Eight years ago, fifteen-year-old Hu Yanqi became separated from his tribe during a hunting trip. By chance, he triggered a mechanism and stumbled upon an underground palace. The eyes of the statue there overwhelmed him, making him lose his sanity, filling him with both fear and awe.

For a statue to have such an effect, it must be the work of gods and demons.

At first, Hu Yanqi thought he had simply discovered an empty god-demon cave and kept it to himself. However, five years ago, during the Black Abyss Mountain Martial Arts Tournament, Hu Yanqi saw Jiang Qinghong in the Jiang tribe’s team and immediately recognized her. Her appearance was nearly identical to that of the statue, except that she looked a bit younger.

This revelation shocked Hu Yanqi.

He spent a whole year, traveling back and forth between the tribe and Feixue City, reading numerous ancient books and combining them with folklore. Eventually, he arrived at a plausible conclusion... the reincarnation of gods and demons!

It is said that some gods and demons, for various reasons, voluntarily reincarnate, and their reincarnation can span across "the river of time," such as reincarnating a thousand years later...

Reincarnating many years later can allow them to avoid being hunted by enemies.

"The legend says that reincarnated gods and demons lose their cultivation, but their memories remain intact. However, they must awaken, and their souls not only retain the dormant memories of gods and demons but also a fragment of their remaining power, which must also be awakened... Awakening conditions can either be breaking through a certain realm or suffering a significant physical or emotional shock..."

"Or..."

"Legend has it that when a female god-demon reincarnates, her awakening will occur on her wedding night. She will share the remaining god-demon power with her husband, helping him increase his cultivation..."

"She’s mine! It has to be mine! Hahahahahaha!"

Every time Hu Yanqi saw the jade statue, he became extremely excited, sometimes lucid and sometimes confused. He understood, when he was clear-headed, that the statue’s divine pressure affected his mind, but he didn’t mind.

The jade statue stood quietly there, on a square platform at its base. Surrounding the platform were "retro patterns," and in the center was a single character—Pei!

This was clearly a surname.

This god-demon originally should have had the surname Pei.

"Jiang Qinghong? Or perhaps Pei Qinghong? Hahahaha! It doesn’t matter what name she has! She’s mine! No one can take her from me! Everyone knows how devoted I’ve been, how much I’ve loved you for these years! Soon you will be mine! Hahahaha!"

Hu Yanqi was certain that Jiang Qinghong was the reincarnation of this Pei-surnamed god-demon, not just because of her appearance, but because he also found out that Jiang Qinghong was the first true genius of the Jiang tribe in a hundred years! But due to her gender, she had never been able to receive any cultivation resources, which was why she had been unable to break through to the congenital realm.

"No one can take you away! Not even my father. I haven’t even told him about any of this because I know if I did, he might try to take you from me too. Everyone gets greedy over the reincarnation of gods and demons!"

"Do you know? You’re already mine?"

"I’ve bought you! I’m just waiting until next month. When the Shentu tribe wins the life-or-death battle, you will be sent to me!"

"Too bad I can’t touch the divine-demon level myself. I wonder who you really were? What kind of existence were you in the world of gods and demons? How do you compare to the Lord of Feixue City?"

Hu Yanqi muttered to the statue.

He lingered for a long time.

Finally, tired, he left the grand hall, walking farther away from the statue. As he moved further, his mind cleared, but one thought remained steadfast and unshaken.

— Never speak to anyone about the statue.

In just a few days, the news of Jiang Xuan killing Jiang Bao spread throughout the Black Abyss Mountain. Anyone keeping an eye on the life-or-death battle between the Jiang and Shentu tribes heard about this.

In a small county town, about half a day’s journey from the Jiang tribe—

Qinglin County.

In a remote and dilapidated house.

"Ah Guang, have you thought this through? Are you really going to betray the Jiang tribe and join the Shentu tribe?" The gaunt young man asked, wide-eyed, full of excitement.

The word "traitor" stung the gray-clad young man in front of him.

"Ah Xing, I’ve thought it through more than you!" Jiang Guang sneered, "Why did we escape? Wasn’t it to survive? Now the Shentu tribe has announced that any Jiang tribe men who join before the seventh of next month will be given the status of Shentu tribe members."

This news had spread alongside the news of Jiang Xuan’s killing of Jiang Bao.

Following this, rumors spread: Shentu Lie would personally take action next month to kill Jiang Xuan! This would be Shentu Lie’s one and only personal intervention in the three-year life-or-death battle between the two tribes!

