In a shadowed mountain alley descending from the Hanz Clan Stronghold on Twin Peak Hill valley, Donovan Valdez led his Dominator Squad—six white-robed cultivators, their strides cutting through the mist like blades, their faces carved with resolve. Each step echoed with purpose, their grim determination a silent vow to crush any obstacle.
Ghostly figures flickered along the edges of the path, their spectral forms weaving through the mist, but the seven high-phase Qi Refinement cultivators ignored these apparitions. Only when a malice-driven spirit dared block their way did they act. Normally, seven or eight martial spells erupted in unison, a torrent of vicious energy that reduced the evil spirit to ash before its shriek could fade.
The Dominator Squad ascended through the alley, reaching a small hill crowned by an exquisite courtyard. A stone path, lined with vibrant flowers, led to its gate. They entered beneath a sprawling wisteria canopy. At the courtyard's heart stood a small stone pond, its fountain long dry. Beside it, a single clay pot held a cluster of vivid koi fish, their scales glinting unnaturally.
As the squad approached, the fish sensed their murderous aura and went berserk. They thrashed, leaping from the water with snapping jaws, aiming to tear flesh from the intruders.
Donovan didn't glance back. With a flick of his sleeve, the pot's water quaked. The koi fish exploded into bloody pulp, their remains sinking in a crimson haze. The pot erupted next, the stink water painted the stone floor red.
The squad passed through a moon-shaped gate, confronting a moss-covered stone path winding up Twin Peak Hill. Driven by vengeance for Zach Wright and bolstered by the confidence in their strength, they scorned the path's meander. Donovan activated his footwork art, leading the team in a direct, lightning-swift ascent toward the Hanz Clan's Ancestral Shrine.
They reached the mountainside swiftly. From the hill's crest, a figure stumbled, careened down the slope toward them, panic twisting his mustached face. Cloaked in blood-red light, that's a male cultivatior fled using the Blood Burning Technique.
"Carl Murphy of Soar Skull Peak," Zoe Wright, Zach's sister, hissed, her voice venomous. Her tattooed hand clenched as she glared at the approaching cultivator. "He's tight with Garrick Blackthorn. Thorn Squad scum."
"Senior Brother Valdez! Hey!" Eyes widened, Carl spotted the Dominator Squad with joy, veering toward them, his voice frantic. "The Hanz. Clan Ancestral Shrine was—"
Carl's words choked off as a sonic boom cracked the air, then a gale of force slammed into his face. Donovan vanished for a heartbeat and his towering form materialized again inches from the mustached man like a missile of raw power. Without a word, Donovan's fist crashed down.
Bang!
Before shock could register on Carl Murphy's face, the man's head burst like an overripe melon, blood and flesh spraying, brains and bone shrapnel showered the stone path as the headless corpse slumped.
Donovan ripped the storage pouch from the still-twitching waist, shattered its wards with a thought, and tossed it to Zoe.
Donovan's expression remained cold. He reached down, snatching the storage pouch from the corpse's waist. With a pulse of energy, he shattered its wards and tossed it to Zoe Wright.
"First blood," he said, wiping gore from his knuckles, his voice an icy blade. "Dominators move!"
As the Dominators charged forward, another figure appeared over the ridge path, racing down from the distant mountaintop—sprinting toward them at full speed.
Lordi Payne swore he'd chosen his escape route at random, fleeing the Hanz Clan's Ancestral Shrine with no plan beyond survival. Yet, before he could descend Twin Peak Hill, fate betrayed him. Emerging from the mist, he froze, his gaze locking onto a grim scene: Donovan Valdez stood over a headless corpse, its gray robe identical to Carl Murphy's, blood pooling on the stone path.
A primal chill shot down his spine. Every hair on his body stood on end. Without a second thought, he whirled and fled. But it was too late. The moment Lordi spotted Donovan Valdez, the Mister First Dominator and his battle squad had already marked him, their eyes sharp with predatory intent.
Donovan's eyes narrowed as he observed the young cultivator's extraordinary speed on the strange footwork art. Impressive, he mused—then immediately resolved to cripple it. Raising a fist, the captain of Dominator Squad unleashed a devastating long-range punch.
A massive fist of condensed spiritual energy materialized mid-air, hurtling toward Lordi's retreating back with terrifying force.
"Haa—!"
Lordi twisted mid-stride, the Blade of Life Hater flashing crimson as he channeled the Blood Fiend Blade Art to its limits. A crimson mist, thick as spilled blood, wreathed the pale bone blade. With a desperate roar, he slashed at the oncoming fist shadow!
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
In a deafening cascade of bangs, he collision sounded like a dozen thunderclaps rumbled at the same time. The impact sent Lordi hurtling backward as if hit on the face by a runaway freight train. His bone blade recoiled with vicious force, carving a deep gash across his chest. Blood sprayed from his lips as he crashed through the mountain woods—
—shattering seven ancient towering trees in his descent, each splintering under the impact—
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
—before finally slamming into a thorny thicket at the base of the hill's base.
Coughing blood, Lordi forced himself to stagger to his feet, pain searing every nerve, but survival instinct overrode all agony. Gritting bloody teeth, he channeled the Blood Spectre Footwork Art, his form blurring into a crimson streak. In an instant, he vanished into the shadowed forest, leaving only trampled leaves and a trail of blood behind.
"How in the abyss is that possible?! The bastard actually survived???!!!" Zoe Wright gasped, her voice thick with disbelief. Donovan Valdez, at the peak of the ninth-layer Qi Refinement stage, was undisputed unmatched among the four battle squad captains in the Hanz Clan Estate. In one-on-one combat, no sect comrade in the Hanz Clan Estate could rival him.
Just moments ago, Carl Murphy, that mustached fool at the peak of eighth-layer Qi Refinement Stage, had been instantly annihilated by a single punch from Donovan, the "Mister First Dominator". Yet this unfamiliar young cultivator, radiating a mere seventh-layer aura—weaker than Murphy—not only survived after receiving Donovan's strike on face but managed to stagger to his feet and fled?
Donovan himself paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his features before he motioned his Dominator Squad to to press onward, ascending the stone path toward the Ancestral Shrine atop Twin Peak Hill.