Lightning tore through the sky.
Two terrifying auras clashed above the eastern lands.
The heavens trembled. The earth shook.
Two great sects had started a war.
And the reason for this war…
…was a single sword.
A divine sword that had fallen from the sky.
No one knew where it came from.
No one knew its true power.
But everyone knew one thing.
Whoever obtained that sword… would rule the entire eastern region.
High above the battlefield, two figures floated in the sky.
They were the leaders of the two most powerful sects in the east.
The leader of the Moonflow Sect looked at his enemy coldly.
"Today," he said slowly, "only one of us will walk away alive."
Thunder roared across the heavens.
Lightning exploded.
Across from him, the leader of the Heavencloud Sect clenched his fists.
"For a thousand years," he said with suppressed rage, "your sect has ruled these lands."
"I respected you. I treated you like an elder."
"But you never treated me as your equal."
His killing intent exploded like a storm.
"Today… I will kill you."
For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze.
Lightning exploded across the sky.
"Then what are you waiting for? Show me your strength."
The Moonflow Sect leader spoke calmly, as if he feared nothing.
Both of them floated high in the air.
Suddenly, the Moonflow Sect leader lifted an entire mountain thousands of feet tall and hurled it toward his opponent.
In response, the Heavencloud Sect leader threw a punch.
Behind him, a massive shadow of a fist appeared—over four hundred feet wide.
The shadow moved with his strike and smashed into the flying mountain.
BOOM!
The mountain shattered into countless pieces.
A terrifying sound wave spread across the sky.
The heavens trembled.
The earth shook violently.
Nearby mountains cracked and collapsed.
Yet neither of them paid attention to the destruction around them.
Far away from this battlefield, in another world untouched by the war…
A boy named Rudra was sitting with his brother and chatting.
Suddenly, their aunt called out to his brother.
There was anger in her voice.
But beneath the anger… there was also love.
Rudra froze for a moment.
A mother calling her child.
That simple scene suddenly reminded him of his own mother.
And along with that memory… burning anger rose inside his heart.
Anger toward his father.
When Rudra was six years old…
He stood in an empty field with grass reaching up to his knees.
He and his mother were crying as they watched his father walk away.
His mother's voice trembled as she called out.
"Will you come back?"
His father nodded slowly.
There was sadness in his eyes.
Then he disappeared into the distance.
Rudra was too young to understand why his father had left.
His mother had told him that his father had gone away to practice cultivation and become a powerful sadhak.
Time passed.
Rudra's mother worked endlessly in the fields to support their small home.
She ignored her own health.
A year passed.
Her body finally collapsed under exhaustion and grief.
When Rudra returned home one day, he saw his mother lying on the bed.
Her lips had turned pale and dry.
Her face was yellow and weak.
Rudra didn't fully understand what was happening.
But he knew one thing.
His mother was sick.
So he went to the kitchen and prepared a herbal decoction for her.
He always tried to help his mother with work.
When he brought the drink to her, she gently placed her hand on his head.
After drinking it, she fell asleep.
Rudra went outside to buy herbs for medicine.
But he had no money.
The shopkeeper pushed him away.
"Get lost, beggar! If you have no money, why come to my shop?"
Rudra folded his hands and pleaded.
"My mother is very sick… I will repay you later."
But the shopkeeper ignored him and threw him out.
By evening, Rudra returned home in despair.
His mother's condition had become far worse.
Her body was shaking violently.
Rudra's heart stopped.
He grabbed her hand and cried loudly.
"Mother! What happened to you?!"
Rudra ran outside, begging for help.
He knocked on every door in the street.
But no one helped him.
He even went to the village doctor.
The doctor asked for money first.
Rudra begged him with folded hands.
But even the doctor refused.
Rudra sat outside the doctor's house and cried.
At that moment, a man dressed in white passed by.
He was from the same village and knew Rudra and his mother.
Seeing the boy crying, he walked over and asked what happened.
After hearing everything, the man paid the doctor himself and brought him to Rudra's house.
Rudra's mother lay unconscious on the bed.
