The forest thinned gradually, the ancient trees giving way to broken stone and scattered ruins half-swallowed by moss and mist. Li Chen slowed his pace even further, every instinct warning him that open ground was more dangerous than dense cover.
And then—
Voices.
Li Chen stopped instantly, breath stilled, qi folded inward until even he could barely sense it.
"…Don't rush ahead," a young man's voice said, low and impatient. "This isn't our sect's territory."
"Relax," another replied with a scoff. "If Azure Leaf disciples were nearby, we would've sensed them already."
Li Chen frowned internally.
Other sects already.
He shifted soundlessly, positioning himself behind a fallen pillar etched with ancient runes. Through the mist, several figures emerged—five cultivators, all young, all radiating the restrained but confident aura of core disciples.
Their robes were unfamiliar.
One wore flowing crimson trimmed with black sigils—Blazing Sun Sect. Another bore pale blue robes embroidered with wave patterns—Flowing Tide Pavilion. The remaining three wore variations of dark green and silver, likely from a mid-tier sword sect Li Chen recognized faintly but couldn't immediately name.
So the realm isn't limited to our sect alone, Li Chen thought. That makes sense… and makes everything worse.
The group moved cautiously but not carefully enough.
They were strong.
But they were used to being strong.
One of the Blazing Sun disciples paused, eyes narrowing. "Hold."
The others stopped.
Li Chen's heartbeat skipped.
Did he sense me?
The disciple frowned, scanning the ruins. A thread of fiery qi leaked from his body, rolling outward in a probing wave.
Li Chen reacted instantly—not by retreating, but by sinking.
He aligned his breathing perfectly with the realm, his qi dispersing into the ambient flow. The probing wave passed over his position without resistance, sliding across the stone and mist like heat over water.
The Blazing Sun disciple clicked his tongue. "False alarm. Probably a formation remnant."
"Still," said the Flowing Tide disciple calmly, "this place feels wrong. Too quiet."
Li Chen agreed wholeheartedly.
They moved again, stepping into the ruins. Li Chen followed—not closely, but not too far either. Two months was a long time, and information was survival. Watching other sect disciples was a safer way to learn the realm's rules without paying the price himself.
As they reached the center of the ruins, a faint glow rose from beneath the cracked stone floor.
A formation activated.
The air twisted.
"Formation—!" someone shouted.
Too late.
The ground split, stone folding inward as spectral chains erupted from beneath, lashing toward the nearest cultivator. One of the green-robed disciples reacted quickly, sword flashing as he severed two chains—but a third wrapped around his leg and dragged him screaming into the darkness below.
The pit sealed instantly.
Silence.
The remaining four froze.
Li Chen's eyes narrowed.
Instant kill… no recovery… no corpse.
The Flowing Tide disciple swallowed. "That… that wasn't meant to be triggered by presence alone."
"Someone stepped wrong," the Blazing Sun disciple said grimly. "This place punishes mistakes immediately."
Their confidence dimmed.
Good.
As the group regrouped, Li Chen noticed something else—faint fluctuations in the air, rippling outward from the pit.
The realm was adjusting.
It learns from blood, Li Chen realized.
They continued more cautiously now, formation probes deployed, communication sharper. Li Chen tracked their methods carefully, memorizing what worked—and what didn't.
Then, inevitably, it happened.
One of the sword sect disciples stopped abruptly, eyes locking onto Li Chen's position.
"There," he said quietly. "Someone's there."
Li Chen sighed inwardly.
Too long.
He stepped out from behind the pillar, hands relaxed, posture deliberately non-threatening. His aura remained suppressed, appearing no stronger than an ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator.
The four disciples tensed instantly.
"Azure Leaf Sect?" the Flowing Tide disciple asked.
Li Chen nodded once. "Yes."
The Blazing Sun disciple's eyes sharpened. "You're alone."
Li Chen smiled faintly. "So are you."
A brief silence followed.
Then laughter.
"Well, well," the Blazing Sun disciple said. "Looks like the realm scatters everyone evenly. What's your name?"
"Li Chen."
No title.
No rank.
No boast.
That alone made them wary.
"I'm Han Yu," the Flowing Tide disciple said after a moment. "And that hothead is Zhao Feng."
Zhao Feng snorted. "Watch your mouth."
Li Chen inclined his head politely, eyes lowered just enough to appear cautious rather than weak.
They studied him.
Too calm.
Too quiet.
Too unassuming.
Dangerous in a way none of them could quite articulate.
"Traveling alone is risky," Han Yu said. "Temporary cooperation might be beneficial."
Li Chen hesitated—just long enough to appear uncertain.
"…I don't like trouble," he said carefully.
Zhao Feng laughed again. "Then you picked the wrong realm."
Correct, Li Chen thought. Which is why I'll let you walk in front.
"I'll stay for now," Li Chen said aloud. "But if things get dangerous, I'll leave."
Han Yu nodded. "Fair."
They moved together, an uneasy alliance formed not out of trust, but necessity.
As they walked, Li Chen noted everything—their formation habits, their reactions to danger, their unspoken hierarchy.
Strong.
But predictable.
And in a realm designed to punish predictability—
That was fatal.
As the mist thickened and ancient structures loomed ahead, Li Chen's instincts whispered a quiet warning.
This group won't last two months.
He only hoped he wouldn't be standing too close when the realm decided who to erase next.