Yun Qiang moved like the wind, thrusting his spear forward, fighting with imaginary phantoms. Suddenly, he stumbled back, hastily moving his spear to the front, blocking an imaginary attack.
Not enough.
A cold thought rang in his mind as Yun Qiang counterattacked his mind's enemy. Yet his enemy easily dodged, launching a counterattack of his own.
This time, Yun Qiang wasn't fast enough, and the strike hit him, penetrating his chest.
A bitter expression formed on his mouth.
"I failed again..."
His low murmurs were quickly carried away by the wind.
"Just how does he do it?"
His gaze moved towards the ethereal phantom. Logically speaking, Yun Qiang knew that it was a figment of his imagination. Just another way to simulate a real fight and keep his mind occupied.
Yet he couldn't help but be surprised every time the phantom found a flaw in his attacks and launched a vicious counter or a quick offensive.
Suddenly, a voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Yun Qiang, breakfast is ready!"
Yun Qiang moved his gaze towards his house. Aunty Su was standing beside the door, calling for him.
"I'm coming!"
He started moving towards the house, his lips forming an unconscious smile. He didn't know why Aunty Su insisted on preparing him breakfast, but he couldn't help but be happy about it. It felt familiar, reminding him that someone in the village still cared for him.
However, when he entered the kitchen, Aunty Su wasn't alone. A young man with a friendly face was sitting beside her. He was dressed like a fisherman, and his eyes greedily stared at the bowl in front of him.
Yun Qiang instantly recognized him.
"Hey, Luo. It's been a while."
The man smiled, quickly greeting Yun Qiang with a hand movement before starting to eat the rice in his bowl. He was Luo, the son of the village blacksmith.
Aunty Su shot him an angry glance.
"Luo, you should at least wait for the homeowner to sit before eating!"
Luo nonchalantly waved his hand.
"Don't worry. Yun Qiang isn't a petty person. He doesn't care."
Aunty Su instantly retorted.
"It's not about caring! It's about good manners!"
Yun Qiang sat down while letting out a small laugh.
"It's fine. Fatty Luo has always been like this..."
Fatty Luo instantly pointed at him.
"See? He doesn't care! I was right!"
Aunty Su let out a resigned sigh while handing him a bowl full of rice.
"Eat. I brought you some rice to thank you for yesterday's game. That boar is so big it will probably last us for two or three weeks."
Yun Qiang shrugged.
"It's not a problem. Hunting normal animals is easy when you are a cultivator."
Aunty Su smiled while filling a bowl for herself. Even if Yun Qiang found it easy to hunt down mortal animals, he had no obligation to share his prey with them.
She was about to say something when Luo directly butted into the conversation.
"Anyway, do you want to go fishing with me?"
Yun Qiang was about to respond when Luo threw him a fishing rod.
"Here, I know a place that is filled with fish this time of the year."
Luo didn't wait for a response and directly took his hand, trying to drag him away from the table.
"Mmmm." Yun Qiang shot him an annoyed glance. "At least wait for me to finish breakfast!"
However, Luo didn't stop and uselessly tried to drag him away.
"Come on! The fish won't wait for you, even if you are a cultivator!"
Yun Qiang was about to say something but stopped himself. Luo had always been an energetic and insistent guy; there was no reason to argue with him.
So he simply ignored him and finished his meal in silence, his ears completely deaf to Luo's incessant pleas.
After a few minutes, he finally got up.
"Thank you, Aunty Su. I will definitely bring back some fish for you and Old Qian."
"Thank you, b—"
However, she didn't have a chance to finish her words. Yun Qiang and Luo had already left. She could only sigh to herself while her hands gathered the empty bowls.
"If only you decided to stay..."
Three hours later, Yun Qiang found himself sitting beside a river with a fishing rod in his hand.
His face was dark, while his eyes were fixated on the flowing waters before him.
Luo didn't lie. With his cultivator's eyes, Yun Qiang could see the fish of various sizes and colors that filled the river. He could see them happily swimming around, playing with each other while searching for food.
"Why..." he murmured in a low voice that was a mix of disappointment and rage.
A relaxed voice came from his side.
"You should stop staring at the water. It scares the fish away."
Yun Qiang's gaze snapped towards Luo's figure. The fat young man was lying on the ground, his eyes half-closed, while his rod was carefully placed to the side, held upright only by a large stick. He spoke again.
"It's useless being angry at me. Fish are sensible creatures. If you stare at them like this, you will just scare them away."
Yun Qiang wanted to argue with him that these were just mortal fish and not spiritual beasts with sharp senses, but stopped himself. Luo's basket was filled to the brim with large fish, while his was empty.
Suddenly, he saw some movement in the river. Yun Qiang instantly turned. A fish had moved closer to his bait, and it seemed interested in it. Yun Qiang's eyes shone with glee as he saw the fish's mouth open, moving towards his bait.
However, at the last moment, just as Yun Qiang was about to move his rod, the fish lost interest and swam away from the bait.
Rage overcame Yun Qiang, and he threw the rod to the side.
"Damn it. I don't need a rod to fish you!"
