⸻
Three days after his meridian expansion ritual, Li Xuan stood at the edge of the Crimson Spine Forest—one of the sect's designated danger zones.
Thick fog crawled along the forest floor. The trees here were gnarled and bent, roots like skeletal fingers digging through flesh and stone. Growls echoed in the distance, and the scent of blood hung in the air like perfume. It wasn't a forest.
It was a grave waiting to be filled.
System Notification:
Mission Activated: Beast Forest Purge
Objective: Eliminate 30 Rank-2 Spirit Beasts
Reward: 120 LCP
Bonus Objective: Survive
—Warning: Area is not stabilized. Rogue formations detected. Other disciples present. Not all are allies.
Li Xuan's jaw tensed as he stepped past the broken stone boundary. The moment he did, he felt it—a shift in gravity, pressure, and spiritual flow. This place didn't welcome humans.
A soft chuckle vibrated in his mind.
[Long Chen System]:
"This forest was a warm-up for me. Let's see how far you'll get before you're screaming for mama."
"Shut up," Li Xuan muttered, already drawing his saber.
—
The first beast came at nightfall.
A tusked warboar, eyes gleaming red, hide as tough as iron. It crashed through the underbrush like a living boulder. Before it could charge, Li Xuan was already in motion—Phantom Step activated, body blurring into a sharp flicker of shadows.
He slashed at the beast's leg, angling for its tendon.
Steel kissed flesh—then bone. The warboar roared and toppled sideways. Before it could rise, Li Xuan had driven his saber through its eye.
System:
—Spirit Beast Kill Confirmed. +9 EXP. +3 LCP—
—Total Beasts Eliminated: 1/30—
"Only twenty-nine more…"
His body ached, but the pain from meridian expansion hadn't faded yet—and it fueled him. Every clash with a beast pushed Qi through the newly widened pathways. He was adapting fast.
By the second day, the forest was painted in blood.
He fought clawed panthers, flame-scaled lizards, and a two-headed avian that nearly skewered him through the lung. He bled. He crawled. He slept with one eye open.
But he didn't stop.
Because this was how strength was carved.
—
On the third day, trouble came not from beasts—but from men.
A group of four disciples cornered him while he was resting at a stream. Their robes bore a silver insignia—the Wild Viper Subsect, known for their brutality and underhanded tactics.
"I recognize you," their leader smirked. "The new Outer Realm brat with a big mouth."
Li Xuan slowly rose to his feet, stretching his fingers. "If you're here to die, line up."
"You talk like you're in the inner circle already."
"I will be."
They lunged.
But they weren't prepared for Nine Star Body Art (First Star - Foundation Pulse) to activate.
Behind Li Xuan, a glowing colored star-ring flickered once—brief, radiant, like a sun buried behind storm clouds.
The first attacker was sent flying with a punch.
The second was knocked unconscious by a knee to the temple.
The third tried to run—Li Xuan's saber caught his calf, dragging him screaming to the dirt.
The leader froze. "T-that technique… that Qi ring… I've only seen it in old scrolls…"
Li Xuan stepped forward, killing intent coiling like a serpent around his shoulders. "You saw nothing."
The last man dropped his blade and fled.
System:
—Optional Target: Rogue Disciples Eliminated. +21 LCP.
—Beast Kill Count: 36/30 (Bonus Achieved)
—Mission Complete.
—Total LCP Earned: 146
—Simulation Room Tokens +1
—Mission Rank: B+
—
That night, he returned to the sect.
Dirty. Bloody. Alive.
No fanfare. No applause. Just cold stairs, whispers, and the same monthly struggle ahead.
But when Li Xuan walked into the Outer Sect Plaza, something was different.
The air stilled.
People sensed it.
Something had changed in him—a sharper edge, a deeper silence, an aura that made even peak Outer Disciples step aside.
[Long Chen System]:
"Well, you survived. I'm shocked. You even made some progress."
"Go rest, brat. The next test will hurt even worse."
Li Xuan glanced at the blood-stained mission token in his hand.
He whispered, "I welcome it."
—
System Status:
Cultivation: Late Qi Condensation – Peak (595/600 EXP)
Nine Star Path: First Star – Integrated (Qi Ring Activation Available)
LCP: 212
Skills: Phantom Step, Predator's Pressure (Passive), Face-Slapping Divine Art, Foundation Pulse (Active)
New: Simulation Token +1
Notoriety: Increasing
Outer Sect Ranking Fight: In 5 Days
—
Author's Note:
The Beast Forest Purge was just the beginning. The sect grows darker as Li Xuan's name spreads, and not every disciple wants to see him rise. But Long Chen's legacy wasn't forged in peace—it was forged in chaos.