The campfires flickered weakly, their smoke swallowed by the miasma that curled through Broken Fang Gorge. Disciples huddled close, weapons within reach, eyes darting to every shifting shadow. The gorge had a way of pressing on the chest, as if some vast beast was watching from unseen ridges.
Lin Xuan sat cross-legged, spear laid across his lap. His breathing was steady, his Flowing Meridian Path circulating smoothly despite the poison-laced mist. But inside, he was taut as a drawn bow.
The System's voice whispered through his mind.
[Alert: Hostile convergence accelerating. Estimated contact: 73 breaths. Dual threat confirmed: Spirit beasts and hostile disciples.]
His grip tightened on the spear shaft. "So it begins."
Across the fire, Wei Qing noticed his stillness. The Ironwood Spear disciple leaned closer. "You feel it too?"
Lin Xuan's gaze flicked to the gorge's darkness. "The air tastes wrong. Be ready."
Wei Qing gave a sharp nod, respect flickering in his eyes.
It came low and deep, rattling stone and bone alike — a howl that seemed to rise from the very gorge walls. The firelight quivered. Every disciple froze.
Then the mist split.
Three shapes surged from the darkness, eyes glowing a baleful green. Fangscale Wolves — larger than those slain earlier, their scales thicker, their claws burning with venomous Qi. Behind them, more shadows stirred, waiting for the first blood to fall.
"Formation!" Instructor Huo barked. But before the disciples could shift, chaos broke the night.
From the rear of camp, blades flashed. Disciples screamed — cut down not by wolves, but by their own peers.
Qiu Ran's voice rang out sharp and cold. "Lin Xuan! Tonight you fall!"
The wolves crashed into the front lines even as Qiu Ran's faction struck from behind. Panic tore through the camp, disciples scattering like frightened birds.
The first wolf lunged straight for Lin Xuan. Its maw gaped wide, fangs dripping poison that hissed as it struck earth.
[Skill Detected: Venom Fang Strike – Beast technique.]
"Yes."
Lin Xuan's spear whipped up, intercepting the bite. Venom sizzled against iron, but his Qi reinforced the shaft. With a twist, he redirected the wolf's momentum, slamming its head into the ground.
Before he could finish it, a blade arced toward his back.
He spun. Qiu Ran himself was there, sword glinting with oily green light — Nightroot poison smeared along its edge.
"Die!" Qiu Ran hissed.
Lin Xuan met the strike with his spear, sparks bursting in the night.
Wolves circled, eyes glowing through the mist. Disciples screamed as fangs found flesh, while others clashed in the firelight, their blades wet with both beast blood and human blood.
Lin Xuan's world narrowed. Spear against sword, wolf against flesh.
Qiu Ran pressed hard, each strike fast and vicious, seeking to overwhelm. But Lin Xuan's Omni-Talent System hummed with new flows of knowledge, refining his movements with each exchange.
[Skill Perfection: Phantom Drift Footwork → perfected. Movement speed +15%.]
[Skill Detected: Venom Edge Sword – Low-grade toxic blade technique.]
"Yes."
Suddenly, his spear slipped through the rhythm of Qiu Ran's blade, turning it aside with almost insulting ease. He countered with a thrust so sharp it grazed Qiu Ran's shoulder, drawing blood.
The other disciple staggered back, face twisting. "Impossible—"
A wolf leapt from the side, fangs aimed for Lin Xuan's throat. He dropped low, spear sweeping in a perfect arc. The beast's skull split, black blood spraying hot across the stones.
Around them, the camp was carnage. A disciple shrieked as a wolf tore into him. Another staggered, clutching a dagger wound in his side — not beast-made, but human.
Instructor Huo battled two wolves at once, his blade flashing bright — but even he was pressed hard, blood marking his robe.
Wei Qing fought nearby, his ironwood spear moving with disciplined precision. He carved space around himself, cutting down a wolf that lunged too close. His gaze caught Lin Xuan's briefly. "Hold your ground!"
Lin Xuan nodded once — then ducked as Qiu Ran's poisoned blade whistled past his face.
Qiu Ran snarled, his movements growing frantic. "You humiliated Meng Zhao! Tonight I carve your bones clean!"
His sword shimmered faintly, poison Qi condensing along its edge until the air itself hissed.
[Warning: Lethal toxin identified. Direct contact fatal within 10 breaths.]
Lin Xuan's expression remained calm. His spear spun in a flowing pattern, every strike deliberate, his breathing synchronized with the Flowing Meridian Path. He could feel the battle pressing on all sides, but in this moment, Qiu Ran's fury only fed his focus.
"Poison rots only its wielder," Lin Xuan said coldly.
With Phantom Drift, he blurred aside, his afterimage catching Qiu Ran's blade while his real strike hammered into his ribs. Qiu Ran gasped, spitting blood, staggering back.
Before Lin Xuan could finish him, another wolf slammed into his side. Pain flared as claws raked his arm. He twisted mid-fall, spear lashing backward, piercing through its eye.
Blood sprayed, hot and thick. The beast convulsed once and collapsed.
Disciples who had thought Lin Xuan would die quickly now stared in disbelief. His spear danced amid chaos, claiming beast and man alike. Each movement flowed like water, each strike precise as lightning.
One follower of Qiu Ran rushed him from behind — Lin Xuan twisted, spear butt cracking against the man's jaw with a sound like splitting bone.
Another wolf leapt — his spear tore upward, splitting its chest.
But for every enemy that fell, more pressed forward. Lin Xuan's arms burned, his breath ragged.
[System Alert: Host stamina 42%. Risk of exhaustion.]
Still, he stood tall, spear dripping with blood, eyes sharp.
Qiu Ran clutched his ribs, fury blazing. "I'll end this!"
He poured his Qi into his blade, the poison flaring green like fire. With a howl, he struck, the blade cutting an arc that seemed to split the very mist.
Lin Xuan's instincts screamed. He couldn't block head-on.
[Emergency Fusion available: Dragon Fang Thrust + Silver Arc Slash + Ghost Step.]
"Yes!"
His body blurred, spear tip exploding forward with refined perfection. The strike pierced Qiu Ran's shoulder, driving clean through.
The disciple screamed, blood spraying. His sword fell from numb fingers as he crumpled, face pale.
The battle raged on until dawn's first light crept through the mist. Wolves lay strewn across the gorge floor, their corpses steaming. Disciples, too, littered the ground — some torn apart, others cut down by blades not their own.
The fire had died, leaving only smoke and blood.
Lin Xuan stood amid it all, chest heaving, his robe soaked crimson. His spear dripped, the iron tip dulled by gore. Around him, survivors staggered, faces pale with exhaustion and horror.
Qiu Ran lay groaning, clutching his shattered shoulder, eyes filled with hatred even through the pain.
"You… won't live long…" he rasped.
Lin Xuan's gaze was cold as steel. "Then you had best hope you recover faster than I rise."
Instructor Huo strode into the carnage, his robe tattered, eyes grim. "The gorge trial continues. Those who survived… move deeper. The sect demands more."
Lin Xuan tightened his grip on his spear, feeling the System hum with new potential.
[Hidden Quest Completed: Survive dual ambush. Reward: Talent Replication upgrade unlocked. Range extended: 5 breaths.]
His eyes lifted toward the mist-shrouded depths of the gorge. Already, he could sense stronger presences stirring — beasts more fearsome, and perhaps darker schemes yet to unfold.
And somewhere beyond, Meng Zhao would be waiting for news.
Lin Xuan raised his spear. "Then let the gorge test me again."