"He's about to arrive. I wonder if they'll reach here soon."

  Hao Yifeng sat on the edge of his heavy wooden table, his legs dangling casually as he spoke to the empty air. A slow, chaotic smile stretched his lips, not out of warmth, but born from a deep, festering anticipation. He pushed himself off the table, his boots hitting the floor with a soft thud. His yellow eyes slid sideways, scanning the flickering shadows of his tent with a predator's lazy focus.

  "Something feels off…" he murmured, his voice dropping to a playful whisper. "Don't you think, Top Bodyguard of this fortress?"

  SHING!

  A flash of cold steel tore through the dim light, aimed perfectly at Yifeng’s exposed neck.

  It came to a dead, jarring halt inches from his skin. Yifeng hadn't dodged; he had simply raised two fingers, pinching the flat of the blade with a tight grip

  The air around his fingers warped slightly, the invisible pressure of his Qi locking the weapon in place.

  "T-This kind of strength…" the attacker gasped, his voice tight with strain.

  Yifeng slowly turned the blade, the metal groaning under the torque, until he was staring deeply into the man’s wide, fearful eyes.

  "Did you finally reveal your intentions of being a traitor?"

  The bodyguard, a man named Guo, wrenched his blade free with a grunt of exertion, leaping back to create distance.

  He grit his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead.

  "Me? The Traitor?!" he spat, the accusation stinging his pride.

  "That's rich coming from you! Yifeng!"

  The blade’s tip wavered, pointing accusingly at Yifeng’s chest. Yifeng merely tilted his head, an expression of mock confusion on his face.

  "Hoh? Rich coming from me? How so?"

  Guo began to circle him, his steps heavy and cautious, his eyes darting around for traps that didn't exist.

  "I've been following your every move," he hissed, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and vindication.

  "Analyzing each and every course… Your decisions… at first, they seemed psycho… crazy, unbelievable! Decisions without purpose!"

  He yelled the last words, his frustration boiling over.

  "But then, slowly, a pattern formed… The things you've been doing have only served to be disadvantageous to the Boss! To your own father!"

  He pointed a shaking finger towards the tent entrance.

  "That slave boy, Wei Zheng, who has suddenly shot up to the latter stages of the Qi Sensing Realm! You protected him! You trained him! They've been staging something… I don't know what… their tracks are covered, but the stench of betrayal is all over you!"

  Silence hung heavy in the tent for a long, agonizing heartbeat.

  Then, Yifeng slowly brought his hands together. Clap… Clap… Clap.

  A chuckle, dark and genuine, bubbled up from his chest. "I don't know what to say! Except… Bravo!"

  His eyes suddenly narrowed, the amusement vanishing like smoke in a gale. The air temperature in the tent seemed to plummet. "But what did you expect to gain from confronting me now? Did you really think you can cut me down that easily?"

  Yifeng took a single step forward. A terrifying, invisible weight slammed into the room. It was the oppressive, suffocating aura of the Meridian Opening Realm. The tent poles creaked, and the flames in the brazier were nearly snuffed out.

  "Don't be foolish," Yifeng whispered, his voice echoing with power. "We're not even in the same REALM!"

  The aura pierced Guo’s body like a thousand needles. His knees buckled, his Body Tempering Qi flaring desperately to keep him upright. "D-Don't underestimate me!" he roared, forcing his body to straighten through sheer will. "I knew I couldn't match you… which is why I prepared!"

  His hand darted into his cloak, retrieving a small, crimson pill that pulsed with a volatile, unstable energy. "I've managed to find a pill… A Forbidden Blood-Boil Pill! To increase my power just so I can cut you down myself!"

  Without hesitation, he tossed it into his mouth and crushed it between his teeth.

  BOOM!

  A faint, acrid red smoke erupted from his nostrils and mouth. He sucked in a massive breath, the air around him swirling violently as his skin turned a deep, angry shade of red.

  His veins bulged, looking as if they might burst, and the Qi around him thickened, becoming dense, wild, and dangerous.

  It was a false power, a bridge built on a crumbling foundation, but for a moment, it rivaled the pressure of the Meridian Opening Realm.

  Guo gripped his sword with both hands, his eyes glowing with a manic, drug-fueled light.

  "I'll show you… why I'm the top bodyguard of this fortress, YOUNG MASTER!"

  "This is weird."

  Wei Tiexuan’s voice was a low murmur, a quiet note of dissonance in the tranquil forest. He crouched, his fingers tracing the edge of a footprint pressed deep into the soft earth. The trail was too clean, the path too direct. These were not the tracks of men fleeing in terror, but of men leading the way. "It feels like we're being led somewhere."

