The Void's Whisper
The Zhao Family's Fury
Inside the Zhao residence, thunder cracked though the sky was clear.
"You lost?"
Zhao Qingtian, patriarch of the Zhao Clan, slammed his palm onto the stone table. Teacups shattered, steam rising between the shards.
Kneeling before him, Zhao Feiyang trembled. His cheek was still bruised from the punch Lin Xian had given him the day before.
"Father… that punch have no sound, no warning—I didn't even see it coming!"
"Excuses." Zhao Qingtian's eyes blazed. "The Zhao Clan bows to no fallen house. I'll not have my son mocked like a fool."
He turned to his elders. "Cut the Lin family's trade lines. Starve them. I want that boy broken before the week is out."
From the shadows, an old steward hesitated. "Patriarch… our scouts found something near the eastern ridge. A faint, unnatural aura—cold and corrupt."
Zhao Qingtian narrowed his eyes. "Then send men. If Lin Xian is meddling with strange power, I'll bury him with it."
---
Training in the Woods
Far from the city walls, Lin Xian practiced beneath a canopy of whispering pines.
Each motion was sharp yet fluid, his Shadow Severing Sword Art blending with the wind itself.
When he exhaled, the sound vanished — as though even the air feared his blade.
Xiao Jin, the golden kitten, sat atop a mossy stone, tail twitching as it watched.
Lin Xian paused mid-swing. His gaze sharpened.
"…That feeling again."
He closed his eyes, letting his spiritual sense spread outward like ripples in still water.
Somewhere to the east — faint, colder than winter — pulsed a presence that made his blood run cold.
"Void qi," he whispered. "Weak, but real."
He glanced at Xiao Jin. "Let's go."
The kitten chirped softly and leapt onto his shoulder as they headed toward the ridge.
---
The Cave of Whispers
The entrance was little more than a crack in the hillside, breathing faint mist.
Inside, the air grew heavy — thick with cold pressure. The deeper they went, the more the walls changed, dark veins creeping like living roots through the stone.
At the bottom, a dim glow pulsed behind a curtain of black fog.
And from that fog… came a sinister heartbeat.
The shadows in the cave twisted and congealed, rising into a monstrous form that towered over the men. It was a creature of living obsidian, its glossy black skin reflecting the light like a dark mirror. In the hollows of its face, two pools of ghostly blue flame ignited, fixing them with a predatory stare.
It exhaled, and the mist turned cold..
Lin Xian stepped forward, face calm. "A Void-born beast… even in this weak world."
---
The Battle
The cave trembled under the beast's roar — a low, guttural bellow that made dust rain from the ceiling and the air twist.
Lin Xian did not move.
He stood in the center of the shaking cavern, white robes fluttering in a wind that should not exist underground. His expression was still, composed — almost too calm
"So this is the source of the Void Qi," he murmured. "A creature born from corruption… and you dare bare your fangs at me?"
The beast shrieked and lunged.
A blur of shadow and bone slammed into the ground where he stood, claws carving trenches through solid stone. But Lin Xian was already past it — drifting sideways, light as a falling petal.
He glanced at the ruined floor, lips lifting faintly.
"Too slow."
Shadowbane flashed.
One clean stroke carved across the beast's shoulder — silver light cutting through shadow flesh. Black ichor hissed against the ground…
…then the wound sealed shut.
"Regeneration?," Lin Xian muttered. "Annoying."
The beast's tail lashed from the darkness.
He twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding the strike. The tail scythed into a stone column behind him — the entire structure exploded in a burst of rubble.
He dropped to one knee upon landing, eyes sharpening.
"Brute force with no discipline. No rhythm. No control. Pathetic."
The beast roared again, forelegs slamming down. A shockwave burst outward, the cave floor rippling like water. Lin Xian was thrown back — he caught himself with a palm strike, sliding in a trail of dust.
He exhaled once, coldly.
"You mistake silence for weakness."
He vanished.
Three afterimages fanned across the cavern — Phantom Step. The beast slashed through one illusion, bit another in half, but Lin Xian's true form was already descending above it like a falling shadow.
"Silent Edge!"
The strike dug deep into its spine. Black ichor erupted in a hiss, eating into the stone like acid
The beast staggered—
—then split.
Its body separated into two smaller copies, both glaring with ember-red eyes.
Lin Xian's gaze cooled. "Troublesome."
"But two doesn't make you stronger"
They attacked together — one from above, one from below. He met the first with a sword block, sparks bursting into a storm of shadows. The second lunged for his back—
He pivoted sharply and struck with his fist.
