"Yi Hong!" Yuan heard someone shouting.

Images of war suddenly flashed to his mind; the rolling thunder of war drums, thousands of roaring men unsheathing their swords and charging at the enemy, arrows enclosing the sky and covering the sun. Leading the men was a young warrior, most handsome and valiant. Suddenly, an arrow pierced through his armor and into his chest. He ignored the pain and continued his charge when two more arrows pierced his chest. "I will not go down like this! Charge!". He and his troops charged right at the center of the enemy formation. A brutal infantry battle ensued. Soldiers fought on top of thousands of dismembered bodies. Heads, hands, chests, even eyes and ears were lying on the ground, all covered in blood. The soldiers on both sides fought their enemies with any weapon they could get their hands on. They slashed with their swords, pierced with their spears, used rocks to break the head of their enemies. Some even fought with their bare hands. The young warrior leading the charge was massacring tens of enemy soldiers; blood dripped from his blade. He was sweating and bleeding. "We are winning!" he roared and his troops cheered.

Yuan suddenly felt as if someone had slapped him. He woke up. This battle was just a dream. He had no idea why he dreamed of Yi Hong; not that he cared that much considering the situation he was in. Yuan found himself chained and lying on a flat rock. It was pretty uncomfortable and his back was scratched to the point that it was bleeding. The Lord was looking at him, holding a jar.

"At last, you have awakened!" the Lord said. "You had been unconscious for hours. We can now begin the experiment."

"What? What are you talking about? What experiment?" Yuan frantically asked.

The Lord laughed. "You see, the Orthodox Sects and the Celestial Court have a numerical advantage over us. It will not be fair if we do not level the playing field, right? How will I do this, you ask?"

The Lord paused for a moment and grabbed a pill from inside the jar. "By creating super soldiers; that's how we will address that problem. Imagine if every follower of the Demonic Cult had the powers of someone who had cultivated immortality and trained in martial arts for decades. Can you imagine how the Orthodox Sects would fare against such warriors? Of course, in order to ensure the safety of our followers, I first need to test my pills. This is where you come in."

The Lord then forced Yuan to swallow the pill.

"What did you feed me?!" Yuan shouted.

"It is a pill that will cleanse your blood," the Lord replied. "Do not worry; this is only the beginning. You still have many pills to try. If you are lucky enough, you may survive. If not, you will end up like all other test subjects."

"What happened to them?"

"The lucky ones were disfigured so much that they do not resemble anything like a human anymore. But, at the very least, they are still alive and sane. As for the unlucky ones, some lost their sanity, others killed themselves and more than a few died a grueling death due to the pills. But do not worry; I am sure that this time the pills are going to work."

The Lord then began laughing like a madman. His laughter echoed throughout the room.

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The entire plain was frozen. A thick layer of snow covered the ground. The wind howled. In the middle of this frozen landscape was a tall black tower, which dominated the area. Standing atop the tower was a young man. He was wearing a long black gown and cape. A hood hid his face. White flakes whirled around the man, who was looking at the endlessness of the vast horizon. That man was known only as Young Master Deng.

The Demon of Doom approached Deng and bowed before him. "Greetings, Young Master," the Demon said.

Deng turned around and asked, "Did you get the Flaming Medallion?"

The Demon hesitated to reply. "I…"

"I asked a simple question; did you get the medallion?"

The Demon bowed. "I am sorry, Young Master. I've failed you. I did not get the medallion."

Deng grabbed the Demon by the neck and began strangling him. "Care to explain to me how this happened?"

"I…this…"

The Demon could barely breathe and struggled to answer. Deng thus released him from his grip and threw him on the floor. The Demon coughed and took deep breaths.

"Young Master, when I killed Yang Jing the medallion suddenly vanished. It must be some kind of magic; there is no other explanation."

"I do not care about your excuses, Demon!" Deng barked. "You better find the medallion and bring it to me soon. Mobilize all the resources the Demonic Cult has. Use whatever method is necessary. I do not care how you do it, but bring me this medallion. Otherwise, I will make you wish you could die."

