Three months had passed.
Wang Lin stood at the foot of the great valley, dressed in coarse gray robes and carrying only a wooden staff and a pouch of herbs.
He no longer looked like the boy who cried beneath the cliff. His body had hardened. His eyes, sharper. His steps, quiet.
But still… his cultivation was only at the first stage of Qi Condensation.
And so, with Elder Shu's guidance, he took a new name:
> Lin Mu — a forgotten name, borrowed from a gravestone near the Ashen Pines.
> "Remember," Elder Shu warned, "You are no longer Wang Lin. That name is being hunted."
---
Arrival at Hollow River Sect
Lin Mu traveled for ten days before arriving at the gates of the Hollow River Sect — a minor sect known more for its connection to merchant clans than true cultivation strength.
The guards sneered when he arrived.
> "Another beggar looking to pick up a sword?"
> "Go home, kid."
But then he showed them the token given to him by Elder Shu — one that bore the faded insignia of a long-dead Grand Elder.
Their faces paled.
They let him in.
> "Welcome to Hollow River… Disciple Lin."
---
Sect Life
Lin Mu kept to himself.
He trained silently at dawn. He studied formations and herbology by day. At night, he meditated under the moon, suppressing the hunger of the Abduction Path.
Most disciples ignored him. Some mocked him.
But one noticed him — Qin Feng, a senior outer disciple with a talent for fire techniques and a dangerous temper.
> "You don't speak. You don't fight. You think you're better than us?"
Lin Mu merely bowed.
> "No. Just different."
Feng didn't like that.
---
The Mission Scroll
Two weeks later, Lin Mu's name appeared on the mission board — his first task.
> "Escort a caravan through the Stone Spine Ravine. Bandit activity suspected. Four disciples required."
His teammates were:
Qin Feng, who smirked upon seeing his name.
Li Rou, a quiet girl with a bow and wind-step technique.
Jiang Han, a loud boy who claimed to be a body cultivator.
It was supposed to be easy.
It wasn't...