Ember

The decimated corpse remains collapsed to the ground, revealing the culprit. Adorned in a full set of silver-colored armor, the blonde-haired young man exuded a heavy spiritual pressure.

With a square chiseled jawline and sharp brows framing his piercing blue eyes, he had the appearance of a tiger.

Paying no attention to the bloody mush beneath his feet, the knight's gaze swept over the two dark-blue robed figures. "Putrid. Reeks of evil." He spat, shooting forward with his sword grasped tightly.

The shock from the quick death of his fellow sect member had still not settled in when the other earlier spectator found himself under a relentless assault of strikes.

His aura burst forth, and with a sword in hand, he traded blows with the knight. The clangs of metal striking metal resounded for a few seconds before another anguished scream cut through the air, along with a severed arm.

Pain and blood erupting from his shoulder, the man cursed in indignation, "FUUCKK!" His attempt to retreat was crushed by the knight's blade impaling his foot, rooting him to the spot.

Without the briefest delay, the knight grabbed onto the man's arm, yanked him closer, and drove his glowing gold fist towards his face, bursting his head open into a firework display of blood and brain matter.

Still holding onto the headless corpse, he dragged it to the side and blocked the incoming lightning fist with it. A loud bang rang through the mountain plains, and the knight was knocked back a few steps, the corpse burnt to a crisp.

"Damn it!" Elder Brother shouted before producing four short swords. With a gale of wind, he sent them hurtling towards the knight.

Removing his sword from the earth, he executed a wide swing that cleaved through the air before meeting the short swords with a thunderous clang.

The knight was given no respite. Before the short swords could hit the ground, another fist of lightning, the size of large tree, whizzed towards him.

"You dared to attack the Thunder Falcon Sect; Death shall be your punishment!" Zì Fù roared, and out of his bag of holdings appeared a dark blue talisman flickering with sparks. He quickly imbued all his spiritual energy into it.

The talisman released a bright blue glow that blinded him momentarily, enveloping the area in its bright azure light. An encumbering pressure spread out, and the blue glow dimmed, revealing a hundred-meter wingspan lightning falcon. Sparks zapped out from its enormous figure, as if it were made purely from lightning.

With a massive flap of its electric wings, it streaked up into the sky, becoming a small dot in the air. It stopped ascending, and echoes of a loud thunder boom reverberated out as it dived towards the knight, who stood still, sword held in his arms, tip pointed upwards.

His expression was serene, like a fisherman patiently waiting for its prey to take the bait.

Seeing such a tranquil expression in the face of a hair-raising lightning fist and the ominous thunder falcon, Zì Fù and Li Meiying could not help but be surprised.

'That's a foundation establishment talisman... It's over; that's not something a Qi Condenser can survive.' Li Meiying thought, the rekindled hope once again dwindling.

Zì Fù's excitement was palpable, his smile almost reaching his eyes. 'Frozen in fear? hmph, trying to play the hero; now you've gotten yourself killed.'

The air rippled from the power emanating from the two moves closing in on the knight. Then, with a movement that seemed slow, but was faster than the eye could see, he raised his sword high in the air.

As if the sun had descended, a blinding yellow-orange glow enveloped the blade. The air around the sword screamed as the knight stepped forward and slashed downwards with all his might.

Following the sword's strike, the golden glow morphed into an arc and shot outwards, slicing through the lightning fist like a hot knife through butter and dividing the lightning bird into two.

The blast sent shockwaves of lightning and thunder throughout the area, forming crevices filled with sparks and melted stone.

Zì Fù stared at the scene like a fish out of water, eyes wide, heart tight, and gasping for air. "S-s-word Intent!" he mumbled while shivering.

"A Qi-condenser with sword–" Suddenly, the gold arc carved out from the lightning explosion cloud and cleaved through Zì Fù before splitting the boulder and sinking into the earth.

Luckily, Li Meiying had moved out of the way some time ago and was unscathed apart from the previous injuries. She stared at the scene with her mouth agape and shock filled her expression.

'Sword intent...' She thought, resembling a lottery winner as she gazed at the young knight.

The arc of gold left a gash in the earth stretching from the knight's feet to the boulder, around 30 meters in length and almost a meter in width.

The young knight sheathed his sword and strolled towards the dumbfounded woman. Now meters apart, she could see his face clear as day. When her gaze met his, she blushed and looked away. "T-thank you!"

He was handsome, the most good-looking man she'd ever seen, but she also noticed that he seemed young; she guessed no older than sixteen, yet his aura was undoubtedly of the Eighth level.

Adding on the sword intent displayed earlier, Li Meiying couldn't help but gulp slightly. Such strength at this age was monstrous. In awe, she looked back at the young knight with eyes expectant, not bothering to cover her ample bosom leaking out from the torn dress.

His blonde locks swaying in the cold wind, the young knight fixed his azure eyes on her, his brows furrowed with an ice-cold expression. He declared:

"Evil may triumph for a time, but today.." Before she could react, his clenched fist smashed Li Meiying's head into a bloody mist.

"..Justice prevails."

The already heavy metallic stench in the air grew further, luring demonic beats to the now rocky wasteland covered in small craters and blotches of blood.

A beast resembling a black panther but much bulkier, with sharp claws and teeth that gleamed in the sunlight, crept towards the scene.

Followed by a towering creature with jet-black fur, absorbing surrounding light, simmilar in appearance to an Ibex. Its eyes glowed crimson, horns twisted and jagged, pulsing with dark energy and casting an eerie glow. 

More hungry and bloodthirsty footsteps resounded out as silhouettes of demonic beasts emerged. 

The young knight once again drew his sword and roared with a deep voice.

"The hour of reckoning has arrived."

"I, Ember Thaddeus, shall serve justice."