"I will not fail you!"

"I do hope so… I will be leaving now. When I return, you better have the medallion; for your sake!"

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Yuan had to admit that he was feeling much more energetic than before. His blood had been cleansed thanks to the pill the Lord gave him. The flow of his blood was much faster than before and the Qi in his blood became abundant. His body was now much stronger. This was the first step in the road towards cultivation. Whereas most cultivators would reach this point through meditation and drawing in the Qi of the natural world, this pill allowed Yuan to skip all this process. It was, of course, dangerous for someone to attempt to skip that process and the pill could have killed Yuan. That was the reason the Lord wanted to test it before giving it to his own followers. Thankfully for Yuan, the pill worked and neither killed him nor caused any side effects.

The Lord was examining Yuan all this time, impetuous to see if his experiment had succeeded.

"I told you it would work," the Lord said. "Now do hope that you continue to be as lucky because we are not over yet."

"Why are you doing this?" Yuan asked. "Why would you want to revive the Dark Lord? Do you really want to see the whole world destroyed?"

"Oh yes, very much so. This world we live in is one that is corrupt, impure, sinful. It cannot be saved. It cannot be remedied. It can only be destroyed. It can burn in the fire of our righteous flames. Only then can the souls of those pure in heart be saved. The next world will be one of abundance, honesty, righteousness. Those who are pure in heart shall live in that world. In order for this new world to be born, the old one must be destroyed. There is only one person who can destroy the entire world; the Dark Lord. Thus, we shall revive him so we can put an end to this sad joke and herald a new era of prosperity and righteousness."

Yuan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Those people were literally advocating for the extermination of mankind and the destruction of the entire world. They were not some power hungry villains wanting absolute power or riches. They were madmen who wanted only death and destruction.

The Lord could see in Yuan's face his surprise and anger. "Do you know why I wear this mask all the time?" the Lord asked. "Not because I like it, but because I want to hide my face. Why would I want to do that? Twenty years ago an Imperial General took a liking to my sister. She didn't want to have anything to do with him, yet he attempted to take her by force. I tried to stop him. His men arrested me; they tortured me endlessly and burned my face with hot molten iron. They... disfigured me. I looked more like a monster than a human. This man is still alive and enjoys his wealth. I still suffer. Do you think that a world in which the powerful torment the weak, the sinners enjoy themselves and those of pure heart suffer is a world worth surviving? I say that we burn down this world! Burn the unjust, burn the sinners, destroy the injustice! Then, a new world shall be heralded; a world of justice!"

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The Lord paused for a moment before speaking again. "But enough talking!". He then grabbed Yuan by the hair and forced him to swallow a worm.

Yuan coughed. He was disgusted. He thought that he might vomit. "Why did you feed me that worm?"

"It is a 'thought worm'," the Lord replied. "It will allow me to control your actions. You see, if the experiment does succeed, you will be powerful enough to break your chains and possibly kill everyone in this facility. That would be bad, wouldn't it? This worm will make sure that no such thing happens."

He then grabbed from inside a jar a yellow pill and fed it to Yuan. "This pill shall rapidly increase your physical strength. Your body shall become muscled and your internal energy will be cultivated to the level of that of a low ranking immortal. You better hope that this time the pill works; last time I tested it, it shattered all the internal organs of my test subject. You can imagine how gruesome such a death can be, right?"

Yuan's heart raced at tremendous speeds, and his lungs shallowly rose and fell in time. He was scared that this time he would be out of luck and die for good.

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Elder Rong was silently gazing at the garden's pond. His eyes glazed over blankly. From some distance, Masters Yi and Zhang were observing him. He had been like this for days. He cared neither for the sect's affairs nor about anything else. He hadn't spoken a single word in days. Both Masters were heartbroken to see their Grandmaster in such a situation. They sighed and hoped that he would become once again resolute like he once was. Otherwise, Mount Kunlun Sect would be doomed.

