The cold of the Wandering Vein Sect was not the kind that pierced skin—it seeped deeper, settling in marrow, whispering promises of strength through pain.
Rael rose before dawn, breath misting as he stepped into the lower training hall. The sky above the cavern dome was a painted illusion—perpetual twilight.
Around him, dozens of disciples were already awake.
Fighting. Meditating. Sharpening weapons that pulsed with Qi.
And watching him.
They had heard.
That the new boy had passed the Tunnel of Echoes alone.
That he bore a core fragment.
That he was Yue Qingshi's chosen partner.
That alone made him dangerous.
But Rael didn't need their recognition.
He needed time.
Time to grow.
Time to survive.
Time to become what the world could not kill.
Yue Qingshi found him mid-kata, shirt discarded, sweat steaming from his skin. Faint lines of dark thread glimmered beneath the surface—scars of the Flowghost Trait struggling to stabilize.
She watched in silence as he completed the form.
No wasted motion. Every strike etched in necessity.
"You're burning too fast," she said at last.
Rael didn't stop. "Then I'll burn brighter."
"You'll collapse."
"Only if I let myself."
She sighed, stepping closer. "You're not made of stone, Rael."
"I don't need to be," he said, finally lowering his hands. "I just need to outlast the next blow."
A beat passed.
Then she offered him something.
A jade vial, glowing faintly blue.
"Spirit marrow from a cold-blooded Frostrime Beast. Distilled. It'll temper your nerves before your Trait damages your core."
He raised an eyebrow. "Expensive."
"I have favors," she said, eyes glinting. "And I don't like watching my partner limp into battle."
Rael took the vial.
Didn't thank her.
Just drank.
Later.
A bell tolled.
The Trial of Nine Fangs was beginning.
The trial grounds were shaped like a fang—nine peaks surrounding a sunken arena of cracked bones and glowing sand. Rael and Yue stood at the edge, flanked by hundreds of disciples.
Elder Huo, scarred from chin to collar, raised her hand.
"Enter the Fang. Win, and gain your first Sect Scar—your first proof of survival."
She looked at Rael.
"Lose, and you feed the Fang."
The crowd stirred.
Then Yue stepped forward.
"Partner registration: Yue Qingshi and Rael."
The murmurs turned sharp.
Whispers of favoritism. Of arrogance.
Huo narrowed her eyes.
"So be it."
Inside the Fang, silence fell like a blade.
The first opponents were a pair from the Outer Ring—armed with blood-tipped sabers and bone armor stitched from warbeast ribs.
Rael didn't hesitate.
[Trait: Flowghost Sync Activated]
Prediction Thread: 1.1 seconds
Drawback Count: Mild neural haze initiated…
He moved like wind slicing silk.
Sidestepped the first blade, caught the second attacker's arm mid-swing, and twisted.
A pop.
A scream.
A pulse of Qi backlash.
The sand drank it all.
Yue followed with a crescent slash of her own—a silent arc of Lunar Qi that wrapped the second opponent in shadow and crushed his spirit sea.
It was over in less than ten seconds.
The next match lasted longer.
Then another.
And another.
Blood soaked Rael's sleeves. Cuts burned along his ribs. But he was learning—faster than he had any right to.
Not just how to kill.
But when.
Why.
By dusk, only three pairs remained.
One of them wore tiger masks and carried heavy chains wrapped around their arms.
Disciples of the Bone Cage Doctrine.
Their leader stepped forward, pointing at Rael. "You've killed fast."
Rael said nothing.
"But not enough."
Then they lunged.
The clash was brutal.
The chains whistled through the air, glowing with reinforced Qi. Rael blocked one—but the second wrapped around his wrist, dragging him forward.
The masked fighter grinned. "Got you."
Rael smiled back.
"Do you?"
Then Yue struck from behind.
A flash of crescent moonlight.
The chain snapped.
Rael used the recoil to leap, knee striking the Bone Cage disciple in the face with enough force to shatter the mask.
Blood sprayed. Teeth scattered.
The remaining opponent tried to flee.
Yue caught him with a binding thread.
"Don't run," she whispered.
"You'll only make it worse."
They stood victorious.
Breathing hard.
Scarred.
Alive.
Elder Huo descended into the Fang with a spear of blackened bone.
She planted it in the center.
"Survivors," she said, voice echoing. "Kneel."
They obeyed.
She sliced her palm, letting her blood drip onto the spear.
Then she pricked their foreheads with its tip.
"Accept the First Scar."
[System Alert: First Sect Scar Imprint – 'Fang Mark' obtained.]
Effect: Slight increase to resistance against spiritual suppression and illusion techniques.
Warning: Scar is permanent. Emotional echoes of trial may emerge in future battles.
Rael stood.
And for a moment, he felt weightless.
Not because he had won.
But because he was becoming.
Later that night.
In the stone halls, as torches burned low, Yue Qingshi traced the edge of her Fang Mark in silence.
Rael sat across from her, fingers flexing as if re-mapping every strike.
She broke the quiet first.
"We made them notice."
Rael didn't look up. "Then they'll come harder next time."
She smiled faintly.
"Good."
They sat in silence again.
And in that silence, a strange understanding settled between them.
Not friendship.
Not trust.
But something growing.
A bond forged not by words.
But by blood.