  Dong Kai finally caught up, his broad chest heaving, his breath coming in ragged pants. He leaned against a tree, a wide, triumphant grin on his face. "I-Incredible! I didn't know there was a shortcut just this way! We're making great time!"

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  Xuan nodded, his gaze never leaving the path ahead. This was exactly the route Dong Kai had pointed out on their crude map, a supposed game trail that cut directly through the hills. "It seems like those bandits are trying to retreat mindlessly back into their fortress without precaution," he observed, his tone laced with a dry irony.

  The disciple with glasses pushed them up the bridge of his nose, the polished lenses glinting in a stray beam of sunlight. "Perhaps that's the plan of their boss," he offered, his voice calm and logical. "To lure us in and catch us all in one fell swoop."

  Xuan scoffed, the sound sharp and dismissive. He rose to his full height and sheathed his blade with a soft, final click. "How foolish," he drawled, his confidence an almost physical presence. "Does he really think that I, Wei Tiexuan, will fall for such a measly trap?" A small smile touched his lips. "I'll show that bastard that I am far stronger than my realm ever hints at."

  The rest of the Inner Disciples grinned in excitement, the promise of a slaughter making their blood sing. They prepared their fists and weapons, their minds already tasting the grim satisfaction of executing the scum they so loathed.

  Farther along the trail, the three bandits who were the architects of this very trap crashed through the undergrowth, their breath coming in panicked, exhilarated gasps.

  "Hah… hah… those must be the disciples the Young Master was talking about!" one of them panted, his eyes wide with a manic glee.

  Another bandit nodded, waggling his dagger as he ran faster. "Yeah, his plan is fool-proof! We lure them in, and then we kill them all!" His grin widened. "Even if the Young Master can't take them all down, we have plenty of men and our Top Bodyguard to assist him!"

  A third chimed in, raising a triumphant finger. "Not only that! Our boss, Hao Yu, has announced his return to the fortress with his cousin! We'll have two Meridian Opening experts on our side! We'll definitely destroy those arrogant sect scum!"

  They snickered and laughed amongst themselves, their confidence absolute, their victory already assured in their minds. They were so lost in their triumphant fantasy that they failed to notice the faint, almost imperceptible rustle of leaves just behind them, a sound that was not made by the wind.

  "I'm sorry to depart so soon with you, but I think I'll be needing more fortuitous encounters so that I can be ready. For the Trials."

  Bi Kan closed his eyes, deep in thought.

  The steady, rhythmic crunch of boots on the forest floor came to an abrupt halt. Bi Kan raised a single, commanding hand, his gaze fixed on a distant, unseen point. The rest of the group stopped behind him, the sudden silence a stark contrast to their hours of monotonous travel.

  He turned, his focus settling not on the path ahead, but on the quiet, observant disciple who had become his reluctant ally.

  "Gu Moyu," Bi Kan said, his voice direct and devoid of pleasantries.

  "The talismans you hold. Do you have one that buffs others? Primarily for perception."

  Gu Moyu squinted, his mind a quick catalog of his remaining inventory.

  He reached into the inner pockets of his robes, his fingers brushing past various slips of inscribed paper before closing around a specific one.

  "Yes," he confirmed, pulling it out. "I think I saw one for perception. It's an Eye of the Soaring Falcon talisman."

  He held it up for Bi Kan to see. It was an intricate thing, covered in cryptic writing that spiraled around the jagged, stylized drawing of a fierce, all-seeing eye.

  "I believe it was used for scanning large areas for monsters. It's popular within beast forests and beast caves."

  "Good," Bi Kan stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Use it on me."

  Ying Xia tilted her head, tapping her chin with the butt of her golden spear as she stared at Bi Kan, her usual impatience replaced by a quiet, burgeoning curiosity.

  Gu Moyu nodded and stepped forward, placing the talisman gently but firmly against Bi Kan’s forehead.

  He formed a simple hand seal, and with a low whisper, poured a trickle of his own Qi into the paper.

  The eye on the talisman flared with a brief, intense light that seemed to burn itself directly into Bi Kan’s soul before the paper crumbled into ash.

  The world exploded.

  It was not a sound, but a sensory detonation.

  Bi Kan’s view widened, his consciousness stretching, soaring upwards until it felt as if he were a raven hovering high above the canopy, looking down upon the entire forest as a living, breathing map.

