After being enslaved by Ian Song's Puppet Mastery Divine Art, the nine true disciples of the Scarlet Flame Sect were determined to fulfill his command, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives.
After discussion, they decided to steal the sect's core techniques from the Library Pavilion. However, the Pavilion was guarded by an elder who had reached the Sigilforge Realm—far stronger than all nine combined.
But everyone has their weaknesses.
This elder, surnamed Duanmu, had lost both his son and daughter-in-law on sect missions. As a result, Elder Duanmu doted on his only remaining grandson, Cole Duanmu, treating him as the Duanmu Family's sole hope for the future.
Cole Duanmu lived up to Elder Duanmu's expectations. At just sixteen, he had already reached the peak of the Divine Sea Stage and was expected to break through to the Core Formation Stage before twenty. Elder Duanmu placed even greater hopes on him.
One day—
Cole Duanmu was practicing a sword art alone in his private courtyard.
At that moment, two senior brothers and one senior sister arrived together to visit him.
He was a little puzzled. Since he was obsessed with cultivation and kept distant from his fellow disciples, it was rare for anyone to visit him at all.
So, looking at the three with suspicion, he asked, "Senior Brother Wang, Senior Brother Chen, Senior Sister Xie—what brings you here today?"
Senior Brother Wang smiled politely and said, "The three of us came because we need your help with something, Junior Brother Duanmu."
"Oh? What is it?" Cole Duanmu asked.
"Sister Xie, why don't you explain?" Senior Brother Wang glanced at the female disciple.
She nodded, then smiled sweetly at Cole Duanmu. "Junior Brother Duanmu, you're only sixteen and already at the peak of the Divine Sea Stage. We senior brothers and sisters can't compare to you at all."
Although Cole Duanmu was withdrawn by nature, he was still a teenager. Hearing Sister Xie's praise, he quickly responded modestly, but couldn't hide the pride and excitement in his eyes.
Sister Xie smiled. "Junior Brother Duanmu, you're much too modest. Here's the situation: we discovered a special Demonic Beast in the sect's back mountain. After checking ancient records, we learned that every part of this beast is treasure. So we wanted to join forces to slay it. But the beast is strong—even with the three of us working together, we couldn't handle it. That's why we came to invite you to help. If we succeed, you can take forty percent of the spoils, and the rest will be split among us three. How about it?"
"Um..."
Hearing Sister Xie's proposal, Cole Duanmu hesitated. To be honest, as the Duanmu Family's only heir, he didn't lack cultivation resources, so the Demonic Beast wasn't much of a lure for him.
Seeing him hesitate, Sister Xie sneered, "What? Are we not good enough for you, Junior Brother Duanmu?"
"No... Sister Xie, please don't misunderstand! I didn't mean to look down on you at all!" Cole Duanmu explained, flustered.
"So are you coming or not? Just give us a straight answer!" Senior Brother Zhou demanded sternly.
"I'll go!"
"I knew you wouldn't refuse, Duanmu. Please look out for us later!" Sister Xie smiled again.
After a quick round of preparations, the four of them headed straight for the sect's back mountain.
The Scarlet Flame Sect's back mountain was a vast forest. To train their disciples, the sect deliberately captured some monsters and released them there, letting disciples go in for tempering.
Half an hour later—
The group of four had already ventured deep into the back mountain.
Cole Duanmu couldn't help asking, "Sister Xie, how much farther?"
"Relax, we're almost there!" As she spoke, Sister Xie, who was already standing very close to Cole Duanmu, suddenly struck—her palm slammed into Cole's dantian, sending him flying with a muffled groan...
Although Sister Xie's cultivation wasn't as high as Cole Duanmu's, she was still at mid Divine Sea Stage. With that one palm, she nearly shattered his dantian and left him badly injured.
Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Zhou sprang into action, drawing their weapons and charging forward.
Although Cole Duanmu was strong from his obsessive cultivation, he lacked real combat experience. He was caught completely off guard by the sneak attack and couldn't understand why Sister Xie would betray him. Seeing the other two senior brothers attacking with weapons, he shouted in disbelief, "Why... why are you doing this?"
The two ignored him completely and launched a frenzied assault.
Already gravely wounded, Cole Duanmu was no match for two late Divine Sea experts working together. Soon he was coughing blood and captured.
"Why are you targeting me?" Cole Duanmu stared at the three, his voice bitter and furious.
"Sorry, Junior Brother Duanmu, we really don't want to do this. But as long as you cooperate, we won't hurt you!" Sister Xie said, guilt written on her face.
Just then—
Another person appeared—a true disciple of the Scarlet Flame Sect.
"Take this kid as deep into the mountains as you can. I'll go report to Elder Duanmu and have him come to the rescue!"
With those words, the newcomer strode off, leaving the others behind.
The Library Pavilion was the foundation of any sect. Serving as its resident elder was a heavy responsibility, but also an extremely dull job.
At that moment, Elder Duanmu was on the second floor of the Library Pavilion, studying a damaged martial arts manual. On the small table beside him sat a pot of wine and two plates of side dishes. From time to time, he extended his spiritual sense to check the situation on the floor below.
About half an hour passed.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached the second floor.
Elder Duanmu frowned. Without permission, even true disciples weren't allowed to enter the Library Pavilion.
He set down the damaged manual and stood up, shouting at the young disciple who had rushed upstairs, "Stop right there, brat!"
"Elder Duanmu, something terrible has happened! Junior Brother Cole Duanmu is in trouble!" the newcomer cried in panic.
"What?"
Elder Duanmu's expression changed drastically. In a flash, he appeared before the disciple, grabbed his shoulder, and demanded, "Tell me quickly—what happened to Qing'er?"
Pain flashed across the young disciple's face, and Elder Duanmu quickly realized, releasing his grip. "Speak! Don't waste time!"
"Today, we were supposed to go with Junior Brother Duanmu to the back mountain to capture a Demonic Beast. But unexpectedly, a mysterious stranger appeared and took him away. Senior Brother Wang, Senior Brother Zhou, and Sister Xie are still tracking him in the mountains, while I returned to report to you, Elder. Please, you must save him!"
"Outrageous! How dare anyone lay a hand on the Duanmu family's only heir!"
With a furious roar, Elder Duanmu grabbed the true disciple and shot toward the back mountain at lightning speed.
Just as Elder Duanmu left, three people burst into the Library Pavilion and rushed straight to the second floor. Meanwhile, all the disciples on the first floor suddenly collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Found it!"
The three ransacked the second floor and quickly found complete copies of the Taiyan Technique and the Fire God Technique.
They hurried out of the Library Pavilion and raced down the mountain. But as they passed a cluster of flowers, one of them tossed the wrapped manuals into the thicket.
A female disciple picked up the package, tucked it into her robes, and quietly slipped away.