The ground trembled.
Leaves fluttered like startled birds.
And from the dense fog ahead, the first silhouette slithered into view — long, coiling, and as thick as an ancient tree trunk.
A Cloud Serpent.
Its scales shimmered with a pearlescent luster, flickering between shades of silver and stormy blue. Lightning crackled along its spine as it tasted the air with a forked tongue that hissed like thunder in the distance.
Lin Chen's grin faded into something sharper — the expression of a predator sizing up another.
"Rank 3… big boy," he muttered. His eyes gleamed. "And I count… seven auras. A whole nest."
Beside him, Yu Xueqing stood still as an ice sculpture, her long sleeves fluttering lightly in the wind. But Lin Chen could feel it — the suppressed energy coiling beneath her cold exterior. Like a glacier ready to calve and crush mountains.
"We need a plan," she said, her voice clipped but calm. "Cloud Serpents fight in coordinated packs. If we take on all seven at once, we'll die."
Lin Chen cracked his knuckles, crimson light pulsing faintly under his skin from the forbidden body art.
Then he drew his sword — a long, curved blade etched with faint crimson veins that pulsed in rhythm with his heart.
"Plan? Easy. I rush in like an idiot, you cover me like the responsible senior sister you are."
Yu Xueqing's eyes narrowed. "Suicidal."
Lin Chen smirked. "Only if I fail."
The first serpent lunged — impossibly fast for its size.
Its maw gaped wide enough to swallow a horse whole, fangs dripping venom that hissed upon touching the ground.
But Lin Chen was already moving.
His body blurred, muscles bulging as the Crimson Vein Tempering Art flared to life. Every step sent cracks spiderwebbing through the rocky ground.
Boom!
He surged forward, veins glowing bright — and roared:
"First Fang! Bloodhound Lunge!"
His sword thrust out, leaving a crimson afterimage as he pierced straight for the serpent's eye.
Clang!
His blade scraped off reinforced scales — narrowly missing the mark — but his follow-up strike, a palm glowing with force, smashed squarely into its lower jaw.
The serpent reeled back, hissing in pain.
But the nest responded.
From the mists, six more shadows emerged — serpents weaving through the fog like rivers of living lightning.
They converged on Lin Chen with lethal precision.
Yu Xueqing moved then.
Graceful. Cold. Deadly.
Her sword flickered into existence — a slender blade of silver that sang as it danced. With a single sweep, she unleashed an arc of icy qi that howled through the air.
Shhhhk!
The frostwave struck two serpents mid-lunge, encasing their heads in glittering ice and halting them in their tracks.
Her voice was sharp as a whip:
"Lin Chen! Right flank — now!"
Lin Chen didn't hesitate.
He pivoted, dodging a serpent's lightning strike by a hair's breadth. His eyes blazed crimson.
"Second Fang! Vein Splitter Slash!"
Veins bulged grotesquely along his sword arm as he channeled raw force into a diagonal slash. His muscles tore and regenerated in the same breath.
His blade bit deep behind the serpent's eye, slicing through scale and soft brain tissue.
Blood — dark and foul-smelling — sprayed into the air.
"That's one!" Lin Chen shouted, yanking his blade free. "Six to go!"
But the serpents adapted.
One coiled around him from behind, squeezing with crushing force. His ribs creaked under the pressure.
Yu Xueqing slashed another serpent's eye, but three more surged past her — fangs bared, aiming straight for Lin Chen.
Lin Chen's vision darkened as the serpent tightened its grip.
"No… not yet…"
His veins glowed brighter — crimson light exploding outward.
"Third Fang! Crimson Pulse Shockwave!"
With a roar, he flexed every muscle in his body, slamming his sword into the ground. A burst of crimson force erupted in all directions.
Crack!
The serpent's coils shattered, bones snapping like brittle twigs.
Nearby serpents staggered back, stunned by the concussive blast.
Lin Chen landed in a crouch, blood dripping from his lips but eyes burning brighter than ever.
His sword dragged against the ground, leaving a thin crimson groove.
"Try harder, you scaly bastards!" he spat, baring his teeth.
Then came the turning point.
Yu Xueqing stepped forward — her frosty aura flaring as she muttered an incantation.
The ground beneath the serpents frosted over instantly. Spears of ice erupted upward, impaling one serpent through the belly.
Lin Chen seized the chance.
He dashed forward, body blurring as he channeled every ounce of his strength.
"Fourth Fang! Bloodletting Spiral!"
He spun, sword extended — a crimson whirlwind that shredded everything in reach.
Serpent scales flew like shrapnel.
Slice! His blade severed another serpent's spine.
Boom! His fist crushed a skull with raw force.
Minutes passed — a chaotic blur of flashing blades, hissing serpents, and explosions of ice and blood.
When the last serpent fell, twitching and hissing its final breath, Lin Chen stood swaying slightly, covered head to toe in gore.
Yu Xueqing lowered her blade, her breathing steady despite the frost clinging to her hair.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
The fog parted, revealing the carnage — serpent corpses strewn about, their scales shattered, their blood soaking the earth.
Lin Chen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, grinning despite his injuries.
"Well… that was fun."
Yu Xueqing gave him a long, unreadable look.
"You're insane," she said flatly.
Lin Chen winked. "Takes one to know one, senior sister."
But then —
Her lips twitched. Barely. A micro-expression most would miss.
Lin Chen saw it.
And he grinned wider.
Above them, the clouds rumbled.
The trial wasn't over — not by a long shot. But something had shifted between the two.
An alliance formed in blood and banter.
A crack in the ice.
And for Lin Chen… another step toward the storm to come.