That night, the Martial Temple blazed with light.
Incense smoke curled through the main hall, where a statue of the Martial God clad in golden armor looked down upon the gathered people.
Qin Yueshan stood before the hall's entrance, his gaze passing over the uneven rooftops of Bend River City toward Scarlet Cloud Mountain more than a dozen li away.
There were no clouds that night.
Yet few stars could be seen in the sky.
A faint, dark red glow shrouded the heavens, as though a sea of fire lurked behind the night, ready to burn through the firmament at any moment.
Lu Chen stood beside Qin Yueshan.
The Golden Crow Meridian Patrol within him grew increasingly active.
The indistinct Golden Crow formed from his qi and blood circled through his entire body over and over, moving faster with each pass.
The next instant, a deep, muffled boom rose from far beneath the earth.
Boom!
The sound was not loud, yet it felt as though some unseen hand had struck a massive drum buried underground.
Dust came fluttering down from the Martial Temple's eaves.
Throughout Bend River City, countless dogs began barking at once. Warhorses in the stables pawed the ground uneasily, while flocks of birds rose from the depths of the mountain forests and fled in panic through the night.
Boom!
A second subterranean boom rang out.
This time, all of Bend River City trembled slightly.
Many residents who had yet to fall asleep pushed open their windows and looked fearfully into the distance.
On Scarlet Cloud Mountain, a thread of red light slowly appeared between the peaks.
At first, it was only the thinnest of lines.
It was as though someone had swept a crimson brush beneath the heavy curtain of night, drawing a red stroke across the