The death bell continued to echo through Lushan City.
Kael stood frozen in the alley.
The tournament judge was dead.
And everyone inside the Martial Hall had been ordered to remain there.
Mei turned toward the building.
“We need to leave.”
Kael frowned.
“Didn't they just order everyone to stay inside?”
“Exactly.”
Lin Yue looked confused.
“Why would staying inside be dangerous?”
Mei's expression was cold.
“Because the murderer is probably still inside.”
Kael looked toward the Martial Hall.
His instincts told him to run.
But another thought stopped him.
If he ran now, he would lose the chance to find out why the judge was killed.
And someone had already warned him that Lushan was connected to his seventh death.
“I’m going back.”
Mei stared at him.
“You'll be walking into a trap.”
“Probably.”
Kael tightened his grip on his sword.
“But if I keep running every time something feels dangerous, I'll never discover the truth.”
Lin Yue nodded.
“I'll go with you.”
Mei sighed.
“Then I'm coming too.”
The three returned to the Martial Hall.
The atmosphere had completely changed.
The excitement from the tournament was gone.
Hundreds of young cultivators stood inside the building, surrounded by armed guards.
At the center of the arena—
A body was covered with a white cloth.
Kael stared at it.
Something felt familiar.
He slowly walked closer.
Then the Human Flame inside his body trembled.
Flame.
A golden spark appeared.
Kael stopped.
He could sense something beneath the cloth.
Not Qi.
Something else.
“Don't touch him,” a guard warned.
Kael ignored him.
He reached toward the body.
The moment his fingers touched the cloth—
BOOM!
His mind was thrown into darkness.
He saw the same arena.
But it was different.
The walls were destroyed.
Bodies covered the ground.
The tournament banner was burning.
And Kael was standing in the center.
Older.
Stronger.
Covered in blood.
Across from him stood the man from Black Lotus.
But the man wasn't attacking.
He was kneeling.
Behind him stood the tournament judge.
The judge looked directly at Kael.
Then he said something.
“You were never the target.”
The vision shattered.
Kael opened his eyes.
He staggered backward.
Mei caught his arm.
“What did you see?”
Kael looked at the body.
Then at the judge's covered face.
“He wasn't killed because of the tournament.”
Lin Yue asked, “Then why?”
Kael's voice was quiet.
“He was protecting someone.”
Suddenly—
The white cloth moved.
Everyone stepped back.
A hand slowly emerged from beneath it.
The dead judge's fingers opened.
Something fell onto the stone floor.
A small black ring.
Kael's breathing stopped.
The ring looked exactly like the one from the underground chamber.
The same ring that had spoken to him.
REMEMBER.
Kael stepped forward.
The ring began glowing.
A voice whispered inside his mind.
“You finally came back.”
Kael stared at it.
Then the entire Martial Hall shook.
BOOM!
The doors slammed shut.
Black formations appeared across the walls.
A voice echoed from above.
“None of you are leaving.”
Kael looked up.
A masked figure stood on the balcony.
Not the Black Lotus man.
Someone else.
The figure slowly removed his mask.
Kael's eyes widened.
He knew that face.
Not from this life.
Not from the seventh.
But from somewhere much older.
The figure smiled.
“Welcome back, Kael.”
Kael's Human Flame erupted.
The stranger's next words made his blood run cold.
“I've been waiting for your eighth life.”