5 - Something in the Woods
Adrien's face was flushed, jaw clenched, every muscle in his arm straining like his life depended on it. His shoulder twitched. Sweat dripped down his temple.
Across from him, Mizuki sat upright, elbow planted, hand steady. Her eyes were calm, focused - but not strained. Her arm barely moved.
It was like trying to push down a tree.
"You're really trying?" Adrien managed, teeth gritted.
Mizuki glanced at him. "Not really."
His arm dipped.
"No, wait -"
Thud.
His hand hit the stone.
Adrien flopped onto his back with a groan. "That's just unfair."
Mizuki looked at her hand, thoughtful. "It really does feel different now. Lighter, but... firmer?"
"Yeah, I noticed," Adrien muttered. "Next time I say 'want to test your new strength?' please stop me."
Above them, Ning Xu looped slowly through the air, her oversized sweater sleeves fluttering like banners. She tilted, wobbled, then caught herself just before tumbling into a patch of brambles. Her bare feet flexed as she hovered, looking more like a sleepwalker than a cultivator.
Adrien shaded his eyes. "I have to admit, you're really selling the flying sock puppet vibe."
Ning grinned, arms outstretched as if balancing on a tightrope. "Hey, I'm stable now. Flying at walking speed is easy. Running speed? Still a work in progress."
He smirked. "Sounds exhausting."
Ning shrugged midair. "It tires me proportionally, but at least I can fly without tripping over my own feet."
Ning floated down lightly, crossing her legs midair like she was settling into an invisible chair. Her oversized sweater sleeves draped awkwardly over her arms, and her spats made her legs look even slimmer.
"So," Ning said, eyes sparkling with curiosity, "tell me again about your perk, Adrien. This whole No Monsters Were Harmed in the Making of This Product thing - how does it actually work?"
Adrien stretched his fingers, still a little sore from earlier. "Basically, I can take valuable stuff from monsters - scales, bones, anything useful - without hurting them. They heal up fast, like almost instantly, so I can do it again later if I want. No scars, no lasting damage."
"That's... surprisingly nice," Mizuki said with a small smile. "Most perks like that are about destroying or harvesting at the expense of the target."
Adrien gave a tired laugh. "Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out what the catch is. Maybe I'm secretly a monster whisperer."
Ning tilted her head. "So you're like a monster tailor or miner?"
"More like a monster recycler," Adrien replied dryly.
Mizuki's expression softened. "My perk's pretty straightforward. Self Mending Meditation. I heal ridiculously fast - minor cuts and bruises vanish in minutes, bad injuries in hours, and even lost limbs grow back over time. Plus, mental exhaustion heals too, which helps."
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "You heal that fast? Regrow limbs, even?"
Mizuki nodded. "Given time, yes. Even mental exhaustion fades quicker."
He let out a low whistle. "Remind me never to bet against you in a war of attrition."
She tilted her head slightly. "It's not like I'm invincible. Just... harder to break."
Adrien gave her a sidelong glance. "Yeah, no, that still sounds terrifying."
Ning chuckled. "I wish I had something like that. Flying is fun, but it wears me out."
Adrien raised an eyebrow. "What about your perk, Ning?"
She stretched her arms out and twirled in the air. "Flight, obviously. I can fly at a walking pace all day without getting tired, and if I push it, I can go as fast as I can run, but that drains me quickly. The big deal is that I can stay in the air, which feels like a superpower right now."
"Sounds like you're the scout," Mizuki said approvingly.
"Yeah, but I still crash a lot," Ning admitted, laughing. "I'm basically a flying disaster."
Adrien smiled. "Flying sock puppet disaster."
Ning shot him a playful glare. "Hey! I'm getting there."
They all shared a quiet laugh, the tension from earlier easing.
Then Adrien glanced toward the edge of the camp. "So, what's Lin Feng up to right now?"
Mizuki pointed toward the perimeter. "He's setting up defensive wards. The Keystone's protection faded last night."
Adrien sat up, a shadow crossing his face. "The Keystone's protection... gone? That sounds bad."
"It's not gone forever," Mizuki said. "Just temporary. Lin Feng's wards won't be as strong, but they should hold off the weaker spirit beasts."
Adrien exhaled slowly. "Good. But it means we can't afford to relax."
Ning nodded, folding her arms. "Yeah. It's a good thing we've all got new perks now."
…
Lin Feng knelt beside the defensive arrays, his fingers tracing the edges of carved stones and the delicate metal seals embedded in the earth. With a few taps through the system interface, he activated Adrien's Analysis perk.
