Kai waited until the eleventh hour before moving. He spent the time preparing—checking his dagger, reviewing escape routes in his mind, and ensuring his qi was at full capacity.
[HP: 140/140]
[Qi: 80/80]
[Status: Ready for potential combat]
At a quarter before midnight, he activated Shadow Phantom Step and slipped out of his room. The technique worked perfectly—his movements created faint afterimages that confused any watchers. To casual observers, he would appear to flicker like a shadow.
The sect grounds were quiet at this hour. Most disciples were either cultivating or sleeping. Only the night patrols moved through the corridors, and Kai avoided them easily with his enhanced stealth skills.
[Stealth Check: Success]
[No detection]
The old storage building was exactly where Mei Lin said—a dilapidated structure behind the kitchens that had been abandoned years ago. Kai approached cautiously, using his qi sense to detect any ambush.
Three presences inside. Mei Lin, Hong Wei, and Yun Xia. No one else.
He entered through a side window rather than the door—never use the obvious entrance.
"Paranoid much?" Mei Lin said from the shadows, though her tone held approval.
"Alive much," Kai countered.
Hong Wei and Yun Xia were already there, both looking tense. Hong Wei had his saber at his side, and Yun Xia's hands were positioned for quick formation deployment.
"What's the emergency?" Kai asked.
Mei Lin gestured for them to gather closer. "I got information from my contacts. The explosion today wasn't random, and it wasn't about the tournament."
"What do you mean?" Hong Wei frowned.
"Those three disciples who died? They were all part of a faction loyal to Elder Bone. He's been opposing Master Shen Yue's authority in Shadow Hall for months."
[New Information: Internal Shadow Hall Politics]
[Faction Conflict Detected]
Kai's mind raced. "You're saying the explosion was political assassination? Not tournament related?"
"Exactly. And Master Shen Yue used the tournament as cover to issue her warning. She's consolidating power." Mei Lin's expression was grim. "My contact says that Elder Bone is planning retaliation. He's going to use the tournament selection as an opportunity to embarrass Master Shen Yue by ensuring her personal disciples fail."
"How?" Yun Xia asked.
"By rigging the selection trial. He has influence over Formation Hall—Elder Feng owes him favors. They'll design the trial to specifically counter Shadow Hall techniques."
[Warning: Selection Trial may be sabotaged]
[Difficulty increased]
Hong Wei cursed. "So we're caught in a political war between elders?"
"Worse," Mei Lin said. "If Master Shen Yue's disciples fail publicly, she loses face. If she loses enough face, the Sect Master might demote her or even remove her as hall master. And if that happens..."
"We lose our backing," Kai finished. "We become vulnerable to every enemy we've made."
The weight of the situation settled over them. They weren't just competing for tournament spots. They were pawns in a much larger game.
"There's more," Mei Lin continued. "Elder Bone has been recruiting. He's promised resources and protection to disciples willing to join his faction. Including some of Master Shen Yue's own disciples."
"Who?" Kai asked sharply.
"I don't have names yet. But my contact says at least three Shadow Hall disciples have accepted his offers. Traitors within our own hall."
[Alert: Internal betrayal confirmed]
[Unknown traitors in Shadow Hall]
[Trust no one outside verified alliance]
"This is insane," Hong Wei said, pacing. "We're supposed to focus on cultivation, but instead we're dealing with political warfare and betrayal."
"Welcome to the Blood Demonic Sect," Mei Lin said dryly. "Power struggles never stop here. The strong devour the weak, and the clever survive by navigating the conflicts."
Kai leaned against the wall, thinking. "If the selection trial is rigged, we need to know the specifics. What kind of trial will it be?"
"That's the problem. The format is decided by a council of elders one week before. Elder Bone has two votes on that council—his own and Elder Feng's. Master Shen Yue has one vote, and the other two elders are neutral."
"So Elder Bone can push through whatever format he wants," Yun Xia said quietly.
"Unless we give Master Shen Yue a reason to overrule the council," Kai said. "If her disciples are so outstanding that changing the trial format would be too obvious, even the neutral elders would question it."
Mei Lin's eyes lit up. "You're suggesting we become too valuable to sabotage openly."
"Exactly. We need to excel so dramatically that rigging the trial against us would be transparently political. The Sect Master doesn't tolerate elders who put personal grudges above sect interests."
Hong Wei grinned. "I like it. But how do we become that outstanding in five months?"
