Rising From the Ashes of Betrayal

As soon as Wendy finished speaking, a surge of spiritual energy burst from around her, surrounding me.

I could feel it tearing at my meridians, trying to cripple me.

However, the demonic energy within me was far beyond anything Wendy could control.

Sure enough, after only a moment, blood seeped from the corner of her lips. A powerful force hurled her backward, sending her crashing to the ground.

She stared at me in disbelief. “Impossible! Didn’t you lose all your cultivation? What is this energy?”

I scoffed, crouched in front of her, and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes.

“I’ll repay everything you’ve done to me and then some!”

Overwhelmed by my aura, Wendy froze on the spot.

Hearing the commotion, Julian rushed into the room and saw the scene before him.

Fury flashed across his face. He shoved me aside and hurried to pick Wendy up.

“Wendy, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

Eyes reddened, she threw herself into his arms, looking utterly aggrieved. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I just wanted to heal my sister, but I didn’t expect…

“I know I have a disgraceful background and that I’m not worthy of becoming Sect Leader, but… but…”

Hearing her cries, my father rushed in as well. Seeing Wendy weeping pitifully in Julian’s arms, he did not even bother asking what had happened before lashing out at me.

“Queenie! Do you think Wendy wanted this position? She only stepped in because you were incapable of inheriting it! Instead of being grateful, you attacked her!

“What’s the point of you cultivating for years?”

The look Julian gave me as he comforted Wendy was filled with resentment.

“Queenie, you didn’t use to be like this. When did you become so cruel? You won’t even spare your own sister?”

I sneered. “Cruel? No matter how cruel I am, I could never be as ruthless as the two of you.”

I turned to my father. “Even a tiger wouldn’t eat his own cubs. How are you going to answer my mother when you meet her in the afterlife?”

“I’m so disappointed in you!” My father’s face flushed with anger. Leaving those words behind, he flicked his sleeve and stormed off.

Julian did not spare me another glance. Carrying the injured Wendy, he left my chambers.

The demonic energy inside me churned violently. I closed my eyes and forcibly suppressed it.

Not yet. It was not time yet.

Three days. In three more days at most, I would reduce this place to ruins.

It was almost time for the succession ceremony.

Sect after sect came in to wish Wendy.

Dressed in a black robe, I slipped quietly into the crowd.

Suddenly, someone yanked off my hood from behind.

“Well, well. Isn’t this our former heir to the Sect Leader position?”

He deliberately emphasized the word ‘former’, his eyes full of mockery.

He was nothing more than a lowly disciple. In the past, he would not have even dared meet my gaze.

However, now that my cultivation was gone and I had become useless, they had all grown bold enough to provoke me openly.

“Today is Wendy’s succession ceremony. What are you doing here? Get out of here already! Don’t show yourself in front of Wendy.”

The others chimed in, belittling me until I was worth nothing.

To me, they were already no different from the dead.

My pupils, corroded by demonic energy, turned a vivid crimson.

The suppressed demonic energy within me exploded outward in an instant, a terrifying force shooting straight into the sky.

Blood dyed the entire mountain red before everyone around me could realize what had happened.

As the ceremony began, I appeared before the Gate to Heaven, staring coldly at the lively scene above.

Step by step, I ascended the mountain peak. The stone stairs beneath my feet crumbled into dust with each step I took.