From Ordinary Axe to Godly Artifact – Dominating the World

The night air was thick with the scent of blood and damp stone. Yun Hao pressed his back against the cold wall of the outer disciple quarters, his pulse hammering against his ribs. His fingers tightened around the axe’s handle, still warm from the fresh slaughter. The rush of stolen Qi burned through his meridians like wildfire, pushing his cultivation further. It was intoxicating.

But now was not the time to revel in his newfound strength.

He had eliminated Wei Long, Feng Lai, and Luo Zhi in one night. If he wasn’t careful, the sect’s enforcers would be on his trail before dawn. He needed to disappear, to erase his involvement in these deaths.

He wiped the blood from his hands onto his robes and took a deep breath. His mind felt sharper, clearer—another gift from the axe. He could think faster, analyze situations with a ruthless precision he had never possessed before.

I can’t stay in the outer disciple quarters.

The axe hummed in his grip, as though agreeing with his thoughts. He had to move to the inner section of the sect, where the more powerful disciples trained. It was dangerous, but it was also the perfect place to hide. No one would expect a weakling like him to suddenly appear among the elite.

Yun Hao darted through the sect grounds, moving with a newfound grace and speed. The shadows clung to him, guided by his heightened senses. Every whisper of wind, every shifting movement in the darkness registered in his mind. He avoided the patrolling guards with ease, slipping past them like a phantom.

Finally, he reached an abandoned meditation hall near the inner sect boundary. The structure was old, forgotten—a relic from a time when the Blood Shadow Sect had been at war with rival factions. Yun Hao stepped inside, the wooden floor creaking beneath his weight. Dust and cobwebs filled the corners, but it would do for now.

He knelt in the center of the room, laying the axe across his lap. He could feel its energy pulsing, a dark and insatiable hunger just beneath its surface.

Who… am I? Yun Hao thought to himself, gripping his forehead. Flashes of memories that didn’t belong to him flickered through his mind. The crack of gunfire, the sharp scent of gasoline, the searing pain of betrayal. He saw faces—gritty, hardened men with tattoos and scars, their expressions twisted in rage and loyalty. Then, the alley. The cold steel buried in his stomach. The blood pooling around him. The fading light.

The axe whispered.

You were a warrior. And now, you are something greater.

Yun Hao exhaled, the weight of his past self mingling with his present. He had lived and died by the blade once before. Now, he would do it again—but on a far greater scale.

A sudden knock at the door shattered the silence.

Yun Hao’s eyes snapped open, his body tensing. He grabbed the axe and moved silently to the side of the entrance. A voice came from outside, low and wary.

“Yun Hao. I know you’re in there.”

His heart pounded. Someone had already found him. But who?

The axe pulsed in his grip, ready for the next kill.

Taking a steady breath, Yun Hao peered through a crack in the wooden door. The moonlight revealed a figure standing just beyond the entrance. A young man, clad in a dark crimson robe embroidered with the insignia of the Blood Shadow Sect’s inner disciples. His face was partially hidden by a hood, but Yun Hao recognized the voice.

Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei was not just any disciple—he was one of the more promising members of the inner sect, someone known for his cold efficiency and calculative mind. If he was here, it meant that someone had already noticed the deaths Yun Hao had caused. But if Zhang Wei was alone, it also meant he wasn’t here to report him—at least not yet.

“Come out, Yun Hao,” Zhang Wei said again, his voice quieter this time. “I saw what you did. And I know what you hold in your hands.”

Yun Hao gritted his teeth. The axe urged him to strike, to silence Zhang Wei before he could become a threat. But Yun Hao hesitated. Something in Zhang Wei’s voice wasn’t hostile. It was… intrigued.

Slowly, Yun Hao pushed open the door and stepped into the moonlight. The cool air brushed against his skin, carrying the faint metallic scent of dried blood. He kept his grip on the axe firm but did not immediately raise it.

Zhang Wei studied him for a long moment before speaking again. “You killed them cleanly. No unnecessary waste. No hesitation. That is not the work of a weak outer disciple.” His eyes flickered to the axe, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “And that weapon… it’s special, isn’t it?”

Yun Hao didn’t answer. He remained still, his mind racing.

Zhang Wei chuckled softly. “Relax. I’m not here to report you. In fact… I might be the only ally you’ll find in this sect.”

Yun Hao narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“Because I don’t care about Wei Long or the others,” Zhang Wei said bluntly. “They were fools, and their deaths mean nothing to me. But you… you interest me. A nobody suddenly rising in power? A weapon that absorbs Qi? That is something worth knowing.” He took a step closer. “Tell me, Yun Hao—how strong do you intend to become?”

Yun Hao felt the axe’s whisper curl around his thoughts. Stronger than anyone. Strong enough to never be hunted again.

Zhang Wei’s smirk deepened as if he could hear the answer in Yun Hao’s silence. “Then perhaps we can help each other.”

The night stretched on as a new alliance was formed in the shadows of the Blood Shadow Sect—one that would change the fate of the sect itself.