War God's Rebirth: A Thousand Blades of Destiny

The Moonlit Battlefield

The air was cool at night, with the distant rustling of leaves and the slight smell of damp earth. Bai Tian stood alone in the Bai Clan's empty training grounds, his sword loose in his hand. Moonlight stretched his shadow long on the stone courtyard, wavering with each slow, careful motion of his blade.

An ordinary man would have gazed at him and recognized a lazy swordsman.

A fool would have taken him for unaware.

But Bai Tian was neither lazy nor unaware.

He was waiting.

And they had arrived at last.

The initial hint of motion came from the rooftops. A light shuffle, so delicate that even a seasoned warrior would have written it off as wind.

But Bai Tian was not any ordinary warrior.

Three men traveled in the blackness, the dark robes disguising themselves within the shadows. They did not speak, training to be nothing more than weapons.

Assassins.

Bai Tian sighed.

He was anticipating this.

---

The First Strike

A blade glinted through the air, thrust directly into the side of his neck.

Bai Tian turned his head a fraction of an inch, the knife flying so close that he felt its wind. In time to come back down again, two additional daggers hit, one glinting at his heart, the other glinting to his spine.

His sword glided.

Clang! Mid-air, the first dagger deflected.

He spun, cocking his wrist—Clang!—and the second dagger was deflected, plunging harmlessly into a wooden post.

Silence filled the air for an instant.

Then, they attacked.

The first assassin came down before him, twin curved knives shining in the moonlight. His movements smooth, polished after years of discipline. He struck without hesitation.

Bai Tian stood up to the attack undaunted.

Their blades flashed, sparks dancing in the darkness. The assassin was quick, his footwork economical, his attacks relentless. But to Bai Tian, slow. Predictable.

One step forward. A tiny turn of his blade.

A crack, suddenly.

The killer hardly had a moment to register what occurred.

Bai Tian's sword slipped through his defenses, cutting a clean path along his chest.

The man lurched, gasping for breath. His body attempted to recoil, but his legs lost the strength.

He fell.

The second killer faltered.

An error.

Bai Tian was already in motion.

He spanned the gap in a single beat, sword whispering from air. The assassin only barely reacted, wielding his weapon frantically.

It wasn't relevant.

Bai Tian did not halt.

Metal against meat. A solitary, absolute blow.

The assassin fell to the knees, a wheezed strangle sound clawing free before his body slackened.

And there was but one left.

---

A Fleeing Shadow

The remaining assassin's hands shook. His head shouted inside his brain—This isn't right!

He had encountered cultivators before. He had battled Qi warriors, warriors who depended upon their strength, their techniques, their abilities.

But this guy…

This guy didn't engage like a cultivator.

He engaged like a monster.

Hysteria pumped through the assassin's blood. He spun about, his mind shouting at him to flee—

Bai Tian snapped his wrist.

His sword sliced through the air, revolving like a specter.

The killer didn't get two paces before cold steel cut across his back.

His eyes blurred. His limbs would not move.

Then everything went black.

---

A Witness in the Shadows

There was silence in the courtyard for a very long moment.

Bai Tian strode forward, drawing his sword in a slow, well-practiced movement. He wiped the blood off with a flick of his wrist, leaving it to soak into the stone at his feet.

He took a breath, rolling his shoulders.

Three assassins.

Not even a challenge.

A subtle movement registered with him.

His hold strengthened.

Then he spun around—his eyes encountering a pair of wide, quivering eyes.

Xiao Yue was standing there, her eyes fixed in a frozen stare.

Her fine features were bathed in the silvery light of the moon, her soft mouth slightly agape in shock. She had watched. She had witnessed.

And for the first time since Bai Tian's return…

She feared him.

He cocked his head. "You shouldn't be here, Xiao Yue."

Her hands curled into the robes of her gown. "You…" Her words trembled. "You killed them like it was nothing."

Bai Tian didn't deny it. "Because it was."

She trembled.

He breathed out, sheathing his knife. "Back to your room."

Xiao Yue's mouth opened as if to argue, but she bit back the words. There was something in his eyes—something far away, unreadable.

Something not human.

Without another word, Bai Tian moved into the shadows.

Xiao Yue stood there long after he was out of sight,

her heart racing.

Because she knew deep down.

This was not the Bai Tian she once knew.

And she wasn't certain if that scared her….

Or intrigued her.