They left at dawn like Wei Liang said they would.
Wang Hui had been half awake when Wei Liang and Elder Zhao spoke just before dawn. Not a long conversation. She had caught pieces of it through the wall via Night Sense.
Elder Zhao had said the evidence needed to be verified by a second witness before he could act on it. Someone who was not affiliated with either Blood Asura or Azure Sky sect. That person was two days northeast of the outpost.
So they were going northeast. Again.
Elder Zhao had arranged for an escort team to follow at a distance, in case Shadow Broker made another move.
That was, apparently, the plan Wang Hui had accidentally disrupted by evolving.
Wang Hui had slept properly for the first time in four days and she felt the difference. Her head was clearer. Her Night Sense was sharper. Even her legs felt lighter, which was either the sleep or the level nine stat boost or both.
She felt ready.
One more level. Just one more.
'Today.'
'I am hitting level ten today.'
'I can feel it.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ℹ NOTE ℹ
║
║ Evolving at level 10 will require
║ Host to find a safe, quiet place
║ to undergo the process.
║
║ Evolution takes approximately
║ 30-60 minutes.
║
║ During evolution Host will be
║ completely vulnerable.
║
║ Plan accordingly. (｀・ω・´)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'...Thirty to sixty minutes of being completely vulnerable.'
'In a forest with assassins and Demonic Beasts and Elder Zhao who may or may not be watching for something.'
'...I need to find a very safe place.'
'And I need to not be around these people when it happens.'
'Evolution apparently involves visible light and probably noise.'
'Every novel I have read describes it as impossible to miss.'
'If I evolve next to this group the entire forest will know where I am.'
'...I need to plan this properly.'
Bao fell into step beside her as the group moved out. He had brought extra food from the outpost stores, tucked into his pack alongside what looked like twice the normal amount of supplies. He had also, she noticed, acquired a small bell from somewhere and attached it to his own pack rather than to her, which was the first genuinely considerate thing she had seen him do and which she was not going to comment on.
'...He got extra food.'
'Extra food means longer time in the field.'
'He is planning for me to stay with the group longer.'
'...I did not say I was staying.'
'I am here for the exp.'
'That is all.'
Bao offered her a piece of dried fruit.
She ate it.
'...The exp is in the northeast anyway.'
* * *
The forest changed the further northeast they went.
The trees here were older. Wider trunks, higher canopies, the kind of forest that had not been cleared or managed in a very long time. The undergrowth was thicker but also stranger, plants she did not recognize even with Herbalism, colors that should not have existed on leaves.
Qi density, she realized. The deeper parts of Moonlight Forest had enough ambient Qi that even the plants were affected by it.
'This is middle zone territory.'
'Common to Uncommon grade beasts.'
'Better exp.'
'Higher risk.'
'...Worth it.'
Wei Liang was moving differently today. Not the careful, managed movement of someone nursing an injury. Easier. The wound was healing, then. Mei's treatment working.
Wang Hui checked him through Group Sense without thinking about it.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ GROUP SENSE READOUT
║
║ Wei Liang
║ HP: Full. Mood: Alert.
║ Note: Cultivation active.
║ He is scanning the area.
║
║ (He has been doing this since
║ you all left the outpost.)
║
║ (⊙_⊙)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'He has been scanning since we left.'
'Constant Qi perception, entire time.'
'...How much energy does that take.'
'He is already injured and he is running active Qi perception for the whole group.'
'...None of my business.'
'...He is going to exhaust himself.'
'...Still none of my business.'
They had been walking for about two hours when Wang Hui felt it through Night Sense.
Not a person this time. Not an assassin.
A beast. Large. Uncommon grade, which she could now feel clearly the way you felt a change in air pressure before rain. Moving parallel to them about three hundred meters north. Not tracking them. Just moving.
But moving in the same direction.
'...That is a big one.'
'Uncommon grade. That is the same as the bear from the other night.'
'But bigger than the bear.'
She slowed down. Angled her head slightly north.
Wei Liang noticed. Of course he noticed.
"North?" he said quietly.
She held still a moment. Then nodded once.
"How far."
She thought about how to communicate three hundred meters without words. She ended up pacing out three steps, stopping, and looking at him.
He looked at her steps. Then at the forest. "Three hundred meters. Uncommon grade?"
She nodded.
"Parallel to us. Not tracking."
Another nod.
He was quiet for a moment. Then: "Keep moving. Same pace. Do not look north."
