The sky above the western mountain ridge bled with dusk, casting long shadows across jagged stone and dying trees. Far beyond the sect's bustling grounds, where spirit energy grew thin and nature forgot its color, lay the mountain ruins — remnants of an ancient battlefield swallowed by time.
And fate had drawn three names to its edge.
---
Lin Feng arrived first, silent as always.
The wind here was thin, dry. It bit at his skin and whispered in his ears like the ghosts of forgotten cultivators. He stood at the base of a fractured path, the terrain ahead half-swallowed by collapsed stone and spirit-dead bramble. It was the kind of place the sect ignored — and feared.
A shadow fell over him.
> "Well, damn. Thought I'd be the first."
Ren Yao landed beside him, spear slung over his back, flame-colored hair tied loosely behind his neck. His face bore the wear of a hundred punishments and twice as many fights.
> "Lin Feng, right? Didn't expect to see you on a death list."
He grinned, but there was no mockery — only recognition. Lin Feng gave a faint nod.
> "I walk where I'm told."
> "Hah. Spoken like a true doormat. Or maybe a ghost." Ren Yao scratched his cheek. "Still, quiet ones like you... you're either cowards or monsters."
Before Lin Feng could reply, a blade of wind split the dust.
Mo Yixuan arrived.
Black robes with silver hems, sword at her back, posture impossibly straight. Her expression was colder than the wind, her gaze passing over both of them like they were scenery.
> "Let's move."
> "Not even a hello?" Ren snorted. "Always a pleasure, Sister Mo."
She didn't reply. Her boots made no sound as she walked toward the broken terrain.
---
The Ruins
The path led them to what remained of a collapsed temple — walls half-sunken, foundation cracked. Strange, ancient patterns lined the stone, worn down by erosion and time.
The place hummed faintly with dormant energy.
> "This doesn't look like just a border," Ren muttered. "This place feels.... wrong."
Mo Yixuan drew her sword, a silver arc flashing in her hand.
> "Stay alert. We complete the sweep and leave."
But Lin Feng stood still.
His body trembled, not in fear — but in recognition.
There was something beneath this place. Something breathing. Something ancient.
A whisper rose in the wind, brushing only his ears:
> "You've come… child of silence."
His pupils shrank.
> "Did you hear that?" he asked quietly.
Ren blinked. "Hear what?"
Mo Yixuan frowned. "Focus."
Suddenly — the earth shifted.
---
With a cracking roar, two earth-scaled beasts burst from the crumbled stones — misshapen, with too many limbs and spirit-blackened eyes.
> "Corrupted guardians!" Mo Yixuan barked. "Don't let them split us!"
The first beast lunged at her. She moved like lightning, blade drawing a crescent of light that slashed across its snout. Sparks flew — but its hide was thick.
The second charged Lin Feng.
Ren Yao intercepted, spear spinning in a wide arc.
> "No offense, ghost-boy," he shouted, "but I don't think you've fought one of these!"
Lin Feng didn't answer.
The creature roared again — and something inside him stirred.
For a brief moment, time slowed.
He saw it.
Not the beast — but the path.
A ripple in the dust. A weakness in its charge.
The creature's claws came crashing down — but Lin Feng wasn't there.
He ducked low, skimming along fractured stone. His hand darted to the side, not consciously, but as if pulled — fingers closing around the hilt of something ancient buried in the rubble.
A blade. Or what remained of one.
Blackened. Half-shattered. Its edge dulled with time.
But the moment he touched it — it awoke.
A soft tremor pulsed through the earth. Faint light crept along its cracks. The air around him thickened.
Ren Yao blinked. "Wait… what the hell are you holding?"
Lin Feng rose, the broken sword loose in his grip.
The beast charged again — but he moved first.
No form. No stance. Just instinct.
He sidestepped the lunge, let its weight pass him — and drove the broken edge into the exposed seam beneath its throat.
A wet crack echoed as the blade carved jaggedly through scale and bone.
The beast crashed to the side, twitching once before it stilled.
---
Mo Yixuan's sword halted mid-swing. Her cold gaze locked on Lin Feng, narrowing.
She didn't speak.
But her eyes said everything: That wasn't luck.
Ren let out a low whistle. "Ghost-boy's got bite."
He walked over, blood flicking from his spear.
> "That sword…" he murmured. "Didn't look like it came from your room in the outer pits."
Lin Feng looked down at the weapon in his hands. The metal still hummed faintly, warmth seeping into his palm — like a heartbeat.
> "It called to me," he said quietly.
> "Called to—?" Ren frowned. "You been sniffing alchemy fumes?"
Mo Yixuan stepped closer. The air around her sharpened like the edge of her blade.
> "This ruin is older than anything we were told," she said. "And that sword… it reeks of old intent."
She paused. "Stay alert. If that thing chose you — it may also mark you."
A moment passed. Then the ground shifted again — but slower this time. A distant pulse beneath their feet. Like something breathing.
Mo Yixuan turned toward the collapsed temple's rear wall.
> "We make camp. We rest one hour, then sweep the lower levels."