"What are you all staring at? Never seen a servant disciple take on a mission before?"
Xu Xiaolong turned, his glare sweeping across the gathered Tianyun Sect disciples in the Hall of Merits. His tone was sharp enough to make a few flinch before he strode out with Chu Baiyun following close behind.
The moment they left, the hall filled with murmurs.
"I don't get why he's so fierce… I was just surprised," a young female disciple said quietly, her cheeks still red from being scolded.
A male disciple shook his head. "Let them be. Without any cultivation, they'll get themselves killed sooner or later. Taking missions like that is asking for death."
Outside the hall, Xu Xiaolong and Chu Baiyun made their way down the side path of Verdant Bamboo Peak, heading toward the wilderness where the outer forests spread like a sea of green.
"Baiyun," Xu Xiaolong said, voice calm but heavy, "did you see their faces? Every one of them looks down on us. Servant disciples, huh? Then we'll show them who they're sneering at. If we don't rise, we'll always crawl beneath their boots."
Chu Baiyun tugged down the strip of cloth over his eye, revealing the faint bruise underneath. "They look down on me? I look down on them."
The two of them entered the overgrown hills beyond the sect's border, where the air grew damp with mist and the scent of wild herbs lingered. Xu Xiaolong unfolded the mission slips, reading them one by one.
"Let's divide them. I'll handle this area—you take that ridge. We'll meet at sunset," Chu Baiyun suggested.
Xu Xiaolong studied him for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Originally, I planned to split the rewards. Looks like you're itching to prove yourself. Fine—take a stack. But if you get yourself killed, I won't bother digging your grave."
The two separated, moving along different slopes but within shouting distance if trouble came.
Xu Xiaolong crouched by a rocky ledge, his hand brushing over a cluster of pale herbs growing in the shade. The old man's voice echoed faintly in his mind—how to smell roots, how to judge by leaf veins, how to tell false medicine from real. He had learned this long ago, before he even knew what cultivation was.
For him, gathering herbs was easy. The hard part would be surviving long enough to trade them for power.
Xu Xiaolong could already tell Chu Baiyun's background wasn't ordinary. The boy's tone, the way he carried himself—even when he pretended to be rough—betrayed an upbringing used to privilege. But Xu Xiaolong didn't care. If Baiyun could fight, then he was worth having around. If not, he'd still be company on the road.
Right now, none of that mattered. What Xu Xiaolong needed was strength. Once he stood tall enough, he could seek Elder Mo Han and ask about his past. The jade pendant alone wouldn't tell him anything—but Elder Mo might be able to read its fate.
He paused for a moment, the memory of the old man's words still echoing in his ears: "You didn't die because of that drop of sacred blood. Remember it—and hide it."
Someone had buried him with care. He wasn't abandoned. Whoever had done it was trying to save him, not discard him. The one who forced that burial—that was his true enemy.
While his mind wandered, Xu Xiaolong's hands moved automatically, plucking herbs and tucking them into the cloth satchel at his waist. The scent of crushed ginseng and earth filled the air. He had just dug out a young snow ginseng root when a deep roar split the silence—followed by a human shout, ragged and pained.
His expression hardened instantly. "Baiyun."
Without another thought, he sprinted toward the sound. Branches whipped past, leaves scattering under his boots. When he burst through the brush, he saw it—a massive Demonic Bear, its black fur matted with blood, energy rippling off its bulk like heat from a forge. Chu Baiyun stood opposite, chest gashed open, barely holding his sword upright.
"Hurry! That's a Tier-3 peak beast—we can't take it!" Baiyun yelled, his voice hoarse.
"What can we do? Kill it!" Xu Xiaolong barked back, drawing his sword in a single motion.
The bear roared, its paw smashing down with the weight of a falling boulder. Both men dodged aside, their blades flashing. Sparks flew as steel met claw. Their slashes left shallow marks on its hide—nothing deep enough to slow it down.
Its next swing connected with Baiyun's chest, sending him crashing into a tree.
"Xu Xiaolong!" he gasped, blood spilling from his lips. "Don't stay—run!"
Xu Xiaolong tightened his grip on the hilt, veins bulging along his forearms.
"No! I've never once run from a beast!" Xu Xiaolong roared. His long sword thrust into the ground beside him, freeing both hands. He lowered his stance and charged, fists tightening until his knuckles cracked.
Boom! Boom!
Each strike landed with the sound of stone shattering. Xu Xiaolong met the Demonic Bear head-on, his bare fists colliding against the monster's claws. The shockwaves sent dust spiraling into the air.
