There was no dawn in Broken Fang Gorge. Morning light bled into mist, weak and gray; but the Gorge floor remained steeped in shadow.
Lin Xuan was up before the loons, spear already in hand. When a stranger feels the air is uneasy, birds may already have sensed it and stopped singing, but much is lost on we mortal men. As if in answer, he touched with his fingertips the heart that beat, now open to the air.
In the pelting rain, a low rumble swept along the gorge, pebbles dancing and soil heaped up. Birds exploded from the cliffs in huge crowds, cawing frantically into the sky.
Then came the roar of it. It wasn't the howl of a wolf or the hiss of a snake. It was a guttural noise that made your bones cry out and came from spirits before the world was born.
Howls broke from among the sleeping disciples, and hands gripped weapons. Shouts rang out; every word was threaded with fear.
"That--what was that?"
"Too close! Much too close!"
"It sounded like--like nothing I've ever heard…."
Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes, his knuckles turning white on the shaft of his spear. The SiXian continent's ultimate seal is broken. The spirit-beasts have come.
[System Alert: Mutated Spirit Wolf has been detected. Cause: Leakage of Primordial Qi. Level: Qi Condensation, Peak.]
The mist parted with an ear-splitting scream. A wolf leapt free from the shadows--but its shape was all wrong. Its eyes shone red as molten iron, black veins wove in and out under its fur, and saliva congealed, hissing as it dripped from its jaws to the ground.
"Formations! Quick," an older disciple ordered.
But more came. Two, five, ten. Wolves twisted by something older than nature itself. Their forms writhed grotesquely, some sprouting bone protrusions from their spines, others dragging half-formed limbs behind.
The disciples scrambled into defensive circles and cupped bright rope-bristling handfuls of thought. Werewolf stools, but the world dice threw badly; apologies, yes sir last. Sly. Their spew hung with threads of flesh from the bushes and sharp reeds.
The first clash was chaos. Wolves hurled themselves against hastily raised barriers, snapping unbreakable steel Qi flaring, cutting with their claws, inch by little inch. Wooden fences grew as quickly as they disappeared, and where they caught the golden light of Ye, you could see greater cause for worry.
Disciples shouted shrilly beneath a hail of blood. Blood sprayed across stone.
Lin Xuan moved. A thrust that pierced a wolf's eye and drove through its skull, his first strike was clean. Did not roar, boast. His movements were precise, measured as if he were water following slowly around stone.
OmTalent opened and recorded yet again. Talent acquired: Spirit Wolf Instincts (Low-Grade). His body shifted minutely; his steps matched the wolves' rhythm. In his perception of time, their lunges all felt slower, their claws already intercepted. His spear became a line with no alternative, cutting short every new development.
In the disciples' eyes, he seemed like a man standing calmly in a storm, his spear never leaning one way or the other as large beasts fleetingly fell.
Omni-Talent activated, "Observation: Uninterrupted." Cultivation level consciousness unlocked. Disciples.
But Lin Xuan did not step forward to lead. He fought only where the line was about to break, plugging up holes, deflecting fatal blows, ensuring that the array would not shatter.
Blood floated languidly across the sky. A second roar split the gorge, descending like an awe-inspiring weight. The wolves freeze, then scatter in single-minded, submissive howls.
The ground shatters. A crack opens near the base of the cliff, rock splitting apart like decayed bamboo. Tumbling out of it is an animal that doesn't belong to this age. It is a serpent, but grotesque: scales black as tar, head crowned with bone so jagged as to be almost hairy; body too flood for its length. The pupils in its eyes are faint gold, not indicating life but hunger.
(System Alert: Mutated Abyss Serpent. Cultivation Level: Foundation Establishment, Early Stage.)
The disciples' faces turn pale and start to shrink back. Foundation Establishment? This is clearly a test meant for Outer Sect initiates barely in Qi Gathering!
"It's impossible!" one yelled, his voice cracking. "How can something like that be here?"
"Retreat!" another got out, already stumbling back.
The dragon was there. The head lashed, jaws opening wide to snap around every last disciple before he could abscond. Bones were crushed, blood sprayed everywhere, and the boy's scream topped out in slip.
Panic flared. Lin Xuan's pulse felt no change, but the world went mad around him. The spear lowered, resting point to the ground, while he studied the serpent.
And this was the true trial of the gorges. The sect knew, yet they named it training. Cowards!
He took a breath, guiding his Qi.
[Suggested Skill Fusion: Spirit Wolf Instincts + Flowing Meridian Spear -> Predator Flow.]
"Accept."
The world shifted. His body sank still lower yet, the spear angling as if he were not man but wolf. Rhythm tuned to both predator and delight.
The serpent attacked again, its jaws wide. Lin Xuan slid to one side, his spear stabbing upward into the soft hinge of its jaw. Sparks were thrown off as the bone turned his thrust, but from this angle, the creature was forced to retreat.
Disciples goggled. Not one had dared approach. But Lin Xuan did not follow. He returned to the ranks, his movements minimal, quiet. The snake's attention shifted back to those panicked disciples who were louder, weaker, and couldn't conceal themselves.
Yet every time, its killing blow the last spear appeared. Suppose it was deflected here and a piercing thrust made, there. He did not claim to be savior, nor bellow from his own throat. Only - he stood there with fewer dead.
High above the gorge, hidden behind layers of mist, the sect's elders peered down to squint through a suspended jade mirror.
"What in blazes is that thing?" one demanded, while his beard shook.
"Impossible. Generations ago, the gorge was sealed. How could the Primordial Qi leak out?"
"More than that... that disciple."
The mirror turned, centering on Lin Xuan. His movements were clean and crisp, his face well composed amidst the bloodshed. Each of his spear's thrusts added precious seconds to the clock; but he seemed uninterested in being acknowledged for it.
"That kid's not handicapped," one of the seniors muttered, idly.
Another knit his brow. "Lin family's second son... The one with no spiritual roots, they say. And yet here he is."
The eldest of the elders, silent and eyes half shut, stroked thoughtfully at his beard.
The serpent's huge body snaked back, its throat inflated. With a slight hiss, it spewed a mist of venom. Trees withered the moment it passed over them, stone screamed as it boiled. Disciples yelled and screamed, running away in every direction. The lines of defense collapsed.
Lin Xuan's gaze rose. One flash of his spear, accompanied by the rising flare of Qi. The mist parted, creating a narrow clear line within.
［Omnipotent Talent Activated: Observation has been completed. Your reward --Venom Veil (inferior)］
The poison slowed in his mind, the threads of death unraveling themselves. He directed his companions unobtrusively, but gave no orders. Instead, he moved where gaps awaited him. They followed intuitively, not understanding why but lived longer.
Lin Xuan returned to action. All were prostrated. The snake raged; venom burned, screams bellowed out. Corpses carpeted the valley floor.
Another stroke brought Lin Xuan hurtling toward the monster's midsection. The pulse quickened once again, branching out so that even the snake was momentarily thrown off guard. Another, even deeper, split open.
And out of it poured not one, but three horrendous shapes – their bodies dark gold as they glowed.
Lin Xuan breathed lightly outward. His grip tightened on the spear.
"It begins."
[Warning: target is being surrounded. Suggest immediate choice—Start a fight, Run or Witness.]
Lin Xuan adopted a low posture, his eyes cast deep under his forehead. He didn't bellow or boast. He simply whispered: "Go now."