The streets of Birchwind Town were busy, loud, and thick with the smell of roasted meat and dusty sand. Merchants shouted over one another, pushing carts filled with beast pelts, herbs, and crude weapons. Everything looked ordinary.
Until Ling Canglong stepped through.
He didn't mean to draw attention. But the moment he entered the main street, conversations faltered. Heads turned. Whispers followed him and Han Lie like ripples across water.
It wasn't his face.It wasn't his clothing.It was the pressure leaking from him, faint but primal an instinctive fear that stirred in the hearts of beasts, mortals, and cultivators alike.
Han Lie nudged him."Brother, you're leaking it."
Canglong exhaled slowly, forcing the power in his sea of consciousness to settle. It had been stirring since the clash with the sect brats at the gates. The pressure faded, and the crowd's tension dissolved as if nothing had happened.
Canglong continued walking.
They needed supplies, a map, and information about the Falling Sky Sect's selection grounds. Birchwind Town was the closest point to the sect, so every hopeful cultivator passed through it. Which meant trouble would not be far.
Han Lie pointed toward a row of shops."There. The map pavilion."
They were three steps from the door when a group of young men stepped out of it, blocking their path. All wore matching gray uniforms with a curved blade insignia stitched near the shoulder.
Saber River School.
A minor sect. Loud reputation. Weak foundation. Known for bullying the unprotected.
The tallest one smirked the moment his eyes landed on Canglong.
"You're the kid from earlier," he said. "The one who broke my junior's arm with a single slap outside the gates. Impressive for a nobody."
Han Lie stepped forward, voice calm."We don't want trouble. Move aside."
The young man lifted his chin."You think you can walk into Birchwind Town, injure disciples of my Saber River School, and then stroll around as if nothing happened?"
Canglong didn't respond. He merely watched them, eyes steady, expression unreadable.
Another disciple spat on the ground."Narrow your eyes at us again and I'll take them from your face."
Han Lie's hand twitched, but Canglong raised a single hand, stopping him. Not to protect him but to warn him.
Something was wrong.
The moment those disciples appeared, the dragon inside Canglong stirred. His sea of consciousness throbbed like a drum. The pressure surged again, unbidden, ripping through the mental restraints he'd placed earlier.
He clenched his jaw and forced his breathing steady.The brats didn't notice.
The leader stepped closer, his breath sour with arrogance."Leave your pouch, your saber, and kneel three times, and I'll think about letting you leave with your legs."
Canglong's fingers curled around his saber hilt.
Han Lie whispered urgently."Brother, don't. Not here. We need to conserve strength"
But it was too late.The disciples had crossed a line.
A wind rose from nowhere, sweeping dust along the ground. The crowd watching from a distance stepped back.
The leader scoffed."What, you dare draw that thing? Show me"
Canglong's saber flashed.
Not fully drawn. Not even half-drawn.
Just an inch.
Yet the air itself cracked like a whip, and the leader stumbled back as if struck in the chest by a hammer. His feet dragged two clean lines in the gravel before he crashed onto one knee.
His face went pale.
"What… what was that?"
The other disciples stared at Canglong, blinking as if they had just witnessed lightning appearing from a clear sky.
Canglong calmly sheathed the saber back into place."Move."
The leader tried to stand, but the pressure from Canglong's sea of consciousness pressed down on him like a mountain. His teeth cracked under the strain. His legs shook uncontrollably.
Han Lie swallowed."Brother… your consciousness is leaking again."
It wasn't leaking.It was roaring.
Every disciple in the Saber River School group collapsed, clutching their heads. A few vomited. One fainted instantly.
Their minds were being crushed by something they could not perceive.
Canglong didn't even look at them as he and Han Lie stepped past and entered the map pavilion. The moment the door closed behind them, the pressure vanished, leaving the street silent.
Outside, the saber school disciples crawled away like wounded dogs.
Inside, the old map vendor stared at Canglong as if he were looking at a celestial beast wearing human skin.
Canglong simply asked,"Do you have maps to the Falling Sky Sect?"
The vendor's voice shook as he replied,"Yes, senior. Right away."
As if Ling Canglong and Han Lie were no longer two travelers…
…but two storms passing through Birchwind Town.