Li Chen tore through the forest, branches whipping against his face as he ran.
Behind him, the monster lunged.
He ducked just in time. Claws sliced through the air where his head had been a moment ago.
He kept running.
His breathing was ragged, his lungs burning with every step. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.
Those guys actually managed to injure it.
The thought crossed his mind as he noticed the monster struggling to keep up with someone as weak as him. At least they had done one good thing in their miserable lives.
Not that it mattered much.
Li Chen could feel his energy draining with every stride. His body was reaching its limit.
As he ran, he noticed it again.
The tree.
It flickered at the edge of his vision.
No. Not now.
He forced himself to focus. One wrong move here and he would become monster food.
A large rock appeared in his path. Li Chen leaped over it, landed awkwardly, stumbled, but kept moving.
A second later, the monster crashed straight through the rock as if it were made of paper. It was right on his tail.
His breathing grew even more labored. His chest felt like it was on fire. His legs were moments away from giving out completely.
Was he really going to die here?
Then he felt it again.
That strange sensation.
He tried his best to concentrate, to push it away, but it was no use.
Oh no. It's happening.
The massive tree filled his vision once more, blocking out everything else.
Then…
His eyes snapped open.
Li Chen found himself soaring through the air. He had leaped at least several meters off the ground, his body hurtling forward at impossible speed.
Then gravity took hold.
He crashed onto the forest floor with a heavy thud, his body rolling across dirt and leaves before finally coming to a stop.
His legs felt like they no longer belonged to him. And just like his hand before, they were bleeding now - torn open from the inside.
Li Chen looked back.
He had made some distance.
But it hadn't changed much.
The monster was still rushing toward him, closing the gap with terrifying speed.
No.
He couldn't let himself die like this.
Li Chen remembered the feeling from before. When he had leaped. When he had opened the spatial bag.
Something clicked in his mind.
He reached for the sword at his waist and unsheathed it. His eyes locked onto the approaching monster.
He didn't wield the sword.
Instead, he cocked his arm back as if preparing to throw.
His eyes glowed blue for just a moment.
The sword shot from his hand at blinding speed.
It blasted straight through the monster's head, tearing it clean off. The massive body collapsed mid-stride, crashing into the ground and sliding to a halt just a few feet away from him.
Then…
Just like before, his hand ruptured.
Immense pain flooded through his body.
Li Chen's vision went dark.
…
His eyes fluttered open.
Huh?
I'm back here again?
Li Chen lay on the forest ground, his body wracked with pain.
Had everything that happened been a dream?
Was he still dying on the forest floor after being used as bait?
Just as the thought crossed his mind...
He smelled something.
A sweet scent.
What's that?
Then he felt himself being lifted off the ground. His broken body rose gently into the air, weightless.
Is my soul ascending?
Li Chen didn't resist.
Well... maybe this isn't so bad.
…
A young woman approached the sect gate, carrying a bloodied Li Chen in her arms.
The guards straightened immediately upon seeing her.
"Senior Sister Su Mei!"
One of them stepped forward, his brow furrowing with concern.
"Didn't you just leave? Did something happen?"
Su Mei nodded, her expression calm but serious.
"I found this injured servant at the edge of the sect. I'll take him to the Alchemy Pavilion. His condition is pretty bad."
She walked past them without waiting for a response.
The guards watched her go, then exchanged glances.
"Senior Sister Su Mei is really too kind."
"Yeah. Carrying a servant all the way here? Most people wouldn't bother."
"That's why she's everyone's favorite senior sister."
…
Su Mei arrived at the Alchemy Pavilion just as the door swung open.
A middle-aged man stepped out, scratching his head lazily. His robes were slightly disheveled, and he looked like he had just woken up from a nap.
Then he noticed her.
"Oh, Su Mei." He straightened up slightly. "Have your pills run out already?"
"No, Martial Uncle." She shifted the weight in her arms. "I was leaving the sect on a mission when I found this person passed out on the ground. He seems to be a servant. Maybe a monster has escaped into the sect area."
The man glanced at the body she was carrying.
"A servant?" He raised an eyebrow. "He looks half-dead. Why bring him here? It's just a waste of medicine."
Su Mei's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Are you not going to treat him? I carried him all the way here. Did I waste my time for nothing?"
The man met her gaze for a moment, then sighed heavily.
"Argh, fine."
Su Mei smiled.
"Thank you, Martial Uncle."
She handed the unconscious Li Chen over to him.
Then she turned to leave.
"You're going back?" the man asked.
"Of course." Su Mei glanced over her shoulder. "A monster might have escaped into sect grounds. I need to investigate. Otherwise, there will be more victims."
Without another word, she walked away.
The man stood there, watching her disappear into the distance.
He sighed again.
Then he looked down at the broken body in his arms.
"Let's see what we've got here."
…
Inside the Alchemy Pavilion, the man placed Li Chen on a wooden examination table.
He began inspecting the body, his hands glowing faintly as he channeled qi through them.
His expression changed.
"What?"
He leaned closer, inspecting more carefully.
"How is that possible?"
He scratched his head, confusion spreading across his face.
The boy's injuries were all internal. Ruptured blood vessels. Torn muscle fibers. Damaged meridians. The kind of damage that could only be caused by rogue qi rampaging through the body.
For these sorts of injuries, one would have to have gone through qi deviation.
Yet...
He didn't sense any qi from the boy. Not even a trace.
And stranger still - he didn't seem to have even entered the Body Refining Realm.
He was just a normal mortal.
The man stared at the unconscious boy, utterly baffled.
He really couldn't understand what was happening.