The forest floor was a soft carpet of fallen leaves and damp earth, each step a quiet crunch in the otherwise tranquil woods.

  Tracing the rough bark of an ancient oak with his palm, Ran Ji's eyes darted about, observing every nook and cranny in his surroundings.

  His feet suddenly came to a stop, his eyes widening with a flash of pure, unadulterated hope. "There! That small hole in the tree."

  A slow, triumphant smile curved his lips upwards, his hand reaching out towards the gaping hollow as if it were a divine revelation. "Finally, it's my fortuitous encounter!"

  With a sharp kick that sent a tremor through the old wood, he expected a hidden artifact or a rare spirit herb to tumble out.

  Instead, a cascade of small, wiggly insects emerged from the hole, a writhing, chaotic swarm.

  "It's just insects, you dumb idiot. You won't find legendary artifacts here in the middle of the forest."

  Ying Xia leaned back against a tree, letting out a long, theatrical breath of exasperation.

  Her eyes drooped, looking him up and down with a withering frown. "How pathetic can you be?"

  A vein throbbed on Ran Ji’s temple. He ignored her, his desperation overriding his embarrassment as he gathered his stance, his hand shooting out. "Briar Point…"

  Before his crude technique could even manifest, a blur of motion cut him off. Xia’s teeth glinted bright in a sliver of sunlight, perfectly complementing her glamorous golden spear.

  She swung it high into the air, her hands prepared to catch, and once she grasped it, she thrust the dragon-fang head forward, its tip stopping just an inch from his nose.

  "You wanna go, huh?!"

  "Stop it, both of you." Bi Kan's voice was quiet, almost raspy with fatigue, but it carried a weight that made them both freeze.

  "It's a long way home, so it'd be best if we traveled quietly instead of messing around each day."

  He straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the tense group.

  Gu Moyu’s shoulders slumped, and a long, exasperated breath escaped him.

  "I still kind of regret not going with Dong Kai just now," he admitted, his voice laced with regret.

  "If I've learned anything, it's that the bandits aren't just a motley crew. An organization of such scale… can it really be taken down by just a few Inner Disciples whose original purpose was to exterminate the viper infestation?"

  Bi Kan’s arms crossed, his eyes glinting with a faint, cutting glare.

  "And what difference would your appearance make? You're at a stage lower than mine; you're even less capable than I am. That battle will be met with a swarm of many Qi Sensing Realm cultivators at your stage. You'd just be a walking corpse."

  The insult, so casually delivered, made Ma Niu step forward, his own eyes focused and ready for a confrontation.

  "I've had enough of your insults thrown at us, Bi Kan. I won't tolerate it anymo—"

  Bi Kan was already moving, closing the distance until their foreheads were almost butting.

  "And what would you do about it?" he whispered, his voice a low, chilling promise.

  "The only reason you're alive right now is because of me. If I ever decide to finally end you both, none of you would be able to stop it. So tread lightly, you sad excuse of a cultivator."

  Clenched fists were everywhere.

  The air grew thick with a tension so palpable it was almost a physical thing.

  "Jeez, and I thought we were disruptive," Ying Xia sighed, her own shoulders slumping as she yawned. A small chuckle escaped her lips.

  "It's still funny, though, that you had to give up on your quest to find something fortuitous. Following us means you're going back empty-handed!"

  Ran Ji turned his back, not wanting to swallow his pride. "Shut up! I didn't give up! In a group of people, there's bound to be someone lucky! And if our luck collides, surely we'll find something amazing!"

  "Yeah, yeah, you and your delusions," Xia taunted, her voice dripping with amusement.

  "As if we'll find something that mind-boggling. Just face it, you'll have to painstakingly climb the ladder as you were—slow and sad. With your potential, you'll only reach the peak of the Qi Sensing Realm!"

  The tension, which had been a coiled serpent, suddenly snapped. Bi Kan slowly turned his head, his gaze cutting through the conflict.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "As if you can see other people's potentials, Xia," he said, his voice surprisingly calm.

  "Everyone has their own path, and Ran Ji's path won't end here, nor at the peak of his current realm."

  Xia stuck out her tongue. "Oh? And what makes you so sure that your conviction is better than mine?"

  Bi Kan’s gaze flickered to Ma Niu and Gu Moyu before he closed his eyes, turning back towards the original path.

  "Let's just focus on getting home. I don't have time for these shenanigans."

  I have been wasting too much time on this conquest, he thought, his own mind already a world away.

  I have gathered enough herbs and ingredients for my next batch of pills. I'll have plenty to go around after I forge them all. I can even give pills to Mei, Xia, and Shi Lam.

  The thought of his friend, the quiet powerhouse he had helped create, brought a new question to the forefront of his mind, a quiet whisper that was swallowed by the rustling leaves of the forest.

  "Shi Lam… Did he emerge from his isolation, I wonder…"

  The small hut was a chaotic whirlwind of dust and debris. The sound of glass bottles clattering against each other, of scrolls being unceremoniously shoved into leather satchels, and of dented armor being kicked aside filled the small space. In the center of it all stood the crimson-haired disciple, a storm of disorganized energy as he prepared for his departure.

  "What are you even looking for?" Wei Zheng asked, his voice quiet, almost lost in the noise. He stood by the doorway, a still point in the swirling chaos.

