The second corrupted bear's bond severed with less resistance than the first, as though Chen Feng's growing understanding of the technique had refined his approach beyond mere instinctive fumbling. The massive creature stumbled mid-charge, its supernatural coordination dissolving into the confused movements of an ordinary animal that suddenly found itself in a combat situation it could not comprehend. Senior Brother Zhao capitalized on the opening with devastating efficiency, his techniques striking with precision that suggested he had been holding back significant power while the bear remained corruption-enhanced and dangerously unpredictable.
Chen Feng barely registered the bear's fall before turning his attention to the final corrupted creature, the one currently pressing Inner Disciple Shen Wu with relentless aggression. The exhaustion weighing on Chen Feng's consciousness had progressed beyond mere fatigue into something approaching genuine danger. Each severance depleted reserves that he was only beginning to understand he possessed, and the mark on his forehead had grown so hot that he could feel sweat beading on his skin despite the cool autumn air.
Lin Yue's hand remained steady on his shoulder, her spiritual energy flowing into him in a pattern that somehow stabilized his overtaxed consciousness without overwhelming his control. Chen Feng found himself grateful for her support in ways that went beyond the purely practical assistance she provided. There was something fundamentally reassuring about her presence, a sense that she understood what he was experiencing and would not allow him to fail through lack of guidance or support.
The third bear's corruption bond was the strongest of all, likely because the distant controlling intelligence had withdrawn its influence from everything else to concentrate its full power into this single remaining vessel. The dark thread connecting beast to controller pulsed with malevolent energy that seemed to writhe and resist even Chen Feng's preliminary examination. Finding a weak point in this bond would require more than simple perception. It would demand understanding of the corruption's fundamental nature and structure.
Chen Feng extended his consciousness along the corruption thread, following it not toward the distant source but deeper into the bear itself, seeking the junction point where dark energy met natural life force. The corruption had integrated itself thoroughly into the creature's essence, but integration was not the same as perfect unity. Wherever two different substances merged, there existed boundaries and transition zones where neither was entirely itself. These boundaries represented potential fracture points if sufficient stress could be applied at precisely the correct angle.
He found what he sought in the bear's heart, where the corruption had wrapped itself around the organ's natural rhythms and bent them to serve unnatural purposes. The boundary between corrupt and natural pulsed with each heartbeat, creating a repeating pattern of stress and relaxation. If Chen Feng could time his severance to coincide with the moment of greatest stress, the bond might break not through overwhelming force but through the amplification of existing tension.
Chen Feng waited, his perception locked onto the corruption bond, feeling each pulse of the bear's heart through his connection to the dark thread. The rhythm was irregular, affected by combat stress and supernatural influence, but patterns existed within the chaos for those capable of perceiving them. One beat, two beats, three beats, and there, a moment where the stress peaked and the boundary between natural and corrupt reached maximum strain.
Chen Feng struck with precision born of desperation and newfound understanding, his consciousness cutting at the exact instant when the corruption bond was most vulnerable. The severance occurred so cleanly that for a heartbeat nothing seemed to change. Then the corruption exploded outward from the bear in a visible burst of dark energy that dissipated into the air like smoke in wind. The bear collapsed immediately, its heart having been so thoroughly compromised by the corruption that it could not sustain life once the dark energy withdrew.
The death of the final corrupted bear marked the effective end of the organized assault. The few remaining corrupted smaller creatures, no longer under any coordination, fled back into the forest or were quickly dispatched by the disciples and armed villagers. The sudden transition from desperate combat to cautious victory left everyone in the square standing in stunned silence for several long moments, processing the fact that they had survived an encounter that by all rights should have resulted in catastrophic casualties.
Chen Feng felt Lin Yue's supporting hand shift from his shoulder to his arm as his legs finally gave out completely. The accumulated exhaustion of severing three major corruption bonds in rapid succession hit him all at once, and he would have collapsed face-first into the dirt if the junior sister had not steadied him with surprising strength for her slender frame. She guided him to sit on the ground in a controlled manner rather than simply falling, then knelt beside him to examine his condition with the professional assessment of someone trained in cultivation medicine.
