The carriage continued along the mountain road for several more hours.
By the time the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the distant peaks, the driver finally slowed the horses.
"Young man, we'll have to stop here for the night."
Su Yang opened his eyes.
Ahead was a relatively open clearing surrounded by enormous trees. Several other travelers had already stopped nearby, their campfires flickering beneath the darkening sky.
The driver climbed down and stretched his aching back.
"The horses are exhausted. Traveling these mountain roads at night isn't wise either. We'll continue at first light."
Su Yang nodded.
"That's fine."
He stepped down from the carriage.
The journey had been peaceful since their encounter with Lu Chen, but Su Yang hadn't relaxed his vigilance.
This was no longer the territory surrounding his hometown.
Spirit beasts were stronger here.
Bandits were possible.
And with the Heavenly Lightning Saber Sect's disciple admission approaching, cultivators from countless places were traveling these roads.
Some were friendly.
Others might kill someone merely for the storage pouch hanging from their waist.
After eating a simple meal, Su Yang stood.
"I'll check the surroundings."
The carriage driver looked toward the dark forest.
"Don't wander too far."
"I won't."
Su Yang secured his saber at his waist and disappeared among the trees.
Moonlight filtered through the dense canopy.
Su Yang moved quietly through the forest.
His footsteps barely made a sound.
The movement technique he had practiced throughout the journey was becoming increasingly natural.
Every few hundred meters, he stopped.
Listened.
Observed.
Then continued.
Nothing seemed unusual.
There were occasional insects and the distant cries of ordinary beasts, but Su Yang detected nothing threatening.
He was preparing to return when—
BOOM!
The ground suddenly trembled.
Su Yang froze.
His hand immediately moved toward his saber.
BOOM!
Another sound came from deeper within the forest.
Then—
ROOOOAR!
A furious roar shattered the silence.
Birds exploded from the trees.
Su Yang's expression changed.
Spirit beast.
And judging from that roar…
Not a weak one.
He immediately suppressed his aura and moved behind a massive tree.
Several breaths later—
CRASH!
Something smashed through the bushes.
Su Yang's pupils contracted.
A massive lizard emerged.
It was nearly three meters long, covered from head to tail in crimson scales.
Flames leaked from the corners of its mouth.
Every breath released waves of scorching heat.
Even the surrounding grass began drying beneath its presence.
Su Yang recognized it.
Fire-Spewing Lizard.
A spirit beast possessing a strong Yang attribute.
Under ordinary circumstances, Su Yang wouldn't voluntarily provoke such a creature.
But something was strange.
The beast was injured.
Badly.
Blood covered its crimson scales.
Several wounds had been carved across its back, and one of its hind legs dragged uselessly behind it.
Its breathing was weak.
Even the flames escaping its mouth flickered unsteadily.
Su Yang's eyes narrowed.
Someone did this.
The realization immediately made him more cautious.
A Fire-Spewing Lizard wasn't easy to deal with.
Yet whoever had fought this one had injured it so severely that it was desperately fleeing.
That meant the person chasing it was likely far stronger than Su Yang.
He had no intention of becoming involved.
"Not my problem."
Su Yang slowly stepped backward.
There was no reason to risk offending a powerful cultivator over a spirit beast that had nothing to do with him.
He turned to leave.
Unfortunately—
The Fire-Spewing Lizard noticed him.
Its crimson eyes locked onto Su Yang.
Perhaps because it had been hunted for so long, the beast had already entered a state of madness.
It opened its mouth.
ROAR!
A wave of scorching air struck Su Yang's face.
"Damn."
The beast suddenly charged.
Despite its injuries, its speed was frightening.
Su Yang immediately activated his movement technique.
Swoosh!
He shifted sideways.
The lizard smashed through the tree behind him.
BOOM!
Wood exploded everywhere.
Su Yang landed several meters away.
"I don't want to fight you."
The beast obviously didn't care.
Its murderous gaze remained fixed on him.
Flames gathered inside its mouth.
Su Yang's expression turned cold.
He had been willing to retreat.
But retreating didn't mean allowing himself to be killed.
The Fire-Spewing Lizard lunged.
Su Yang's hand wrapped around his saber.
His breathing changed.
His feet adjusted.
His waist relaxed.
Everything he had practiced thousands of times came together in a single instant.
Grip.
Stance.
Footwork.
Breathing.
Draw.
Slash.
The first level of his saber foundation erupted.
SHING!
The blade left its sheath.
One clean sweep.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing excessive.
Just a perfectly controlled slash.
SWOOSH!
Su Yang appeared behind the Fire-Spewing Lizard.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
SHRK!
A thin line appeared across the beast's body.
Blood erupted.
Its enormous body separated into two halves.
THUD!
Both pieces crashed onto the ground.
Silence returned to the forest.
Su Yang slowly returned his saber to its sheath.
Click.
He looked at the corpse.
The attack had been easier than expected.
But Su Yang didn't become arrogant.
The Fire-Spewing Lizard had already been severely weakened.
Had he encountered it at full strength, the outcome might have been completely different.
More importantly—
The person who had injured it could arrive at any moment.
Su Yang turned.
He had barely taken three steps when a voice came from the darkness.
"Young man."
Su Yang stopped.
His expression immediately became serious.
He hadn't sensed anyone approaching.
Not footsteps.