'...He trusts my assessment.'
'He got all of that from three steps and two nods and he just. Accepted it.'
'...That is.'
'That is actually.'
'...Moving on.'
They kept moving. The beast kept paralleling them. After another twenty minutes it veered off northeast and disappeared from her range.
Nobody said anything about it.
Bao, who had been very quiet during the whole thing, let out a breath.
"Lucky is really useful," he said, to no one in particular.
'Wang Hui is really useful.'
'...But yes.'
'Essentially yes.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: +3 ↑
║ Total : +35
║
║ For being genuinely useful
║ without making it obvious.
║
║ (This is growth.) ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'This is growth.'
'The System called this growth.'
'...I refuse to be moved by that.'
'I am absolutely not moved by that.'
'...Plus three is nice.'
* * *
It happened just after noon.
They had stopped to eat and rest near a stream. The group spread out, Chen checking the perimeter, Lin sitting with her back to a tree doing something with a small knife and a piece of wood, Bao talking to Wang Hui about something she was only half listening to.
She was in the middle of eating a fish she had caught from the stream when she felt it.
The level up was different this time.
Not just a notification. Something physical. A pressure behind her eyes and along her spine and in her horn, like something that had been wound very tight for a long time was about to release.
'...'
'Oh.'
'Oh no.'
'Not here.'
'NOT HERE.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ★ LEVEL UP ★
║
║ Wang Hui is now Level 10!
║ +5 Stat Points
║ +1 Skill Point
║
║ EVOLUTION AVAILABLE.
║ Grade: Poor → Common
║
║ Warning: Evolution produces
║ significant visible light output.
║
║ Warning: Evolution is loud.
║
║ Good luck. ∑(O_O;)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'I KNOW IT IS LOUD.'
'I PLANNED FOR THIS.'
'THE PLAN WAS TO NOT BE NEAR PEOPLE WHEN IT HAPPENED.'
'...The plan failed.'
The pressure was building. She could feel it in her teeth now. In the tips of her hooves. It was not painful but it was very insistent and she had the distinct impression that it was not going to wait much longer.
'Okay.'
'Okay okay okay.'
'Options.'
'Option one: run into the forest right now and find somewhere private.'
'How long do I have.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Estimated time until involuntary
║ evolution begins: 4 minutes.
║
║ (Host cannot stop this process
║ once it starts.)
║
║ (ಥ_ಥ)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'FOUR MINUTES.'
'I cannot outrun the evolution radius in four minutes.'
'Even with Sacred Step.'
'...Option two.'
'Tell the group.'
'...I cannot talk.'
'Option three: just. Let it happen.'
'...'
'They are going to see everything.'
'The light. The transformation. All of it.'
'They are going to know exactly what I am.'
'...'
'Wei Liang already knows.'
'Elder Zhao already knows.'
'...Mei probably suspects.'
'...Bao is going to be thrilled.'
'I cannot decide if that is better or worse.'
She had about two and a half minutes left when she made her decision.
She walked up to Wei Liang.
He looked at her. Something in her face, or whatever expression a Qilin could make, must have communicated the urgency because he went very still.
She looked at the stream. Then at the group. Then at herself.
Then she took one step back. And another. And kept going until she was at the edge of the clearing, far enough that the light would not blind anyone directly.
Wei Liang said, quietly, to the group: "Everyone look away."
"Why?" Bao asked.
"Just do it."
"But"
"Bao."
Bao looked away. Everyone else followed.
Wang Hui took a breath.
'Okay.'
'I have read about this.'
'Evolutions in novels are always dramatic but the character always comes out stronger.'
'I can do this.'
'I am Wang Hui.'
'I survived a charger.'
'I survived a tiger and a Demonic Bear and two assassins.'
'I can survive evolving.'
'...Please do not be painful.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ★ EVOLUTION START ★
║
║ Poor → Common
║ Qilin Grade Upgrade
║
║ Estimated duration: 45 minutes.
║
║ Note: This will not be painful.
║
║ Note 2: It will be extremely
║ itchy.
║
║ Good luck. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'...ITCHY.'
'WHY IS IT ALWAYS ITCHY.'
* * *
The light came first.
It started at her horn. A soft gold that spread down her neck and across her back, brightening as it went. From the outside, she was later told, it looked like someone had lit a lantern inside a glass figure, the kind of light that was warm and did not hurt to look at directly.
From the inside it was the worst itch she had ever experienced in two lifetimes.