Instantly, subtle imperfections flashed before his eyes - micro-fractures in a rune-engraved stone here, a slight misalignment in a metal talisman there. The arrays, while solid overall, had weak points that would have been easy to miss without this ability.
He paused, a small smile tugging at his lips. 'Do arrays even count as hardware?' He thought. 'Or maybe buildings? Or are they some kind of spiritual construct?' Whatever the case, the perk was clearly effective.
Focusing, Lin Feng methodically scanned each section. The Analysis perk revealed areas where the energy flow was uneven or where the physical components might deteriorate faster.
He carefully chipped away at a cracked stone, replacing it with a smoother one from his supply. Then, with a quiet murmur, he adjusted a metal talisman's position by millimeters, realigning the flow of qi within the array.
After each adjustment, the Analysis perk immediately confirmed the improvement - energy readings stabilized, weak points disappeared.
'This perk is invaluable,' Lin Feng thought, impressed. Adrien's casual comments hadn't done justice to how powerful this ability was for checking and refining complex contructs like defensive arrays.
Once the final sigil was aligned and the subtle hum of spiritual energy coursed cleanly through the ring of defenses, Lin Feng exhaled slowly and stood. The Analysis perk's glow faded from his perception as he switched it out in the system.
'Time to try Flight.'
As soon as he equipped the perk, a gentle, lifting sensation swept through him. Without summoning qi or channeling a technique, he rose effortlessly into the air. It was quiet, smooth - almost eerie in its simplicity.
He hovered for a breath, testing his balance, then leaned forward and pushed.
The wind blurred past him as the world dropped away. Trees, tents, and even his disciples became flickers below. In terms of speed, it was like comparing a glider to a lightning bolt.
He narrowed his eyes as the wind whipped his robes. 'This doesn't burn qi,' he thought. 'Not even a trickle.' His core remained undisturbed, his breathing calm. It was as natural as walking - more so, even.
'Flight like this… he mused, leveling out above the treetops, this shouldn't be possible until Core Formation at the earliest. Even then, it would take a flying sword, a windstep talisman, or weeks of refined aerial technique training.'
He tilted into a banking arc, scanning the tree line. But with this perk… I just fly.
He hovered above the treetops, drifting in a slow arc as he surveyed the forest below. Everything looked calm - too calm, perhaps. The sun filtered through the mist, and not even the wind stirred the upper branches.
Then a flicker. Subtle. Faint.
Lin Feng's gaze snapped downward, toward the far edge of the ward line. One of the outer marker talismans pulsed - not a flare, not a full activation, but a brief shimmer. Like something had brushed against the edge of its awareness.
His brow furrowed. That particular ward wasn't meant to react unless something substantial passed close. A bird wouldn't trigger it. A stray breeze certainly wouldn't.
But it hadn't gone off fully. Whatever passed the edge hadn't attacked. Not yet.
'Testing the boundary?' he thought. 'Or just passing through?'
He coasted lower, keeping silent and out of sight, his senses straining for more signs - another shimmer, a movement in the underbrush, anything. But the forest had returned to stillness, as if holding its breath.
'Something's out there.'
His hand brushed the hilt at his waist. Just in case.
Without a sound, Lin Feng descended slightly, skimming just above the treetops. The shimmer from the ward still lingered faintly in his thoughts - a subtle tug, like a spiderweb brushed in passing.
He moved in the direction of the disturbance, keeping low and out of direct line of sight. His robes barely rustled in the air, and the Flight perk let him control his speed with uncanny precision.
Below, the forest stretched in dappled green and mist. But something was wrong.
He spotted it a few moments later.
A broken branch, freshly snapped, dangled from a tree limb - grazed, not crushed. It swayed faintly, too much for the still air. A second talisman pulse flickered through the system - softer this time. Closer.
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes.
Ahead, the underbrush parted around a shallow clearing where sunlight pooled golden and still. The ground was disturbed - light prints in the earth, narrow and cloven. Hooved. Light but deliberate.
Then he saw it.
A stag stepped into view, tall and elegant. Its coat shimmered with a faint jade hue, antlers veined with silver qi threads that pulsed gently like capillaries of spirit light. Moss draped its flanks like natural camouflage, and small golden motes flickered around its hooves as it walked.
A Forestjade Stag.
Not aggressive. Not territorial. But rare. And the qi in its body was pure. Its antlers were renowned among alchemists for stabilizing volatile pills, and even its hooves could be ground into powders used to suppress fire-natured backlash.
Lin Feng's gaze lingered.
