⸻
The sect's outer forests stretched like an endless sea of green—lush, quiet, and deadly.
Li Xuan tightened the grip on his saber as the mission scroll burned into his mind.
System Mission Received:
Class-C Hunt – Crimson-Eyed Serpent
Location: Serpent Hollow (Rank 3 Beast Territory)
Reward: 40 Long Chen Points + 10 Sect Contribution
Note: This mission may evolve based on conditions.
But his thoughts weren't fully on the serpent. They were on something far more dangerous—the sect masters' attention.
His Nine Star cultivation aura was starting to show signs—rumors had already begun to circle.
Even the appearance of the multicolored ring had tongues wagging in the Inner Sect.
Too familiar.
Too dangerous.
—
That night, under the blood moon, Long Chen's voice echoed in the depths of his mind.
[Long Chen System – Override Mode]:
"Brat, you're too flashy. Want to live longer than a roasted chicken? Then listen."
Li Xuan sat cross-legged, spiritual energy circulating slowly.
[System Update: Initiating Emergency Stealth Protocol…]
—Nine Star Manifestation Hidden
—New Cultivation Visual Artifact: [Astral Singularity Ring]
—Appearance: A single faint star spinning slowly behind host.
—Trait: Untraceable origin, extremely rare, not part of any known legacy.
—Backup Scroll Provided: "Star Forging Manual – One Use Illusion"
A scroll appeared in his hand.
It was warm… almost real.
"If a sect elder presses you, show them this and act like an idiot who stumbled on it. Can only be used once, so don't flash it at every robe that smells of authority."
Li Xuan smirked. "You're saying I need to act more like Guo Ran."
"No. I said idiot. Not clown. Learn the difference."
—
The next day, he entered Serpent Hollow.
The place reeked of blood and rotting foliage. Every tree was marked by snake scales, and the air pulsed with spiritual toxins.
His target wasn't just a beast.
It was an apex predator with near-human intelligence.
The Crimson-Eyed Serpent.
—
He crouched low beneath a thick root, watching as a Qi Refinement disciple's corpse was dragged into the brush by something serpentine and massive.
The snake was nearly twenty meters long, crimson lines pulsing on its jet-black body. Its eyes glowed like rubies dipped in lava.
[System Analysis]:
Crimson-Eyed Serpent
Rank: 3 Beast
Subtype: Corrupted
Qi Resistance: High
Venom: Lethal
Weakness: Internal flame core exposed during venom secretion phase.
Li Xuan cracked his knuckles. "That's when I strike."
He waited.
Ten minutes. Twenty. An hour.
Finally, the beast hissed, rearing up to spew venom across a clearing—and in that brief moment, its glowing flame core pulsed behind its lower jaw.
Li Xuan activated Phantom Step, enhanced it with Foundation Pulse, and shot forward like a shadow with a soul.
His saber gleamed with Astral Force, the power granted by his new "star-based" cultivation ring.
With pinpoint precision, he struck upward—straight through the core.
The beast screeched, thrashed, but it was already dead by the time it realized it had been hit.
Its head crashed to the ground beside him. Its tongue twitched once… then nothing.
[Mission Complete: Crimson-Eyed Serpent Slain]
+40 Long Chen Points
+10 Sect Contribution
+Bonus Drop: Crimson Flame Core
Li Xuan caught the orb that hovered mid-air.
It burned like a small sun in his palm.
"Might be useful for Yue Zifeng's blade enhancement later…" he muttered.
—
Back at the sect, his return didn't go unnoticed.
A group of outer elders intercepted him.
"You again. Black-robed brat with a strange aura," one of them growled. "Your cultivation manifestation—where is it from?"
Li Xuan's expression didn't change.
"I don't know. I found a scroll in a ruin weeks ago. Just activated it. It did… this."
He slowly pulled out the fake scroll Long Chen had provided.
It glowed faintly, looking ancient and mysterious.
One of the elders scanned it and frowned.
"Hmph. It's real, but barely held together. One-time inheritance technique, huh?"
Li Xuan kept his head bowed. "I don't even know the name. Just calls itself 'Star Forging Something.'"
They grunted and left.
But as they turned away, one of them whispered to the other, "That's not any technique I've seen… and I've lived a hundred years. Keep an eye on him."
—
That night, in his cave residence, Li Xuan stood shirtless in front of a stone wall.
He tapped his saber's hilt gently.
One tap for each brother lost in the escape.
One tap for each sect master who tried to kill him.
And then—
One final tap.
"For those who haven't yet tried… but will."
The faint star behind him pulsed once, silent and steady.
And Long Chen's voice returned, softer now.
"You've stepped into the real game. No more rehearsals. Only one rule from now on, brat—don't break."