The days that followed blurred into a rhythm of battle, breath, and burning resolve. At dawn, the courtyards rang with clashing steel and the shouts of disciples challenging one another beneath the looming presence of the Stele of Names. By dusk, lanterns burned low while figures still staggered from the dueling platforms, faces pale but eyes burning with determination.
Li Wei was among them every day.
When he petitioned for his next challenge, the ancient slab pulsed and another name ignited above his own. Rank 161. The air thickened with anticipation, disciples pressing closer to watch as the platform shimmered.
The chosen opponent strode forth, a stocky youth with fists wrapped in black cloth, muscles knotted like cords of rope. His body cultivation was evident even before he raised his hands and qi rippled outward in a low thunder.
Li Wei's first exchange rattled his bones. Each punch cracked the air like a war drum, each step of the youth shaking the stone beneath them. But Li Wei had not endured wolves, blades, and fire to falter here. Flowing Cloud Steps carried him just outside the arcs of destruction, and when the opening came, Tempest Fang Slash struck like lightning across the mountain sky.
The duel ended in a roar of dust and broken stone. When it cleared, Li Wei's blade was at his opponent's throat.
"Winner: Li Wei. New Rank: 161. Reward: +220 contribution points."
The jade token warmed in his palm. Balance: 3,395.
He did not stop there. Days passed in a relentless climb, each morning seeing him on the platform, each evening leaving his robes drenched in sweat. Rank after rank fell before him—159, 154, 150. Some duels dragged into brutal contests of attrition, his breathing ragged and arms numb by the final exchange. Others ended in flashes of decisive brilliance, his sword severing illusions or breaking through defenses in a single heartbeat.
One duel against a water-element cultivator left him staggering, his skin blue with frost where the man's technique had grazed his arm. Another forced him to clash against a twin-blade disciple whose speed mirrored his own. He fought through storms of illusory serpents, walls of stone, and waves of crushing fists. Each victory tested not only his sword but the endurance of his will.
By the end of the week, his name gleamed at Rank 147. The murmurs in the crowd had shifted from surprise to disbelief.
"This speed… it's unnatural."
"He'll burn out."
"He can't keep this up."
But he did. Each battle hardened his foundation. Each victory pushed him closer to the threshold he could almost see shimmering in his future.
Balance: 3,975.
---
Exhaustion gnawed at him, body aching beneath the steady strain. Yet Li Wei bent his will against it, training deep into the night. Beneath the same pine where he had steadied his qi before, he now fought the tremors in his meridians, hammering them flat with sheer control. Azure Wind Scripture carried him through endless cycles, each breath weaving torn qi into steadier rivers.
When sweat rolled freely down his brow, he practiced Tempest Fang Slash until his blade arm quivered, then Flowing Cloud Steps until his legs trembled beneath him. Whirlwind Slash came last, a technique long mastered but still sharpened with each repetition.
Mei Yun found him there one night, her steps soft as falling leaves. "Wei. You'll cripple yourself."
His eyes opened, gleaming in the lantern light. "If I stop, the path closes."
"You're not racing shadows," she whispered, voice thick with worry. "Foundation isn't built in a day."
"I don't have a day." His gaze dropped to the token in his lap. "The tournament draws near. Without Foundation, I'll be swept aside. And beyond it—" His voice broke off, jaw tightening. The memory of brands burned against his thoughts.
She sighed, settling opposite him. "I wish I could slow you down, just once."
Her presence stayed through the night. Silent. Steady. A reminder that not all bonds were forged in struggle.
---
Between Stele battles, Li Wei took missions with ruthless calculation. Escorting caravans across mountain passes. Purging beasts from villages where children no longer dared play in the fields. Rooting out bandits who thought a single disciple traveling alone would be easy prey.
Each mission carried risk, but each added to the growing tally etched into his token.
One caravan mission ended in a nighttime ambush. Bandits burst from the ridges, torches flaring, blades glinting in the dark. Li Wei cut through them like wind through dry leaves, his strikes swift and merciless. When dawn broke, the merchants bowed low, their lives purchased with blood spilled on the road.
A village mission took him into fields overrun by venomous beasts. Their scales glistened like shards of jade, and their hissing filled the air as he fought through rows of ruined crops. Tempest Fang Slash split three at once, but not before fangs grazed his arm, poison burning his veins until protective medicine dulled the fire.
Caravan escort: +180
Spiritgrass collection: +15
Village purification: +120
Bandit nest suppression: +260
By the time he returned to Heavenly Dragon Sect after the last mission, his robes were torn and stained, his arm bruised to the bone—but his token's glow had brightened.
Balance: 4,550.
Whispers trailed him wherever he went now. Some hailed him as the dark horse of their generation. Others muttered that no one could rise so quickly without secret backing. Li Wei ignored them all. Let them wonder. He had no time for their doubts.
---
When Li Wei pushed through the Mission Hall's gates again, the noise seemed to fall away. He walked with the same calm stride. Disciples turned to look, their conversations faltering. Some eyes burned with envy, others with grudging respect.
At the counter, the steward raised her head as he approached. She accepted his token, pressed it to the crystal, and read the numbers with her usual cold detachment.
"Balance: 4,550."
Li Wei inclined his head. "Issue the next mission."
The steward paused, her gaze lingering longer than usual. Then she turned, pulling a fresh scroll from a lacquered box. The seal upon it shimmered faintly, heavier than most. She placed it before him without ceremony.
She slid the scroll across the counter, its seal faintly glowing. "This mission will take you beyond the northern passes," she said simply. "Bring it back completed."
Li Wei placed his hand upon the scroll. The faint heat of the seal seeped into his palm, as though testing his resolve.
Mei Yun shifted uneasily beside him. "Wei—"
He cut her off with a glance, eyes steady as steel. "This will be the one."
He slid the scroll into his sleeve. The hall's murmurs rose around him, a tide of speculation and unease.
---
Far beyond Heavenly Dragon 's gates, in the forests where caravans vanished and villages whispered of shadows, two cloaked figures spoke in hushed tones.
"The sect finally sends him north."
"Good. Let him come. The nets are already laid. This time, he will not leave alive."
The wagon creaked into the darkness, its cargo hidden beneath heavy cloth. The slaver network waited.
Li Wei's jade token pulsed softly in his sleeve.
Balance: 4,550.
One mission remained.