'It must have been drawn by the residual spiritual energy near the keystone's resting place, he thought. Curious, not hostile. Good instincts.'
He hovered still as the stag's ears twitched, but it didn't flee. Its head dipped, leisurely nibbling at a patch of spirit moss glowing faintly between two roots. Golden spores puffed into the air, clinging to its fur.
'If I had Adrien's perk equipped…'
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.
'The description implied spirit beasts wouldn't just tolerate harvesting - but remain unharmed, maybe even willing.' Still, the system had a way of exaggerating, or at least leaving things unsaid. Adrien hadn't interacted with any beasts yet. There was no real-world proof.
Even so…
'If it works the way it says, this kind of encounter would be ideal. A harmless spirit beast. Rare, but calm.'
He made a mental note.
'I should test it. Not alone, next time.'
The Forestjade Stag vanished into the trees, leaving only disturbed moss and a hush behind.
Lin Feng stayed airborne, about to turn back - until a glint caught his eye.
He drifted lower, slowing as he neared a thicket of thorned vines climbing between two trees. Something small was snagged near the top.
A scrap of fabric.
He hovered closer.
It was roughspun, the weave crude - but not wildling clothing. Cultivator robes, likely, though simple. Faded brown, stained darker at the edge - dirt, or maybe old blood. The tear was jagged, as though someone had caught themselves and kept moving, fast.
Lin Feng scanned the area.
There. On the forest floor: a broken wooden arrow shaft, splintered near the fletching. The arrowhead was missing, but the shaft was clearly handcrafted - carefully shaped and smoothed.
Still fresh. Recently dropped.
He frowned.
'Someone's been here. Close. And not long ago.'
There were no footprints in the clearing, but he spotted the faint trail of disturbed moss and trodden underbrush leading southward toward the rocky bluffs near the edge of his marked territory.
'Not beasts. People.'
He didn't know if that made it better.
Lin Feng cast one last look toward the faint trail winding deeper into the forest. The signs were clear - others had been here recently. Whether friend or foe, he couldn't tell. For now, the priority was the safety of his disciples and the camp.
He kept the Flight perk equipped and soared swiftly over the dense forest, the camp's faint smoke rising in the distance like a beacon.
As he neared, he smoothly descended through the canopy, landing softly in the clearing where Mizuki and Adrien stood talking quietly, Ning Xu hovering nearby.
Lin Feng touched down lightly in the clearing. Mizuki glanced up from her conversation with Adrien and gave a small smile.
"Welcome back, Lin Feng," she said, eyes bright. "How did the scouting go?"
Adrien nodded, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "Yeah, you look like you found something. What's on your mind?"
Ning Xu hovered a little closer, her gaze sharp and curious. "You seem tense. Did you see something troubling?"
Lin Feng took a breath, meeting each of their eyes in turn.
"There are signs someone else has been here recently," he said quietly. "Not spirits, but people. I don't know if they're friend or foe yet."
Mizuki's expression sharpened. "Could they be hostile?"
Lin Feng shook his head slowly. "I don't know. But with the Keystone's protection gone, we can't take chances. I've set up defensive arrays to keep weaker spirit beasts away, but we'll have to be vigilant."
Adrien frowned. "So, we're not exactly safe then?"
Lin Feng's gaze hardened. "Safe is relative here. We survive by being prepared. Stay alert, all of you."
Ning Xu nodded. "We will. Just say the word if you want us to move or fight."
Lin Feng gave a brief, grateful smile.
"Good. For now, keep training and strengthening. This place holds many dangers, more than just the wild beasts."
Lin Feng turned away from the campfire, the flickering light casting long shadows across the clearing as he made his way to a weathered satchel tucked beneath a tree. He knelt beside it, unfastening the clasps with a quiet exhale, and began to sift through the stack of cultivation manuals inside.
Most were modest - worn texts from his days as a junior disciple, techniques passed down without fanfare. But each had its value. Each had seen him through hard winters and long nights on the outer fringes of the sect.
His fingers paused on a thin, faded volume: Flowing Jade Meridian Method. It wasn't ideal, but it emphasized qi regulation, internal balance, and the fine-tuned control Mizuki would need now that she'd reached the first stage of Qi Condensation.
Not flashy, Lin Feng thought, flipping through the pages, but steady. Clean. It'll keep her foundation stable.
He stood and crossed the clearing, where the disciples had returned to their training spots - Adrien focused on slow, precise stances, Ning Xu levitating again in erratic spirals of control and imbalance, and Mizuki seated on a flat stone, eyes closed, her breaths slow and measured.
Lin Feng crouched beside her and gently set the manual in her lap.
