The Mysterious Sun Sect of the Celestial Dragon Kingdom was located on the tallest mountain in the region, the Radiant Sun Peak. Towering high above the clouds, its summit was often wrapped in golden mist at dawn and bathed in a warm crimson glow by dusk.
Atop this majestic mountain stood the Sect Master's manor, a grand and serene estate, surrounded centuries-old pine trees and golden-leafed maples.
A young man stepped onto the manor's wide stone terrace. The morning sunlight poured over the garden. Birds chirped cheerfully from the treetops, while squirrels leapt between branches. Nearby, a small rocky pond gently bubbled, the soft murmur of flowing water adding to the peaceful atmosphere.
"Sect Master, you called for me?"
The young man bowed deeply. His long black hair was slightly tousled by the morning breeze. He wore a white cultivator's robe embroidered with a brilliant sun on the back, the proud sigil of the Mysterious Sun Sect. At his hip hung a slender longsword in a white jade scabbard, and beside it, there was a delicate jade talisman.
The Sect Master, Yan Hao Yang, stood overlooking the terrace. He was tall and broad-shouldered. His golden hair flared outward like a lion's mane, wild and regal. As he turned to face the young man, his sharp golden eyes narrowed, and a faint grin curled the corner of his lips.
"Langtian… Is it true? That you succeeded in forming a Golden Spirit Core?"
The Sect Master's voice rumbled through the air like thunder.
Even now, after thirteen years under his guidance, Bai Langtian still felt the pressure whenever he stood before him.
After all, Yan Hao Yang had already reached the pinnacle of the True Spirit Realm. His aura alone was so intense that standing before him felt like standing before a god in mortal form.
Langtian drew in a steady breath.
"Yes, Master. I've successfully formed the Golden Core."
Hao Yang's golden eyes lit up.
"Good! Very good!"
He strode forward and grasped Langtian by the shoulders, lifting him up from his respectful bow.
"That's my disciple!" he said with a hearty laugh.
"Yes. It's all thanks to the Solar Heart Pill bestowed by Master. This disciple's aptitude is dull and lacking, if not for your assistance, I fear I would never have succeeded." Langtian said.
"Ha! Nonsense!" Hao Yang laughed, his voice echoing across the mountaintop. "A tiger father does not raise a dog of a son! You're my disciple, how could you possibly be dull and lacking?"
He gave Langtian a firm slap on the shoulder, his hand heavy as a mountain.
Turning slowly, Hao Yang walked to the edge of the terrace. He gazed into the light for a long moment before speaking again.
"Langtian… how many years has it been since you first came to Radiant Sun Peak?"
Langtian stepped beside him.
"Master, it's been thirteen years."
Hao Yang sighed.
"Ah... So it's been thirteen years already…"
Langtian nodded, his eyes reflecting the golden glow of dawn.
"Yes. I still remember it clearly." He paused, reminiscing. "It was Senior Sister Shangguan who saved me that day… and brought me here."
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Thirteen years ago.
At the foot of Radiant Sun Mountain, there once lay a quiet, peaceful village.
Life there was simple but full of warmth. Each morning, after breakfast, the men would head out to work in the rice fields, while the women gathered by the stream to wash clothes.
Meanwhile, children laughed and chased each other through winding dirt paths. Some played games like cuju or touhu, while others tried to catch dragonflies or fish in the shallow ponds. The village elders would gather around the stone well at the center of village, sharing gossip and stories beneath the old banyan tree.
Langtian was only ten years old then. He spent most days running wild with his two older brothers, racing through the fields and sneaking off to steal fruits from their neighbors' orchards. There were countless times they had been caught though, but still always laughed about it afterward.
Life was ordinary, but it was good.
However, everything changed in a single, terrible night.
Without warning, the peace was shattered. A ruthless band of marauders descended from the foothills like a wave of shadow.
They came under cover of darkness, riding black horses that pounded the earth like thunder. Their armor clanked, and their war cries tore through the still night air like screams from hell. Flames lit up the village as torches were thrown onto rooftops. Doors were kicked down, and blades flashed like lightning in the firelight.
With bloodlust and no mercy, those bastards robbed.
They killed.
They set everything ablaze.
Langtian's world erupted into chaos and screams.
He saw with his own eyes, his father, spear in hand, falling beneath a rain of arrows. And right after that, his mother was dragged away into the night while still screaming his name, her face streaked with soot and tears.
By the time the bandits finished, not a single home remained untouched. The huts were burned to blackened husks, the fields were trampled, the people were gone, either cut down where they stood, or dragged away into the darkness.
