Li Wei pressed his token against the mission plaque. Crimson light pulsed once, and the jade accepted his mark.
Mission Accepted.
He turned and left the Mission Hall, the chatter of disciples fading behind him. The morning was still fresh outside, the mountain air cool and edged with pine. His sword weighed steady at his side, but already his thoughts were far away—toward Broken Fang Ridge.
The ridge lay to the northeast, a half-day's journey from the sect gates. He packed lightly: rations, dried spirit herbs for wounds, and his sword oil. Beyond that, weight would only slow him.
At the sect's gates, other disciples prepared for their own tasks. Some clustered in groups, laughing too loudly, their nerves hidden beneath bravado. Others moved quietly, focused, already checking straps and spirit bags. Li Wei passed them without pause. Missions were not races. Points went only to those who returned alive.
The road wound down from the sect's mountain into dense forest. By midday, the peaks behind him had faded into haze, the path giving way to broken stone and thick undergrowth. He passed a caravan of mortal traders heading the other way, their carts creaking, guards watching the treeline nervously. When they saw the sword at his side and the disciple's robe he wore, their shoulders eased.
"Danger ahead, cultivator?" one of them asked.
"Wolves," Li Wei said simply.
The man paled and hurried his group along.
By the time Li Wei reached the outskirts of Broken Fang Ridge, the sun was dipping westward, casting long shadows across jagged stone. The land was harsher here: craggy outcroppings, dark gullies, and claw marks etched into bark and boulder alike.
He crouched, fingers brushing the ground. Tracks. Large paw prints, pressed deep into the dirt. At least four wolves, moving in a line. Their claws raked across the earth, sharp enough to cut stone.
The air was thick with their scent—iron, musk, faint blood.
A low growl drifted from deeper in the ridge.
Li Wei's eyes narrowed. He slid his sword free, qi flowing faintly along the edge. The sound of steel rang sharp against the silence.
The first wolf emerged moments later: gray fur bristling, eyes like cold lanterns, teeth bared in a snarl. Its shoulders rippled with muscle, qi faintly seeping from its maw. Behind it, more shapes stirred in the shadows—five, six, seven.
A pack.
The lead wolf lunged, claws flashing. Li Wei met it head-on, Flowing Cloud Steps sliding him half a pace aside. His blade traced a sharp arc, intercepting fang with steel. Sparks hissed. He twisted, redirecting the beast's weight past him, and cut across its flank.
Blood spattered stone. The wolf yelped, staggering.
But the others were already on him.
They came as one, a tide of fur and fangs, their coordination honed by instinct. One circled wide, another darted low for his legs. Their jaws snapped, qi-hard fangs capable of crushing bone.
Li Wei's expression did not change. His sword blurred, Tempest Fang Slash erupting in layered afterimages. Steel whistled through the air, scattering the wolves with shallow cuts. He spun, redirected, struck—every motion precise, efficient.
Still, he felt the strain. Against one wolf, his blade was absolute. Against seven, every breath mattered. He gave ground slowly, boots crunching on gravel. His sleeve tore as claws grazed him, sparks flaring where qi clashed.
Then his chance came. The lead wolf lunged again, overcommitted. Li Wei pivoted, sword flashing upward. The blade pierced clean through its throat, qi surging in a decisive thrust. The beast collapsed, blood steaming against stone.
The pack froze. Their leader's corpse twitched once, then stilled.
For a heartbeat, silence.
Then the ridge erupted with howls.
The wolves surged together, fury drowning fear. Claws raked stone, fangs gleamed in the pale light. Four remained, their forms blurring as they circled from all sides, coordinated as if guided by a single will.
Li Wei's gaze sharpened. His steps slid into Flowing Cloud, sword lifted in guard.
The first wolf lunged head-on, jaws snapping for his throat. His blade snapped upward in a clean arc — steel split flesh, and the beast crashed aside.
Another swept low at his legs. He twisted mid-step, cloak flaring, and his sword crashed down in a compressed Tempest Fang Slash. Blood sprayed, the wolf shrieking before it fell limp.
But the last two struck in tandem, one feinting at his flank, the other leaping for his back.
Li Wei spun, qi flaring. His blade blurred in a half-circle, afterimages layering. One wolf was cleaved mid-air, its body torn aside by the sheer force. The other skidded back, claws gouging trenches in the stone as it snarled, its red eyes burning with hatred.
It darted in again, faster than the others — its body weaving, feinting, lunging in erratic rhythm.
Li Wei's sword cut once — twice — three times, sparks flashing as fangs met steel. Pain lanced his arm as the beast's claw grazed his guard, ripping fabric and skin alike.
But he did not falter.
Instead, he let the wolf press closer, its jaws gaping wide for his neck. At the last instant, Flowing Cloud Steps slid him just half a pace off line. His blade thrust forward, straight through the open maw.
The beast gave a final, guttural cry before collapsing at his feet.
Silence returned.
Steam curled from the corpses scattered across the ridge. Li Wei stood at the center, his breath heavy but steady, sword dripping crimson. Slowly, he wiped it clean, then retrieved his jade token.
A faint shimmer pulsed across its surface, the characters for Mission Record Updated flickering once before fading. The jade had marked every kill, storing the proof. All that remained was to return to the Mission Hall and submit it for verification.
Only then would the points flow into his account.
He sheathed his sword, gaze sweeping over the broken ridge. His arm throbbed where claws had raked him, but beneath the pain ran a deeper current: clarity.
This was no duel for glory before the Stele. This was survival — tooth against steel, life against life.
And he had endured.
He turned, leaving the ridge behind as the sun bled into the horizon.