The Rune Soldiers Awaken

It was deep into the night.

While countless people slept, unaware, the skies above Nanyan City suddenly churned with wind and clouds. As the rich Vital Energy of Heaven and Earth stirred, an indescribable wave descended from the vast sky, filling every corner of the city.

In an instant, a heavy, terrifying pressure bore down, weighing on the many martial artists whose senses were keen to the Vital Energy of Heaven and Earth.

In a modest courtyard in the southern part of the city.

A mature-looking young man woke from his sleep. He clutched his increasingly breathless chest with one hand and reached for the weapon beside him with the other.

He shot to his feet, kicked open the door, and stepped into the courtyard. After looking around and seeing nothing but darkness, he instinctively lifted his head to gaze at the sky shrouded in black.

A martial artist's instincts told him there was no real enemy nearby. The "source of evil" behind his condition came from above—from Heaven and Earth itself.

"What's going on?"

The mature-looking man held his gaze on the sky for several breaths. His eyes soon grew unfocused, as if he could see a divine mountain weighing ten thousand jun descending little by little, crushing Nanyan City.

At that moment, he was like an insect unable to struggle, left only to await the fate of being crushed to dust.

Drip!

Drip!

Drip!

Bright red liquid welled from the man's eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears. It gathered at his chin and, under the pull of gravity, dripped to the ground.

His whole body tensed as he sensed the danger. His neck bones cracked, and instinct urged him to lower his head, to save himself.

But he failed.

Clatter, clatter! Clatter, clatter!

Suddenly, dense footsteps sounded in the