In a fit of rage, he jumped into the river. His hands thrust into the water, while his feet hastily moved along the riverbed. However, every time his hands entered the water, the fish would move away, successfully dodging Yun Qiang's hands.
"I don't believe I can't catch you like this!"
In his rage, he started moving even faster, his feet stirring up more and more sand, while his hands futilely chased a large fish.
Suddenly, an alarmed voice entered his ears.
"Yun Qiang, stop!" Yun Qiang stopped, his eyes instantly snapping towards Luo.
"Look at this mess! How are you supposed to catch them if you ruin their home like this?"
Yun Qiang calmed down, his gaze slowly moving around the river. His movements had stirred up a lot of sand, murking the clean waters and making it impossible to see the fish like before.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
He got out of the river.
"I... I don't know what took over me..."
He tried to look calm; however, his mind was instantly alarmed. Usually, he was a calm and patient individual. He didn't know why a simple fish had enraged him like this.
Is my inner demon acting up?
He shook his head. No inner demons were born out of obsessions. His obsession during the war was survival. Now that he was in a calm and peaceful environment, there was no reason for it to appear again.
Luo let out a long sigh.
"It's fine. Fishing can be frustrating sometimes." He pointed to a spot beside him.
"Come here and relax. Think about some happy memories or something like that. I doubt we will catch anything with the riverbed like this."
Yun Qiang also sighed.
"I'm sorry. I guess I still have some stress about the war." He sat down close to Luo.
"Do we have enough fish for Old Qian and Aunty Su?"
Luo smiled, lying on the ground while putting a straw hat over his face.
"Don't worry about it. I caught enough fish for them. Now relax and think about something happy. Try to find your peace."
Yun Qiang threw him a strange glance.
"My peace? What's that supposed to mean?"
However, Luo didn't respond, only pointing at him to lie down.
Yun Qiang didn't ask anymore, deciding to simply lie down and rest. Since Luo had already caught the fish for Old Qian and Aunty Su, he didn't have anything to worry about anymore.
However, as he lay there, he found himself unable to sleep. His mind continued wandering about Luo's words.
My peace?
He tried thinking about some of his happy memories. His youth with his family, the time spent hunting with his brother, and...
And the days spent fishing with Sun and Brook at the sect...
His eyes gazed at the blue sky.
Yes, when he thought about it, those times were the closest he had ever been to real peace.
-Unmarked Plain, north of the Rose Kingdom-
Sun tiredly looked at the black manor in front of him.
He looked worn down. His armor had been torn apart, while countless holes covered his gray robe, making him feel the cold wind that constantly blew across the dark plain.
His tired gaze shifted towards a black figure.
"Are we done?"
His voice sounded both tired and exasperated. He had spent the last three days tracking him, pushing his own senses to the limits just to follow the man's elusive path. He couldn't take it anymore. His eyelids felt heavy, and his mind pulsated from the constant effort of sensing the man's trail.
The man gave him a deep look before speaking in a cold voice.
"Yes. You will sleep here for a day, then you will follow me inside the mansion."
His figure started disappearing.
"Your first test isn't over yet."
Sun's pupils shrank in surprise.
"Not over?!"
As the man completely disappeared from his vision, Sun used his last bit of energy to sense the man and track his presence, as he had done before. However, it was already too late. The man had gone too far, making Sun unable to find him.
Sun let out an annoyed sigh before sitting down in a lotus position. He knew his senior wouldn't answer any more of his questions.
Slowly, he took out some bandages and began covering the various cuts scattered across his body. Then, with careful movements, he lowered himself onto the ground, uselessly searching for a spot that wasn't cold.
A few moments later, he fell asleep.
Meanwhile...
An old man with pitch-black pupils gazed at Sun from the roof of the black mansion.
Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared beside him. His eyes were filled with reverence as he kneeled before the old man.
"Lord Second Wing. I finished my mission."
The old man spoke, his voice sounding like a whispering wind.
"What's his level?"
"He has good reaction time and a strong will. However, he never noticed that we were running around in a circle, and his senses aren't as sharp as those of the other recruits. Overall, I would say he is on the same level as a First Feather operative."
Within their organization, First Feather operatives were individuals who had received basic training and were capable of carrying out simple missions. Their individual strength was relatively high, but they lacked specialized training in stealth, assassination, and other techniques, making them unsuitable for most specialized missions.
"It's a good level for a newcomer."
The guide nodded.
"Yes."
There was a brief moment of silence before the Second Wing spoke again.
"Tell all the recruits and First Feather operatives that the Liang family wants him dead, but don't let them interfere with the trials."
"I don't want to see any rule-breakers around here."
The guide nodded before quickly disappearing, leaving the Second Wing alone.
Second Wing sighed.
He could see some potential in Sun, and he knew he would make a strong operative. However, his fate had been decided the moment he messed with the Liang family.
As a veteran member of the Executioners, he knew their internal politics very well.
Sun's arrival was basically an opportunity for all low-level operatives to show themselves and gain some goodwill with the Liang family.
Second Wing looked at Sun. Pity flashed in his eyes before quickly fading away.
"I can only wish you good luck."
Then he disappeared. His role was to make sure the operatives followed the rules, not to pity the challengers.