Langtian lay crumpled near the shattered remains of his home, surrounded by corpses of his father and brothers. His back had been torn open by a jagged blade, the wound stretching from shoulder to waist. Every breath sent a sharp, burning pain through his chest. Blood seeped from him, warm and sticky against the cold stone floor.
He should have died there, forgotten, broken, just another body among many.
But something kept him tethered to life.
His will to life.
'Live...
'Langtian, you have to live!
'So you could avenge them.
'So you could bring justice to those who had destroyed everything you loved!'
And just like that, the hours crawled by as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The night stretched long, and the moon drifted overhead, indifferent and pale. All around him, only silence remained.
And then, just as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, Langtian stirred again.
The morning sun touched his bloodied face.
But beside him, someone knelt.
A stranger.
She wore flowing white robes trimmed in gold, the fabric still unstained by the soot around her. Her long hair was tied in a high tail, and a single jade hairpin glinted in the sunlight. Her presence was calm, almost radiant.
It was as if the light itself had descended from the sky and taken human form.
With quiet hands, she tore a strip of cloth from her sleeve and gently wiped the blood from his face. Then she uncorked a small vial and poured a healing elixir into the wound along his back.
Langtian felt a warm sensation spreading through his body, the throbbing pain slowly faded.
"Stay with me," the young woman whispered.
Langtian blinked up at her.
Her eyes were so clear, so beautiful. Her perfume was sweet, like the scent of jasmine blooming at late night.
And when she gently lifted him to his feet, the world swayed, but her grip was steady. She then carried him across the smoking ruins of the village and, without a single word, began the long ascent toward Radiant Sun Peak.
In the days that followed, under her patient care, Langtian's wounds began to heal. He learned to sit, then to stand, and eventually to walk again.
Weeks passed, and one morning, he felt it, a warmth stirring within his chest. For the first time, he tasted the raw power of Qi flowing through his veins.
Soon after, he was formally accepted as a disciple of the Mysterious Sun Sect.
And so, as he trained, night after night, the memories of that dreadful evening never left him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the flames, heard the screams, smelled the charred earth.
And each time, he vowed again:
He would avenge his parents, his brothers.
He would not let that night be forgotten.
He swore that once he formed his Spirit Core, he would descend this mountain and bring justice to the monsters who had stolen everything from him.
And now… the time had finally come.
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"That reminds me… Is there still no word about Senior Sister Shangguan?" Langtian asked.
The Sect Master let out a long, weary sigh and shook his head slowly.
That simple gesture hit Langtian harder than any answer could. A quiet heaviness settled in his chest.
Senior Sister Shangguan Yue Ling.
To Langtian, she was everything: his savior, his role model, the one who had first shown him what it meant to be strong.
But within the Mysterious Sun Sect, she was even more than that.
She was a prodigy, a true genius that would only appear once in a thousand years, respected by every disciple, honored by the elders, and personally taught by the Sect Master himself.
At only eighteen years old, she had already formed her Golden Spirit Core.
In the world of cultivation, Core Formation was a major milestone, a moment that defined the future of any cultivator. After years of absorbing and refining qi, one would finally condense the majority their spiritual energy into a single core within the dantian.
The color of that core reflected its quality, and by extension, the cultivator's potential. Cores were generally ranked as follows:
Gray Core.
Green Core.
Blue Core.
Purple Core.
Golden Core.
To form a Blue Core was already impressive, something that only one in a hundred cultivators might achieve. A Purple Core was rare enough that entire sects might only see one in a generation.
But a Golden Core?
That was near-mythical!
A one-in-a-million genius!
Therefore, when Shangguan Yue Ling awakened her Golden Spirit Core, the entire Mysterious Sun Sect celebrated. She was hailed as a once-in-a-thousand-years prodigy, blessed by both heaven and earth, destined to walk a path few could ever dream of.
But then, ten years ago, everything changed.
Only a few weeks after successfully forming her Golden Core, Yue Ling suddenly vanished without a trace. There was no farewell, no message to her friend.
She simply disappeared.
Some believed she had gone into seclusion to pursue a higher path of cultivation, beyond the reach of even the sect. Others feared she had fallen on a dangerous mission.
But even so, even after all these years, the Sect never gave up.
From time to time, envoys were sent out, searching far and wide for any sign of Shangguan Yue Ling.
But in the end, they found nothing, and all remained till now was just a sorrowful tale, a quiet tragedy that weighed heavily on the Sect Master's heart.
