The early morning mist still clung to the ground as Lin Chen and Yu Xueqing moved deeper into the wilderness. The trees here grew taller, their canopies blotting out the light, and the distant howls of spirit beasts echoed like war drums.
Lin Chen walked with a light step, hands behind his head, as though strolling through a garden rather than a killing field.
Yu Xueqing glanced at him sideways.
"You seem unusually relaxed… for someone surrounded by death."
Lin Chen grinned.
"Relaxed? Senior Sister, I'm terrified. That's why I keep smiling — confuses the enemy."
Yu Xueqing snorted softly but said no more. Her sharp eyes scanned the terrain ahead. Unlike Lin Chen's apparent carelessness, every muscle in her body was coiled like a drawn bowstring.
They reached a narrow gorge where the ground was littered with broken bones — human and beast alike.
Yu Xueqing knelt and touched the soil.
"Fresh tracks. Multiple spirit beasts passed here… and recently."
Lin Chen's eyes glinted.
"Trouble incoming."
As if summoned by his words, the earth trembled. Pebbles skittered across the ground.
From the gorge's shadows, a tide of fur and fangs surged forward — Ironspike Wolves, mid-tier spirit beasts known for their pack tactics. Their eyes burned red with killing intent.
At their head was an alpha wolf, nearly the size of a carriage, with steel-like quills bristling from its back.
Yu Xueqing's expression sharpened.
"A beast tide. Someone must have lured them here."
Lin Chen cracked his knuckles.
"Or fate just loves throwing me into messes."
---
The first wave of wolves lunged. Yu Xueqing's glaive flashed like a silver arc, cleaving through three beasts in one stroke. Blood sprayed the ground.
Lin Chen moved like a shadow, his footwork light and unpredictable. He struck with precision — a palm to the temple here, a fist to the throat there. Each blow dropped a wolf without wasted motion.
"Come on, fluffy mutts! Line up — Uncle Lin will send you all home!" he taunted mid-battle.
The wolves howled, their frenzy intensifying.
The alpha wolf charged, its quills shooting out like arrows. Yu Xueqing's face tightened.
"Dodge—!"
Lin Chen didn't flinch. He weaved between the quills, his body bending at impossible angles.
"Missed me, furball!"
With a roar, he dashed forward, channeling his Qi into his palm.
Dragon's Fang Strike!
His palm slammed into the alpha's chest. A dull boom echoed as the beast was hurled backward, crashing into a boulder.
Yu Xueqing blinked in surprise.
"…Your strength… that's not ordinary Qi Condensation."
Lin Chen wiped sweat from his brow and grinned.
"I eat well."
As the battle subsided and the last wolf fell twitching, Yu Xueqing examined the scene.
"Too many beasts… This was no random tide. Someone herded them."
Lin Chen's smile faded.
"Sabotage from rival sects?"
She nodded grimly.
"There are spies in this trial. They want to thin out the competition."
Lin Chen stretched lazily.
"Well, they failed. But now they've pissed me off."
Yu Xueqing arched a brow.
"Meaning?"
Lin Chen's grin returned, sharper now.
"Meaning I'm going to find whoever did this… and slap their face until their ancestors feel it."
Later that night, they camped beside a quiet spring. The fire crackled as Lin Chen roasted more spirit beast meat.
Yu Xueqing sat with her glaive across her lap, silent as always. But her eyes flicked toward Lin Chen as he hummed an old tune.
"You're not like the others," she murmured.
"All these young disciples, they either fear me… or try to curry favor. You… joke."
Lin Chen glanced at her.
"Because life's already cruel, Senior Sister. If we can't laugh while dancing with death, what's the point?"
She fell silent, the firelight casting shadows on her elegant but weary face.
Lin Chen tossed her a roasted leg.
"Eat. You'll need strength for tomorrow. More mutts to slap."
Yu Xueqing caught it, her lips twitching upward — the faintest ghost of a smile.
"…Idiot."
That night, Lin Chen sat cross-legged once more. The intense battle had stirred his inner sea again. His meridians throbbed, eager to expand.
Breathing deeply, he guided his Qi, refining and compressing it until his dantian pulsed.
Boom!
A minor breakthrough — solidifying his footing at mid 4th layer, edging closer to the late stage.
He opened his eyes, their glow faint in the darkness.
"One step at a time… before I reclaim everything."
By Dawn, yu xueking decided to part with Lin chen
---
Far across the universe… on a distant starlit moon…
A woman cloaked in silver mist whispered into the void.
"…Chen'er…"
---
End of Chapter 14.