  A deep, resonant thrum echoed in his own chest, a powerful pulse that seemed to shake his very bones. His hand instinctively came up to clutch his tunic, as if he could physically contain the wild, ecstatic thing that was stirring within him. The more I'm near this guy, he thought, his own breath catching in his throat, the more my red flame flickers within… To think it'll get excited like this in front of someone at the peak of the Body Tempering realm…

  The world outside the hut seemed to fade into a distant, muffled roar. The swirling dust motes, the scattered debris—it all blurred, leaving only the disciple, a raging bonfire of pure, physical power that seemed to warp the very air around him. An irresistible force pulled at Wei Zheng, a magnetic and terrifying attraction. His hand, which had been clutching his chest, slowly reached out, his fingers trembling, drawn like a moth to a flame. Yes… just a little bit closer… I want to… burn such a strong opponent, churn him until he turns into mere… ash…!

  THUD!

  A rickety wooden box, overloaded with scrolls and strange, metallic trinkets, teetered on the edge of a table before crashing to the floor in a sharp, splintering impact. The sound was a bucket of cold water, snapping Wei Zheng from his trance. He snatched his hand back as if he had just touched a hot coal, a gasp escaping his lips as the world rushed back into sharp, terrifying focus. "A box fell down…" he whispered, his voice shaky.

  The crimson-haired disciple turned, scratching the back of his head with a casual indifference to the mess he was creating. "Sorry about that," he said, his voice a lazy drawl. "It's hard to gather all my stuff now that I'm prepared to leave."

  The last vestiges of Wei Zheng’s trance evaporated, the hunger of the red flame replaced by the chilling focus of a cornered animal that had just been handed a blade. He had been so lost in the man's power he had almost forgotten his own purpose. The disciple had stopped his attack because of the emblem, because he knew Yifeng. It was time to find out why.

  "I've been meaning to ask this," Wei Zheng began, his voice surprisingly steady, "but what is your relationship with Hao Yifeng exactly?"

  The disciple paused his frantic packing, a slow, almost boyish grin forming on his face. He seemed amused by the directness of the question, especially coming from someone he had nearly killed minutes before.

  Wei Zheng pressed his advantage, his own eyes sharpening into points of cold, hard steel.

  "And who are you exactly?"

  "Who am I, huh?"

  Sima Danxie turned his back, his hand rummaging through a pile of discarded trinkets until his fingers closed around a small, simple bracelet woven from silver thread. He balled his hand into a fist, crushing the delicate object within his grip as if it were a fragile, bitter memory. The metallic frame groaned under the pressure, twisting into a useless knot of wire.

  "I'm Sima Danxie." A faint red light glinted within his pupils as his gaze sharpened, the crimson hue a perfect match to the wild mane of his hair. "Sima Danxie, grandson of a Grand Elder of my sect."

  Wei Zheng took a staggered step back, the name a minor detail compared to the title. A Grand Elder. His own limited knowledge of the cultivation world, gleaned from whispered stories and his father's teachings, was enough to know the weight of those words. It was a position of immense power, second only to the Sect Master. This wild, destructive youth was royalty.

  Danxie nodded, turning to gaze out of the hut's dilapidated doorway as if looking at a future only he could see. "Yes, quite the title, huh? I was handed a lot of things, but I mostly messed around… which is why I'm still at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm."

  Wei Zheng squinted, a profound confusion washing over him. Still? That's a great realm at your age… what is this idiot complaining about?

  A bitter, humorless laugh escaped Danxie. "Heh, they think I'll fade into obscurity after cutting me out of the family?!" His voice, which had been a low rumble, escalated into a roar. He slammed his open palm down on the stack of wooden boxes beside him. The impact was not a simple crack but an explosion. The boxes disintegrated into a cloud of splinters, and the shockwave tore through the small hut's fragile structure. With a deep, groaning tear of wood and thatch, the entire building collapsed inwards upon them.

  "W-What the hell just happened?" an old man yelled from the village square, his voice cracking with alarm. A few children, who had been playing nearby, ran towards the fallen building, their faces a mixture of terror and morbid fascination.

  "Did that guy earlier just get wrecked by the red hero?!" one of them shouted.

  From the heart of the rubble, Danxie emerged, calmly dusting off his now-tattered robes as if he had just tripped over a loose stone. "Ugh…" he grunted, his hands still clenched into tight, trembling fists. "But that doesn't matter, not anymore," he seethed, his voice a low growl of pure, unadulterated hatred. "I'll grow strong and kill that old bastard."

  He turned to Zheng, and the grin that spread across his face was a terrifying, beautiful thing, a promise of chaos and destruction. "My connection to Yifeng? You really want to know?!"

  A violent torrent of crimson Qi erupted from his body, a physical pressure that slammed into Wei Zheng, making his simple cloak whip and snap erratically in the sudden gale. Wei Zheng’s breath caught in his throat. This kind of power… It's a wonder he hasn't broken through to the next realm!

  A crazy, unhinged laugh burst from Danxie's mouth, a sound that seemed to dance with the swirling Qi around him.

  "My relationship with that cynical bastard isn't friendship," he roared over the din of his own power,

  "but a deal! A ploy to take down the entire bandit operation within these lands! And kill his father alongside it!"