"Nirvana Fist!"
A wave of black-gold energy blasted outward, hurling the creature across the cavern. But the remaining beast seized the opening — its claws raked across his side.
Blood splattered.
Lin Xian looked at the wound, face calm, voice colder.
"You managed to draw blood. Impressive… for a mindless beast."
The two copies circled him, sensing weakness.
He let his killing intent rise.
The cave temperature dropped instantly.
"You think to consume me?" His voice dipped to a whisper. "You're still a child hitting at shadows."
The beasts screeched in unison, dissolving into a storm of black mist. Claws, teeth, and shadow blades surged toward him at once.
Lin Xian didn't move.
Not until the instant before impact.
Then — golden light bloomed in his pupils.
Nirvana God's Eye — Insight.
The world slowed.
Dust froze midair. Shadows stretched like paint dragged through water. Within the chaos, he saw everything — the flow of Void Qi threading through the beasts like veins.
And there — pulsing faintly beneath shifting armor of smoke —
A red core.
He smirked.
"Found you."
The beasts struck.
He moved.
A slip past one claw. A pivot under another. His steps were silent, precise, effortless — as though the entire cavern existed only to guide his movement.
"Silent Edge — Sever!"
Shadowbane glowed. The blade cut through ribs, tearing toward the core. One beast shrieked, its body unraveling.
The impact hurled Lin Xian backward, cracks splintering beneath his boots as he slid. His golden eyes narrowed.
"Struggle all you like. It changes nothing."
The remaining beast lunged. Its jaws opened wide, swallowing all light.
Lin Xian breathed out slowly.
Golden light spiraled around his arm, mixing with shadow — a vortex of annihilation.
"End of struggle—"
"Nirvana Fist, Second Stance: Abyssal Pulse!"
His fist struck the wounded core.
Light exploded.
No sound. No roar. Only pressure — crushing, absolute.
The beast froze midair. Golden cracks splintered across its body…
…and then it shattered.
Fragments of shadow dissolved into smoke, fading into the still, echoing hush of the cavern.
Lin Xian stood in the drifting dust, chest heaving slightly, blood dripping from his hand. He looked at the ashes left behind and murmured:
"Even a creature of the Void should know when to kneel."
He flicked the blood from Shadowbane, sheathing the blade with a soft click.
Turning toward the mouth of the cave, he whispered to himself,
"A true spirit sword… really is different."
Behind him, the final wisp of black mist curled weakly… then vanished.
---
Aftermath
Lin Xian staggered, one knee sinking to the ground. He coughed blood but smiled faintly, the faint shimmer of the Golden Eye dimming back to gray.
"…So this is the power of the Void. Even corrupted beasts learn to adapt."
He wiped the blood from his lip, glancing at the black fragments fading into the air.
His sword trembled, still absorbing the remnants of corrupted qi
"Even wounded, my qi restrains you. The Nirvana path truly is the bane of the Void."
Shadowbane pulsed faintly, its runes glowing silver and black — having absorbed a trace of the fallen beast's essence.
Xiao Jin padded closer, eyes glowing softly as it rubbed against his hand.
He chuckled weakly. "Good timing as always."
The air in the cave lightened. The darkness receded.
Yet, deep within the cracks of the rock, he could still sense a faint remnant—like an echo of the Void, refusing to vanish completely.
---
The Echo of Pride
Far beyond the mortal sky, in the Moonlight Hall of the Nirvana Palace, Lan Qingyao frozed.
A tremor passed through her spirit — the signature of Void qi, mixed with something achingly familiar.
"…Void Qi?" she whispered.
She rose, robes trailing like silver light.
Her gaze pierced the clouds, down toward the lower realms.
But then her expression hardened.
The Void presence hadn't vanished. It had merely hidden, coiling again beneath the world's fabric.
Lan Qingyao turned sharply, her voice cold yet steady.
> "Summon the Nirvana Thrones. The Void still breathes — and our master's blade has awakened."
Her command rang through the heavens, echoing across realms.
Those who still carried the name of the Seven Sins would soon gather once more.
---
Closing
Back in the mortal forest, Lin Xian sheathed his sword and looked up through the canopy.
Lightning flickered faintly beyond the clouds — a whisper of coming storms.
"The Void moves again," he said softly. "Then so will I."
Xiao Jin purred beside him, golden eyes gleaming like twin suns.
Lin Xian smiled faintly. "Let's go home."
Next Chapter - The Sins Assembled