"His spiritual reserves are completely depleted," Lin Yue announced to the other disciples who were gathering now that the immediate threat had passed. "More than depleted, actually. He was drawing on life force toward the end, which is extremely dangerous for someone without cultivation training. Another severance might have killed him."
Senior Brother Zhao approached, his expression grave as he studied Chen Feng with new appreciation and concern. "He saved the village and quite possibly all of our lives. Those corrupted bears were approaching the strength threshold where our defensive techniques would have been overwhelmed. Without his intervention, we would have been forced to abandon the villagers and retreat, leaving them to their fate."
The acknowledgment of how close they had come to disaster hung heavy in the air. Inner Disciples Shen Wu and Liu Fang had joined the group as well, both bearing minor injuries but nothing that suggested permanent harm. The villagers were beginning to emerge from their homes now that the sounds of combat had ceased, their expressions showing relief mixed with the lingering fear of those who had faced death and survived only through fortune and the intervention of powers beyond their normal comprehension.
Chen Wei pushed through the gathering crowd with the determined urgency of a parent seeking a child in danger. His eyes found Chen Feng sitting on the ground, and the older man's expression shifted through several emotions in rapid succession before settling on paternal concern. He approached and knelt beside his son, placing a hand on Chen Feng's shoulder in a gesture that mirrored Lin Yue's earlier support.
"You're alive," Chen Wei said simply, and the depth of feeling in those two words conveyed more than elaborate speeches could have accomplished.
"I'm alive," Chen Feng confirmed, managing a weak smile despite his exhaustion. "Though I feel as though I've been awake for three days straight while carrying logs up a mountain."
"Spiritual exhaustion manifests similarly to physical depletion but recovers differently," Lin Yue explained, addressing both Chen Feng and his father. "With proper rest and meditation techniques, he should regain most of his strength within a day or two. However, he should avoid using his severance abilities during that recovery period, as further depletion could cause permanent damage to his spiritual foundation."
Village Chief Han had approached during this exchange, accompanied by several of the village elders. The chief's weathered face showed gratitude and concern in equal measure as he bowed deeply to the assembled disciples. "Azure Peak Sect has saved Redwood Village this day. We are in your debt, and the debt of young Chen Feng who demonstrated courage and ability far beyond what we knew he possessed."
Senior Brother Zhao returned the bow with appropriate courtesy, though his expression suggested his thoughts were occupied with matters beyond simple village politics. "Chief Han, we need to discuss the implications of what occurred here today. The coordinated nature of this assault, the presence of a controlling intelligence directing corrupted creatures, and Chen Feng's manifestation of a Void Mark all suggest that forces are moving in this region that pose threats beyond the capacity of a single village to address or even fully understand."
The chief nodded gravely, having clearly reached similar conclusions through his own reasoning. "The village council chamber is available for private discussion whenever you and your fellow disciples are ready. I suspect there are matters that should not be spoken of in the open square where all can hear."
The suggestion was both practical and tactful, recognizing that certain information required discretion rather than public dissemination. Senior Brother Zhao accepted the offer and directed his fellow disciples to accompany him, with the notable exception of Lin Yue who remained with Chen Feng ostensibly to monitor his recovery but perhaps also because she had developed a particular investment in his wellbeing beyond mere professional duty.
As the other disciples departed with Chief Han and the village elders, the square gradually emptied as villagers returned to their homes or began the work of tending to the injured and assessing damage. The festival atmosphere that had prevailed earlier in the day had been thoroughly dispelled by the recent violence, replaced by the somber mood of those who had survived a brush with forces beyond their control or comprehension.
Chen Feng's mother arrived with water and food, her maternal instincts overriding any awe she might have felt toward Lin Yue's status as a cultivator. She fussed over her son with the determined efficiency of a woman who had raised a child through all the normal illnesses and injuries of youth and saw no reason why mysterious spiritual exhaustion should be treated differently. Lin Yue accepted Madam Chen's presence with good grace, even offering advice on how best to help Chen Feng recover his strength more quickly.
"He should eat foods rich in vitality," Lin Yue suggested. "Fresh meat, bone broths, eggs if you have them. His body needs to replenish not just physical energy but the life force he drew upon during the final severances. Ordinary food won't fully restore spiritual reserves, but it will provide the foundation his body needs to begin natural recovery."
