Two months had passed. During that time, Bai Tian had almost completely shut himself inside his house, focusing on only one thing—alchemy. His days were filled with experiments, failures, and repeated attempts. Finally, on a quiet morning, he looked at the simple wooden table in front of him with a wide smile.
"Excellent… I'm truly delighted."
On the table lay four pills of different colors and aromas. Although all were just low-level pills, for Bai Tian, they were tangible proof of how quickly he had progressed. With enthusiasm, he prepared ten new sets of ingredients.
During his training, his pill-refining furnace had exploded four times, and over twenty times his results were burnt. So many spiritual medicines wasted, yet miraculously, the furnace still stood, though now its surface was cracked.
Bai Tian rubbed the cracked refining furnace with a slightly gloomy expression.
"If I'm lucky, it might withstand five more explosions. But I must be more careful. If it breaks before I collect enough money for a new furnace… I'll have no choice but to go out and take missions."
He took a deep breath and stood up. For the moment, his mind shifted away from alchemy. He stepped outside his house, just wanting to look around.
"Hm? Seems like there's a new neighbor… Why did he choose to live nearby?" he murmured softly.
As Bai Tian hesitated, wondering whether he should visit or not, the sound of footsteps approached from outside the fence. He opened the door and stepped out, preparing himself for whoever was coming.
The footsteps came closer, steady yet heavy, as if carrying an invisible burden from the past. Beyond the simple wooden fence, a young man appeared. His face was firm, yet his eyes contained bitterness. Faint scars remained on his body—a trace of a recent battle.
Bai Tian glanced briefly. The aura was unfamiliar, yet vaguely reminiscent of crowds from a distant place.
The young man stopped in front of him and let out a long sigh.
"My name is Luo Chen. I moved here… about a month ago."
Bai Tian nodded politely.
"Bai Tian. Sorry, I only just realized I have a neighbor."
Luo Chen gave a thin smile, more like a bitter trace than an exaggerated one.
"No matter. Remote places like this are rare. But… after everything that happened, I just want peace. I just want… a place to calm myself."
His tone flowed deeply, as if each word carried the long shadow of his past.
"I used to be a disciple in a sect," Luo Chen suddenly said, his voice hoarse but firm. "But during the promotion trial, I had a conflict and lost. And after that… you probably understand."
His eyes gleamed with restrained anger and shame. His hands clenched tightly, as if still feeling the moments of defeat that changed his life's path.
Bai Tian stared for a long moment. He felt pity, but more than that, he sensed a lesson hidden within Luo Chen's wounds.
"Then," Bai Tian said calmly, "perhaps this quiet place can give a new beginning. Defeat… is defeat. Just take it as a lesson."
Luo Chen recalled the words and gave a bitter smile.
"Perhaps you are right."
The evening wind blew gently, scattering dry leaves spinning along the path. The brief meeting in front of the house felt simple, yet Bai Tian knew—the arrival of his new neighbor would bring change to his life.
From that night on, Bai Tian and Luo Chen often sat together. They shared stories, faint laughter, and even silence. Strangely, they both loved mortal tales—novels written by ordinary humans. From there, their friendship grew, slowly but steadily.
Two weeks later, on a night just before dawn, five strangers arrived at Bai Tian's dwelling.
While Bai Tian and Luo Chen were chatting as usual, the five figures approached. They carried jars of drink and small lanterns that emitted dim light. Luo Chen recognized one of them. Without asking much, he invited them to sit. He knew the five had fates not much different from his own.
The five merely nodded to each other. Without excessive words, they did small things to calm their hearts. One roasted meat over a simple fire. Another leaned under a tree, staring at distant stars. Some got drunk; others immersed themselves in pages of novels.
In the midst of the drunken atmosphere, when the drink in the jar had half-frozen, one of them suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice:
"I heard… in the Third Secret Realm, there is a boxing demon."
Suddenly, two pairs of eyes turned toward him. Someone sitting under the tree immediately responded, a mixture of surprise and fear in his tone:
"A boxing demon? Is that real? Isn't that just a rumor among outsiders?"
Luo Chen, who had been staring at the peak fire, finally spoke. He lifted the jar, took a sip, and then slammed it down.
"That's not just a rumor. I heard there were two outsiders who were beaten half to death. And the most terrifying part—" he paused, looking at each face, "—their wounds were clearly caused by physical strength, not technique. Like being struck by a boxer."
Silence followed. The fire crackled softly, as if confirming his words.
Then, another voice suddenly came from across the circle, low but piercing:
"Haven't you noticed the Master Sect's nephew? I heard he also entered the Third Secret Realm. It could all be his doing."
"Impossible!" Luo Chen immediately refuted, his voice rising. "The Master Sect's nephew is known to be gentle. How could he commit such brutal violence?"
"Gentle?" someone else scoffed cynically. "A sweet face can be deceiving. Who knows what lies behind that polite demeanor?"
Another young man added hesitantly:"I've seen him… he really is gentle. Polite, soft-spoken… almost like a fairy. I can hardly believe he is capable of such cruel blows."
The conversation caused the circle to stir. Some nodded in agreement, others shook their heads, unconvinced.
In his confusion, Luo Chen looked at Bai Tian, who sat drunk, flushed from the wine. With a half-joking, half-curious tone, he asked:
"Hey, Xio Tian… care to explain? Could it really be the Master Sect's nephew?"
Bai Tian, already lost in his drunkenness, lifted his head and blankly shouted with raw emotion:
"To hell with manners! To hell with that fairy face! Xuan Ying'er… she… she is not a good seed! Better you never approach her!"
The atmosphere immediately erupted. The six young men simultaneously turned, their faces satisfied.
"What?!""You… you just mentioned the Master Sect's nephew?"
"How do you know about her?"
They immediately surrounded Bai Tian, demanding an explanation. But Bai Tian only shouted, laughed bitterly, and then closed his eyes, as if unwilling to answer further.
Luo Chen stared for a long time, his breath heavy. Bai Tian's words echoed in his ears. Xuan Ying'er… could she really be a "good seed"?
Time passed. Before dawn spread across the sky, one by one, they returned to their respective homes, leaving the circle fire at the peak slowly dying out.