Rise of the Blood Monarch [Isekai - Cultivation - Xianxia]

Yan Qing moved through the abandoned building with the casual confidence of someone who had done this many times before. The Unbound Path had tagged the cloaked youth the moment he stepped into the alleys. Better they rob him themselves than leave him to the local gangs, who would have simply gutted the boy and taken whatever scraps he carried. This city was no criminal hub, but like any place with real size and coin flowing through it, there were always shadows where people like her operated.

She hummed softly to herself as she wandered the dusty upper floor, occasionally picking up old scrolls and broken talismans left behind by whoever had once lived here. Most were worthless, but it passed the time while she waited for the two recruits to finish searching the lower levels.

Yan Qing was only twenty-three, yet she had already reached the eighth rank of Iron Warrior with no clan or sect to support her. That alone made her impressive among rogue cultivators. She had earned every step through risk and careful choices. Unfortunately, those choices sometimes included people like the two men currently downstairs.

She clicked her tongue in mild irritation. The two recruits had been former gangsters who claimed they wanted to “reform” and walk the path of cultivation. Yan Qing had never liked either of them. She always thought the Unbound Path should be more selective about who they allowed in. People like them never turned out well and only gave the group a bad reputation.

Some time passed as she considered what kind of ransom they could reasonably demand. The boy they had followed looked young and from a minor branch at best. Still, any coin was better than nothing when cultivation resources were always in short supply.

Suddenly, a loud thump echoed through the building, as if a heavy body had hit the floor.

Yan Qing’s posture changed instantly. She activated her Qi and began circulating it through her meridians. The energy flowed smoothly, sharpening her senses as she crept through the rundown halls with her short blade already in hand.

“Liu! Chen!” she called out. “What was that?”

Only silence answered her.

She clicked her tongue again, this time with clear annoyance, and moved toward the stairs. Going up to the second floor, she turned the corner and stopped. Near the end of the dim hallway lay the mangled corpse of the larger of the two recruits. His throat had been torn wide open. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and thick, still spreading across the old wooden floorboards.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath.

She cast her spiritual sense outward, scanning the surrounding rooms and hallways while keeping her short blade ready. Regret flickered through her. She should have been more careful about who she brought along. These idiots had let a low-tier cultivator get the jump on them. Pathetic.

Her golden-yellow eyes scanned the darkness. The filtered light coming through the dirty windows did little to push back the shadows. Then she felt it — a faint trace of Qi approaching rapidly from behind her.

Yan Qing spun around, Qi flaring. She manifested a thin shield of Qi just in time. The strike slammed into it with violent force. The impact sent a sharp jolt through her arms and knocked her back several steps. Her boots scraped loudly against the floor as she tried to regain her balance. The shield cracked but held.

Before she could fully stabilize herself, another attack was already coming.

“So fast,” she thought, heart pounding.

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A sharp, clawed hand shaped like a blade came cutting through the dim light, aiming straight for her face. She barely managed to twist her body aside. The claws missed her cheek by less than an inch. She could feel the wind from the strike brush against her skin. Gulping down her shock, she pushed out with her Qi in a forceful burst, driving the attacker back several steps.

The figure remained half-hidden in the filtered light coming through the dirty windows. She could not make out their features clearly, only a dark silhouette moving with unnatural speed and silence.

Yan Qing tightened her grip on her short blade, Qi circulating faster through her body as she steadied her stance. Her breathing had quickened. The air in the hallway felt heavier now.

“Who are you?!” she demanded, voice sharp and edged with anger. “You’ve killed two of my men!”

Yan Qing tightened her grip on her short blade, Qi circulating faster through her body as she steadied her stance. Her breathing had quickened. The air in the hallway felt heavier now.

“ I asked who are you?!” she demanded, voice sharp and edged with anger. “You should know you’ve crossed paths with the Unbound Path such an offense can be let go if you submit quickly.”

The figure in the shadows did not answer at first. Then, for a split second, his eyes glowed a deep, bloody red. A low, cold laugh escaped him. The sound sent a chill down Yan Qing’s spine.

Before she could react, he charged again. The sheer speed is insane for a low ranked cultivator this isn’t nature! She thought to herself.

This time she moved first. She had picked up a few basic techniques over the years through careful trades and lucky encounters. One of them had saved her more than once.

“Silk Veil!” she shouted.

A fabric-like layer of spiritual matter manifested in the air and rapidly wrapped around the attacker’s fist, binding it tightly. The technique was simple but effective at close range. It restricted movement and bought her precious seconds.

With his arm trapped, the distance between them closed. For the first time, Yan Qing got a clear look at his face in the filtered light.

He was hauntingly handsome. Sharp, refined features that did not belong in a place like this. Pale skin, dark hair, and eyes that still carried a trace of that terrifying red glow. But what truly unsettled her was the bloodthirst she saw in them. It was like looking into a hungry beast in the wilderness knowing you were prey. It was something deeper. Something hungry.

For a split second, she was dazed. She had not expected to be fighting someone who had this much raw physicality and strength.

The moment cost her.

She snapped out of it and slashed forward with her short blade. The attacker’s other hand shot out with terrifying speed and caught her wrist mid-swing. The block was solid. Her dagger stopped completely. Shock rippled through her. His hand felt unnaturally strong, like tempered steel wrapped in flesh.

Body tempering? she thought quickly. But body tempering usually came at the cost of speed. This person was far too fast for a pure body refiner.

Before she could process it further, he snapped forward. In an instant, he was almost directly face to face with her, no more than a hand’s width between them. Yan Qing’s heart slammed against her ribs.

She never got the chance to react.

His knee drove hard into her stomach.

The impact was brutal. All the air was driven from her lungs in a single violent rush. She was sent flying backward down the hallway. Her back slammed into the wall at the end with a heavy crack. Pain exploded through her body. She slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor, coughing violently.

The Silk Veil technique flickered and dissipated without her concentration to maintain it. The attacker was already moving again, closing the distance in a blur.

Yan Qing tried to push herself up, but her limbs felt heavy and unresponsive. Her Qi flow was disrupted from the kick. She had no strength left to gather another technique in time.

He was nearly on top of her now.

Tears of pain and fear stung her eyes as she looked up at the figure looming over her. The bloodthirst in his gaze was unmistakable. She had seen death before, but never this close, never aimed so directly at her. This man would kill her.

“Please…” she gasped, voice hoarse and broken. “Stop… I won’t say a word. I’m sorry for what I did… Please spare me.”