"This isn't your long-term technique," he said. "But it'll help you root yourself in this new stage. It'll teach you discipline over raw power."
Mizuki opened her eyes and looked down at the cover. "Flowing Jade…" she murmured, brushing her thumb over the faded calligraphy. "I'll make it work."
"I know you will."
As Lin Feng rose, Adrien glanced over from his place under a tree. "So what's the plan for us?"
"You keep training," Lin Feng said, voice even. "Stick to the basics. What Mizuki achieved wasn't luckit was steady effort. Stay focused."
Adrien gave a short nod, the usual sarcasm absent from his face.
Ning floated closer, her toes brushing the grass as she drifted in slowly. "You sensed someone out there, didn't you?"
Lin Feng gave a slight nod. "Signs of recent activity. Nothing definitive, but it wasn't a spirit beast."
Mizuki frowned. "Could be another group of cultivators."
"Possibly," Lin Feng said. "But we don't know their intentions, or how far they are. Could've been passing through, or watching from a distance."
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. Because this place wasn't already cheerful enough."
"No panic," Lin Feng said calmly. "We stay sharp. We keep training. If trouble comes, we'll face it prepared."
His gaze swept over them, pausing on each disciple.
"I'll handle the outer defense. You handle yourselves."
Mizuki straightened, clutching the manual now tucked under one arm. "We will."
Lin Feng met her eyes, then nodded once, decisively. "Good."
And with that, the quiet rhythm of training resumed in earnest beneath the trees - focused breathing, channeling qi, correcting postures, and pushing gently, patiently, toward growth.
The peace was tentative, but for now, it held.
…
The sky was pale with the weight of an unbroken dawn, the forest hushed in that narrow space between night's retreat and the day's first breath. Lin Feng sat cross-legged beside the keystone, the quiet hum of spiritual energy pulsing faintly beneath his palm.
[System Mission Update]
[System Mission: Foundation of a Sect]
Objective: Have all disciples reach the 1st stage of Qi Condensation.
Reward: 1x Free Roll, +300 CP.
[System Mission: Proving Grounds]
Objective: Have a disciple kill or subdue a hostile entity.
Reward: 1x Freebie Token, +200 CP.
[System Mission: Pillar of Progress]
Objective: Reach Foundation Establishment 4-Pillar.
Reward: +400 CP, Unlock: Core Cultivation Tracking.
The notifications faded like dew in sunlight, leaving Lin Feng alone with his thoughts.
He exhaled slowly, the breath steady, silent. 'Three new missions. Three very different obstacles.'
The first was the most straightforward. Mizuki had already crossed the threshold; Ning Xu and Adrien weren't far behind. With guidance, time, and patience, they could reach it. 'Especially Ning,' he thought. 'She's close - closer than she knows. Adrien… will take more work.'
The second task unsettled him more. 'A disciple killing or subduing a threat?' Not impossible. The Wastes weren't short of danger. But the idea of forcing the issue sat poorly with him. They were still green - Mizuki the closest to being combat-ready, and even then, barely. 'No false bravado. It has to be real. Earned.' A true encounter, not staged or rushed.
But it was the third mission that drew the tightest line between his brows.
4th Pillar.
He opened his eyes, staring at the keystone's faintly glowing glyphs.
Advancing a pillar wasn't a matter of willpower alone. It demanded resources - rare herbs, essence-rich qi, stable cultivation ground - and time. Time he found to be in increasingly short supply.
Everything since arriving in the Thousand Vein Wastes had pulled him in the opposite direction. Shelter. Water. Food. Teaching. Watching over three outworlders who didn't know how to circulate qi properly, let alone survive a night on their own. 'And still… they're mine. My disciples.'
He could feel it now - his third pillar had long stabilized, but aligning the fourth was like threading jade dust through a cracked needle. The stagnation wasn't for lack of insight, but of foundation. What spiritual veins this place had were scattered, chaotic. What he needed was a catalyst. A spiritual stimulant. A breakthrough in spirit or body. Something more than grinding days and sleepless nights.
Not far off, Mizuki was already awake, seated in full lotus, her breaths slow and deep, visible in the morning air. Adrien sat nearby, rubbing sleep from his eyes with one hand, squinting toward the rising light. Ning remained under her blanket, a faint rustle all that marked her presence.
They weren't strangers anymore.
Lin Feng stood, rolling his shoulders silently. The ache in his back from sleeping on roots and stone was familiar now. Endurable.
He glanced at the keystone. 'Fourth Pillar will come.'
But first, the sect had to rise.