'AAAAAAAAAA'
'WHY'
'WHY IS THIS HOW IT WORKS'
'WHO DESIGNED THIS'
She could not move. The moment the evolution locked in her body stopped responding to her and just. Did the thing it needed to do. She was stuck inside her own head with nothing to do but experience every single second of it.
'I CANNOT SCRATCH IT.'
'I AM GLOWING AND I CANNOT SCRATCH ANYTHING.'
'THIS IS TORTURE.'
'THIS IS ACTUAL TORTURE.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Evolution progress: 20%
║
║ Host is handling this well.
║
║ (Host is not handling this well.)
║
║ (ಥ_ಥ)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'I AM HANDLING IT FINE.'
'I AM FINE.'
'...HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Elapsed: 9 minutes.
║ Remaining: ~36 minutes.
║
║ (｀・ω・´)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'THIRTY SIX MORE MINUTES OF THIS.'
'...OKAY.'
'OKAY I NEED TO THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE.'
'ANYTHING ELSE.'
'...What chapter was Senior Brother Yue revealing his bloodline.'
'Chapter 847.'
'I never got to read it.'
'I died before it loaded.'
'...I wonder what it was.'
'Probably dragon lineage. Or some ancient war god thing.'
'...Actually in that arc the foreshadowing pointed more toward a divine beast connection.'
'Which would mean the jade pendant from chapter 203 was not a coincidence.'
'...'
'I am theorizing about a novel I will never finish reading while undergoing physical transformation.'
'This is my life now.'
Somewhere outside her bubble of golden light, she could hear the group.
Bao had lasted about four minutes before turning around.
"She is glowing," he said. The awe in his voice was complete.
"I told you not to look," Wei Liang said.
"She is SO glowing."
"Bao."
"Wei Liang. She is glowing."
A pause.
"Yes," Wei Liang said. "She is glowing."
'...I can hear everything.'
'I am stuck inside a transformation and I can hear everything happening outside.'
"Is she okay?" Bao asked.
"She is fine."
"How do you know?"
Another pause.
"The light is steady," Wei Liang said. "If something was wrong it would flicker."
'...He knows that.'
'He knows what a healthy evolution looks like.'
'...Wei Liang. Who are you.'
The itch hit a new peak around the thirty minute mark and Wang Hui spent approximately eight minutes composing a very detailed mental complaint that she planned to deliver to the System the moment she had her body back. It covered the itch, the timing, the lack of privacy, the general unfairness of the situation, and several points about dignity that she felt strongly about.
Then the itch stopped.
All at once.
Like someone had flipped a switch.
The light went out.
Wang Hui stood in the clearing and breathed.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ★ EVOLUTION COMPLETE ★
║
║ Grade: Common
║ Species: Qilin (Young)
║
║ HP: 200/200 (+150)
║ Strength : 15 (+12)
║ Agility : 28 (+18)
║ Toughness : 12 (+10)
║ Luck : ████████ 99
║ Dignity : +32 (unchanged)
║
║ New passive: Sacred Aura (Lv.1)
║ [UNLOCKED]
║
║ Size increase: ~40%
║ Horn length : +15cm
║ Flame tail : Stronger
║
║ \(^▽^)/
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'...Sacred Aura.'
'Unlocked.'
'It actually unlocked.'
'...'
'I need to see myself.'
There was no pond nearby. But Lin, without being asked, held up a small mirror from her pack.
Wang Hui looked at herself.
She was bigger. Not by a lot, but noticeably. The scales were brighter, each one catching the light differently. The horn was longer and had a faint internal glow. The flame tail was larger and moved with more intention, less like fire doing its own thing and more like something she could direct.
Her eyes were the same.
Deep amber. Clear. Unmistakably not a normal beast.
'...'
'That is me.'
'That is actually me.'
'I look.'
'...I look kind of incredible.'
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: +5 ↑
║ Total : +37
║
║ For an accurate self-assessment.
║ (Host does look incredible.)
║
║ ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'...The System agreed with me.'
'The System just said I look incredible.'
'...I am going to remember this moment forever.'
Bao was already in front of her.
He looked up at her. She was big enough now that he had to look up.
His face was doing something complicated. Not just the usual delight. Something more than that.
"Lucky," he said.
'Wang Hui.'
"You are amazing," he said.
Wang Hui looked at him for a long moment.
Then she looked away.
