Crushing Ridge did not welcome them.
It tested them.
The pressure surged in waves, irregular and cruel. Stone cracked beneath every step, and the air itself felt thick enough to drown in.
Kael moved forward steadily.
Around him, cultivators reacted in different ways.
Some unleashed Qi violently, forcing the pressure away in bursts of light. Others crouched low, trying to endure through sheer will.
Both methods failed.
A young cultivator to Kael's left screamed as his Qi backlash tore through his meridians. He collapsed, body twitching before going still.
No one helped.
No one could.
The Ridge claimed him.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"So this is how it starts."
Further ahead, the path narrowed between two towering stone walls.
The pressure doubled.
Several participants stopped.
One fell to his knees, blood spraying from his mouth.
Another tried to retreat—
only to be crushed flat by a sudden pressure spike.
Kael slowed.
Void Tempering adapted automatically, compressing his body further with each step.
Pain bloomed, constant and deep.
But familiar.
[Environmental Pressure Surge Detected.]
— Assimilation Efficiency: Increasing
— Structural Stress: High but Stable
A man in dark robes suddenly stepped into Kael's path.
His aura flared sharp and aggressive.
"Move," the man growled. "You're slowing everyone down."
Kael looked at him calmly.
"You're breathing too hard," Kael said. "You won't last."
The man sneered and struck.
A palm attack reinforced with Qi aimed straight at Kael's chest.
Kael did not dodge.
He stepped forward.
The palm hit.
Boom.
The man's arm shattered instantly, bone fragments tearing through skin.
He screamed and staggered back.
The pressure finished the rest.
His body collapsed, crushed into the stone.
Silence followed.
Those nearby froze.
Kael lowered his arm.
"Don't waste energy," he said calmly. "The Ridge will collect it."
No one challenged him again.
Further in, the ridge split into multiple paths.
Each radiated different pressure patterns.
Some sharp.
Some vast.
Some deceptive.
A stone marker stood at the split, etched with faint characters:
Only the heavy advance.
Kael chose the central path.
Pressure increased immediately.
His footsteps slowed, but his posture remained upright.
Others chose side paths.
Screams echoed soon after.
Kael did not look back.
Hours passed.
Bodies littered the ridge behind him.
Some alive.
Most not.
Kael reached a flat expanse where the pressure stabilized slightly.
He stopped.
Not to rest.
To listen.
Footsteps approached.
Three figures emerged from the mist, moving in formation.
Their auras were controlled.
Efficient.
Dangerous.
One of them smiled.
"So you're the Half-Tempered one," he said. "We were wondering when we'd find you."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Then you found me."
Pressure thickened around them.
The Ridge waited.
The three cultivators stopped ten steps away.
They spread out naturally, forming a shallow arc.
Experienced.
The one in front wore grey robes reinforced with metal threads. His Qi was steady, compressed inward rather than flaring outward.
A pressure-type cultivator.
"Name's Harlan," he said calmly. "We're not here to fight blindly."
Kael tilted his head slightly. "Then don't."
Harlan smiled faintly. "This ridge favors cooperation. You walk heavy. We provide control."
The two behind him shifted subtly, sealing Kael's retreat path.
Kael understood immediately.
They didn't want a battle.
They wanted leverage.
"You want me to carry pressure for you," Kael said.
Harlan didn't deny it. "For a time."
The Ridge pulsed.
Pressure surged suddenly, forcing the group to brace.
One of Harlan's teammates grunted, blood leaking from his nose.
Kael didn't move.
Void Tempering absorbed the surge, compressing it inward.
Kael exhaled.
Slow.
Heavy.
"You won't survive following me," Kael said. "I don't slow down."
Harlan's eyes hardened. "Then we'll make you."
He moved.
Not attacking.
Positioning.
The two behind Kael activated synchronized Qi flows, attempting to pin pressure around Kael's legs and redirect it upward.
Smart.
Kael felt it instantly.
Pressure twisted unnaturally, trying to lock his stance.
For a moment—
his feet sank deeper into the stone.
Then—
Kael shifted his weight.
Not back.
Down.
The ground cracked violently.
A shockwave rippled outward.
The redirected pressure snapped back like a broken spring.
One cultivator screamed as his internal Qi circulation collapsed. He fell instantly, unmoving.
The second staggered, coughing blood.
Harlan's expression changed.
"This isn't cooperation," he muttered. "This is domination."
Kael stepped forward.
Each step distorted the air.
"I warned you."
Harlan roared and released his technique.
A dense Qi barrier formed around his body, layers stacking rapidly.
Pressure slammed into Kael as Harlan charged.
Kael met him head-on.
No technique.
No flourish.
Just mass.
They collided.
Boom.
The barrier shattered like glass.
Harlan was thrown backward, skidding across the stone until he hit a cliff wall hard enough to leave a crater.
He did not rise.
Silence returned.
Only the Ridge breathed.
Kael stood alone among the fallen.
His chest rose and fell steadily.
[Combat Evaluation:]
— Pressure Redirection: Ineffective
— Direct Density Clash: Overwhelming Advantage
[Body Tempering:]
— 50% → 50.8%
Kael looked at the remaining cultivator, who was trembling on the ground.
"Leave," Kael said.
The man didn't hesitate.
He crawled away, disappearing into the mist.
Kael turned forward again.
The Ridge ahead darkened.
Pressure deepened.
He welcomed it.
As Kael advanced, distant observers took note.
From a high stone outcrop, a woman in crimson robes narrowed her eyes.
"He doesn't fight," she murmured. "He replaces the environment."
Beside her, a bald cultivator smiled thinly.
"Then the Ridge chose well."
Kael reached another ascent.
Steeper.
Narrower.
Pressure funneled downward like a waterfall of weight.
Kael paused briefly.
Not from fear.
From calculation.
"If I keep this pace," he thought, "I'll stabilize faster."
He stepped forward.
The stone beneath him fractured cleanly.
His body hummed, denser, more obedient.
Behind him, Crushing Ridge swallowed the weak.
Ahead—
only heavier ground waited.