The doctor checked her pulse and gave medicine.
For a moment, Rudra felt hope.
But suddenly her body began to tremble violently.
She screamed in pain.
Rudra grabbed the doctor's feet and cried.
"Doctor! What happened to my mother?!"
The doctor shook his head.
"It is too late."
Her breathing slowly became weaker.
Then… it stopped.
Rudra felt as if his entire world had gone silent.
His body felt numb.
His heart screamed in pain, but no tears came out.
It was as if his tears had already dried up.
The pain inside him was beyond words.
He felt like a small boat lost in a stormy ocean, surrounded by lightning and rain, waiting for land that would never appear.
And then reality struck him.
His mother was gone.
Forever.
The six-year-old boy broke down completely.
His cries slowly faded into silence.
But deep inside his heart…
Hatred was born.
Hatred toward the man who had abandoned them.
The man in white saw Rudra's condition and took him into his own home.
He had a wife and two children.
They raised Rudra like their own son.
At first Rudra remained quiet and distant.
But the little girl in the house constantly followed him around.
"Brother! Brother!"
She never left him alone.
Slowly… Rudra began to smile again.
He accepted them as his family.
The pain inside him never disappeared.
But he had learned to live with it.
Ten years passed.
Rudra finally returned to the present.
The memories no longer haunted him like before.
His aunt had called his brother.
Apparently he had made a mistake.
And today… he was about to be punished.
Before he could react—
A flying slipper hit his head.
He immediately started running.
Rudra stood there watching the scene quietly.
His sister came outside holding a broken flower pot.
"What happened?" Rudra asked.
His sister explained.
"He broke mother's favorite pot. It was a gift from mother's family."
Rudra shook his head.
"Well… he's definitely dead today."
Both of them started laughing.
Meanwhile their brother shouted desperately.
"Why are you two laughing like idiots?! Help me!"
But Rudra had no intention of taking that risk.
He and his sister simply watched as their brother got beaten with a broom.
Just then their uncle returned home.
Seeing him, the brother quickly hid behind him.
"Father! Save me!"
Rudra and his sister could no longer stop laughing.
But their aunt said angrily,
"This boy has become too mischievous. I won't spare him today!"
Their uncle sighed tiredly.
"Let it go. He's just a child."
The brother quickly added,
"Sorry mother! I'll buy you a new pot!"
Finally, her anger cooled down.
But she soon noticed her husband's worried expression.
"What happened?" she asked.
He spoke quietly.
"Pests destroyed the crops again today. I don't know how we will pay the taxes."
Hearing this, Rudra became worried.
Just then someone called from outside.
When his uncle stepped out, he saw the village chief standing there.
"I have come with news," the chief said.
"The Blue Moon Sect is recruiting children between fifteen and eighteen years old."
"If they are lucky, they can learn cultivation and walk the path of immortality."
"And the families will receive one hundred gold coins."
Rudra's uncle hesitated.
"How can I send my children to such a dangerous place?"
"Don't worry," the chief replied.
"They will be safe. And they can visit whenever they want."
After thinking for a moment, the uncle said,
"I will discuss it with my family and tell you tomorrow."
The chief nodded.
"I will return in the morning."
Night slowly fell over the village.
Fireflies floated through the air, glowing like stars that had fallen to the earth.
Everyone sat together in the courtyard.
The walls were made of mud, and a large wooden gate stood at the entrance.
The uncle explained everything to Rudra and his brother.
The moment Rudra heard the word cultivation, his heart trembled.
The memory of his father resurfaced.
Anger rose inside him again.
But he looked at his uncle quietly.
He knew the family needed money.
After thinking for a while, Rudra made a decision.
"I will go."
His aunt immediately protested.
"No! It will be dangerous there.
I heard those people are cruel!"
Before anyone could respond, his brother said proudly,
"Rudra won't go alone. I'm going too."
Their aunt looked at both of them with worry.
But she knew she could not stop them.
In this world…
A bird must learn to fly on its own.
Keeping it locked in a cage would only destroy it.
Sometimes, letting it fly free is the only choice.