Morning came with a cold wind sweeping through the eastern courtyard. I was summoned before sunrise. Lu Shen stood in the garden, arms folded, his robe billowing like it belonged to a man who didn't care about comfort—only clarity.
"You've broken through to Spirit Root Phase," he said without turning. "Don't mistake that for significance you're still nothing out here."
I nodded. "Then I'll become something"
He gave me a long look. Something flickered in his eyes—not pride, but recognition. Like he was seeing someone who might survive longer than expected.
"Follow me."
We walked in silence to a walled pavilion surrounded by spirit pines. Three disciples were already seated there—elite outer sect members. I recognized the one in white immediately. Fei Xuan. Arrogant. Smiling like he was born above trouble.
"Ling Ye," Lu Shen said, "meet the wolves you'll be co-operating with in your trial."
The first was Zhao Wuqing, a swordsman known for precision. Eyes sharp, posture tighter than steel. He didn't nod or smile—he observed.
Next was Su Lanyue. Her silver hair was tied tight behind her head, her gaze unmoving. A quiet, commanding presence. One glance told me she didn't just train to fight. She trained to kill her enemies without blinking an eye.
"You'll be training together from now on," Lu Shen said. "The Sect Tournament approaches in six months. I just need one of you to qualify. Well as for the rest,i dont really care."
"Comforting," I muttered.
Fei Xuan laughed. "Relax, brother. Only one of us needs to die for that to happen."
That afternoon, we were thrown into a trial outside the sect—a sealed cavern north of the Spiritroot Valley. Our task was to retrieve five Violet Spirit Stones from inside of the cave while surviving the beasts that dwelleth in it.
The outer wall of the cave shut behind us with a heavy groan of stone. The cavern radiated with a qi—dense, unstable and deathly aura.
"Great," Fei Xuan said, dusting off his sleeves. "A tomb we just leapt in,well thats charming."
We moved cautiously from then on. Wuqing took the lead,with his sword drawn. Su Lanyue moved soundlessly behind him. I stayed in the middle, palms charged faintly with flame. Fei Xuan brought up the rear, humming a tune like this was a festival.
Our first encounter was sudden. Three Ashclaw Hounds emerged from a crack in the cavern wall—beasts with jagged obsidian claws and smoky fur. Tier 2 Spirit Beasts, known for coordinated strikes.
Wuqing's blade moved like silver lightning, decapitating the first before it blinked. I blasted the second with a burst of searing fire. Su Lanyue didn't move at first—until one lunged for her throat.
Her steel hairpin uncoiled midair into a razor-thin whip. It wrapped around the beast's neck and pulled tight. One breath later, it dropped, twitching.
Fei Xuan, of course, clapped. "Excellent teamwork you guy, I almost helped there."he said with a grin on his face
I glared at him. "You're bait if something like this happens again."
Deeper in, we faced worse. A Molten-Scale Bear—a lumbering Tier 3 beast with a lava-hardened hide and explosive temperament—blocked our path to the spirit stones. Its roar cracked nearby stalagmites.
I jumped first, blade aimed for its eye. It swatted me aside like I was nothing. I crashed into the wall, ribs screaming.
Wuqing tried next. His sword scratched its chest but didn't pierce.
Then Su Lanyue signaled. We moved together.
I lit the path. Wuqing carved the opening. She delivered the finishing blow—her whip wrapped around its jaw and held it long enough for me to slam a fire-infused strike into its mouth.
The beast collapsed. Smoke rose from its gullet.
Panting, I retrieved the Violet Spirit Stones from beneath its corpse.
When we emerged, bloodied and exhausted, Lu Shen stood waiting. As always.
"All of you survived," he said. "Barely."
He stepped up to me. "You took initiative too soon."
"If I hadn't, we wouldn't have had an opening," I replied.
"True," he said, eyes narrowing. "But if you'd died, there wouldn't have been one at all."
Behind him, Elder Qian watched in silence. Another man stood beside him—a new face, white-robed, eyes calm but heavy with pressure.
"Elder Hai, Inner Sect guardian," Lu Shen explained without looking. "He's been watching you."
That wasn't comforting.
Later that night, while treating my wounds, I sat alone outside the barracks under the cracked moonlight.
Yan Fei arrived as usual, tossing me a fresh bandage roll.
"You look like someone who fought a bear," she said.
"I did."
She crouched next to me. "Lu Shen told me your crew might be the first in ten years to challenge the Inner Ring."
I didn't reply.
"Just try not to die," she added. "He… cares more than he actually shows. He just doesn't know how to lose another one."
I looked at the moon and whispered, "Neither do I."