"By breaking through to Foundation Establishment Realm ahead of schedule," Kai said. "And by mastering techniques that make us stand out. We need to be undeniable."
[Strategy Formulated]
[New Objective: Excel beyond expectations to prevent sabotage]
[Time Frame: 5 months]
[Difficulty: Extreme]
"There's one more thing," Mei Lin said, her voice dropping even lower. "My contact mentioned something called 'The Purge.'"
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"What's The Purge?" Kai asked, though he had a bad feeling he already knew.
"Every five years, when the Grand Martial Tournament comes around, the sect conducts a purge of weak or disloyal disciples. They send them on suicide missions or execute them outright. It's a way to trim the fat and present only the strongest to the world."
"When does it happen?" Yun Xia asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Four months from now. Right before the selection trial."
[Major Threat Identified: The Purge]
[Timeline Updated]
[Month 1-4: Survive and grow stronger]
[Month 4: Survive The Purge]
[Month 5: Pass Selection Trial]
[Month 6: Compete in Tournament]
Hong Wei looked sick. "So we have to survive assassinations, political warfare, cultivation breakthroughs, a purge, and then the actual tournament?"
"Yes," Mei Lin said simply.
Silence fell over the group. The magnitude of what they faced was crushing.
Then Kai spoke. "Good."
Everyone looked at him like he was insane.
"Good?" Hong Wei repeated.
"Yes, good. Because now we know what we're facing. No more surprises. We know the timeline, we know the threats, and we know what we need to do." Kai's voice was calm but firm. "Four months to reach Foundation Establishment. Four months to become so strong that The Purge passes us by. Then we crush the selection trial, represent the sect, and win the tournament."
"You make it sound simple," Yun Xia said.
"It's not simple. It's nearly impossible. But nearly impossible is better than certain death, which is what we face if we don't try."
Mei Lin smiled slightly. "When did you become the inspirational speaker?"
"When I realized dying wasn't on my schedule."
[Alliance Morale: Increased]
[Determination: High]
They spent another hour discussing specifics. Resources they needed. Training methods they'd share. Weak points in each other's cultivation they needed to address.
By the time they separated, each member had a clear path forward.
---
Kai returned to his room using the same stealth techniques. No one saw him come or go.
He sat down and reviewed his status.
[Current Status: Kai Zhang]
[Age: 17]
[Cultivation: Qi Condensation Realm Level 5]
[Level: 7]
[HP: 140/140]
[Qi: 80/80]
[Strength: 13]
[Agility: 12]
[Vitality: 13]
[Intelligence: 25]
[Luck: 15]
[Skills: Basic Fist Technique (Intermediate), Demonic Qi Circulation (Intermediate), Shadow Step (Advanced), Shadow Phantom Step (Beginner), Pressure Point Strike (Intermediate), Poison Knowledge (Advanced), Anatomy Knowledge (Intermediate)]
[Passive Skills: Pain Resistance (Level 1), Demonic Resistance (Level 1), Mental Fortitude (Level 1)]
[Nine Gates Progress: Gate 1 - 8%]
Four months to reach Foundation Establishment. That meant opening all nine gates and then making the breakthrough. Normally impossible in that timeframe.
But Kai had the system, three capable allies, and motivation that went beyond simple ambition.
He had to survive.
[New Training Regimen Calculated]
[Daily Schedule:]
[4 hours: Combat training]
[6 hours: Nine Gates cultivation]
[2 hours: Technique refinement]
[2 hours: Rest/meditation]
[10 hours sleep: REJECTED - Reduced to 4 hours]
[Warning: This schedule is extremely demanding]
[Risk of exhaustion: High]
[Benefit if maintained: Breakthrough possible in 4 months]
Kai accepted the regimen. Sleep was a luxury he couldn't afford.
He began immediately, circulating his qi according to the Nine Gates method. The first gate resisted, but slowly, incrementally, it was opening.
[Gate 1 Progress: 8% → 10%]
Outside his window, the moon hung high and cold. Somewhere in the sect, disciples slept peacefully, unaware of the storm coming.
But Kai knew. He felt it in his bones.
The next four months would be hell.
But at the end of that hell lay power, freedom, and survival.
And Kai Zhang was willing to pay any price for those three things.
[Duration: 4 months until The Purge]
[Current Survival Probability: 44.7%]
[System Message: The path forward is clear. Now walk it.]
Kai's eyes glowed faintly in the darkness as qi circulated through his body.
Four months.
One hundred and twenty days.
He would make every single one count.