"I never thought he would fall so deep... that he would abandon everything and come here, seeking death."
Jacob brooded silently, his hands clasped behind his back.
In the grand hall, Sect Elder Gu Yu stepped forward. His voice, deep and weathered by years, echoed through the chamber.
"Sect Master, allow me to savor this moment," Gu Yu said with a soft smile.
"Once, I was just a simple laborer, carrying bricks for survival. Fate played its hand, and today... this very man stands before you as an Elder of the Uaan Sect. It is your kindness that gave me a place in this broken world, Sect Master. Without it, men like me would be lost."
Jacob's eyes softened.
"No, Elder Gu Yu," Jacob replied warmly, "this is the fruit of your own labor. And now... the time has come for that fruit to ripen."
Jacob turned to address everyone, his voice powerful yet filled with emotion.
"My dear comrades, my brothers and sisters — today, I do not stand before you as a Sect Master. Today, I stand here simply as a friend."
He paused, letting the words sink deep into their hearts.
"Forget the past that brought you pain. Forget the nights that broke you, the memories that scarred you. Today is a new page... a new story. And someone is coming to tear that page apart, to shatter our dreams.
Tell me — will you let them?"
"NO!"
The hall thundered with the voices of hundreds.
"Will you fight, not just to survive, but to live? Our pens, our fate, our future — they are all in our hands now! The dreams of the generations to come rest with us today!
So, raise your cups!"
Jacob lifted his goblet high, and with a resounding roar, the sect followed.
"To the future!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
In that moment, titles disappeared — no Sect Master, no Elder, no Disciple.
Only warriors, brothers and sisters bound by a single, burning purpose.
There was fire in their eyes, a light in their souls.
In the grand main hall, surrounded by towering pillars and ancient murals, each person carried their own story, their own wounds — yet in this moment, they were united by one man.
Jacob.
---
As the echoes of cheers faded into the high ceilings, Jacob's hand slowly lowered, his eyes sharpening like blades.
Words had lit the fire; now, it was time to unleash it.
Across the Uaan Sect — once a sanctuary of peace, bathed in heavenly energy — a feverish storm erupted.
Disciples rushed along ancient stone paths. Elders barked orders. Weapons gleamed under the flickering glow of formations.
The very air trembled, thick with the scent of blood yet to be spilled.
The sacred grounds buzzed with frantic energy. The Uaan Sect fortress, standing proud at the heart, pulsed with strange power — its walls carved with mysterious glowing lines.
The defensive core:
The Thousandfold Rebirth Array.
---
The Thousandfold Rebirth Array
Core Effect:
Anyone attacking the sect from outside faces endless illusions, spiritual exhaustion, and physical disintegration.
Visual Appearance:
Ten thousand golden lotus flowers bloom midair around the sect, continuously regenerating, symbolizing endless rebirth.
Functions:
Illusions: Fake doors, fake enemies, even fake friends.
Energy Drain: Mana, stamina, and spirit are sapped every moment.
Self-Healing: Damaged lotuses instantly repair unless destroyed completely by special methods.
Weakness:
At the center of the array, hidden deep underground, lies the Heart Lotus.
Destroy it — and the entire array collapses instantly.
---
Meanwhile, the preparation for the assault was already underway.
Mido (Wolf 2, the strategist) led the operation to break the formation, laying out the plan with sharp precision:
1. Wolf 7's team (the masked shadow users) would sneak into the underground layers, searching for the Heart Lotus while suppressing their breath and mana.
2. Wolf 3's team (Mafyuu and her ruthless squad) would attack the golden lotuses head-on, creating chaos and distracting the formation's defensive spirits.
3. Wolf 5 and 6 (Sera and Hira) would combine their ice and fire techniques to create devastating elemental shockwaves — freezing lotuses momentarily, then shattering them with bursts of fire.
4. Wolf 1 (Girath), with brute strength, would smash open a hidden underground gate, clearing the path for Wolf 7's infiltration team.
5. Meanwhile, Karlos and Kell would stay with the main force, defending the teams against Uaan Sect warriors desperate to protect the formation.
---
The Assault Begins.
In the dark underground, amidst rivers of shifting illusions and collapsing tunnels, Wolf 7's team advanced like silent shadows.
Above them, Mafyuu's squad unleashed ruthless strikes, explosions lighting the skies with flashes of crimson and gold.
Ice and fire waves rippled outward as Sera and Hira attacked, freezing golden lotus petals midair before shattering them like glass.
At the lowest depth, Girath — body battered, blood dripping from his fists — roared and smashed open a sealed stone gate, revealing the hidden core.
And there it was.
The Heart Lotus.
It pulsed like a living heart, golden petals folding and unfolding in a hypnotic rhythm.
Without hesitation, Wolf 7 stepped forward. Forbidden shadows poured from his body, crawling like tendrils across the glowing lotus.
His veins darkened; blood welled at the corners of his mouth, but he did not falter.
For five agonizing seconds, the Heart Lotus froze, locked in chains of endless night.
Then — a roar of defiance.
Girath, laughing madly even as blood soaked his armor, hurled himself forward.
His fist, crackling with raw strength, smashed into the sealed lotus.
CRACK!
A shockwave ripped through the underground.
The walls groaned. Stones cracked.
Above, the sky shattered into chaos.
The golden lotuses exploded one by one, their petals raining down like falling stars.
The Thousandfold Rebirth Array collapsed.
The illusions disappeared.
The suffocating spiritual drain vanished.
The battlefield was laid bare — raw, open, and ready for war...