The afternoon sun filtered through the dense canopy, scattering shifting patterns of light across the forest ground. A cool breeze stirred the leaves, carrying the scent of fresh earth and distant wildflowers.
After leaving the Tier-1 hunting ground, Li Yan walked along the winding path toward the sect's teleportation portal. His expression was calm.
When he reached the White Rank Leaderboard, his gaze slid upward—and there it was.
1st – Li Yan Tian – Qi Gathering Realm (Stage-7) – 2,389 Hunts
2nd – Mu Fan – Qi Gathering Realm (Stage-Peak) – 1,277 Hunts
"So, he pushes even harder," Li Yan murmured, eyes cool. "Good."
The leaderboard would reset tomorrow. Even if Mu Fan burned himself out, the gap was an uncrossable chasm.
The outcome was already carved into stone.
A faint smile touched Li Yan's lips as he continued toward the portal.
The teleportation gate shimmered ahead—when five disciples stepped out of it. Black robes. Three men, two women. Their presence made Li Yan slow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
"Black Rank disciples?" Senior figures of the sect. Their appearance in a place filled with nothing but low-tier beasts was… odd.
As Li Yan observed them, one of the men turned. Recognition flashed instantly.
Ji Lin, the son of Sect Leader Ji Hong. They had crossed paths days earlier.
Ji Lin halted when he saw Li Yan and gestured to his companions. "You all go ahead. I'll catch up."
The four Black Rank disciples nodded and continued down the path without question.
Ji Lin walked over, expression warm. "We meet again, Li Yan. How have you been?"
Li Yan cupped his hands respectfully. "Greetings, Senior Ji Lin. I'm well. And you?"
"Doing fine." Ji Lin's gaze swept over Li Yan, catching a sign of fatigue. "Looks like you're heading back?"
Li Yan nodded. "Yes, Senior. I've completed my hunt."
Li Yan paused, then gestured subtly in the direction the Black Rank disciples had gone.
"If I may ask… It's rare to see seniors in the Tier-1 ground. Did something occur?"
Ji Lin chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Oh, that? Not too serious. We got an emergency call from deeper inside. Apparently, three White Rank disciples got injured fighting a pack of beasts."
Li Yan's expression didn't shift—but inwardly, amusement flickered.
"Three disciples, injured by beasts… laughable."
Of course, he knew exactly which 'beasts' had torn them apart.
Ji Lin sighed, annoyance creasing his brow. "It wouldn't have been a big issue. Rescue Team #1 set out immediately. But…"
His jaw tightened. "Those idiots stored their disciples' badges inside their storage rings right after sending the distress call. Now we can't track them. We have to search manually."
"I see," Li Yan said, voice steady. "If the badges were out in the open, you could track them precisely?"
"Exactly." Ji Lin clicked his tongue. "Even though the badges sync with the arrays around all hunting grounds and count our hunts, they still have limits. Pinpointing the exact location with badges does not work if they're hidden inside a ring."
"If they're exposed, we can pinpoint a disciple within seconds." He glanced down the forest path, urgency in his eyes.
"I should go. They'll need the extra hands. Good seeing you, Li Yan."
Li Yan returned the gesture. "Safe searching, Senior."
Ji Lin jogged off, disappearing among the trees.
Li Yan watched him go, thoughtful. "So the sect's tracking system depends entirely on exposed badges… interesting."
He tucked the information away, then turned toward the portal.
The swirling blue light rippled as he stepped through. The forest dissolved into mist and shifting light.
An instant later, Li Yan emerged on the other side—back within the sect's territory.
____
Meanwhile, Ji Lin followed the forest path toward the valley, his strides steady.
As he neared the clearing surrounding the White Rank Leaderboard, he spotted his team clustered beneath it—silent, unmoving, their gazes fixed upward.
Ji Lin frowned and quickened his pace.
"What's got you all frozen?" he asked lightly. "We should start searching for those idiots before they make the situation worse."