He turned from the keystone, movements quiet. The forest beyond the camp remained still, but stillness could lie. And the Thousand Vein Wastes didn't offer peace freely.
Without waking the others, Lin Feng tightened his sword at his back and slipped beyond the tree line.
…
A chill wind whispered through the brittle branches, stirring dead leaves into restless spirals. He moved with practiced steps, senses open - every root, every shadow, every distant rustle weighed and filed away.
Signs of life weren't hard to find. A bent reed here, fresh scuff marks in the dirt there. Tracks - two sets. Human. Old enough to be safe, recent enough to matter. No beast he knew moved with such rhythm.
He knelt beside one footprint, pressing two fingers into the edge. The soil had only just dried. Within the past day. Passing through? Or circling?
The Wastes were unpredictable. Rogue cultivators. Bandits. Sect remnants. Scavengers. Or worse - those warped by tainted qi into something half-human, half-hollow.
He rose silently, eyes tracing the horizon. The terrain sloped subtly northward - if someone meant to approach, that would be their path.
Lin Feng turned, eyes narrowing.
No confrontation today. But he would not be caught unprepared.
He returned to camp through a different path, sweeping for signs of ambush. None came. Only the wind and the heavy stillness that never quite left this place.
Back at the clearing, Adrien had begun stirring a cooking fire with a stick. Mizuki opened her eyes mid-meditation as Lin Feng stepped back into view. Ning poked her head out from the blanket, hair a mess.
Lin Feng said nothing at first. He let the calm settle.
But in his mind, the map had changed. Lines of defense redrawn. Possibilities recalculated.
Danger was coming.
He intended to meet it standing.
…
The sun angled through the canopy, its light slanting through the trees in long, fractured beams. The heat of midday had faded, giving way to the humid stillness of afternoon. Lin Feng stood with arms folded, watching his disciples train in the clearing.
Mizuki's breathing was steady as she cycled qi through her meridians, sweat clinging to her brow. Adrien was running stance drills with determined sloppiness, trying to compensate with raw effort. Ning was meditating beside the keystone, her expression tense with concentration, lips moving soundlessly.
It was routine now. Hard-earned. Quiet.
And then - he heard it.
Faint. Too faint for a normal ear. But Lin Feng stilled instantly, head tilting toward the distant woods.
Beast cry. And… a person. Shouting. Pain.
He didn't speak. He didn't explain. He simply moved.
By the time the disciples looked up, Lin Feng was already gone, vanishing into the trees like smoke.
The forest swallowed him quickly. Branches blurred past. His footfalls were near-silent, each stride deliberate and balanced. He followed the sound, letting instinct guide him through the brush, until the scent of blood touched his senses.
Then he saw them.
Two figures stood at the edge of a shallow ravine, half-hidden by thick undergrowth. Both were clad in strange garments - woven from leaves, bark, and vines in a way that blended seamlessly with the forest. Bone masks covered their faces, each carved with primitive yet deliberate patterns.
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.
'Not sect cultivators.' Their qi signatures were faint, erratic - untamed. Locals, maybe. Or something else.
One of them, broad-shouldered and slumped against a mossy rock, was bleeding badly. The jagged shaft of a shattered javelin lay nearby, slick with gore.
The other, slighter in frame, stood between the wolves and the wounded, gripping a chipped saber in shaking hands. They looked barely older than a child. But when the spirit beasts crept closer, they did not run.
They screamed instead - raw, defiant, and human.
The wolves flinched - but only for a breath.
Then the largest beast lunged, yellow eyes blazing.
Lin Feng dropped from the trees like a blade.
One step, then another - his presence exploding into the clearing like a silent thunderclap. He moved past the masked defender in a blur, robes snapping as his palm met the charging wolf's skull.
A shockwave rippled outward.
The wolf hit the ground mid-pounce - limp, unconscious, unmoving.
The other two beasts skidded to a halt, teeth bared and growling low.
Lin Feng straightened slowly, eyes fixed on the pack, sword still sheathed.
"I suggest you leave."
The beasts hesitated, then turned and vanished into the brush without a sound.
The defender sank to her knees, chest heaving. She tore off her mask, revealing a young woman's face streaked with dirt and sweat. Her sharp eyes, wide with desperation, shone bright despite the grime - like a flicker of fierce hope struggling to survive in the shadows.
"Please," she gasped, voice trembling, "save my brother..."
Lin Feng's gaze hardened, shadowed by a sudden weight.
Because in that moment, the forest seemed to close in around them - silent, watching.
And somewhere, deeper in the trees, something stirred.
Waiting.