Dawn glowed like rosy clouds, spilling over the shattered walls of Lion Peak Mountain.
Elder Qingming's face was livid, his eyes all but spitting fire. His powerful pressure seemed to congeal the air around him.
"Zhao Ke."
Qingming's voice was quiet, yet carried a chill that seeped into the cracks between one's bones.
Zhao Ke's body stiffened violently, his heart twisting into a knot.
All color had long since drained from his face. His lips trembled and his legs shook like a fish tossed onto shore.
"E-Elder... I..."
"Zhao Ke, the Immortal Alliance spent twenty years carefully nurturing you, giving you resources and every convenience. Is this how you repay it?"
Qingming approached, step by step.
Every step seemed to land on Zhao Ke's heart.
He unleashed the pressure of the peak Sky Soaring Realm without restraint.
With a thud, Zhao Ke was forced flat on the ground. His forehead struck the stone paving, blood streaming out and smearing his face.
"You colluded with the Xiao Household to frame innocent disciples of the Eight Sects for consorting with demons. Do you admit your crime?"
"Elder, I... I was only following orders... Young Master Xiao... no, Xiao Han told me to do it..."
Zhao Ke's voice faltered like a guttering candle in the wind. He could no longer form a complete sentence.
"Xiao Han deserves ten thousand deaths."
"And you, a member of the Immortal Alliance's Demon-Slaying Squad, could distinguish neither good from evil nor right from wrong, willingly becoming another man's dog. Those who bring calamity upon themselves cannot live. Die..."
As the words fell, he raised his hand and struck with his palm.
Qingming looked down at him without a shred of pity in his eyes, only cold indifference that ran bone-deep.
Fine cracks appeared in the fabric of