One of the female disciples, Qin Yue, turned and pointed at the board. Her expression hovered between disbelief and awe.
"Senior Brother Ji… look."
Ji Lin followed her gesture, sweeping his gaze upward. He expected to see the usual names shuffled around the top ten—nothing more.
Before he could locate the change, one of the male disciples, Zhang Ke, spoke first, excitement crackling in his voice.
"Someone set a new record."
Ji Lin's focus snapped straight to the top.
1st – Li Yan Tian – Qi Gathering Realm (Stage-7) – 2,389 Hunts
Ji Lin's eyes widened a fraction—an exceedingly rare slip in his otherwise composed mask.
He murmured under his breath, "Li Yan Tian… this kid is a monster."
Across from him, another of the male disciples, Wei Chen, let out a low whistle. "This is the first time I've ever seen a number that high."
The last female disciple, Lan Xue, leaned forward, her violet eyes bright with excitement. "There are still a few hours before the leaderboard resets. Do you think he'll push it even higher?"
Ji Lin exhaled slowly and shook his head. "No. That's his final score."
The certainty in his tone drew immediate attention. All four teammates turned toward him.
"What do you mean, Senior Brother Ji?" Qin Yue asked.
Ji Lin folded his arms, a faint smile touching his lips. "I just met him at the teleportation portal. He was heading back to the sect to rest."
Shock rippled through the group.
"You mean," Wei Chen said, blinking, "that boy you stopped to talk to earlier?"
Ji Lin nodded once.
Realization dawned across their faces.
Lan Xue bit her lip. "Senior Brother Ji… do you know him personally?"
Another nod—slower this time, the weight of memory evident.
"Yes. He joined the sect two weeks ago. My father invited him to dinner shortly after."
Four sharp intakes of breath followed. An invitation from the sect leader at dinner was not a small thing.
Ji Lin continued, his voice steady but tinged with respect. "He's a special guest of the sect, technically under the Goddess's protection. He's staying here temporarily to hone his combat skills through tasks assigned by the Goddess herself."
"But he refused any privileges. No free artifacts, no free techniques, no free resources. He said he would earn everything himself, like every other disciple of the sect."
Silence fell.
The weight of those words lingered—unusually heavy, deeply unsettling.
Zhang Ke let out a disbelieving laugh. "What kind of idiot passes up an opportunity like that?"
Ji Lin raised a brow. "Interesting. Weren't you praising this 'idiot' not even a minute ago?"
The group burst into laughter, tension breaking like cracking ice.
"But seriously," Lan Xue said, wiping a tear from her eye, "nearly double what Mu Fan managed in an entire month?"
"And Mu Fan is no slouch, according to the news I heard," Qin Yue added. "He's been the dominant hunter of the White Rank for at least three months."
Ji Lin's smile thinned. He looked up at Li Yan's name again, the faint glow of it reflecting in his eyes.
"Exactly. If Li Yan had hunted for a full month instead of just two weeks…" He let the implication hang.
"The record wouldn't just be broken—it would be untouchable for years."
Silence reclaimed them.
One after another, they pondered the same question: What kind of monster had stepped into their world?
The air around the leaderboard felt heavier, as though the valley itself was holding its breath.
At last, Ji Lin clapped his hands, snapping them from their thoughts. "Enough. We have work to do."
The four disciples straightened instantly.
They circulated their Qi.
A soft hum resonated through the clearing as radiant wings unfurled—feathered, luminous, or shadowed depending on their cultivation paths.
The ground trembled slightly as they lifted off.
Ji Lin rose last, his jet-black Qi wings slicing the air, swift and sharp.
High above, the vast Tier-1 valley sprawled beneath them—dense forest, rugged ridges, flickers of beastly shadows moving below.
As they soared over the canopy, scanning for the wounded disciples they had been sent to find, an unspoken thought pulsed through every mind: In this generation…
A true monster has been born.
____
When Li Yan stepped into the sect's grand assembly area, the afternoon sunlight slanted across the courtyard, casting long shadows over the polished stone. He crossed the space with quiet, purposeful strides, making his way directly to his residence.
