The next day, Isshin was called to an open trial along with the disciple who had attacked him. News spread quickly, and the courtyard filled with people. Disciples gathered from all sides, curious to see what would happen.
Three elders stood at the front Elder Shen of Soul Peak, Elder Liang of Red Valley Peak, and Elder Han of Zyn Peak.
Elder Liang crossed his arms and looked at Isshin. "So this is the new disciple. Causing trouble on your first day… not a great start."
The sect master and higher leaders didn't attend. This wasn't important enough for them.
Elder Shen stepped forward. He had seen what happened himself, so he took charge of the trial.
He turned to the attacker. "Speak."
The disciple immediately pointed at Isshin, panic clear on his face. "He's not human! I saw it! He's a demon!"
The crowd started murmuring.
Elder Shen didn't react much. "You're making a serious accusation. Do you have any proof?"
"He has spirits!" the disciple shouted. "Evil ones! I saw them!"
Elder Shen shifted his attention to Isshin. "What do you have to say?"
Isshin answered calmly. "He broke into my room at midnight and tried to kill me. I defended myself. Now he's making things up to cover it."
"That's not true!" the attacker yelled. "He has a demonic spirit!"
Elder Shen sighed slightly. "We don't have a priest here to confirm anything like that. Isshin, explain."
Isshin paused for a second, then spoke clearly. "I do have spirit contracts. More than one. That's why I can use different types of qi. But there's nothing demonic about it."
The whispers grew louder.
"Multiple spirits?"
"That's even possible?"
"I thought one was rare…"
The attacker had nothing left to say.
With no proof and witnesses placing him at the scene, the outcome was obvious. He was taken away, his punishment to be decided later.
The matter ended there.
Later that day, Isshin, Rune, and Karin left the sect to hunt.
They needed beast cores. Everything in the sect cost credits pills, weapons, techniques. Nothing came free.
Golden Core beasts were manageable. Lower stages gave around 10 credits, while higher ones could reach 100. Nascent Soul beasts were much harder, starting at around 2000 credits per core.
They followed a trail into the forest.
"Want to split?" Rune asked.
Isshin nodded. "I'll go on my own for a bit. I'll meet you later."
Rune looked at him. "You sure?"
"I won't go far."
Karin nodded. "Be careful."
Once he was out of sight, Isshin stopped.
He closed his eyes.
The Skeleton King appeared, followed by the undead soldiers. They stood silently, waiting.
"I need cores," Isshin said. "Golden Core and Nascent Soul."
The Skeleton King grinned. "Understood."
They scattered immediately.
"Well that makes things so much easier"
Isshin moved as well, taking down stronger beasts himself when needed, but most of the work was done by his army. Every kill still contributed to his growth.
After a few hours, they had gathered a massive amount.
Over 200 Golden Core cores.
Around 30 Nascent Soul cores.
Isshin stored them and returned.
When he met Rune and Karin again, they both noticed the size of the pouch immediately.
Rune stared at it. "What did you even do?!"
Karin looked just as surprised. "That's way too much.!"
Isshin shrugged. "Got lucky."
They didn't question it further.
Back at the sect, Isshin went straight to the trade center. He turned in all the Golden Core cores and half of the Nascent Soul ones.
The clerk stared at him. "Two hundred twenty thousand credits?"
Even Isshin paused for a second.
He used the credits to buy cultivation pills, better clothes, and a few talismans.
Then he returned to his room.
He didn't need an alchemy room. With Raijin's help, he could absorb cores directly.
He sat down and placed the remaining Nascent Soul cores in front of him. Each one glowed faintly, filled with condensed energy.
The room was quiet.
A small lantern lit the space.
Outside, the sect slowly settled into the night.
Isshin focused.
Thunder qi flickered around his hands.
He picked up one of the cores.
"This should be enough to push me a bit further…"
Then he began.
After taking the beast cores and pills, Isshin sat cross-legged in his room. A faint golden aura surrounded him as the energy settled into his body. He could feel the effects clearly. His qi moved more smoothly, his body felt denser, stronger.
