The Small World of Ancient Trials was a dangerous place.
The air was filled with toxic miasma. The jungle teemed with beasts that viewed humans as chew toys. The gravity was heavy, and the sky was a blood-red bruise.
In the center of the Landing Plaza, however, the air smelled delicious.
"Sichuan Spirit Peppercorns," Jiang Chen muttered, tossing a handful of glowing red spices into a bubbling pot. "Sliced Thunder-Beef. And a dash of... Liquid Gold Essence."
The aroma of the hotpot was aggressive. It wafted through the plaza, drifted into the tree line, and assaulted the noses of the hundreds of disciples hiding in the bushes.
The disciples of the Violet Mist Pavilion and Beast Mountain, who were currently chewing on dry rations, swallowed their saliva.
They watched as Jiang Chen sat on a folding chair, dipping a piece of meat into the spicy broth.
"Master," Ye Kai sat on a rock, holding a bowl the size of a bucket. "The beef is tender."
"Eat up," Jiang Chen fanned the steam. "You need protein. We have a lot of trash to take out later."
Su Ling wasn't eating. She was setting up a perimeter of Sensor Totems.
"Atmospheric interference is high," she muttered. "But I detect movement. Large mass. Low intelligence. Approaching from the South."
"Guests?" Jiang Chen asked.
"More like pests," Su Ling adjusted her glasses.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The ground shook rhythmically.
From the southern entrance of the plaza, a group of golden-skinned men marched in.
It was the Vajra Temple.
Leading them was Monk Kuhai.
His nose was swollen and purple from where he had punched himself earlier. His eyes were bloodshot with rage.
Behind him stood 18 Bronze Arhats—elite warrior monks known for their combined defense formation. They held heavy iron staffs and radiated a heavy, metallic aura.
"Amitabha," Kuhai spat the holy word like a curse. "You are still here. Eating."
Jiang Chen didn't look up from his bowl. "We are waiting for the beef to cook. Do you want some? 500 Spirit Stones a bowl."
"Insolence!" Kuhai roared. "Earlier, your witch used a trick to humiliate me! But tricks do not work against absolute power!"
Kuhai slammed his bone staff into the ground.
"Vajra Temple Disciples! Form the 18 Bronze Wall Array!"
"HOH!"
The 18 monks stomped in unison. Their skin turned a dark, metallic bronze. They linked their Qi together, forming a golden barrier that looked solid enough to stop a siege engine.
This was the pride of the Vajra Temple. The damage taken by one was shared by all eighteen. It was considered unbreakable by anyone under the Nascent Soul realm.
"Surrender your storage rings!" Kuhai shouted, pointing his staff at Jiang Chen. "And crawl out of this plaza! Otherwise, we will break your limbs and feed you to the pigs!"
Jiang Chen sighed. He put down his chopsticks.
"Ye Kai."
"Yes, Master?" Ye Kai stood up. He wiped his mouth with his forearm.
"They are disturbing my digestion," Jiang Chen said. "I told you to fold them earlier. Why are they still standing?"
"I was hungry," Ye Kai apologized. "I will fold them now."
The Physics of Folding
Ye Kai walked toward the wall of 18 monks.
He cracked his neck. Crack. Crack.
He wasn't using Qi. He wasn't using a technique. He was just walking.
"Fool!" Kuhai sneered. "You think you can break the 18 Bronze Wall alone? Attack!"
The 18 monks moved as one. Eighteen iron staffs smashed down simultaneously, aiming to turn Ye Kai into meat paste.
Ye Kai didn't dodge.
He raised his left arm.
[Titan Gauntlet: Block.]
CLANG!
The sound was like a temple bell being struck by a meteor.
Eighteen staffs hit Ye Kai's forearm.
The ground beneath Ye Kai shattered into a crater.
But Ye Kai's arm didn't move. Not even a millimeter.
The monks froze. The vibration from the impact traveled back up their staffs, shattering the bones in their hands.
"How...?" Kuhai gasped. "That is 100,000 pounds of force!"
"My turn," Ye Kai grunted.
He reached out and grabbed the nearest monk by the ankle.
"Fold."
Ye Kai swung the monk like a wet towel.
He smashed the monk into the monk standing next to him.
CRUNCH.
The "Indestructible Bronze Skin" crumpled. The two monks were tangled together in a shape that human anatomy shouldn't allow.
Ye Kai didn't stop.