After all, Yue Ling had been one of his most beloved disciples, a girl he had personally raised and guided since her childhood, trained personally, and believed would one day carry the sect's future.
Since her disappearance, no one had seen the Sect Master truly smile.
But now…
As Langtian stood before him, with a Golden Core shining within his dantian, something changed.
Just for a moment, a flicker of light returned to Hao Yang's eyes, a quiet spark, as if an old flame, long thought extinguished, had suddenly begun to glow again.
Perhaps the heavens were finally offering compensation for what had been taken from him, from the Mysterious Sun Sect.
"Langtian, my good disciple," Hao Yang said, lifting his hand slowly, "come here. I will bestow upon you a new gift."
Langtian's eyes widened.
A personal gift from the Sect Master? It was an honor most disciples could only dream of!
He straightened his posture, heart pounding, voice steady despite the excitement rushing through his veins.
"Yes, Master!" Langtian stepped forward.
Hao Yang stood at the edge of the cliff, his long cloak rippling in the mountain wind. His golden hair sparkled in the morning light.
"Look to the horizon," Hao Yang said, his gaze fixed on the rising sun. "Tell me… what comes to your mind when you see the sun?"
Langtian followed his master's gaze, eyes slowly lifting to the distant sky.
The morning sun rose over the mountains, flooding the heavens in crimson and gold. Its light spilled across the world, chasing away the shadows, igniting the clouds in fire.
In Langtian's dark pupils, the reflection of that light shimmered, like a sacred flame, quiet, but burning deep.
The sun…
Yes.
A burning celestial body, ancient and unstoppable. Under its radiance, the world awoke, darkness fled, and life began.
He lowered his eyes to his open palm.
Just like the sun rose after every endless night…
He, too, had risen from darkness.
His village had been razed to ash.
His family was slaughtered.
And not to mention, the cold, bitter path of cultivation had nearly broken him time and time again.
And yet he endured.
He had clawed his way through despair.
And now, he had finally reached the threshold of strength.
Today… like the sun, he would rise, and he would soon reach the peak, burn away every shadow that clung to him, every enemy.
The road ahead was long, perilous, but his heart burned with purpose. His will, forged through fire, would carry him forward.
Langtian turned to his master, steady and resolute.
And in a calm, unwavering voice, he shared his thoughts.
The Sect Master laughed, loud and clear, seemingly pleased.
"Very good! Very good!" he said. But then, his tone shifted. "Your interpretation is not bad. However… allow me to correct one thing."
Langtian's expression stiffened.
"Please enlighten me, Master!" he bowed and said.
Hao Yang stepped closer. His golden eyes gleamed like blades.
"The one who will rise as the new sun…
…is not you. Don't be arrogant."
Langtian froze.
"A-Ah… I'm sorry! I was too arrogant!"
Right…
Now that he thought about it… the sun was the most powerful being in the heavens.
Far more powerful than stars.
Far more sacred than anything else!
Therefore, how foolish of him, how arrogant, to think of himself as the sun!
Had he not just violated one of the most basic principles of cultivation?
Letting ego blind him?
Hao Yang's voice turned colder.
"Then tell me, who do you think should be?"
Langtian straightened slowly, brows furrowed in thought.
'Could it be referring to someone else? Someone who once stood at the pinnacle of the world?' He thought.
And so, names of legendary cultivators and ancient Immortal Gods drifted through his mind.
But then—
"It's me," Hao Yang said calmly. "I'm the only sun here."
Langtian's heart skipped a beat.
"What…?" he gasped, stunned.
But before he could move, before he could even begin to understand—
Agony.
A sharp, searing pain exploded in his abdomen, deep in his dantian.
His breath caught in his throat, his body froze. And when he looked down, what he saw turned his blood to ice.
His core…
His Golden Core, so radiant, so full of promise, was no longer inside him!
But instead, it was now cradled in Hao Yang's hand...
"M-Master…" Langtian choked out, stumbling back. "Why…?"
His knees gave out. He collapsed, pain spreading like wildfire through his veins.
But Hao Yang didn't answer.
He only smiled. A twisted, monstrous smile, so different from the warm mentor Langtian had once trusted. It was the grin of someone who had never cared. Not really.
In his palm, Langtian's core pulsed, like a dying star.
And then, with a cold, brutal motion, he shoved Langtian off the cliff.
_______________________________
The wind howled past his ears.
The sky spun.
The world blurred into streaks of blue and red.
And in the final moment, as he fell through the open air, the sun vanished from Langtian's eyes.