The morning air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine as Li Yuan made his way back to his assigned living quarters. The Four Seasons Sect was vast, its outer sect alone stretching over several mountain peaks, housing thousands of disciples. The towering stone structures, connected by winding stone paths and wooden bridges, made navigation a challenge.
His arms ached from the duel with Zhang Sen, but more than the physical pain, it was the growing realization that he had just painted a target on his back that weighed on him. He had no idea how sect politics worked, but it was clear that strength dictated one's position. And by proving he wasn't an easy target, he had likely angered more than just Zhang Sen.
As he reached his small wooden hut at the farthest edge of the outer sect, he found a crude wooden plaque nailed to the door.
"Newcomers should know their place. Watch your back."
Li Yuan exhaled slowly, ripping the plaque off and tossing it to the ground.
"They don't waste any time, do they?" he muttered to himself.
But threats weren't his biggest concern right now. He needed to figure out exactly what had happened to his body. The fight earlier had confirmed one thing—he wasn't the same as before. His movements had been sharper, his reactions faster, and he had felt an instinct that didn't belong to him. It was as if something within him had awakened, something buried deep in his blood.
Sitting cross-legged on the simple wooden floor of his hut, he took a deep breath and tried to sense the energy within him. Yuan Qi.
It was faint, barely a flickering ember inside his core, but it was there. Most cultivators had to train for years to sense their Qi, yet here he was, already feeling its presence without guidance.
He closed his eyes, focusing on that faint ember, trying to draw it out. The moment he did, he felt a rush—an overwhelming, almost suffocating force surging through his veins. His heartbeat thundered in his chest as his body grew hot, a strange warmth spreading through his limbs.
Then, pain.
It wasn't the sharp, stabbing kind of pain. It was deeper, like something was twisting inside of him, forcing its way through his bones. His skin prickled, his muscles tensed, and his breathing turned ragged.
What the hell is this?!
He gritted his teeth, enduring the strange sensation. The warmth coursing through his body wasn't normal Yuan Qi. It was something… more primal. It didn't just flow—it pulsed, like a heartbeat of its own, carrying with it an ancient, untamed energy.
His vision blurred, and for a brief moment, he saw something—something deep within himself. A dark space, endless and vast. And within it, a shadowed figure with piercing golden eyes.
The vision vanished in an instant, and he gasped for air, his body drenched in sweat.
What was that?!
His hands trembled as he clenched them into fists. This wasn't just a simple awakening of Yuan Qi. Something inside him was stirring—something that didn't belong to a mere mortal.
He didn't have time to think further.
A knock at his door jolted him back to reality.
"Li Yuan, are you in there?"
It was Lin Xue.
Still catching his breath, he wiped the sweat from his brow and opened the door.
Lin Xue stood there, her arms crossed, her violet eyes scanning him with curiosity. "You look like you just ran ten laps up the mountain. Rough training?"
"Something like that," he muttered.
She didn't press further. Instead, she handed him a small scroll. "The outer sect's trial selection is in three days. You need to be prepared."
"Trial selection?" he echoed, unfolding the scroll.
"The Four Seasons Sect doesn't just let anyone stay in the outer sect forever," she explained, leaning against the doorframe. "Every three months, there's a trial to determine who gets to stay and who gets expelled. If you don't pass, you're out."
Li Yuan's brows furrowed. "And what exactly does the trial involve?"
Lin Xue smirked. "It changes every time. But it always involves combat. Usually a survival test in one of the sect's training grounds. And let's just say… accidents happen."
The way she said it sent a chill down his spine.
"You mean disciples die?"
"Not always. But injuries are common. And if you're unlucky… well, let's just say no one cries over a dead outer disciple."
Li Yuan exhaled. So this was how things worked. This wasn't just a school for cultivators—it was a battlefield where the weak were eliminated.
"If you need help, I can—"
"I'll figure it out," Li Yuan interrupted.
Lin Xue raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Confident now?"
He met her gaze. "No. But I don't have a choice, do I?"
She chuckled. "Good answer."
With that, she turned on her heel and left.
Li Yuan shut the door, staring down at the scroll in his hands. Three days. That wasn't a lot of time.
But if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that he refused to be weak.
If the Four Seasons Sect wanted to test him, he would give them an answer they wouldn't forget.