple hue.
Out of the settling dust, a young man walked. He wore simple black robes, but he moved with the predatory grace of a high-tier demon.
"Who dares?!" the Lin Family Head roared, standing up. "Guards! Execute this intruder!"
A dozen elite guards, all at the 5th and 6th layers of Qi Condensation, lunged forward with drawn sabers.
Shen Yuan didn't even look at them. He simply waved his hand, as if shooing away a fly.
"[First Gate: Whispers of the Abyss]"
The shadows of the guards suddenly detached from the ground. Before the soldiers could swing their blades, their own shadows rose up like jagged obsidian spears, impaling them from the chin through the skull.
Twelve men. Twelve corpses. In a single heartbeat.
Silence reclaimed the garden, broken only by the sound of blood dripping onto the marble floor.
"You..." Patriarch Lin's voice trembled. He recognized the face. "The servant... Han? No, that's impossible. You died in the fire!"
"Han is dead," Shen Yuan said, his voice sounding like two grinding tectonic plates. "And soon, the name Lin will be nothing but a footnote in a book of tragedies."
Meanwhile, at the Scout Camp...
Five miles away, the Lin Family's border camp was a scene of carnage.
Ye Lin stood in the center of a frozen wasteland. Her [Dark Frost] had turned the entire camp into a sculpture gallery of death. Soldiers were frozen mid-scream, their bodies encased in black ice that drained their very souls.
A 7th-layer Captain tried to crawl away, his legs shattered by Ye Fan's polearm.
"Please... have mercy..." the Captain begged.
Ye Fan looked down at him, his face as cold as the weapon he held. He remembered this man. This was the same captain who had laughed while burning the Ye Clan's grain stores.
"Mercy is a luxury for the living," Ye Fan said. "My Master taught me that debts must be paid in full."
He swung the [Earth-Shaker Polearm]. The ground erupted in a shockwave of Qi, and the Captain was reduced to a fine red mist.
"Sister," Ye Fan said, turning to Ye Lin. "One escaped. Just as Master commanded."
Ye Lin watched the lone, terrified scout galloping toward the city. "Let him run. He is the herald of their extinction."
Back at the Banquet...
Shen Yuan was now standing at the foot of the Patriarch's table. The guests were paralyzed, pinned to their seats by a gravity-defying pressure.
"I'll give you a choice, Patriarch Lin," Shen Yuan said, reaching out to pluck a grape from a silver platter. He ate it slowly. "Tell me where Ling Xian is hiding, and I might let your soul dissipate peacefully. Refuse... and I will turn your marrow into slow-burning fuel for my cauldron."
"Ling Xian? The Imperial Consort?!" Patriarch Lin gasped, his eyes bulging. "You... you're a madman! You're talking about the Goddess of the Empire!"
Shen Yuan's eyes turned pitch-black, and the ground beneath the table began to liquefy into a void.
"Goddess?" Shen Yuan smiled, a sight more terrifying than any demon. "To you, she is a Goddess. To me... she is just a thief holding a seat that belongs to me."
He grabbed the Patriarch's throat.
"Now. Start talking. My patience is as thin as your life span."