No one knew on what day, or when, a city had appeared at the very edge of the Human Race's territory.
All they knew was that the people of the Ink Pavilion called it Sin City.
A place of exile.
Everyone who entered this city was guilty of heinous crimes.
Their Awakening Objects were sealed, their energy shackled.
They were exiled to this city.
Dedicated guards watched over it.
Because the resentment within the city was too great, the rules were changed: one person could leave every ten years.
As time passed, this was changed again to one person every year.
Gradually.
The Human Race's second generation finally grew strong enough to shelter those who came after them.
It was also at this moment...
Outside Demon-Suppressing Pass, Li Mocheng's remains turned to dust and drifted away.
They vanished completely from the world.
Time seemed to move in a cycle. Those who had awakened eight times led the Ink Pavilion and maintained the Human Race's stability.
Those who had awakened seven times spread out across the land, suppressing petty villains.
And whenever someone reached the ninth awakening, they would quietly depart. No one knew where they went, scattered throughout the corners of human territory.
Perhaps one was the middle-aged man selling breakfast.
Perhaps one was the woman cleaning the streets.
Or perhaps one was the old man in the corner of a park, red-faced as he argued over a game of chess.
But...
Whenever the Demon Domain broke the accord, someone would always rise, enter the Demon Domain, and turn it upside down.
It became an enduring tradition of the Human Race.
As more and more people disappeared from the Human Race, even the Demon Domain no longer knew how many such people there were.
They could only remain cautious, wary,