Madam Chen absorbed this information with the same practical focus she brought to all matters related to her son's health, already mentally cataloguing which neighbors might have the ingredients necessary to prepare appropriate meals. She departed to begin these preparations, leaving Lin Yue alone with Chen Feng and his father in a relatively quiet corner of the square.
Chen Wei had remained silent during the exchange, but now he spoke with the careful deliberation of someone who had been thinking deeply about implications and consequences. "My son will need to leave with you when you return to Azure Peak Sect. This village is no longer safe for him, and more importantly, he needs training that we cannot provide. I can see that clearly now, even if I wish circumstances were different."
The statement was both observation and reluctant acceptance, acknowledging a reality that Chen Wei had likely been avoiding since the moment Chen Feng's mark first appeared. Lin Yue regarded the older man with respect, recognizing the difficulty of the words he had spoken and the love that motivated them.
"Chen Feng has demonstrated aptitude that goes beyond what our standard testing can measure," Lin Yue confirmed. "The Void Mark is not something the sect has encountered in living memory, but our archives contain records from the ancient era that describe similar phenomena. He will need specialized instruction to develop his abilities safely and avoid the dangers that apparently claimed previous practitioners of the Severance Path. Azure Peak Sect can provide that instruction, though I will not pretend the path ahead will be easy or without its own risks."
Chen Feng listened to them discussing his future as though he were not present, though he understood that this was their way of processing the situation and arriving at necessary conclusions. He could have interjected, could have claimed the right to make his own decisions about his path forward, but truthfully they were only stating what he had already recognized as inevitable. The moment the Void Mark appeared, his life as a simple villager had ended. The attack today had merely made explicit what was already implicit in that transformation.
"When will you depart?" Chen Wei asked, his voice carefully neutral as he avoided looking directly at his son.
"Tomorrow at dawn," Lin Yue replied. "We need to return to the sect quickly to make our report about the corrupted beast activity and the appearance of a Void Mark bearer. Both matters require the attention of our elders and possibly the sect master himself. The delay of even a single day may allow the controlling intelligence behind today's attack to escape or to launch another assault with better preparation."
"Tomorrow," Chen Wei repeated quietly, the single word carrying the weight of a parent's recognition that childhood had ended and the adult world with all its dangers had claimed his son. He placed his hand on Chen Feng's shoulder again, squeezing gently, then stood and walked away without further words. Chen Feng understood that his father needed time to process emotions that were too complex and too raw to express in the presence of others, even family.
Lin Yue watched Chen Wei depart, then turned her attention back to Chen Feng with an expression that had softened from professional assessment to something approaching genuine sympathy. "Leaving family is never easy, especially under circumstances that allow little time for proper farewells. I remember my own departure from my home when I was younger than you are now. The ache of that separation never entirely fades, though it does transform into something more manageable with time and distance."
"How long have you been with Azure Peak Sect?" Chen Feng asked, partly from genuine curiosity and partly to distract himself from thoughts of the coming departure and all it represented.
"Eight years," Lin Yue replied. "I was accepted as an outer disciple at age ten, advanced to inner disciple at thirteen, and have been working toward core disciple status for the past two years. The path of cultivation demands dedication that often conflicts with maintaining ties to one's previous life, but those of us who succeed find that the sacrifices, while painful, lead to achievements and experiences that would have been impossible otherwise."
Chen Feng considered her words, recognizing both the encouragement they contained and the honest acknowledgment of costs that would need to be paid. Lin Yue was not offering false comfort or pretending that his path forward would be simple. She was treating him as someone capable of understanding and accepting hard truths, which Chen Feng found more reassuring than empty platitudes would have been.
"The Severance Path that Senior Brother Zhao mentioned," Chen Feng said, returning to a topic that had been occupying his thoughts since the senior disciple's earlier comments. "You said practitioners either achieved transcendence or destroyed themselves. What determines which outcome occurs?"
Lin Yue was quiet for a moment, and Chen Feng had the impression she was choosing her words with particular care. "The records suggest that the difference lies in understanding the fundamental nature of what you're severing. Connections exist for reasons, and cutting them indiscriminately leads to cascade failures that can unravel more than you intended. The practitioners who achieved transcendence were those who learned to perceive not just the connections themselves but the purposes those connections served and the consequences of their removal. Those who failed saw only threads to be cut and wielded their power without wisdom or restraint."
