Night descended early over the southern peaks.
Clouds smothered the stars.The moon hid behind a thick veil of mist.Wind slithered between trees like a silent warning.
The southern training cavern—
rarely mentioned,rarely used,rarely spoken about.
Because disciples who went in…
sometimes did not come out.
Zhou Shan followed close behind Lian Hong, clutching a lantern like it was the last remnant of his courage.
"Bro… this cave… why does it look like the entrance to the afterlife? Please tell me Wei Feng isn't planning to finish the job before the masked killer even gets here…"
Lian Hong remained silent.
The jade plaque in his hand pulsed faintly.A guidance talisman.
It pulled them deeper.
Toward danger.
Toward training.
Toward truth.
The cavern's entrance was a jagged split in the mountain wall.
Black.Cold.Completely devoid of qi.
The lantern Zhou Shan carried flickered uncontrollably.
"Bro… I-I think the darkness is moving…"
And he was right.
Black mist curled along the ground like living shadows.
Lian Hong felt the hair on his neck rise.
It wasn't demonic.Not poisonous.Not illusion.
Something worse:
A void.
The absence of qi.
The absence of light.
The absence of life.
A place designed for only one purpose—
To kill weakness.
Before Lian Hong could speak, footsteps echoed from within.
Steady.Measured.Unhurried.
A lantern illuminated a figure.
Instructor Wei Feng.
His face unreadable under the dim light.
"You came."
Lian Hong bowed.
Wei Feng didn't acknowledge it.
He glanced at Zhou Shan.
"Why is he here?"
Zhou Shan immediately pointed at himself, trembling.
"W-With respect, Instructor, I ask myself that question every day—"
Lian Hong answered:
"He insisted."
Wei Feng exhaled sharply.
"…Then he'll observe from outside."
Zhou Shan collapsed in relief.
"Yes, Instructor! Observing is my specialty! I can observe from THREE MOUNTAINS AWAY if needed—"
Wei Feng raised a hand.
Silence fell instantly.
Wei Feng turned toward the cavern.
His voice carried no warmth.
"Lian Hong."
He stepped aside.
"This cave is not for cultivation.It is for survival."
He lifted his lantern, casting long shadows across the stone floor.
"The masked killer is unlike anyone you have faced."
Lian Hong's jaw tightened.
"I know."
Wei Feng shook his head.
"No.You do not."
He pointed into the cavern.
"The masked killer was trained by a sect far above ours.His skills were forged through death battles.Assassination.Execution.And something far more dangerous—"
He paused.
"—the void."
Wind blew at that moment—
and the darkness behind him seemed to breathe.
Zhou Shan whimpered softly.
Wei Feng continued:
"This cave simulates the conditions that shaped him."
He stepped into the entrance.
"If you want to survive three days from now…you must endure what he endured."
He held out his hand.
"Give me your lantern."
Zhou Shan handed his over.
Wei Feng shattered it between two fingers.
Zhou Shan screamed.
"Our only light source—!! BRO WE'RE DEFINITELY DYING HERE—!!!"
Wei Feng ignored him.
He turned to Lian Hong.
"From this point onward—you walk alone."
Lian Hong stepped into the cavern.
The darkness swallowed him instantly.
Not dimness.Not low light.
Absolute black.
A suffocating void where even bloodline senses struggled to function.
The system chimed:
[Environmental Hazard Detected][Qi Absorption Severely Limited][Vision Disabled][Sound Distortion Active][Instinct Only Mode Recommended]
Then—
another message:
[This environment resembles hostile training grounds used by masked killer.]
Lian Hong inhaled.
This was exactly what he needed.
"You cannot see," Wei Feng said from somewhere unseen.
"You cannot use qi perception."
"You cannot rely on afterimages, footwork, bloodline flow, or reflex acceleration."
The cavern ground rumbled faintly.
Something clicked into place.
Metal?Stone?Traps?
Wei Feng continued:
"In this cave—you will learn the only sense that matters."
A pause.
Then:
"Presence."
The darkness shifted.
A faint breeze brushed Lian Hong's neck.
Followed by—
WHISH—!!
A projectile shot past his ear.
Another grazed his shoulder.
Three more targeted his legs.
Zhou Shan screamed from far away:
"BRO WEI FENG IS SHOOTING AT YOU—!!!"
Wei Feng's calm voice echoed:
"Good."
Another barrage erupted.
Fast.Invisible.Directionless.
"You must learn to feel killing intent before it forms."
Ten projectiles shot at Lian Hong from all directions.
He moved—
by instinct alone.
Dodging one.Blocking another.Letting a third graze his sleeve.
Not perfect.
But alive.
Wei Feng's voice sharpened:
"The masked killer does not miss."
Another wave.
Faster.
Sharper.
Colder.
"Again."
Time dissolved inside the darkness.
Sweat drenched Lian Hong's back.His breath turned ragged.His ears rang from strain.His muscles twitched involuntarily.
But he adapted.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Eventually—he stopped relying on sound.
Or touch.
Or air currents.
He began sensing—
intent.
Before the projectile moved.Before the string tightened.Before the metal hissed.
A flicker of presence.A whisper of direction.
Not prediction.
Not calculation.
A primal instinct.
Wei Feng's voice echoed again.
"You're beginning to understand."
Then—
silence.
No warning.
No breathing.
No presence.
Lian Hong stood still.
Waiting.
Nothing moved.
Nothing attacked.
Nothing breathed.
Until—
SLASH—!!
A blade cut through the darkness toward his throat.
Lian Hong bent backward—
millimeters—
and the blade missed.
Wei Feng stepped into view.
His face serious.
"You're improving."
He stabbed again.
And again.
And again.
Three strikes.
Four.
Seven.
Fifteen.
All in darkness.
All direct.
All lethal.
And Lian Hong avoided every one by instinct alone.
Wei Feng finally stepped back.
"…Good."
Just as Lian Hong thought the session was ending—
Wei Feng spoke quietly:
"Now that you can sense my presence…"
A pause.
"…let's remove it."
Lian Hong froze.
"What?"
Wei Feng's qi vanished.
His heartbeat vanished.
His killing intent vanished.
His presence vanished.
He became—
nothing.
The system screamed:
[ALERT: Host cannot track opponent][Threat Level: CRITICAL]
Zhou Shan shrieked from outside the cavern:
"BRO HE TURNED INTO A GHOST—!!!"
And then—
Wei Feng attacked.
A blade slit the air toward Lian Hong at impossible speed.
He didn't sense it.
He didn't predict it.
He reacted—
too late.
The blade halted one hair from his throat.
Wei Feng's voice cut the darkness:
"This is the masked killer."
He stepped back.
"You cannot sense him."
"You cannot dodge him."
"You cannot track him."
A pause.
"…unless you find a new sense."
Lian Hong panted heavily.
"What sense?"
Wei Feng turned away.
"Find it."
Wei Feng's presence disappeared entirely.
The cavern walls rumbled.
Panels slid open.
New mechanisms activated.
Blades.Bolts.Pressure traps.Moving floor tiles.
The darkness swallowed everything again.
This was not training.
This was torment.
And yet—
this was necessary.
If Lian Hong failed here—
he would die in three days.
Zhou Shan whispered:
"Bro… please survive…"
Lian Hong steadied his breath.
Closed his eyes—though there was no light anyway.
And stepped deeper into the void.