"But…" Jiang Xing hesitated.

"Do you really think Jiang Xuan has much ability? He’s only fifteen! The killing of Jiang Bao is questionable—maybe it was Jiang Cuiyun or someone else forcing Jiang Xuan to take credit for it! How could a half-step congenital possibly kill a true congenital warrior? And even if it were true, don’t you think Shentu Lie could crush him like an ant?" Jiang Guang said coldly.

"But… but why betray our own tribe?" Jiang Xing still found it hard to accept. "We’ve been fugitives for three months now, and if we betray the tribe… then we will be hunted down."

The two were both in their early twenties, in the acquired realm. They had fled the Jiang tribe together three months ago.

"Three months! Tell me, how have we lived these three months?" Jiang Guang raised his voice, "We’re tribe members, living in the city, being bullied. They call us barbarians, and no one even wants to hire us for work. Look at where we live. This abandoned house! Only beggars live in such places!"

Jiang Guang became more agitated.

Tribe members in the city were discriminated against, especially those in the acquired realm... congenital realm tribe members were feared and seen as fierce and unapproachable. But acquired realm tribe members were treated as inferior and easily identifiable due to their different customs and tattoos.

"And it’s only going to get worse! After the life-or-death battle, we’ll be fugitives, and the city won’t give us a place to stay. Should we go hide in the wilderness or the mountains? With our strength, how long do you think we’ll last?"

"But betraying the tribe will leave us with no face!"

"What does face matter when we’re alive?" Jiang Guang sneered. "We must survive!"

"My mother... If I betray the tribe, she will never forgive me, even if she has to die!"

"You’re truly filial." Jiang Guang mocked.

Jiang Xing’s mother was still alive and in the Jiang tribe, part of the patrol team. Three months ago, when Jiang Xing wanted to leave, he had tried to persuade her to escape with him, but she had already made plans with his aunts to stay with the tribe to the end. Seeing his mother unwilling to leave, Jiang Xing hesitated about whether to escape. Ultimately, it was his mother who persuaded him to go, so he fled with Jiang Guang.

"I’m in the acquired realm. Even if I enter the arena, nothing will change, I’ll just die for nothing. That’s why my mother told me to escape. But if I change my surname to Shentu and betray my tribe, my ancestors, my mother will personally kill me. If she gets the chance, she will definitely do it!" Jiang Xing said.

Actually, he just couldn’t get past his own conscience.

Tribe members were usually extremely loyal to their tribes. The older and more established the tribe, the more loyal they were, even willing to sacrifice their lives for it. Jiang Xing’s mother was one of those people, and Jiang Xing himself... he admitted he was a coward, but not betraying his tribe was his bottom line.

"Then take your foolish loyalty and get ready to be a fugitive!" Jiang Guang turned away, mocking him. "I’m going to live a good life."

Jiang Xing looked at Jiang Guang’s retreating back, his expression full of conflict and struggle. Just as Jiang Guang was almost at the wall, Jiang Xing suddenly shouted, "Ah Guang, perhaps Jiang Xuan…"

"Stop dreaming." Jiang Guang coldly interrupted, jumping over the wall, disappearing from sight.

Half a day later, Jiang Guang arrived at the temporary camp of the Shentu tribe, and after his identity was confirmed by Jiang Jingsheng, he officially joined the Shentu tribe.

August 1st, six days until the life-or-death battle.

At dusk, the back mountain of Jiang tribe’s earthen city.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The wind howled, and ghostly shadows flickered. The wind became increasingly eerie, blowing south, then west, and then east again. This wasn’t the real wind but the result of the incomplete Ninth Style being repeatedly unleashed!

"Chasing Wind like the wind!"

"Chasing Wind like the wind!"

"Chasing Wind like the wind!!"

Whoosh~~~

A gentle breeze blew through the mountains and forests, and Jiang Xuan suddenly felt that he had merged with the world, as if he had become one with the wind, sweeping over the green grasslands, through the dense trees. The mud and dust on the ground, the floating dust in the air, and the shifting shadows in the sky all moved forward with the wind, becoming faster and fiercer. As they moved forward, they were compressed, ultimately converging into a terrifying blade of light!

Wherever the wind blew, the blade of light followed.

Jiang Xuan appeared in the wind, his face blank, as if he had forgotten his joy.

"The Ninth Style... is it done?"

Boom~~~

Dozens of towering trees around the sound stone crashed to the ground, each one cut into dozens of segments, creating a shocking spectacle.