## Liam''s Perspective


    "You''re a dead man, Josiah Hale."


    My voice cut through the tense silence of Darian Hill''s dining room. The fear in Josiah''s eyes was palpable as sweat beaded on his forehead.


    "Please, Knight! There must be something you want!" Josiah''s voice cracked with desperation. "The Spiritual Spring of our sect—it''s yours! The spring water can heal almost any injury!"


    I took another step toward him. "You think I care about your trinkets?"


    "Liam, perhaps we should discuss this rationally," Darian Hill interjected, his politician''s smile failing to mask his concern. "Killing a sect master, even a disgraced one, will have serious consequences."


    I didn''t even look at him. "Stay out of this, Hill. Your influence means nothing here."


    Footsteps echoed in the hallway behind me. I sensed a powerful presence approaching—one I recognized.


    "Master Knight," came a deep, resonant voice. "I believe restraint would be wise in this matter."


    Julian Hawthorne, elder of the Ashworth Family, stood in the doorway. His tall frame cast a long shadow across the polished floor.


    "Julian," I acknowledged without turning. "Did the Ashworths send you to clean up their mess?"


    "I came of my own ord," he replied, stepping into the room. "The death of a sect master would upset delicate bnces. Surely we can find another solution."


    Josiah looked at Julian with pathetic hope. "Elder Hawthorne! Thank the heavens you''re here. Please, make him see reason!"


    Iughed coldly. "Reason? Was it reasonable when you sent assassins after my friend? When you tried to kill Caspian in his sleep?"


    "I was following orders!" Josiah protested. "The Ashworths—"


    "Enough!" Julian''s voice boomed, silencing Josiah instantly. "Master Knight, for the sake of our past dealings and the respect I hold for you, I ask that you reconsider."


    Finally, I turned to face Julian. "Not even for you, Julian. Not even for the Ashworth name. Those days are over."


    A flicker of surprise crossed Julian''s face. He hadn''t expected such a direct refusal.


    Josiah, realizing Julian couldn''t save him, bolted from his chair toward a side door. His movement was fast—impressive for someone of his age and build.


    But I was faster.


    Golden energy surged through my legs as I intercepted him, blocking his escape route. "Running again, Sect Master?"


    Terror flooded his eyes. With a desperate shout, he crashed through a nearby window, ss shattering around him as he fled toward the mulberry groves.


    "Stop him!" Darian shouted to his guards outside.


    I walked calmly to the broken window. "Don''t bother. He''s mine." <cite ss="in-imprint-a">Keep us going by reading on *.</cite>


    Since reaching the Marquis level, my senses had sharpened beyond belief. I could hear Josiah''s panicked breathing, smell the fear-sweat soaking his robes, feel the trembling of the ground beneath his feet as he ran.


    I jumped through the window,nding softly on the grass outside.


    "This is unwise, Liam," Julian called after me. "Think of the consequences!"


    I nced back once. "I''ve thought of nothing else for the past three years."


    Then I was gone, a golden blur streaking through the mulberry trees.


    Josiah had a head start, but it meant nothing. I tracked him effortlessly, following his desperate flight through the grove toward the main road. Citizens stopped to stare as the Sect Master of the Ascendant Saints Order—a man normally carried in a pnquin—sprinted through the streets in torn, sweat-soaked robes.


    His humiliation was public. Complete.


    I kept pace easily, sometimes letting him glimpse me before disappearing again. His terror grew with each sighting, his movements bing more frantic.


    "You can''t run from me, Josiah!" I called out, my voice echoing between buildings. "Face your judgment!"


    He darted down an alley, emerging into a marketce. Vendors and shoppers scattered as he barreled through, knocking over stalls in his wake.


    I leapt onto a rooftop, tracking him from above. When he emerged from the market into an open square, I dropped directly in front of him.


    Josiah skidded to a halt, his eyes wild. "Please!" he gasped betweenbored breaths. "I''ll do anything!"


    "Then stand and fight," I replied coldly. "Die with some dignity."


    Something shifted in his expression. The fear remained, but something else emerged—a cold calction. He straightened, assuming abat stance.


    "You may have reached Marquis level," he snarled, "but I''ve held this rank for decades!"


    His hand shot forward, fingers contorted into a w. "Deadly Ghost Hand!"


    A purple-ck energy surged toward me, forming spectral talons that sought to tear through my chest. This was his signature move—one that had killed dozens of challengers over the years.


    I didn''t dodge. I didn''t block. I simply stood there.


    The deadly energy crashed against my golden aura and dissipated like smoke in a strong wind.


    Josiah''s eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible!"


    "Is that all?" I asked quietly.


    He snarled andunched a flurry of attacks—punches, kicks, energy sts—each more desperate than thest. I stood motionless, letting each strike break harmlessly against my defensive aura.


    "How?" he gasped, staggering back. "Eighteen strikes of tribtion lightning...it should have killed you!"


    "But it didn''t," I replied simply. "It forged me."


    Fear returned to his eyes, stronger than before. He looked around frantically, seeking escape. Finding none, he reached into his robe and pulled out a small jade pendant.


    "You leave me no choice," he said, his voice steadying with grim resolve. "The Mountain-Destroying Seal."


    I recognized the technique from ancient texts—a forbidden move that channeled one''s life force into a single, devastating attack. It could level mountains, but at a terrible cost: the user''s life.


    Blood began to trickle from Josiah''s eyes and ears as he poured his life essence into the pendant. It glowed with an ominous crimson light, pulsating with power.


    "If I die," he growled, "you''reing with me!"


    The ground beneath us began to crack as energy surged around him. Bystanders fled screaming from the square. The very air seemed to warp with the building power.


    I folded my arms across my chest, watching him with detached interest.


    "Do you think I fear death, Josiah?" I asked calmly as his life force drained away. "Death and I are old friends."


    His face contorted with strain as blood flowed freely down his cheeks. The jade pendant''s glow intensified to blinding levels, ready to unleash destruction that would im us both.


    Yet I remained unmoved, my golden aura steady, as I awaited his final, desperate gambit.