He didn't linger. Inside, he headed straight to the bath.
A flat stone plate was embedded beside the tub—an elemental heating array etched with faint runic lines. Li Yan pressed his palm to the stone and infused it with Qi.
A soft hum answered him. Heat blossomed.
Steam curled upward as the water warmed. He disrobed and stepped in, letting the heat seep into his muscles. Four days' worth of tension, blood, and wilderness grit began to melt away. He leaned back, eyes half-closed, breath steady.
"I have to meet Elder Ji," he reminded himself, the thought drifting like a ripple through the warm air.
"And… I'll buy a body tempering technique this time."
After a short soak, he rose, dried off, and slipped into fresh robes he had already cleansed with Qi. The fabric settled neatly along his frame, crisp and immaculate.
Rejuvenated—though the faint stiffness of battle still lingered beneath his skin—he left the residence.
The sect's core area bustled with movement.
Disciples negotiated trades, carried crates, or hurried between duties. Li Yan passed through the flow without slowing.
His destination: the Resource Exchange Hall.
Inside, the air carried a mix of ink, beast blood, and aged wood. Disciples departed, clutching newly earned Shadow Points. At the counter, Qiu Xuan looked up as Li Yan approached and instinctively raised an eyebrow.
"You again?" the elder chuckled. "Let me guess… more beast bodies?"
"Right, Elder Qiu." Li Yan nodded, picked up the storage ring from Qiu Xuan, and transferred the contents from his own storage ring.
Qiu Xuan accepted it with a casual gesture—only for his expression to shift the moment he scanned it.
"Again… this many?" His voice dropped. "You've really outdone yourself."
Li Yan just smiled humbly in response and extended his disciple badge.
Even after multiple exchanges, the elder still wasn't used to the boy's relentless results. The consistency alone was absurd.
Qiu Xuan transferred the Shadow Points to Li Yan's badge. "Total of 4,580 Shadow Points added."
Li Yan cupped his hands. "Thank you, Elder Qiu."
He turned to leave.
With this addition, his total surpassed nine thousand Shadow Points. Enough—finally—to acquire what he'd planned since the day he entered the sect: A body tempering technique.
He crossed the polished marble hall until he reached an ornate door etched with elemental sigils and martial paths. One light knock. Then he pushed it open.
A denser air settled over him—refined Qi pressure emanating from hundreds of aged scrolls. Shelves lined both walls, categorized with meticulous care: combat arts, movement techniques, cultivation methods, tempering disciplines.
Behind the counter sat Elder Lu Zhi, guardian of the Techniques Hall. His straight blue hair was neatly tied behind him, his gaze calm, intelligent, and steady. The green robes he wore gave him a dignified, quiet presence.
Lu Zhi's eyes brightened when he recognized Li Yan.
"Oh? Back already?" he asked. "How can I assist you today?"
Li Yan cupped his hands, his composure respectful but steady. "Elder Lu, I'd like to purchase the Mortal-Tier Mid-Level body tempering technique—Steel Body Tempering."
Lu Zhi paused mid-breath. "Steel Body Tempering? That one costs 5,000 Shadow Points." His brows lifted. "You've already saved that much?"
Li Yan nodded.
The elder's curiosity slipped through his calm exterior. "But it's only been two weeks since you joined the sect. How did you accumulate so many points so quickly?"
Li Yan's lips curved into the faintest, unreadable smile. "Nothing special, Elder. I hunted Tier-1 beasts and sold their bodies, that's all."
No arrogance. No boasting. Just quiet, matter-of-fact certainty.
Lu Zhi narrowed his eyes in thought as he moved to the right-side shelves.
"Hunting Tier-1 beasts… 5,000 points… that's over a thousand corpses…" His mind raced. "Is that even possible? Did he rest? Did he eat?"
He didn't speak immediately, still calculating the boy's feat—unaware that the White Rank leaderboard was already in turmoil because of this very youth.