The explanation resonated with Chen Feng's own instincts about his abilities. During the battle, he had felt the temptation to simply sever everything, to cut all the corruption bonds simultaneously and end the threat instantly. Something had held him back from that approach, some intuition that suggested such wholesale severance would have consequences extending beyond the immediate tactical situation. Lin Yue's words confirmed that his instincts had likely saved him from making a potentially catastrophic mistake.
"I'll need to learn a great deal," Chen Feng said, the statement encompassing both cultivation in general and the Severance Path specifically.
"You will," Lin Yue agreed. "But you've already demonstrated qualities that suggest you have the temperament for this path. Caution, awareness of consequences, willingness to act when necessary but not merely for the sake of exercising power. These attributes will serve you well as your abilities develop."
Their conversation was interrupted by Senior Brother Zhao's return from the council chamber meeting. The senior disciple's expression was grave as he approached, suggesting that the discussions with village leadership had revealed additional complications rather than providing simple resolutions.
"The village elders have confirmed what we suspected," Zhao said without preamble. "Strange occurrences have been increasing throughout the region for the past month. Disappearances in neighboring villages, unusual animal behavior, corruption appearing in previously unaffected areas. Whatever intelligence directed today's attack is part of a larger pattern of activity that extends well beyond this single location."
Lin Yue's expression tightened with concern at this news. "A coordinated campaign of corruption spreading through multiple villages suggests resources and planning that go beyond what a single corrupting artifact or low-level entity could achieve. We may be dealing with a cultivator or organized group deliberately spreading corruption for purposes we don't yet understand."
"That was the inner disciples' assessment as well," Zhao confirmed. "Which means this matter will need to be escalated to the sect's investigation division immediately upon our return. The safety of the entire outer region may be at stake if this corruption is allowed to spread unchecked."
He turned his attention to Chen Feng, and the senior disciple's expression showed both respect and calculation as he evaluated the young man who had demonstrated such extraordinary abilities. "Chen Feng, I'm formally offering you admission to Azure Peak Sect as an outer disciple, with the understanding that your unique circumstances will require specialized instruction beyond our standard curriculum. Your Void Mark and Severance abilities need to be properly developed under expert guidance, and our sect has the resources and knowledge necessary to provide that guidance. Do you accept this offer?"
The question was a formality, as all parties involved understood that Chen Feng had no practical alternative that did not involve either abandoning his abilities unused or attempting to develop them without guidance and likely destroying himself in the process. Still, Chen Feng appreciated that Zhao was treating the decision as his own choice rather than an inevitable consequence of circumstances beyond his control.
"I accept," Chen Feng said clearly. "And I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn from Azure Peak Sect."
Zhao nodded, accepting the response as both formal agreement and personal commitment. "We'll depart at dawn tomorrow. Pack lightly, as the journey to the sect will take three days of travel through mountain paths that are challenging even for cultivators. Bring clothing appropriate for physical training, any personal items of sentimental value that you wish to keep, and little else. The sect will provide everything you need once we arrive."
The practical arrangements having been settled, the disciples dispersed to their own preparations for departure, leaving Chen Feng alone in the square as twilight began painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. He sat quietly for a time, processing everything that had occurred in a single day that had begun with festival preparations and ended with his entire life redirected onto a path he could never have anticipated.
Eventually, he rose and made his way home, walking through familiar village streets that already felt somehow distant, as though he were observing them from outside rather than experiencing them as an integrated part of his daily existence. The feeling was melancholy but not entirely unpleasant, a recognition that transformation involved both loss and gain, endings and beginnings occurring simultaneously.
His parents were waiting when he arrived home, and the evening meal they shared was quiet but not uncomfortable. They spoke of practical matters, what Chen Feng should pack and bring with him, how he should conduct himself at the sect, reminders about maintaining proper hygiene and eating regularly and all the small concerns that parents focus on when larger worries are too overwhelming to address directly. Chen Feng accepted their advice and concern with patience and gratitude, understanding that this was their way of expressing love that could not be adequately conveyed through words alone.