Not spiritual energy.
Nothing.
Su Yang slowly turned around.
A man stood beneath a nearby tree.
Green robes covered his body.
A long grey beard fell across his chest, and his hands rested casually behind his back.
He looked elderly, but his posture was perfectly straight.
More frighteningly, Su Yang couldn't sense the depth of his cultivation at all.
The old man's gaze moved from Su Yang to the dead Fire-Spewing Lizard.
Then back to Su Yang.
"Hand over the beast, young man."
Su Yang understood immediately.
He's the one.
The wounds covering the beast hadn't come from another spirit beast.
They had been inflicted by this man.
Su Yang didn't hesitate.
He stepped backward and bowed deeply.
"Senior."
The green-robed man's eyebrow lifted.
"Please take it."
The old man remained silent.
Su Yang continued respectfully.
"I have no intention of hoarding Senior's prey. This beast was already severely wounded when it attacked me. I only killed it to protect myself."
He cupped his hands.
"It was never meant for me anyway."
Then he bowed once more.
"I apologize if my actions interfered with Senior's hunt."
The green-robed man stared at him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Su Yang remained bowed.
He wasn't ashamed.
Respecting someone stronger wasn't cowardice.
Knowing when to advance and when to retreat was part of surviving the cultivation world.
The old man's expression gradually became strange.
He had expected an argument.
Young cultivators nowadays were often arrogant beyond belief.
Many believed that because they had delivered the final strike, everything belonged to them.
Some would even risk their lives arguing over treasures they had no ability to protect.
Yet this boy hadn't hesitated for even a second.
Interesting.
"Raise your head."
Su Yang straightened.
The old man's gaze swept across him.
A faint spiritual sense passed through Su Yang's body.
Su Yang immediately felt as though every secret had been exposed.
The old man's eyebrow rose.
"Fourth Level Spirit Realm?"
"Yes, Senior."
The old man looked toward the Fire-Spewing Lizard.
Then back at Su Yang.
Fourth Level?
Even though the beast had been severely injured, killing it with one slash still wasn't something an ordinary Fourth Level Spirit Realm cultivator should have accomplished so cleanly.
More importantly—
That slash.
The old man had seen it.
No wasted strength.
No hesitation.
The boy's feet, waist, shoulder, wrist and saber had moved almost as one.
It was only a basic saber sweep.
Yet its foundation was exceptionally solid.
The old man's eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
He had initially assumed Su Yang was merely another applicant traveling toward the Heavenly Lightning Saber Sect.
Now he looked at him differently.
"Boy."
"Senior?"
"How long have you practiced the saber?"
Su Yang hesitated.
"Not very long."
The old man's eyebrow twitched.
"What does 'not very long' mean?"
Su Yang wasn't sure how to answer without sounding ridiculous.
"A few days."
Silence.
The old man stared at him.
Su Yang remained serious.
Eventually, the old man stroked his beard.
"A few days…"
His gaze became deeper.
He didn't completely believe it.
Yet Su Yang's answer didn't seem like a lie.
The old man glanced at the saber hanging from Su Yang's waist.
The weapon itself was nothing extraordinary.
The boy's cultivation wasn't extraordinary either.
But his understanding of the saber…
That was another matter.
There was genuine talent there.
Perhaps even more than talent.
"What's your name?"
"Su Yang."
"Su Yang…"
The old man quietly memorized it.
Then he asked,
"Are you traveling to the Heavenly Lightning Saber Sect?"
Su Yang's eyes flickered.
"Yes, Senior."
"For the disciple admission?"
"Yes."
The old man's expression suddenly became difficult to read.
"Hmm."
He stroked his beard.
Su Yang waited.
After several seconds, the old man walked toward the Fire-Spewing Lizard.
With a casual movement of his sleeve, the enormous corpse disappeared into his storage treasure.
Su Yang's eyes narrowed slightly.
He hadn't even clearly seen how the man had done it.
The old man turned around.
"Very well."
He took several steps into the darkness.
Then stopped.
Without looking back, he said,
"Su Yang."
"Yes, Senior?"
The corner of the old man's mouth lifted slightly.
"See you at the Heavenly Lightning Saber Sect."
Su Yang's eyes widened.
Before he could ask what the man meant—
The old man took another step.
And disappeared.
Not ran.
Not jumped.
Simply—
Disappeared.
Su Yang stared at the empty forest.
His expression gradually became solemn.
"See me there?"
He looked toward the place where the old man had vanished.
"Could he be…"
Su Yang stopped himself.
There was no point guessing.
But one thing was certain.
That old man wasn't simple.
Not simple at all.
Su Yang rested his hand against the hilt of his saber.
Tonight's encounter had reminded him once again just how enormous the cultivation world truly was.
Back home, his recent strength might have seemed impressive.
But outside?
There were people whose cultivation he couldn't even begin to understand.
People capable of approaching him without making the slightest sound.
People who could make powerful spirit beasts flee for their lives.
Su Yang turned toward the camp.
Instead of feeling discouraged, something burned inside his eyes.
Excitement.
The wider the world became, the more Su Yang wanted to see where his own path would eventually lead.
Behind him, the forest returned to silence.
And somewhere far ahead, the green-robed elder traveled toward the Heavenly Lightning Saber Sect with one new name lingering in his thoughts.
Su Yang