But there was no breakthrough.
He slowly opened his eyes. The glow faded.
"No progress," he said quietly. "Still… it wasn't a complete wasted."
Raijin didn't respond.
Later that day, Isshin met up with Rune and Karin near the center of the sect. They decided to eat at one of the small inns near the training grounds. The place was simple, wooden beams creaking slightly, the smell of warm food filling the space.
They sat in a corner, eating quietly.
At another table, three travelers were talking. Their voices weren't loud, but loud enough to carry.
"They say he already wiped out two outer sects near the border."
"The Dual Fist Demon?"
"Yeah. And someone placed a bounty on a disciple from the academy nearby. No idea who, but he's heading this way."
"And the others?"
"He's not even going straight for the target!. He will probably destroy a village first."
Rune paused. Karin leaned in slightly.
"Who is that?!" Rune asked quietly.
Karin shook her head. "I've never heard of him."
Isshin's expression changed. "We're leaving...."
They stood up immediately.
Outside the sect, the nearby village was unusually quiet. Too quiet. They moved quickly toward the outskirts, where the land opened into a wide field near the forest.
The wind moved through the grass.
Then they saw him.
A single figure stood in the distance, dressed in black. His long hair moved with the wind, his body thin, almost unnatural. His eyes were empty.
Isshin activated his system.
[Analyzing target…]
[Error: Cannot read level.]
His chest tightened.
"Run!" he said. "Now!"
The man moved before they could react.
His hand reached for Isshin's neck. Isshin barely avoided it, jumping back. The man followed instantly, faster than before.
Isshin struck back with a Thunder Qi Palm.
Lightning burst forward.
It didn't matter.
The man grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.
Rune reacted, summoning a golem from behind. It swung
A massive dark arm appeared from the man's back and crushed it instantly.
Karin's threads wrapped around his arm, forcing his grip to loosen slightly.
Isshin forced thunder qi into the man's body.
For a moment, it worked.
The man stepped back.
Then he laughed.
Low at first, then louder.
They tried to retreat, but more arms formed from his back, reaching out toward them.
Isshin countered with Thunder Spear Barrage.
Lightning exploded around the man.
He brushed it aside.
Karin moved in with her sword, forcing him to block. Rune fired multiple qi shots, but a strange eye formed on the man's body and absorbed everything.
They were thrown back.
Isshin struggled to stand. "He's not even trying!…"
Raijin could not do anything, as he was only in a form that blocks him from interacting with the real world, only Isshin was able to see what Raijin would do but it can't have a real physical effect
All Raijin could do was wathc
Raijin's voice cut in.
"Summon them right now!"
Isshin didn't hesitate.
He called out his undead army.
Hundreds of skeletons and beasts rose from the ground and rushed forward.
Even the skeleton king.
Rune and Karin stepped back, shocked, but used the opening to reposition.
The Demon cut through them one by one.
Effortlessly.
Then he stopped.
And moved straight toward Isshin.
Isshin used flash step.
It wasn't enough.
The man caught him again.
Isshin was in a huge amount of pain and couldn't think straight.
"If either of you move," he said calmly, "he dies."
Rune froze.
Karin gripped her sword tightly.
Isshin struggled to breathe.
Raijin's voice came again, urgent.
"Don't do it!"
But Isshin had already decided.
His body started to glow.
Golden lightning spread across his skin. Blood ran from his nose.
Raijin's voice turned sharp. "Don't do it you idiot! if you gather so much qi like that you will die!"
Isshin didn't answer.
He looked at Rune and Karin.
"Go."
Rune shook his head. "Don't!"
But it was too late.
The energy inside Isshin surged.
The man's grip weakened for a second.
His expression changed.
"This… isn't possible…"
Then everything went white.
Thunder spread across the sky.
The ground disappeared under the light.
A single explosion erased everything in the field.
When it was over, nothing remained.
Just a torn piece of cloth, moving slowly in the wind.
By the time people from the sect arrived, it was already done.
Karin stood there, staring.
"Isshin…"
No answer.
Only silence.