Every time the bear swiped, he was knocked back several steps—but he never stayed down. With blood at the corner of his mouth, Xu Xiaolong rushed forward again like a madman reborn from flame.
Chu Baiyun stared, half in awe, half in disbelief. Is this still a servant disciple? What stood before him wasn't a man—it was a beast in human skin.
Xu Xiaolong felt his bones creak, but his blood surged even hotter. The sword alone couldn't unleash his true strength; it was his body, tempered by the Nameless Body Art, that allowed him to clash evenly with the monster.
"What are you gaping at? Waiting to count my corpse? Move!" Xu Xiaolong barked between blows, his fist smashing into the bear's jaw with a dull crack.
The shout jolted Baiyun awake. "Right!" He gritted his teeth, lifted his long sword, and darted to the beast's flank.
Steel met flesh again and again. Baiyun's strikes carved shallow lines across the bear's side, and though they barely bled, they bought Xu Xiaolong precious moments to attack unguarded.
Then Baiyun rolled forward, sword flashing low—
A clean slice! The bear howled as one of its hamstrings was severed, its movements faltering.
But victory was short-lived. Its aura began to churn, thick and suffocating. Blood-red light flared in its eyes, its body swelling as energy flooded out like a storm.
"It's… it's about to break through!" Baiyun gasped. "It's pushing into the fourth tier! What do we do?!"
Xu Xiaolong's gaze sharpened. "What do we do? We kill it now!"
He recalled something from the Hall of Merits—the bounty for a fourth-tier crystal core. "If we finish it here, we'll claim that reward after!"
With a low growl, he dashed behind the beast, leapt, and gripped the edge of its torn wound with his left hand. Hanging onto its back, he hammered his right fist down again and again against the base of its skull.
The Demonic Bear went berserk, thrashing wildly—but Xu Xiaolong clung fast, locked in its blind spot like a spirit of vengeance.
Chu Baiyun seized the opening and lunged, his long sword piercing deep into the bear's flank. The beast howled, and its aura suddenly swelled like a tide breaking its banks. Energy rolled off its body in violent waves, and the ground trembled beneath its weight.
"It's breaking through—fourth rank!" Baiyun shouted in horror.
The Demonic Bear slammed its paw down and roared skyward, a crimson sheen crawling over its fur. Its muscles bulged, and the surrounding air rippled as if warped by heat. In that instant, its strength multiplied.
Unable to throw off Xu Xiaolong, the enraged beast spun and rammed its back against a massive tree.
Crack!
The trunk split with a sharp snap, splinters exploding outward. Xu Xiaolong, crushed between the beast's back and the shattering tree, saw stars burst before his eyes. His chest tightened from the impact, but his hand found the hilt of his sword—still embedded in the broken trunk beside him.
With a grunt, he tore it free, turned the blade in his grip, and shouted, "Baiyun! Cut its legs—I'll take the neck!"
The bear bellowed, swiping wildly behind itself, but Xu Xiaolong ducked low, his sword flashing cold as he slashed across the thick neck. Blood sprayed in an arc.
At the same moment, Chu Baiyun rolled beneath the beast and slashed again—one clean strike severing the remaining hamstring.
The Demonic Bear collapsed, its hind legs folding uselessly beneath it. Its body shook, claws digging deep furrows in the earth as Xu Xiaolong's blade bit deeper and deeper into its throat.
"Die!" Xu Xiaolong roared, twisting his sword and wrenching it free. The beast let out one last guttural cry, then toppled to the ground with a thunderous crash, its blood soaking into the dirt beneath their feet.
Before long, Xu Xiaolong's blade carved deep into the beast's throat. The Demonic Bear gave one final shudder, then collapsed with a ground-shaking thud.
"Truly fierce," Xu Xiaolong muttered, glancing down at the blood spattered across his arms.
"Boss, are you alright?" Chu Baiyun stumbled over, clutching his side.
"I'm fine," Xu Xiaolong replied, wiping his sword clean. "Next time, stop flinching. When it's time to fight, fight! That core's worth three thousand points."
Baiyun blinked, realization dawning. "Boss, you haven't cultivated Yuan Qi, have you? You fought it bare-handed?"
Xu Xiaolong snorted, sheathing his sword. "Why do you think I'm out here? To earn the Art to do just that. Now stop talking—get to work."
Baiyun rubbed his bruised face, speechless. If he had Yuan Qi… he would be unstoppable.