The air in Tianyao City (天妖城) is thick with ambition and dread. The grand Yaojiang (妖将) competition approaches, a pivotal event that will reshape the hierarchy of power. For the generals, or Yaojiang, securing a formidable external champion is not a luxury but a necessity for survival and prestige. This desperation has birthed a shadow war, where assassins stalk the city’s allies under the cover of night. Amidst this chaos, one name circulates with a mixture of fear and skepticism: Wang Lin (王林). An outsider with no official allegiance, his presence has become the most unpredictable variable in the pre-competition calculus. While others scramble to eliminate rivals, he stands unmoved, an island of cold focus in a storm of intrigue. The stage is set not just for a tournament of strength, but for a demonstration of sheer, unyielding will.
The Uninvited Guest
A formal challenge, sealed and delivered, cuts through the underhanded tactics. The Yaojiang Mo Fei (墨非) sends a herald, Mo Yang, to the residence of Left Wing General Mo Lihai (莫厉海). The message is simple: a duel in three days' time, with the loser forfeiting all rights to participate in the coming grand competition. Mo Lihai, bound by honor and pride, accepts. The conflict is now out in the open, moving from back alleys to a sanctioned arena. For Mo Lihai, this is a direct threat to his standing; for his champion Wang Lin, it is merely another obstacle on a predetermined path.
The confrontation, however, takes an unexpected turn. Mo Yang, recognizing Wang Lin as a disciple of the Tianyun Sect (天运宗), lets arrogance override sense. Historic animosity between his Daluo Sword Sect (大罗剑宗) and Wang Lin’s school fuels a spontaneous, foolish provocation. He challenges the outsider directly, perhaps seeing an opportunity for personal glory. What follows is not a battle, but a swift and humiliating lesson. Wang Lin dismantles Mo Yang’s (末羊) techniques with dismissive ease, his Slaughter Aura a palpable force that overwhelms the swordsman’s borrowed prowess. The outcome is never in doubt.
Wang Lin allows Mo Yang to retreat, but it is a mercy laced with finality. A trace of his lethal aura, hidden within the defeated man, activates moments later. Mo Yang falls, his life and the precious sword energy of his master, Ling Tianhou (凌天侯), extinguished. Wang Lin calmly retrieves the spoils. This is not an act of rage, but of efficient resource acquisition. Simultaneously, the scheduled duel between their patrons concludes. To the shock of many, Mo Lihai is defeated by Mo Fei. With this loss, Mo Lihai’s qualification for the Yaojiang competition is stripped away, leaving his fate and ambitions entirely in the hands of his now-solo champion.
A Silent Declaration
The disqualification of Mo Lihai sends a clear message to the city: Wang Lin enters the fray alone. He is an entity without a banner, a force unattached to the traditional powers. In the eyes of the assembled nobles and generals, this renders him irrelevant—a curiosity without backing. Mo Lihai’s plea to Wang Lin is one of desperate hope. The general’s chance to ascend to the rank of Marshal now hinges entirely on the performance of this solitary fighter he had the foresight to recruit. The weight of this expectation sits lightly on Wang Lin, for his goals have always transcended the petty politics of Tianyao City.
As the grand competition finally commences, the atmosphere is one of spectacle and judgment. Powerful champions, each representing a major Yaojiang, step onto the stage amid roaring crowds. When Wang Lin’s turn comes, the attention is lukewarm, tinged with pity for Mo Lihai’s misfortune. He is the representative of a lost cause. Yet, from the first moment he engages an opponent, that perception shatters. His movements are economical, his power devastatingly precise. The Slaughter Aura, refined and vast, announces a level of cultivation that silences the skeptical murmurs.
Each victory is decisive. There is no theatrical flourish, no unnecessary cruelty—only the inexorable progress of a fundamental truth. Wang Lin is not here to prove himself to them; they are here to witness him. The early matches, which he dominates with unsettling calm, serve as a prologue. The real contest, the confrontations with the top champions backed by the most powerful Yaojiang like Mo Fei, still loom. But a new question now hangs in the air, replacing the earlier dismissal: How far can this lone outsider go? He has already rewritten one rule by competing alone; the entire structure of power in Tianyao City may be next.
