The deeper they walked, the quieter the Reflection Marsh became.
Not silent—silence was peaceful.
This was the kind of quiet that felt like someone holding their breath behind your ear.
The air thickened, mirror qi growing denser with every step. The walls of warped glass slowly shifted into tall, thin pillars that stretched into the mist like a forest of frozen waterfalls. The ground reflected their feet even when it shouldn't have.
Li Chun tugged nervously at Lin Qing's sleeve. "Heir Lin Qing… does the Marsh feel… tighter?"
"Yes," Lin Qing said. "Like a bad hug."
Yin Luo scanned the surroundings without blinking. "Don't let your mind drift. If you lose focus for even a second, the Marsh will replace you with a reflection."
Li Chun let out a squeak and glued himself to Tian Ke.
A faint ripple passed across the ground ahead.
Lin Qing slowed. "Something's coming."
The mist parted—revealing a single figure walking toward them.
A young man in pristine white robes, hands behind his back, as calm as if strolling through a garden. His steps didn't disturb the mirror surface beneath him. Even the Marsh seemed reluctant to touch him.
Yin Luo's expression hardened. Tian Ke's hand went instantly to his sword.
Li Chun whispered, "Oh no. Oh no. We're doomed."
Lin Qing glanced at him. "Who is he?"
"Xu Hong!" Li Chun choked out. "Holy Son of the Sacred Star Pavilion! He's… he's ranked ninth on the Heavenly Ascension List!"
Lin Qing blinked. "Only ninth? Why are you panicking?"
"Ninth on the entire Azure Heaven Continent!"
"…Reasonable."
Xu Hong stopped ten meters away, studying Lin Qing with clear, sharp eyes. His aura was quiet, but it pressed on the surroundings like an invisible weight—precise, refined, perfectly controlled.
"You are the Blood Mirror Heir," Xu Hong said, voice calm. "The one who defeated Yan Yue and Nie Xuan on the Crimson Plains."
"Defeated is a strong word," Lin Qing said. "I redirected enthusiasm."
Xu Hong's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. "Regardless, your reputation reached me. I came to see if it was exaggerated."
Li Chun made a strangled noise. "He came to TEST you?!"
Xu Hong stepped forward. The Marsh reacted immediately—dozens of tiny reflections rippled outward from his feet, forming fractal patterns.
This man wasn't strong because of talent alone.
He understood mirror qi.
Yin Luo leaned closer to Lin Qing. "Be careful. His Dao is precision-based. If he sees a single flaw—"
"He'll capitalize on it," Lin Qing finished. "Great."
But he didn't step back.
He stepped forward.
Xu Hong's eyes sharpened. "I see. You don't intend to run."
"I came here to learn," Lin Qing said. "Running would defeat the purpose."
Xu Hong nodded once, as if approving. "Good."
A small pebble at Xu Hong's feet lifted slightly—barely off the ground.
Lin Qing felt it.
Not with qi.
Not with his senses.
The Heavenly Insight Divine Body reacted on its own.
Something about the angle was wrong.
The weight distribution.
The tension in Xu Hong's foot.
The pattern of the Marsh around him.
Lin Qing moved sideways one step.
The pebble shot past where his head had been and carved a hole straight through a crystal pillar behind him. The pillar didn't shatter—it simply vanished, erased cleanly from existence.
Li Chun made a sound like a dying guinea pig.
"Okay," Lin Qing said. "That's annoying."
Xu Hong lowered his foot. "You react quickly. Good. Again."
Pebbles, dust, fragments of mirror qi—anything the Marsh produced—became weapons the moment Xu Hong shifted his stance. Every movement was efficient, silent, deadly.
Lin Qing dodged three strikes, blocked one with the flat of his palm, and deflected another by slightly shifting his weight.
The Marsh helped him—mirror qi swirling around him in instinctive resonance.
The Mirror Blood Scripture pulsed gently, guiding his instinct.
Xu Hong closed the distance in a blink, hand extended like a blade. Lin Qing's body moved before his mind caught up, stepping inside the attack instead of away from it.
His finger tapped Xu Hong's wrist—just lightly.
But the Marsh reacted instantly.
The mirror ground beneath Xu Hong cracked like thin ice.
Xu Hong froze.
Then he stepped back cleanly, withdrawing his killing intent.
"Enough."
Li Chun almost sobbed in relief.
Xu Hong's eyes studied Lin Qing again, deeper now. "You're not simply talented. The Marsh itself flows with you."
"Not my fault," Lin Qing said. "Everything keeps flowing at me."
For the first time, Xu Hong smiled faintly. "I see now why the others spoke of you. This generation may not be as dull as I expected."
He stepped aside, motioning toward the deeper fog. "Beyond this path lies the first Reflection Pool. If you wish to grow stronger, that is where you must go. The trial is dangerous… but suited for those with your kind of dao resonance."
Lin Qing's brow lifted. "And you're just letting us pass?"
"I didn't come to kill you," Xu Hong said. "Only to understand you."
He turned, his figure already blurring into mist. "I have my own path to walk. But we will meet again, Blood Mirror Heir."
He vanished without disturbing a single ripple.
Li Chun collapsed on the spot. "Heir Lin Qing… why do all the terrifying people like testing you specifically?!"
Lin Qing sighed. "Maybe I look approachable."
"No," Tian Ke said. "You definitely don't."
Yin Luo started walking. "Regardless, we should keep moving. The Reflection Pool will not stay stable forever."
Lin Qing followed, though he couldn't shake the faint feeling that the Marsh was becoming more alive the deeper he went.
It wasn't watching him.
It was expecting him.