"The death of Yang Jing affected him greatly," Master Yi commented.

Master Zhang nodded in agreement. "This and the loss of the Flaming Medallion were too much to bear. Not only he lost his disciple, but he blames himself for the loss of the medallion."

"Something must be done!" Yi said. "The Sect has many affairs which cannot be postponed. Someone must make decisions and oversee those affairs."

At that moment, Yao arrived in the garden. He bowed before the two Masters and said, "Greetings Masters."

"At last you are here!" Zhang said. "You have been gone for more than a week. Did you bring the sea pearl?"

"Yes," Yao replied and presented a large and luminous sea pearl to the two Masters.

"Good!" Yi said. "Elder Rong, since he was young, always loved sea pearls. Hopefully, this will lighten up a bit his mood. Go present it to him."

Yao nodded in approval. He then headed towards Elder Rong. He bowed before him and said, "Greeting! Student Yao wishes to present Elder a gift."

To Yao's dismay, Rong did not reply. He did not even look at the young disciple. Instead, he simply sighed.

"It is a sea pearl. I hope that you will accept this gift."

Rong, without taking a single look at Yao or the pearl, simply walked away. Yao was left bowing alone in the garden, not knowing what to do next. Masters Yi and Zhang rushed there and helped him get up.

"I…did not-" Yao tried to apologize.

"It's not your fault," Master Yi said. "You did your best to lighten up the mood of Elder Rong. Unfortunately, he was severely affected by the recent events."

"Something must be done, Brother Yi," Master Zhang said. "We cannot simply let Sect affairs go unmanaged."

"May I propose an idea?" Yao asked.

"Sure," Yi said.

"Why don't you two Masters manage the affairs of the Sect until Elder Rong gets better?"

Yi and Zhang thought about this proposal for a moment. On the one hand, they did not have the authority to make decisions without Elder Rong's approval and they certainly did not want to be perceived as using the Elder's situation to their advantage. On the other hand, Sect affairs could not be left unhandled and Mount Kunlun needed firm leadership.

"Maybe this is the only solution," Yi said and sighed. Zhang nodded in agreement.

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A week had passed since Yuan had been fed the pill by the Lord. Both his physical strength and his internal energy had increased substantially during this time. His body became more muscled and tough. His internal energy was now similar to that of low ranking immortals; he had reached Level 9 of Soul Formation. There did not seem to be any side-effects either. 'Maybe this crazy guy has really figured a way to create super-soldiers,' Yuan thought. This thought both joyed him and terrified him. On the one hand, he wasn't going to die. On the other hand, now the Demonic Cult could gain the advantage if they managed to produce enough such pills.

The Lord walked into the room at that moment. In his hands was the Flaming Medallion. Without taking his sight from it he said, "This medallion…exudes a powerful aura. Where did someone like you got an object of such power? What object is this?"

"I don't know," Yuan lied. "It was given to me by an old man."

"Well, you are going to answer my question whether you like it or not. The 'thought worm' shall guarantee that."

The Lord then channeled his internal energy into Yuan, trying to awake the worm. "What is this object?" he asked.

No reply came. The Lord was stunned. He clenched his fists and roared in anger. "Why are you not obeying me?"

If the 'thought worm' was still alive, Yuan would indeed have obeyed the Lord. However, the pill that the Lord fed Yuan with had killed the worm. Seeing that Yuan could not be controlled, the Lord was determined to kill him to avoid any troubles. He had already tested most of his pills and had found out that they were successful. There was no need in risking an escape. So, he unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Yuan.

Yuan panicked. His heart was racing, his brain on fire, adrenaline levels rose. Yuan felt hot, it was if his blood was boiling. Suddenly, he screamed and channeled all his internal energy into his hands. Swiftly, he broke his chains and got up. As the Lord tried to stab him, Yuan grabbed his right hand, with which he was holding the sword, and he twisted it. The Lord cried in pain and let go of his sword.

