9: Yin Chaoge

A young man dressed in black, with handsome yet cold features, was fleeing in disarray through the mountain forest, clutching his still-bleeding eye.

"Chaoge, run! Don't look back!"

The eye he was covering with his left hand continued to ooze blood, and his originally cold, stern face had grown somewhat pale.

Blood loss and the intense running had left his mind somewhat dazed.

It was as if he could see his mother, who had been kicked to the ground and, in her final moments, had thought only of making him escape.

Yin Chaoge, the posthumous child of the previous Demon Sect Master.

Fifteen years ago, the current Demon Sect Master usurped his superior, killing the previous generation's Demon Sect Master.

The Sect Master's Wife, six months pregnant, went into hiding, gave birth to Yin Chaoge, and lived in a nearby small town for fifteen years.

For those fifteen years, Yin Chaoge always believed he was just a fatherless bastard.

After all, everyone who saw him said so, and Yin Chaoge came to think the same.

But three nights ago, a group of Black-Clad Men broke into their home.

Only then did Yin Chaoge learn of his true origins, and he realized he was even worse off than a bastard!

A bastard could at least survive, but as the sole Bloodline left by the previous Demon Sect Master, he was doomed to die!

Exhausted, Yin Chaoge's vision began to blur: "I'm so tired, my eye hurts so much, I just want to sleep forever!"

I won't accept this! Am I really going to die here?

Hearing the rustling search sounds behind him, Yin Chaoge tightly covered his left eye, gritted his teeth, and kept running forward.

He ran until he reached a stream, where he plunged in like it was a lifeline, gulping down water in large mouthfuls.

The taste of mud mixed with blood made him feel nauseated, but he forced himself to swallow.

After drinking, he stared at his reflection in the stream, momentarily stunned.

In just three days, his fate had turned upside down.

First, his mother was killed, then he fled for his life. Along the way, the Strange Treasure hidden in his left eye unexpectedly awakened, allowing him to kill three pursuers in return. Even now, it all felt like a dream.

Looking at his empty left eye socket, which still oozed a little blood, this vanished left eye was the key to his survival these past few days and the only legacy left to him by his cheap, dead father.

The people hunting him were likely after him and his mother precisely for the Strange Treasure in his left eye!

A feeling of weakness spread through his limbs, forcing Yin Chaoge to his knees on the grass. Days without food and the immense drain from using the Strange Treasure made him feel as if his lamp of life was almost out of oil.

"Running any further will only prolong the suffering. Why not fight them instead?"

The thought flashed through his mind, and Yin Chaoge's cold, stern face was filled with ferocity.

Those people could all scale walls and leap over eaves. With no strength to even tie up a chicken, he stood no chance of winning.

If he hadn't possessed the Strange Treasure, he would have died at their hands long ago!

Now, his only option was to push the Strange Treasure to its limit, kill at least one to break even, and consider any more a profit!

Having made up his mind, Yin Chaoge found strength from somewhere, wobbled to his feet, and turned to face the Assassins hunting him!

Rustle rustle!

Countless footsteps grew closer and closer. He felt like a rabbit with nowhere to run, while venomous snakes slithered through the nearby grass, all wanting to take his life.

Yin Chaoge gritted his teeth, preparing to activate the Strange Treasure in his left eye once more.

Suddenly, a gentle, soft voice came from the large tree above Yin Chaoge's head: "Hey, kid, what's your name?"

Yin Chaoge looked up sharply and saw a handsome young man dressed in white, smiling warmly down at him.

His smile was gentle and courteous, like a Young Master from a noble family, every gesture perfectly measured.

At first glance, Yin Chaoge was certain he had never seen this youth before, yet he instinctively felt a sliver of disgust toward him in his heart.

To Yin Chaoge, the youth in the tree seemed hypocritical, affected, like a clown wearing a mask!

Warily covering his left eye, Yin Chaoge asked, "Who are you?!"

The white-clad youth smiled as he looked at the wary Yin Chaoge and said, "My name is Gu Wanquan. Whether I save you or not depends entirely on what your name is!"

Though he inexplicably felt repulsed by the white-clad youth in the treetop, his intuition told him the other was not an enemy.

This feeling was bizarre. He disliked the other at first sight, yet his intuition insisted this person wouldn't harm him!

With complex emotions, Yin Chaoge spoke: "Yin Chaoge!"

Hearing the name Yin Chaoge, Gu Wanquan in the treetop smiled even more brilliantly, feeling increasingly pleased as he looked at the disheveled figure below.

Smiling, Gu Wanquan nodded and said, "Right, that's the name. Now, I guarantee your life is safe!"

Hearing Gu Wanquan's assurance, Yin Chaoge inexplicably relaxed, as if this person really had come to save him.

Before Yin Chaoge could fully let his guard down, his vision suddenly blurred. Gu Wanquan flipped down from the treetop and drove a knee into his face.

The tremendous force sent Yin Chaoge flying backward!

"bastard! You tricked me!" Feeling deceived, Yin Chaoge scrambled up in shock and rage, enduring the pain in his face as he tried to activate the ability of the Strange Treasure in his left eye.

A whip-like leg carrying a gust of wind slammed hard into Yin Chaoge's face. He felt as if his head had been rammed by an ox, and scenes from his past life even flashed before his eyes.

That single whip-kick had literally knocked his life's flashback out of him.

After crashing heavily to the ground again, a boot pressed down on Yin Chaoge's face. Though it was merely resting there, it felt as heavy as a mountain.

No matter how frantically Yin Chaoge struggled, the boot on his face remained immovable.

Yin Chaoge struggled wildly. He was truly an idiot!

Damn it, he tricked me and then ambushed me! This bastard must be with those people!

If only I could see his face, see his face, then I could kill him!

"Your life force is truly tough. You haven't even started cultivating, yet you can still resist after taking that kick from me. Truly surprising physical constitution!"

This Yin Chaoge before him was precisely the person about to become his Junior Brother, yet he would also be his lifelong rival!

Though they would share the same master, the two would ultimately end up on diametrically opposed sides.

In his past life, as the Leader of the Righteous Path, Gu Wanquan had fought life-and-death battles with Yin Chaoge, who would become the future Demon Sect Master, no fewer than a hundred times.

Every time he saw Yin Chaoge's inhuman physical resilience, Gu Wanquan felt a headache. The guy was practically an unkillable cockroach!

Gu Wanquan's sighing voice rang out, while Yin Chaoge desperately tried to move his head.

As his lifelong rival, Gu Wanquan naturally understood exactly what Yin Chaoge was trying to do at this moment.

"You, trying to see my face?" Gu Wanquan's gentle inquiry sent a chill down Yin Chaoge's spine.

A hint of reproach appeared on Gu Wanquan's handsome face as he said to Yin Chaoge, "I'm the one saving you, yet you repay kindness with enmity? You deserve some punishment!"

Yin Chaoge's heart sank sharply: "Why? How does he know about the Strange Treasure's ability?"

Before Yin Chaoge could react, he felt his right arm being violently yanked up, followed by the sickening sound of bones cracking.

Yin Chaoge's cold, stern face instantly contorted in agony—his right hand had been brutally twisted and broken by the other!

The intense pain instantly robbed Yin Chaoge of his reason. Even with his head pinned underfoot, he struggled frantically, tears and snot covering his face. His bleeding left eye suddenly began to swirl with black mist:

"Aaaaaah! I'll kill you!"