The scent of pine and fresh soil hung in the air as Tian Shen and Feng Yin stood at the base of Feilun Sect’s lower training peaks—rugged hills wrapped in mist, their slopes crawling with spiritual energy.
Dozens of new disciples milled around them, so chatting nervously, others sharpening weapons or ditating quietly in preparation.
A wide stone path led up the mountain trail, where the first part of the trial would begin: the Spirit Beast Hunt.
It was the sect’s tradition. Before new recruits could officially enter the inner courtyard or receive direct tutelage, they had to pass a foundational test—surviving three days in the beast-infested peaks, collecting cores from at least three different spirit beasts, and returning with their assigned spirit token intact.
Of course, the unspoken rule was harsher. Most who couldn’t fend off at least mid-tier beasts would be considered dead weight, left behind in outer duties or expelled entirely.
Feng Yin checked the leather cord around her wrist—the sect’s spirit token glowed faintly, tuned to her soul signature.
"Three 3-star beasts. Sounds easy enough."
She murmured.
Tian Shen adjusted the short black cloak over his armor and watched the ascending mists.
"Easy for people who haven’t been hunted by beasts already."
Their recent battles had sharpened them more than any drill. Compared to zombies, wild cultivators, and forbidden arts, this mission almost felt like a break.
Almost.
A middle-aged cultivator in light green robes approached. His face was weathered but alert, with a subtle sword callus on his right hand. His voice was clear.
"I am Senior Disciple Huang Wei. You have been assigned to the North Pass group. Your guide will only bring you to the trial zone periter. From then on, you’re on your own."
He paused, letting his words sink in.
"Group mbers are free to work together or compete. If you die, that’s fate. If you cheat, you’ll be crippled. Understood?"
"Yes, Senior!"
The group chorused.
Tian Shen nodded calmly, Feng Yin remaining silent by his side. Around them, their fellow recruits shifted uneasily.
Most were teenagers or early twenties at most—many from minor clans, hoping to use the sect as a stepping stone.
Among them, one figure stood out: a tall youth with silver-red hair tied into a warrior’s knot, his robes embroidered with the sigil of the Eastern Fox Clan. His presence stirred the air subtly—Qi coiling around him like a second skin.
He caught Tian Shen’s glance and gave a lazy smile.
"You sll like my kind."
"I am not."
Tian Shen replied plainly.
"Hm. Good."
The youth grinned wider.
"Fine if you don’t want to spill the beans, Though i’ll like it you aren’t lying."
Feng Yin rolled her eyes.
"Friendly bunch, aren’t we?"
"Welco to sect life. Again."
Tian Shen muttered.
Soon after, the gates opened. Senior Huang motioned forward, and the group began their march into the mountain path.
The deeper they went, the denser the Qi in the air beca.
Trees twisted like claws overhead, spirit herbs sprouted between rocks, and the occasional low growl echoed through the underbrush.
More than one recruit already gripped their weapons tightly.
Just past the first ridge, the guide halted.
"From here, the trial begins. You have three days. Your tokens will glow red if you’re near death. We’ll monitor from the peak outposts. Survive and return to the Southern Watchpoint."
With that, he vanished into the fog.
The group hesitated—then scattered.
Tian Shen and Feng Yin didn’t wait either. Without a word, they slipped northeast, into the deeper woods.
After half an hour of quiet movent, Feng Yin whispered.
"Sothing’s following us."
Tian Shen nodded.
"Let it co."
He paused near a low ridge and pulled out a thin thread of beast blood he’d sared across his boots—standard bait for lower-ranked predators.
Monts later, the bushes rustled.
A boar-like beast with erald fur and tusks made of bone burst forth, snarling with wild Qi. A 3-Star beast, brute and vicious.
Tian Shen didn’t draw his sword. Instead, he stepped into its charge and slamd his palm forward—channeling a shockwave from the Sage’s seal on his shoulder.
A ripple of force blasted the boar back, flipping it mid-air.
Feng Yin was already on its flank, a needle striking into its exposed belly. The beast froze, twitched, and dropped with a wheeze.
『Congrats host, you killed a 3-star beast and gained physique points ×400.』
The system cooed, which he had ignored recently.
"One down."
Feng Yin said, crouching to retrieve its Core.
Tian Shen, however, was staring at the ground where the beast had co from.
"Tracks... human ones. Soone herded that thing toward us."
"Ambush?"
"Or surveillance. Either way, soone’s watching."
They retrieved the core, marked the spot, and moved on—deeper into the unclaid parts of the peak.
Over the next hours, they downed a fanged hawk and a twin-tailed fire lizard, both working in tandem, a rare cooperation among spirit beasts.
"Too coordinated."
Feng Yin noted.
"Sothing’s not right."
"Soone’s either guiding the beasts or tampering with the trial zone."