"Guards!" he shouted. Yuan instantly grabbed him by the neck and strangled him to death. After he killed him, Yuan grabbed his sword and the medallion and rushed out of the room. He realized that the facility was inside a cave. As he made his way out of the cave, two guards dressed in black attacked him. He dodged their swords and then approached one of the men. He stabbed his sword through the chest of the guard, killing him. His blood spilled on the ground. Before the other guard could react, Yuan slashed him across his chest. The cut was deep and the man collapsed on the ground; dead.

"Where is the entrance of the cave?" he wondered. He decided to follow a route to his left. It led him to a room. There a man was held in chains in the same way he was. Two guards were interrogating that man. He was a bit short but muscular and boasting a long well-groomed beard. He was wearing a helmet made of iron and a mail shirt. Yuan barged into the room and quickly killed the two bewildered guards. The prisoner was surprised to see Yuan and gasped in astonishment.

"Hey!" the prisoner said. "Free me!"

"Who are you? Why should I free you?"

"I am Asger Harald. My homeland is in the far north. I lived in the Kingdom of Swagen. I came to the Jia Dynasty along with Prince Alfred as a bodyguard. Unfortunately, we were ambushed by those people. They then brought us here. I am the only survivor."

"Why did they ambush you?" Yuan asked.

"I don't know. They talked some nonsense about a ring of ice or something like that. They thought that the Prince owned that ring."

Yuan knew that despite his prowess, he would still need help if he was to escape. He did not trust this Harald but he needed whatever help he could get at the moment. So with a swift move, he broke his chains.

Freed from his chains, Harald grabbed an axe that lay upon a table. The axe head had a crescent-shaped edge and was inlaid with silver designs. Armed with this axe he said, "I know how to get out of this cave. Follow me."

Harald and Yuan left behind the room and began making their way out of the cave. As they ran forward, a group of guards attempted to stop their escape. Yuan and Harald made short work of them; they charged with the force of an avalanche. Harald massacred them with his axe. Yuan gashed them with his sword. Blood dripped from their weapons. The light of the day illuminated the entrance of the cave. As they ran towards it, the light got brighter. When they got out of the cave, they felt as if they would be blinded. They hadn't seen the light of the sun for many days.

Yuan let out a sigh of relief. He breathed the fresh air and smelled the fragrance of the wildflowers. He gazed at the majestic sight of the sun and appreciated the beauty of nature. 'At last; I am free!' he thought.

Harald approached him and said, "You saved me even though you did not have to. In my culture, when someone is considered brave and honorable, we offer to become blood brothers. I believe you have earned that honor. Would you want to become my blood brother?"

Yuan thought about it for a moment. Although the Lord's pills made him physically stronger and allowed him to cultivate his internal energy, he was still lacking compared to his past as Yang Jing. On his way to Mount Kunlun, to give the Flaming Medallion to his teacher, he knew that he would face the Demonic Cult again. Harald had proven that he was a capable warrior and would be a great asset in Yuan's quest. So, even though he still did not fully trust Harald as he had just met him, he decided to become blood brothers with him.

"I am honored by your request," Yuan said. "I will gladly become a blood brother with you."

"Good!" Harald said. "Very good!"

The two men bowed before the heavens and said in unison: "We, Cheng Yuan and Asger Harald, vow to become brothers. We seek not to be born on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. We merely hope to die on the same day, in the same month and in the same year. If we should ever do anything to betray our friendship, may heaven and the people of the earth both strike us dead."

This oath reminded Yuan of his oath in his past life before the memorial tablets of his ancestors. He was reminded of that fateful day that his entire life changed. He was reminded of Uncle Luo; what was he doing now, he wondered. He sighed.

"I have nowhere to go now," Harald said. "I have failed in my mission to keep Prince Alfred safe and cannot return back home. I will follow you wherever you go."

"Thank you bother," Yuan replied. "I will need whatever help I can get in my quest to go to Mount Kunlun. I am sure that with your help, I will be successful in my task."