The sun had long risen above the plains when Lin Feng and Xuanyu Ye left the gates of Qingmu City.
Behind them, the sounds of trade, laughter, and clashing qi faded into a soft hum — replaced by the whisper of wind across the open road.
The world beyond was vast and untamed. Rolling green fields stretched toward distant mountains, dotted by the occasional ruined temple or spirit forest where ancient beasts still roamed. Spirit energy shimmered faintly in the air, visible to trained eyes — rivers of unseen power flowing beneath heaven and earth.
Xuanyu Ye walked a few steps behind, his white robes untouched by dust, the faint scent of ink and sandalwood trailing after him.
Lin Feng, cloak fluttering, moved with effortless stride — eyes sharp, scanning the horizon.
They were an odd pair: one silent as thunder before the storm, the other calm as the wind after it.
A Meeting of Paths
"You're unusually quiet," Xuanyu said finally, breaking the long silence.
"Traveling with someone doesn't mean I have to chatter," Lin Feng replied without looking back.
Xuanyu smiled faintly. "True. But silence leaves too much room for thought. Dangerous habit for a cultivator with enemies."
"Thought never killed anyone."
"Incorrect," Xuanyu countered lightly. "Overthinking kills more cultivators than blades do. You think too long before you strike, and you die before the thought finishes."
Lin Feng stopped, glancing over his shoulder with a smirk. "You talk like someone who's done both — thinking and killing."
The scholar's eyes flickered with amusement. "Perhaps."
They continued in silence for a while, the dirt path winding through patches of tall grass. Occasionally, distant thunder rolled somewhere far off, like the heavens remembering Lin Feng's name.
As they passed a crumbling stone archway — an old marker from a forgotten sect — Xuanyu spoke again.
"Tell me something, Lin Feng. You suppress your aura so well most wouldn't sense you at all. But I can feel something… vast beneath it. As though your qi refuses to sleep."
Lin Feng gave a sideways glance. "And you? You walk like a mortal scholar, but your footsteps make the ground hum."
Xuanyu's smile deepened. "Touché."
For a few breaths, the two regarded each other quietly — two predators sharing the same forest, neither yet certain who hunted whom.
The Beast in the Grass
They had just crossed a narrow bridge over a jade-colored stream when the air changed.
Lin Feng's instincts flared instantly.
He halted, one hand moving to his sword.
The wind stopped. The birds went silent.
Even the river's gentle murmur seemed to fade.
Xuanyu's expression didn't change, but his fingers brushed the jade fan at his belt. "Someone's watching."
Lin Feng's voice was low. "No. Something."
A split second later, the ground beneath the bridge exploded.
A massive shape lunged from the grass — scales shimmering like obsidian, eyes burning crimson. It was a Steel-Scaled Dire Serpent, a spirit beast known for ambushing travelers along qi-rich paths.
Its tail lashed, sending shards of stone flying. Lin Feng leapt back, lightning sparking at his feet.
"A mid-tier Spirit Beast? Out here?" he growled. "It must've been drawn by our qi."
Xuanyu simply sighed, opening his fan. "Or yours. You shine like a beacon, Lin Feng."
The serpent struck again, fangs dripping with venom. Lin Feng's eyes flared gold.
"Raged Thunder Strikes!"
He slashed through the air, and lightning roared — a blinding arc of golden energy that split the beast's head clean in two. The explosion cracked the ground, sending dust and wind howling through the forest.
When the light faded, the serpent's body lay motionless, steam rising from its charred scales.
Lin Feng exhaled slowly, lowering his sword. "Noisy, but effective."
Xuanyu closed his fan with a snap. "Effective, yes. Noisy… also yes. Half the province probably felt that strike."
Lin Feng shrugged. "If they come, they come. I'm done running."
Xuanyu's eyes glinted. "That's good. Because soon, running won't be an option."
The Scholar's Secret
They continued walking after burying the beast's core. The silence between them had changed — heavier now, charged with quiet tension.
After a long while, Lin Feng finally asked, "You never told me your cultivation realm, Scholar Xuanyu."
Xuanyu smiled faintly. "Did you ask?"
"I am now."
The scholar looked skyward, as if considering the clouds. "Let's just say I once reached a height where flying was effortless… and falling was a choice."
Lin Feng frowned. Flying… only possible from Core Formation onward.
"So you were a Core cultivator," he said flatly. "Were."
Xuanyu didn't answer. His expression remained calm, but there was a shadow behind his eyes — an echo of something ancient and broken.
Finally, he said softly, "I've seen what the heavens give, and what they take back. I walk now not to climb higher, but to remember what was lost."
Lin Feng didn't press further. He recognized that kind of pain — the kind buried too deep for words.
We're both wanderers, he thought. Haunted by thunder of different storms.
As they reached the next ridge, the road opened up to reveal a vast lake glimmering like glass under the noon sun.
Xuanyu paused beside him, folding his fan. "Ahead lies the Azure Lotus Marsh, home to minor sects and rogue cultivators. But lately, travelers whisper of strange lights under its waters… remnants of a fallen sect."
Lin Feng's lips curved faintly. "Sounds like a good place to rest."
"Or to find trouble," Xuanyu added.
Lin Feng laughed quietly. "For me, that's the same thing."
Watching from the Shadows
Unseen by both, a blood-red talisman flickered to life deep in the forest behind them.
A dozen shadowy figures crouched among the trees, their eyes glowing with faint spiritual light.
"The lightning brat and his companion have crossed the river," one whispered.
"Orders?"
"We wait until they reach the marsh. The terrain will favor us there."
The talisman pulsed once, carrying the message across miles to a dark hall filled with scarlet mist.
In that hall, a low voice answered coldly:
"Good. Keep your distance. His power is unstable. We'll strike when the storm sleeps."
The voice paused, a note of venom twisting through it.
"He killed my brother. I'll see his ashes scattered to the winds."