Shen Chao brazenly strolled through the main gate of the Glaring Sword Sect on one, particularly rainy day. And yet, no trace of the unruly weather was reflected in his appearance. The thinly striped black and white silk robe he wore was dry as were the linen bandages that snaked their way up his body from the soles of his feet to the nape of his neck.

Had anyone from the sect taken notice of him they would surely consider him to be a suspicious person, but, at this moment much like the storm clouds and rain droplets overhead, they were completely frozen in time.

Wasting no time he raced past modest buildings made of stone and simple pagodas and still cultivators towards the interior of the sect. There were an inherent grace and swiftness to his movements, Shen Chao was careful not to leave behind any trace of his presence that could be used to explain how he had slipped past the disciples and masters of the Glaring Sword Sect and killed their clan patriarch when time began to move once again.

It didn’t take long before Shen Chao discovered the floating stone bridge that connected Jiang Ming’s private meditation room to the other structures in the sect. It was sealed by a sinister formation meant to stop anyone from entering or escaping from within. Just at a glance, he couldn’t begin to estimate how long it would take to lay down a spiritual formation as formidable as this one.

This is quite unexpected. Surely, it must have been laid in place by one of the other 100 Celestial Masters, I did it again, there are only 96 Celestial Masters now. To my knowledge, Jiang Ming is not someone that could be described as being intelligent enough or skilled enough to create something like this on his own. He favors destructive Sword Skills and brash death matches over strategy and spiritual arts.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way anyone would be able to enter this formation without Jiang Ming’s spoken permission. But, that was only true if the formation had time to activate. Today it did not. Just as nonchalantly as he had entered the sect, Shen Chao raced past the formation without sparing it another glance.

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A large golden door stood before him. Shen Chao put his hands together and quietly muttered, “Time begins to flow again according to my will.”

With a single motion, he pushed the door open. Seated in the middle of the meditation room was an old man deep in thought. His youthful appearance and black hair despite his old age gave off the air of a true Xia. A strong and oppressive Qi filled the air making it difficult to breathe. It took only a moment for Jiang Ming to notice Shen Chao’s presence.

“So, the fool killing the Celestial Masters has come to play with this grandfather. Let us make this quick. I am far too busy to entertain the likes of you,” Jiang Ming spat.

The contempt in Jiang Ming’s voice excited Shen Chao. Jiang Ming’s boundless confidence in the face of an inescapable death was sweet enough to eat. It had been far too long since he had last heard these words come out of a Celestial Master’s mouth.

“You’re underestimating me far too much if you think you can present your back to me and come out unscathed,” Shen Chao countered. He began to peel off the bandages that covered his arms, revealing forearms riddled with scars at each meridian point. At the same time, Jiang Ming rose from his seated stance to face his enemy.

What he saw shocked him. Which is not an easy task given Jiang Ming’s vast array of personal experiences.

“I see. You are a sacrifice that has returned to enact his foolish notion of revenge.”

Once again Jiang Ming’s words had caused Shen Chao to laugh. Though, the reason was entirely different this time.

“You mistake me. I harbor no hate towards you or any of the other Celestial Masters for what you have done to me,” he began stretching to ready himself for the impending deathmatch, “Had you not crippled my meridians and cultivation base, leaving me to be devoured by that monster, I would still be desperately clutching to my father’s martial arts. Never to realize my potential far surpassed his own.”

Jiang Ming was unfazed.

“The boasting of a dead man matters little. But, I am interested to hear how you survived the Advent Ritual. Care to enlighten me before you pass on to the underworld?”

“Eat shit you old fool.” Shen Chao ran his finger across his neck.

“Then you are of no use to me. Die in pain,” Jiang Ming bellowed.