He grabbed the tangle of two monks and swung them into a third. Then a fourth.
He was rolling them up. Like a snowball made of screaming bald men.
"Stop! The formation! Maintain the formation!" Kuhai screamed.
"I am helping you maintain it," Ye Kai said earnestly. "Closer is better."
He grabbed the entire cluster of groaning monks and squeezed.
The Titan Gauntlets exerted terrifying pressure.
The 18 monks were compressed into a single, large, spherical ball of limbs and bronze skin.
Ye Kai lifted the "Monk Ball" over his head.
It weighed at least 4,000 pounds. Ye Kai held it with one hand.
He looked at Monk Kuhai, who was standing alone, trembling.
"You... you monster..." Kuhai stepped back. "What kind of martial art is this?"
"It's called Cleaning Up," Ye Kai said.
He looked at the distant horizon.
"Master said to check your aerodynamics."
Ye Kai stepped forward, twisted his waist, and threw.
[Technique: The Yeet.]
ZOOOOOM.
The ball of 18 monks broke the sound barrier. It flew over the tree line, over the jungle canopy, and vanished into the purple clouds.
A few seconds later, a distant twinkle appeared in the sky.
Ye Kai turned to Monk Kuhai.
"You missed the flight."
Kuhai shrieked. He dropped his staff and ran. He ran faster than he had ever run in his life, abandoning his dignity, his sect, and his revenge.
Ye Kai dusted off his hands and sat back down.
"Done, Master."
Jiang Chen nodded, fishing out a piece of cooked beef.
"Good form. Now, finish your vegetables."
The Observer in the Shadows
High above in a massive tree, concealing his presence within the texture of the bark itself, a figure watched.
He wore black robes that seemed to absorb the light. His face was covered by a mask painted with a crying blood drop.
This was Ying, the Assassin of the Blood Soul Sect (Nascent Soul Level 6).
He had been watching the whole time.
His mission was to assassinate the "Geniuses" of the five sects. He had marked Monk Kuhai as a potential target.
But now, he crossed Kuhai's name off his list.
And he circled Ye Kai's name in blood red.
"Interesting," a voice whispered in Ying's ear piece.
Ying touched the transmission jade. "Commander. Did you see that?"
In a dark cave miles away, Xie Molin (The Demon Commander) sat on a throne of bones. He was watching the events through a blood-mirror.
Xie Molin's eyes, which contained the depth of a Void Treading Level 9 expert, narrowed slightly.
"I saw it," Xie Molin said lazily. "Pure physical body cultivation. That big disciple... his body is harder than Spirit Iron. He is a good match for Kuang Gu."
"Should I kill them now?" Ying asked. "They are eating. They are distracted."
"No," Xie Molin commanded. "The girl... the one with the glasses. Look at the perimeter."
Ying looked closer.
He realized that floating in the air, invisible to the naked eye, were hundreds of microscopic threads of Qi.
[Nano-Sensor Web.]
If Ying had stepped out of the tree, he would have triggered the alarm instantly.
"She is an Array Master," Xie Molin chuckled. "A Sensor Type. She counters your stealth, Ying. Do not engage alone."
"The Mystic Cloud Sect..." Xie Molin tapped his finger on the armrest. "They are not the trash the intel suggested. They are variables."
"Let the Beast Tide start," Xie Molin ordered. "Let Beast Lord Chi wear them down. When they are exhausted and surrounded by monsters... then we will harvest their heads."
"Understood," Ying faded back into the shadows.
Back at the Hotpot
Jiang Chen put down his bowl.
"We are being watched," Jiang Chen said casually.
"I know," Su Ling tapped her glasses. "One signature in the tree. High energy. Nascent Soul Level 6. Stealth type. He just left."
"Nascent Soul Level 6?" Ye Kai frowned. "The strongest disciple in the Alliance is supposed to Be Nascent Soul 5 (The Sword Guy). Who is Nascent Soul 6?"
"A party crasher," Jiang Chen smiled. "A very dangerous one."
Jiang Chen stood up and kicked the fire out.
"The picnic is over. The rats are here."
"Pack up. We are moving to the River Crossing. I want to set up a toll booth before the Violet Mist Pavilion gets there."
"Toll booth?" Wei Wu asked, tilting his head.
"Yes," Jiang Chen grinned. "The price of crossing the river just went up. Inflation is a terrible thing."