  He could see the faint, shimmering auras of squirrels chasing each other through the branches a mile away, hear the gentle trickle of a hidden stream, and feel the subtle shifts in the flow of Qi that betrayed the movement of every living thing.

  "T-This is incredible," he breathed, his own voice sounding distant, a mere echo in the vastness of his new perception. "How long does it last?"

  Gu Moyu closed his own eyes, feeling the steady, symbiotic drain. "Paired with my Qi, and how it's resonating with yours," he observed, "it should last for about an hour."

  "Then I hope we'll see them in an hour," he said, his voice ringing with a new, thrilling purpose.

  With a powerful push, he shot up, his body a blur of motion as he took to the high trees, leaping from branch to branch with a speed and confidence that left the others staring in stunned silence.

  "Who's them?" Ma Niu crossed his arms, his forehead beading with sweat.

  Back in the desolate lands, the wind howled a mournful dirge across the barren surface, kicking up dust from the skeletal remains of burnt-down camps. Hao Fu set foot in the ruined territory, his heavy boots crunching on scorched earth. Bandit heads, long since picked clean by carrion birds, were piked on sharpened stakes, their empty eye sockets a testament to the brutal, one-sided war that had been waged here. Bodies were half-submerged in the ground, a grim and final harvest.

  "Hmph," Hao Fu grunted, a sound of grudging respect. "My nephew really has bad luck, encountering such a thorn on his territory." He shot a sharp, side-long glare at the few bandits his cousin had insisted accompany him. "I already told my cousin that I don't need any backup! Does he not trust me?! A Peak Body Tempering Realm expert?!"

  His Qi flared, a sudden, oppressive wave of power that made the air grow thick and heavy, spiking the bodies of the other bandits with a primal fear.

  "B-Boss Hao Fu!" one of them stammered, his face pale. "W-we were forced! Boss Hao Yu just wants us to observe the events!"

  The other bandit immediately knelt, his focus on the ground, wanting no part of his leader's wrath. "We won't interfere if you don't want us to! Besides, there could be danger here as well! What if that monster wasn't alone?!"

  Hao Fu’s aura slowly receded. He let out a contemptuous "Tch," his hand coming up to rub his chin. "How pathetic. You can barely withstand my wrath, and you hope to help me against this supposed monster's allies? Don't be brash!"

  "Looks like we've got company, Wei Zheng."

  A small, predatory grin formed on Sima Danxie’s face. Wei Zheng, standing a few paces behind him, immediately unsheathed the dagger he kept hidden in his robes, its edge glinting in the harsh sunlight. "That man," Zheng whispered, his nascent Qi sense analyzing the newcomer, "he's at the same realm as you. Will you be okay?"

  A glob of spit landed on the dusty floor. "Worry about yourself, Zheng," Danxie drawled, his gaze never leaving the approaching figures. "Can't you see? He's not alone."

  The other bandits fanned out, their own daggers drawn, their glares focused not on the crimson-haired youth, but on the smaller, seemingly weaker boy beside him.

  "Tsk! Not a problem for me!" Zheng yelled, settling into a low, ready stance. "Just don't cause too much destruction!"

  Danxie grinned. "That's impossible. A fight between two people at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm does not end easily. Especially in a direct confrontation. It'd be a different story if one was caught off guard."

  Slowly, both Hao Fu and Sima Danxie unleashed their Qi, their bodies tempering to an absolute peak. The ground beneath their feet began to crack and groan as they planted their stances, two titans preparing to clash.

  "Outta my way, gramps," Danxie taunted, his voice ringing with a youthful arrogance. "I'm supposed to be fighting someone stronger!"

  Hao Fu scoffed, gripping his fists until the knuckles turned white. "I'll show you that even if we're in the same realm," he growled, his voice a low promise of violence, "I'm leagues beyond your level, brat."

  His blades were raised high, the Qi flowing through his body a visible, shimmering aura in the dim light of the tent. Hao Yifeng’s smile was unwavering as he stared at the bodyguard, who was now a trembling, desperate beast fueled by a forbidden pill.

  "You won't win, you know?" Yifeng said, his voice a calm, simple statement of fact.

  Xu Wanxia sat in the corner of her own small, hidden tent, the sounds from the main fortress a distant, muffled roar. Her hand rested on the hilt of a hidden dagger, her patience worn to a threadbare whisper as she awaited the signal.

  "What kind of signal am I supposed to wait for?" she muttered to the empty air, her voice tight with a frustrated anxiety. "Hurry up."