Chapter One: The Unconscious Sister

At the summit of Mount Hua, Ye Cheng let out an enraged roar as he swung his longsword.

“Die already!”

Swish!

In an instant, the monstrous creature’s massive head tumbled to the ground, and the battle that had raged for three days and nights finally came to an end.

As the sun set in the west, the peak was awash in blood-red light.

Apart from the enormous body of the demon, two elderly corpses lay on the ground.

“Master, it’s all over now.”

“Xiaocheng has not let you down!”

Plunging his sword into the earth, Ye Cheng held back his tears and knelt to kowtow three times before the elders’ bodies. His thoughts drifted, carrying him back to seven years ago.

Seven years prior, the two elders had forcibly taken him from university and brought him to the summit of Mount Hua to train for seven long years.

The reason was simple: the two were at death’s door, no longer able to slay the demon.

He, however, was a peerless prodigy in cultivation, the best hope the elders could find, and humanity’s final chance to destroy the fiend.

If the century demon could not be slain and was allowed to descend the mountain, the world would be plunged into chaos and suffering.

Slaying such a colossal demon required, at the very least, a cultivator of the Golden Core stage. But unfortunately, in this age of spiritual decline, spiritual energy was so scarce that even Foundation Establishment cultivators were exceedingly rare.

For seven years, he trained in the mystic arts every morning, pored over medical texts each afternoon, and studied formations late into the night.

Countless days and nights passed in this way. On the eve of the demon’s arrival, he finally broke through to the Golden Core stage and managed to slay the fearsome creature.

The price was seven years of isolation from the world, seven years away from home.

For the sake of a greater cause, he had to sever all worldly ties and devote himself entirely to cultivation. In those seven years, not only did he never return home—he didn’t even call his family once.

Ye Cheng gazed blankly at the distant sunset, but in his mind there was only the hazy figure of a woman—the elder sister he had yearned for day and night.

“Sis, I’m back.”

After burying the two elders, Ye Cheng leapt from the peak where he had lived for seven years and left the mountain behind.

…

Jiangcheng, Linjiang District, Drunken Moon Bar.

“Xiaoxue, table three wants a case of beer. Hurry up! If you can’t be quick, you shouldn’t be in this line of work.”

“All right, all right, I’ll go as soon as I finish wiping down this table.”

A woman in professional attire nodded repeatedly to her supervisor as she wiped the table.

Her figure was superb; the fitted uniform perfectly outlined her curves, and the sheer black stockings on her legs sparked all kinds of thoughts.

She was Ye Cheng’s elder sister, Ye Mengxue, and today was her fifth day working here.

“Sigh, Xiaoxue, why do you put yourself through this?” said Zhang Ya, another waitress, looking at Ye Mengxue in confusion. “We’re all adults now, surely you’ve seen what the world’s really like, right?”

“With your looks, you could have your pick of patrons. Just yesterday, Mr. Wang wanted your company for a drink and you refused. What a wasted opportunity.”

Ye Mengxue smiled faintly and shook her head.

“This just isn’t the life I want, sorry, Sister Ya.”

She was about to leave with her cleaning cloth when Zhang Ya grabbed her hand.

“Xiaoxue, I know your parents are seriously ill in the hospital. It’d cost tens of thousands just to treat them.”

“Don’t blame me for being blunt, but with your five-thousand-a-month salary, how long do you think it’ll take to save up enough?”

Zhang Ya’s words darkened Ye Mengxue’s expression, and she shook off Zhang Ya’s hand.

“I’ll earn the money myself.”

But Zhang Ya merely sneered.

“Earn? By the time you make enough, the grass on your parents’ graves will be taller than you.”

“Zhang Ya, you—!”

Ye Mengxue knew Zhang Ya had never liked her, but she hadn’t expected her to be so cruel today.

“To be frank, the manager wanted me to pass on a message—Mr. Wang will be back tonight. He’s offering thirty thousand this time, and he asked for you by name.”

Zhang Ya grinned slyly.

“You’d get eighty percent of that. If you please him tonight, not only would your parents’ medical bills be nothing, with Mr. Wang’s means, he could even get you a little apartment.”

“That’s enough! I said I won’t do it and I won’t!”

Unable to endure it any longer, Ye Mengxue shouted at Zhang Ya and turned to leave.

Watching her colleague’s retreating back, Zhang Ya let out a cold laugh.

“Pretending to be chaste while working in a bar. I’ve seen plenty like you. Saying no now, but give them some money and they’ll fall in line. You don’t deserve to have your parents saved if you won’t take your chances.”

…

In the bar’s restroom, Ye Mengxue leaned over the sink, sobbing quietly.

Her shoulders trembled, and her beautiful eyes were red and brimming with tears.

“Xiaocheng… where are you…”

Thinking of her brother, missing for years, her nose stung and she finally broke down, covering her face as she wept.

Her brother Ye Cheng had vanished seven years ago without a trace, as if he’d disappeared from the world itself.

He never replied to messages, wouldn’t answer calls, and even his social media went silent.

Not a sign of life or death.

In the search for clues, the family had spent all their savings. The two elders had fallen gravely ill as a result, and now the family survived only on her meager income.

“Why did you have to leave us behind, Ye Cheng…”

Lost in her sorrow, Ye Mengxue didn’t notice the greasy, leering man creeping up behind her.

…

“This is the place.”

Ye Cheng frowned as he stood outside a bar.

“Drunken Moon Bar?”

What could his sister be doing in a place like this?

He was puzzled; the sister in his memory was a traditional woman who’d never touched alcohol, let alone set foot in a bar.

Yet the powerful sense of kinship in his blood told him otherwise.

His sister, Ye Mengxue, was inside this very bar.

“Well, after all these years, perhaps she’s changed too.”

Shaking his head helplessly, Ye Cheng stepped through the bar’s doors.

“Are you alone, handsome?”

The hostess at the entrance greeted Ye Cheng with a bright smile.

But as soon as she took in his appearance, her enthusiasm vanished.

Damn, another pauper.

After years on the mountain, Ye Cheng’s clothes were patched and threadbare—he owned only three sets, worn for seven years straight. He hadn’t shaved either, so he looked more like a vagrant than anything else.

“Minimum spend is two hundred. If you can’t afford it, get lost.”

She’d seen plenty like him—vagrants trying to sneak in, begging for money or scamming drinks.

Ye Cheng narrowed his eyes at the rude hostess, about to reply, when a burly hand swung toward his chest.

“Out of the way, mutt!”

Not wanting to cause trouble, Ye Cheng sidestepped the hulking man.

But strangely, the signal from his sister only grew stronger in his mind.

His keen senses made him look toward the group.

Three brutes and a greasy fat man, the last of whom was carrying an unconscious woman.

When Ye Cheng saw the woman’s face, a nameless fury exploded in his chest.

“Sister!”