Her tail moved. Just slightly. In a way she did not exactly mean it to.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: -1 ↓
║ Total : +36
║
║ Tail wagged.
║
║ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'IT DID NOT WAG.'
'IT MOVED.'
'THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.'
'...There is a difference.'
Wei Liang had not moved from his spot. He was watching her with that same careful look he always had, the one that was not quite a smile and not quite neutral either.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
She thought about it.
Stronger. Bigger. Her Qi sense was sharper, she could feel the ambient energy in the forest around her more clearly than before. The Sacred Aura was active now, a low warm hum that sat at the base of her horn, and she could feel it pushing outward slightly without her even trying.
She felt like herself.
But more.
'...Good.'
'I feel good.'
'...I cannot say that.'
'I cannot say anything.'
'...But yes.'
'Good.'
She held his gaze for a moment. Then she dipped her head. Just slightly.
He nodded back.
* * *
They rested for another hour to let Wang Hui adjust to the new body. She spent most of it walking in slow circles and learning the new weight distribution and trying to convince herself that the tail moving was not something she was doing intentionally.
It was absolutely something she was doing intentionally. But she was not ready to admit that.
She was in the middle of her fourth circle when Night Sense pinged.
Not the forest. Not a beast.
Something at the very edge of her range. Moving fast. From the west.
From the direction of the outpost.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ⚠ WARNING ⚠
║
║ Multiple signatures detected.
║ Direction: West.
║ Distance: ~480 meters.
║ Count: 6-8 individuals.
║ Speed: Fast. Organized.
║
║ Cultivation: Foundation Building.
║ These are not junior disciples.
║
║ ∑(O_O;)
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'Foundation Building.'
'Six to eight of them.'
'Moving fast from the outpost direction.'
'...'
'They saw the light.'
'The evolution light.'
'Someone at the outpost saw it and sent a response team.'
'...Or.'
'They were already coming.'
'And the light just told them exactly where to go.'
She looked at Wei Liang.
He was already looking west.
His cultivation sense was shorter range than her Night Sense but she could tell from his expression that he had caught something.
"How many," he said. Not to anyone specific.
She held up one hoof. Spread it as wide as she could. Six fingers if she had fingers.
He looked at her hoof. "Six at minimum."
She wobbled her hoof. More or less.
"Foundation Building," he said. Not a question.
'...He can feel that from here.'
'His range is shorter but his read is more accurate.'
"How long."
She looked at the distance, looked at the speed. Did the math.
Three minutes. Maybe four.
She paced out three steps.
Wei Liang turned to the group. "We move. Now. Northeast. Fast."
"Who is it?" Chen asked.
"Azure Sky response team. They saw the light."
"But we are Azure Sky"
"They are not coming for us," Wei Liang said. He looked at Wang Hui.
'...'
'Oh.'
'They are coming for me.'
'The notice said report sightings.'
'Someone at the outpost saw the evolution light and reported it.'
'And now a Foundation Building team is coming to collect me.'
'...'
'I just evolved.'
'I am still figuring out how my legs work.'
'AND NOW I HAVE TO RUN.'
Bao looked at Wang Hui. Then at the west. Then back at Wang Hui.
"We are not letting them take Lucky," he said.
Very calm. Very certain. Like it was not even a question.
'...'
'Bao.'
"Obviously," Mei said. She was already moving.
╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║
║ Dignity: +4 ↑
║ Total : +40
║
║ Someone said they would not let
║ anyone take you without hesitation.
║
║ (Host may feel things about this.)
║
║ ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
'I do not feel things about this.'
'I am a Sacred Beast.'
'I do not need protection from a group of cultivators I have known for four days.'
'...'
'...Thank you, Bao.'
'...I did not say that out loud.'
'Good.'
Wang Hui ran northeast with the group.
Her new legs were longer. Her new speed was higher. The forest that had taken effort to move through before was easier now, branches that had caught her passing without resistance.
Behind them, she could feel the Foundation Building team reaching the clearing where she had evolved.
She could feel, through some sense she did not have a name for yet, the moment one of them crouched down and touched the ground where she had stood.
She could feel them turn northeast.
'They are following.'
'Foundation Building cultivators can track cultivation signatures.'
'Mine just got a lot stronger.'
'...I am easier to find now than I was before I evolved.'
'...I did not think about that.'
She ran faster.
End of Chapter 6
[ Dignity: +40 ] [ Grade: Common ] [ Sacred Aura: UNLOCKED ] [ Status: Being chased ]