After dinner, Chen Feng retreated to his small room to organize his belongings. The task was completed quickly, as he possessed few items that qualified as essential or irreplaceable. A change of clothes, the small bronze mirror his mother had given him on his last birthday, a worn book of folk tales his father had taught him to read from when he was young. These few possessions would accompany him into his new life, physical anchors connecting him to the people and place that had shaped his character during the years before his transformation.
Sleep was difficult that night, despite the exhaustion that weighted his body and made even simple movements feel laborious. Chen Feng lay in his bed listening to the familiar sounds of the village at night, the chorus of insects and the occasional distant call of an owl hunting in the forest. These sounds had been the backdrop of his entire life, so constant that he had rarely consciously noticed them. Now, knowing that tomorrow he would leave them behind, each sound seemed precious and worthy of attention.
At some point in the deep hours before dawn, Chen Feng finally drifted into fitful sleep. His dreams were strange and fragmented, filled with images of vast emptiness and intricate webs of connection that stretched across infinite distances. The Void Mark on his forehead pulsed with gentle warmth even in sleep, as though the symbol itself was aware of the coming changes and was preparing him for the journey ahead.
Chen Feng woke to the first hints of grey light touching the eastern horizon. He dressed quickly and gathered his small bundle of belongings, then emerged from his room to find his parents already awake and preparing breakfast despite the early hour. They ate together in silence, the weight of impending separation making conversation feel simultaneously necessary and impossible.
When the meal concluded, the three of them walked together to the village square where the Azure Peak disciples had gathered in preparation for departure. Other villagers had assembled as well, having risen early to see off the sect representatives and, more significantly, to bid farewell to one of their own who was leaving to pursue a cultivator's path.
Chen Wei clasped his son's shoulder firmly, his weathered face showing emotions too complex to articulate. "Remember who you are," he said, repeating the advice he had given several nights prior. "Power may change what you can do, but character determines what you will do. Make choices you can be proud of, and know that your mother and I will be proud of you regardless of how high you climb or what achievements you attain."
Madam Chen embraced her son tightly, her tears falling silently as she held him for a long moment before releasing him with visible reluctance. "Be safe," she whispered. "Eat properly, rest when you need to, and don't forget that you always have a home here if you need one."
Chen Feng returned their embraces, feeling his own eyes burning with unshed tears that he refused to allow to fall where others could see. "I'll make you proud," he promised, the words inadequate but sincere. "And I'll return to visit when I'm able."
The farewells concluded, Chen Feng joined the Azure Peak disciples who had formed up in a travel formation that placed the more experienced cultivators at the front and rear with the juniors protected in the middle. Lin Yue positioned herself near Chen Feng, her presence once again providing an anchor of stability in circumstances that felt overwhelming and uncertain.
Senior Brother Zhao addressed the assembled villagers with formal courtesy, expressing the sect's gratitude for their hospitality and promising that Azure Peak would remember Redwood Village's cooperation and the courage its people had shown during the corrupted beast attack. Then, with no further ceremony, the group began moving down the mountain path that led away from the village and toward whatever future awaited them.
Chen Feng glanced back only once, seeing his parents standing together at the edge of the square, his father's arm around his mother's shoulders as they watched their son depart. The image burned itself into Chen Feng's memory with perfect clarity, a final glimpse of the life he was leaving behind.
Then he turned forward and focused on the path ahead, his hand unconsciously moving to touch the mark on his forehead that had set all these changes in motion. The Void Mark pulsed once beneath his fingers, as though acknowledging his touch and his acceptance of the journey it had initiated. Chen Feng took a deep breath of the cool morning air and continued walking, each step carrying him further from everything familiar and closer to a destiny he could not yet imagine but was committed to meeting with whatever courage and wisdom he could muster.
The cultivation world awaited, vast and dangerous and filled with possibilities both wondrous and terrible. Chen Feng was ready to discover what role he would play in that world, armed with abilities he barely understood but was determined to master, guided by values instilled through a simple upbringing but applicable to any circumstance, and accompanied by companions who had already begun to feel like allies rather than mere acquaintances.
His journey had truly begun.