The boundary marker stood crooked at the foot of the mountain.
A weathered stone slab half-buried in dirt, carved with the Azure Ridge Sect's insignia—three peaks pierced by a single sword. The lines were faded, but the warning carved beneath it was still clear.
OUTSIDERS TRESPASS AT THEIR OWN RISK.
I stepped past it without hesitation.
The moment my foot crossed the invisible line, something subtle snapped.
Pressure lifted.
Not physical—spiritual.
I paused and exhaled slowly.
"So that's what it feels like," I murmured. "A sect's leash."
Sect territories weren't just land. They were formations layered over mountains and rivers, quietly suppressing anything that didn't align with their legacy techniques.
Inside, I had been breathing through cloth.
Outside, the air tasted sharp and free.
The path widened into a dirt road used by merchants and wandering martial artists. Wagon tracks crisscrossed the ground. Broken weapons lay discarded near a rock—evidence of a recent skirmish.
I crouched and inspected the marks.
Three attackers. One defender. Short fight.
Sloppy footwork.
"Bandits," I guessed. "Or cultivators pretending to be."
I straightened and kept walking.
If there was one rule of the martial world, it was this:
Trouble always traveled in groups.
I didn't get far before voices reached me.
"…check the road again."
"He couldn't have gone far."
"Azure Ridge pays well for information."
I sighed.
"So much for subtlety."
Five men emerged from behind the trees, weapons half-drawn. None wore sect robes, but their posture screamed trained. Their Qi levels were uneven—two at early Meridian Opening, three still stuck at Tempered Body.
Their leader, a thin man with narrow eyes, smiled.
"Friend," he said pleasantly, "you wouldn't happen to be Li Shen, would you?"
I scratched my cheek. "Depends. Who's asking?"
"People who don't appreciate geniuses who forget their place."
Ah.
Instructor Gao worked fast.
They attacked without waiting for further conversation.
Two rushed head-on. One circled wide. The other two hung back, preparing techniques.
Predictable.
I drew the broken sword.
The first man swung a heavy cleaver, putting everything into brute force. I stepped inside his range, pivoted, and let Rolling Tide Severance flow.
The slash didn't stop.
It continued.
His cleaver shattered. His chest opened. He fell without understanding why.
The second attacker froze.
That hesitation killed him.
I reversed my grip, turned the flow inward, and struck upward. His Qi circulation collapsed instantly. He dropped, screaming.
The two in the rear finally released their techniques—compressed Qi blasts, crude and unstable.
I stepped forward instead of back.
Bad decision—for them.
[Technique Combination — Active]
Rolling Tide Severance
+
Basic Body Reinforcement
Result: Tidal Edge Step
My foot hit the ground.
The road cracked.
I vanished from where I stood and reappeared inside their formation.
One sword stroke.
Two bodies.
The leader tried to run.
I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the dirt.
"Wait—!" he shouted. "I was just following orders!"
I pressed the sword to his throat.
"Good," I said calmly. "Then you can deliver a message."
His eyes widened.
"Tell Instructor Gao," I continued, "that he was right."
I leaned closer.
"Talent without discipline is dangerous."
I knocked him out cold.
I stood alone on the road, blood soaking into the dust.
My breathing was steady.
Too steady.
I frowned.
The fight hadn't exhausted me.
Not physically.
Not mentally.
"That's… new."
The system flickered.
[Combat Analysis Complete]
Techniques used efficiently
Qi expenditure: Minimal
Conclusion: Current realm insufficiently labeled
I snorted.
"Even you don't know what to call me?"
Still, the message was clear.
I was no longer playing by normal cultivation rules.
By nightfall, I reached a small border town—Stonewillow.
Low walls. Crooked buildings. Lantern light flickering like tired fireflies.
At the gate, guards eyed my bloodstained clothes nervously.
"Bandits on the road," I said before they could ask.
They relaxed instantly.
Of course.
Bandits were normal.
Someone like me was not.
Inside the town, I cleaned myself, bought a cheap sword, and sat alone in a tavern corner with a bowl of hot stew.
As warmth spread through my body, fatigue finally crept in.
Not weakness.
Reflection.
I stared into the broth and chuckled quietly.
"Expelled," I muttered. "Hunted. Alone."
I took a bite.
"Best decision of my life."
From a nearby table, a soft voice spoke.
"You don't sound like someone who regrets it."
I looked up.
And for the first time since leaving the mountain—
I saw Lin Xueyi.