Tian Shen said. His gaze darkened.
"They’re pushing us."
By nightfall, they made camp under a rock overhang.
Tian Shen traced runes on the ground to mask their Qi signature, a trick he’d picked up from the Sage’s mory fragnts.
As he worked, Feng Yin pulled out the fragnt scroll they’d recovered from the Hollow. When she channeled Qi into it, it showed faint lines—locations marked across old maps of the continent.
"Three sites left unawakened," she said, voice low. "Sage’s legacy was only part of a broader structure."
"Other Honoured Ones."
Tian Shen murmured.
"We need to find where their remnants lie."
He stared at the furthest symbol on the map. It flickered over a mountainous zone... not far from Feilun’s border.
"If this trial goes well, we’ll request outer mission postings. Use that to travel."
Feng Yin nodded.
"Assuming we survive this."
Tian Shen smirked.
"We’ve handled worse."
But before dawn could break, a whispering fog rolled through the trees—unnatural, freezing, and filled with malice.
A scream echoed in the distance. A bloodcurdling one.
They were not alone in the peaks tonight.
The mist slithered like a living thing.
Not just low-hanging fog, but a sentient, pulsing shroud that moved against the wind.
It clung to the trees and slithered across the forest floor like tendrils of cold breath from so ancient slumbering beast.
Tian Shen instantly awakened, hand darting for his blade. Beside him, Feng Yin rose with eerie silence, eyes narrowed as she activated a faint Qi barrier.
Then the scent hit them.
It wasn’t rot. Not decay.
It was Regret. Guilt.
Tian Shen’s eyes dilated as a flood of fragnted thoughts threatened to rush in—visions of a burning temple, a girl’s scream, blood dripping from his own fingers. None of it his mory. None of it real.
"The mist... it’s a spiritual remnant," he said. "It’s trying to drown us in emotions."
Feng Yin bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, anchoring herself to reality.
"It’s targeting ntal defenses. Illusory-type beast? Or sothing else?"
Before he could answer, three figures stumbled out of the trees—a trio of disciples from another group.
One had blood running from his ears, the second stared blankly, and the third was sobbing uncontrollably, whispering—
"It wasn’t my fault... I didn’t an to..."
They collapsed, trembling.
Feng Yin moved to stabilize their Qi, but Tian Shen’s hand shot out.
"Wait."
From behind them, a fourth presence stirred.
A shadow detached itself from the mist.
It looked like a woman.
Pale, willowy, dressed in mourning-white robes that flowed unnaturally, as if subrged in water.
Her eyes were blindfolded with black silk, yet her steps were unerring. Her skin shimred faintly with an ethereal light—half spirit, half illusion.
And yet, the pressure she exuded was real.
"Spirit-type 3-Star beast."
Tian Shen muttered.
"High intelligence. Probably nesting here."
The wraith paused, head cocking toward their voices. It sniffed the air—then hissed, a haunting, breathless sound.
One of the collapsed disciples jerked violently, Qi surging wildly before bursting in a backlash. He fell limp.
"She’s using fear and guilt as fuel," Feng Yin said. "She’s feeding on their souls."
"Then let’s not give her more."
Tian Shen stepped forward, his spirit sword flashing to life.
But the mont he moved, the wraith scread.
It wasn’t sound—it was soul pressure. Raw, ancient grief that slamd into his ntal sea like a tidal wave.
The Sage’s seal glowed on his chest, burning away the illusion just enough for him to stay grounded.
He clenched his teeth.
"She’s... This Spiritual Qi—it’s not beast, it’s a remnant. Of a lost guardian spirit."
Feng Yin froze.
"You an she’s part of the inheritance?"
"Maybe. Or maybe she was left behind by one of the Honoured Ones."
The spirit surged forward—half gliding, half unraveling.
Tian Shen dashed to et her, slashing low to disrupt the spiritual core. His blade passed through mist—only for her form to re-solidify behind him, claws lashing out.
Feng Yin intercepted, throwing a talisman that burst into threads of gold. It entangled the wraith montarily, enough for Tian Shen to drive his palm forward.
Boom!
A golden pulse erupted from his body—the Sage’s Qi flaring as a spiritual suppression aura blanketed the area.
The wraith wailed and began to disintegrate.
But before it vanished completely, it whispered a single word into Tian Shen’s mind.
"Rember..."
Then it shattered like dust in the wind.
Silence returned.
Feng Yin stepped beside him, exhaling hard.
"That... was not part of the trial."
"No. But it was ant to find us."
Tian Shen replied. He looked at the spot where the wraith had vanished.
A glowing shard of soul jade lay where she’d stood. Inscribed with runes. Ancient yet Familiar.
He picked it up—and felt a pulse.
A mory not his own flashed across his mind: a man in golden robes weeping over a burning temple, whispering—
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