The morning after the Treasury massacre, the Han Clan was eerily quiet. No one dared to walk past the ruins of the Medicine Refinement Peak, let alone the Archive.
Han Feng sat in the center of his dilapidated shack, his legs crossed in a meditative lotus. Around him, three hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones—stolen from the vault—floated in a slow, rhythmic orbit. They weren't being consumed by his body, but by the rusted, black slab leaning against the wall.
[Chaos Record: Resonance Syncing...]
Sword Synchronization: 12%
New Property Unlocked: Gravity Well (Passive).
Note: Objects within 3 meters are now 2x heavier.
Han Feng felt a presence outside. He didn't open his eyes, but his Perfect Insight mapped the silhouette through the paper-thin walls. "You've been standing there for ten minutes, Patriarch. If you're here to arrest me, you should have brought more than just yourself."
The door creaked open. Han Tian, the Clan Leader, stepped inside. He didn't look angry; he looked exhausted. He stared at the cooling corpse of Deacon Zhao in the corner and sighed.
"The Third Elder is demanding your head," Han Tian said quietly. "He has already sent an urgent messenger to his brother, an Inner Elder in the Hidden Cloud Sect. You haven't just sparked a clan feud, Han Feng. You've invited a storm that will drown us all."
Han Feng opened one eye. A violet spark flickered within, cold and ancient. "Then the clan should stay indoors. The storm only wants me."
"You crippled a Pulse Condensation Elder with a single swing," Han Tian whispered, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and awe. "What are you? No 'manual' in the Archive grants that kind of power."
"I am the consequence of eighteen years of your 'pity'," Han Feng stood up.
As he rose, the Gravity Well expanded. The wooden stools in the shack groaned and shattered under their own increased weight. Han Tian gasped, feeling his own heart laboring to pump blood. It was as if the very air had turned to lead.
"Patriarch, you have two choices," Han Feng said, his voice echoing with the authority of the Chaos Record. "Either you declare me a traitor now and try to kill me—which will result in the destruction of this entire estate—or you give me the Grand Elder's Token and let me enter the Forbidden Bone Forest."
Han Tian looked at the 800-pound slab. He realized that if he fought Han Feng now, he might win, but he would be the leader of a graveyard.
"The forest is a death trap for anyone below the 9th Level," Han Tian said, reaching into his robes and tossing a heavy jade medallion onto the floor. "But I suppose death is more merciful than what the Third Elder has planned for you."
Han Feng snatched the token out of the air. "I'll be back in twenty days. If the Third Elder is still breathing when the Sect recruiters arrive, I'll consider it my first failure."
As Han Feng walked past the Patriarch, the sheer pressure of his presence made the older man stumble against the wall.
[Ding!]
New Objective: Survive the Forbidden Bone Forest.
Current Progress: 7th Level Body Refining (Peak).
Chapter Count: 8 / 1,240.
The Forest of Screams
Two hours later, Han Feng stood at the iron-wrought gates of the Forbidden Bone Forest. This was the Han Clan's "Forbidden Zone," a place where the Qi was tainted by the deaths of ancient beasts.
He didn't hesitate. He stepped through the mist, the Desolate Heaven Executioner dragging behind him, carving a deep trench in the earth.
"Twenty days," he muttered, looking into the darkness where glowing eyes began to peer from the trees. "Let's see how much 'trash' this forest has for me to refine."
[Warning: High-Level Demonic Aura Detected. Initiating Combat Mode.]
Han Feng smiled, gripped his sword hilt, and vanished into the shadows.