Chapter 7: Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7: The Sect's Ultimatum

Lin's fist connected with the corrupted beast's spine. The impact sent shockwaves through his arm, but the creature barely staggered. It whirled around, its massive claws swiping through the space where he'd been standing a moment before.

*Too slow.*

He'd already merged with the shadow panther's instincts, his body moving before conscious thought could catch up. The corrupted beast's black qi flared, sending tendrils of darkness lashing outward. One caught a disciple in the chest, sending him crashing into the rocks with a sickening crunch.

"Get behind me!" Lin shouted, his voice carrying an echo of all three beasts.

The remaining disciples scrambled, their cultivation levels useless against this monstrosity. He could sense them—two at the second level of Beast Melding, one at the first. They'd never stand a chance.

*[Shadow Step]*

Lin vanished and reappeared on the creature's blind side. His right arm, infused with the lightning hawk's power, crackled with blue electricity. He drove it into the beast's knee joint. The corrupted flesh parted, releasing a spray of black ichor that sizzled where it touched the ground.

The beast howled, stumbling.

*"Its core is in the chest,"* the shadow panther's voice whispered in his mind. *"I can smell the corruption pulsing there."*

The wind-snake uncoiled from his waist, striking at the creature's face. Its fangs sank into the beast's cheek, injecting venom that made the corrupted flesh bubble and steam. The beast thrashed, trying to shake the snake loose, but it held on like a living whip.

Lin pressed his advantage. He called down the lightning hawk, feeling the bird's essence merge more deeply with his own. His vision sharpened, picking out every weak point in the beast's armor-like hide. The corruption made it strong, but it also made it stupid—the black qi clouded its instincts, leaving it slow and predictable.

"Now," Lin whispered.

He launched himself forward, shadows and lightning trailing behind him. The beast swung its claws in a wide arc, but he ducked under them, sliding across the mud. He came up directly beneath its chin, both hands forming a spear strike.

*[Thunder Fang Assault]*

Lightning erupted from his palms, punching through the beast's lower jaw and out the top of its skull. The creature froze, its red eyes flickering. The black qi that held its body together began to unravel, dissolving into wisps of malevolent smoke.

Lin ripped his hands free, landing in a crouch. The corrupted beast collapsed, its body dissolving into ash before it hit the ground.

Silence.

The disciples stared at him, their faces pale. One of them—the one who'd been thrown into the rocks—groaned, clutching his ribs. The other two helped him up, their eyes never leaving Lin.

"That was..." the eldest of them started, then stopped. He was maybe eighteen, with the embroidered robes of the Azure Flame Sect. "That was a third-level corrupted beast. You killed it alone."

Lin straightened, feeling the beast essence settle back into his core. "It wasn't alone. I have partners."

As if on cue, the shadow panther materialized beside him, its golden eyes gleaming. The lightning hawk landed on his shoulder, preening its feathers. The wind-snake slithered back up his arm, coiling around his wrist.

The disciple's eyes widened. "Three beasts? At your level? That's impossible."

"Apparently not." Lin turned to leave. The scream that had drawn him here had stopped, but he could still feel the corruption in the air. It was getting worse. The plague was spreading faster than anyone wanted to admit.

"Wait." The disciple stepped forward, wincing as his injured companion leaned on him. "You're Lin Xiao, aren't you? The cripple who bonded a broken snake?"

Lin stopped. The wind-snake hissed, but he calmed it with a thought. "That's me."

"I heard rumors about the temple. About what you did to the elders." The disciple's voice dropped. "They're saying you're dangerous. That you've found some forbidden technique."

"Is that what they're saying?"

"They're calling for your head. The sect masters are meeting tonight to decide your fate." The disciple glanced at his companions. "You saved our lives. The least I can do is warn you."

Lin felt his three beasts stir inside him, their essences merging and separating like currents in a river. Forbidden technique? They had no idea. [Beast Resonance] wasn't forbidden—it was forgotten. Lost to time because no one had been strong enough to handle it.

"I appreciate the warning," Lin said. "But I'm not running."

"You don't understand." The disciple's voice cracked. "They've called in the Hunters. The Corrupted Beast Hunter Sect sent a team three days ago. They're already in the valley."

The words hit Lin like a physical blow. The Hunters. The sect that specialized in killing corrupted beasts—and the beast tamers who created them. They didn't ask questions. They didn't take prisoners. If they decided you were a threat, you disappeared.

"Why would they send Hunters for me?"

"Not just for you." The disciple's face paled. "The corruption plague is spreading faster than the elders can contain it. Three villages have been wiped out in the past week. The sect masters think it's connected to what happened in the temple. They think you woke something."

Lin's mind raced. The temple had been sealed for centuries. The shadow panther had been trapped inside, driven mad by isolation. But there had been something else in that temple—something he'd felt but couldn't see. A presence that had watched him from the darkness.

*"The boy speaks true,"* the shadow panther's voice echoed in his mind. *"There is a rot in this valley older than any of us. The temple was a seal, not a prison. And you broke it."*

Lin's blood ran cold. "What are you saying?"

*"I am saying that we have a common enemy now, little tamer. The corruption that plagues these lands? It comes from below. From a wound in the world that your ancestors tried to heal. They failed."*

Before Lin could respond, a new presence pressed against his senses. Powerful. Ancient. And absolutely furious.

A figure stepped out of the mist. Tall, armored in what looked like living bone, with eyes that burned like twin suns. The air around him shimmered with heat, and the ground cracked where he walked.

"Lin Xiao of the Thousand Beast Valley." The figure's voice carried the weight of mountains. "You are charged with corruption of sacred grounds, unlawful binding of spirit beasts, and endangering the lives of sect disciples. Submit to judgment, or be terminated."

The Hunters had arrived.

Lin's three beasts surged, ready to fight. He held them back, studying the figure before him. This wasn't an ordinary Hunter—this was a Warden. A cultivator who had bonded with a corrupted beast and turned its power against its own kind. At what rank? Fifth? Sixth? The aura alone made Lin's bones ache.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Lin said, keeping his voice steady.

"The temple speaks otherwise. The corruption spreading from its depths speaks otherwise." The Warden took a step forward. "You will come with us. Your beasts will be examined. If they are found pure, you will be released. If not..."

He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.

The disciples behind Lin scrambled away, not wanting to be caught between two powers. The Warden's attention never left Lin's face.

"The choice is simple," the Warden said. "Come peacefully, and live. Resist, and die."

Lin felt his beasts clamoring for battle. The shadow panther wanted to strike from the darkness. The lightning hawk wanted to rain destruction from above. The wind-snake wanted to poison this fool where he stood.

But [Beast Resonance] showed Lin something the others couldn't see. The Warden wasn't alone. There were seven more Hunters hidden in the mist, their auras barely suppressed. They surrounded him completely.

He raised his hands slowly. "I'll come peacefully."

The Warden's eyes narrowed, as if disappointed. "Wise choice."

As Lin walked forward, the shadow panther's voice whispered one last warning: *"They will not examine me, little tamer. They will try to destroy me. I am the seal's guardian. I know what sleeps beneath this valley. And when they find out what I've told you..."*

The Warden's hand clamped down on Lin's shoulder. Black qi spiderwebbed across his arm, sealing his cultivation.

*"They will kill us both to keep it secret."*

Lin closed his eyes as the binding took hold, feeling his connection to his beasts grow distant, muffled. The Warden shoved him forward, and he stumbled into the mist.

Behind him, the corrupted beast's ashes scattered in the wind.

Ahead, the valley's true nightmare was only beginning.