Yun Qing slowly rose and walked toward the clearing beside the bonfire.
The crowd parted of its own accord. All the noisy discussion died away, leaving only the crackle of burning wood.
Yun Qing stopped in the center of the clearing and flicked his wrist.
The next instant, spear shadows flashed!
Moving with his thoughts, the heavy spearhead swept across the ground. Dust billowed and gravel flew, carrying an indescribably weighty force.
The spearhead scraped against the earth with a low, powerful rasp, while the firelight stretched his shadow long.
The dust settled a little.
Three bold, powerful characters, carved deep into the earth, stood revealed before everyone-
"Rogue Cultivator Alliance!"
The spearhead sank deep into the final stroke of the last character, like a weighty full stop-or a seed about to break through the soil.
Yun Qing withdrew his spear and stood, his red robes stirring gently in the night breeze. He said nothing more.
Silence reigned beside the bonfire.
Everyone stared at the three characters on the ground. The firelight stretched their shadows long, yet they branded themselves with utter clarity into every rogue cultivator's heart, burning until their hearts grew warm.
Surprise flickered through Feng Ling'er's eyes, and her beautiful gaze turned toward the people in the clearing.
"The Rogue Cultivator Alliance..." Wang Hu repeated softly, light flickering in his eyes.
Zhao Polu held his saber and silently studied the three characters, then watched Yun Qing's retreating back as he returned to the boulder. His grip on his saber tightened again and again.
After tonight, the name "Rogue Cultivator Alliance," together with this unexpectedly victorious bloody battle beside the bonfire and Yun Qing's silent spear-wielding figure, would take root in many rogue cultivators' hearts.
Perhaps one day, with only an opportunity, a single spark, this "alliance," buried