The wind shifted.
High atop a cliff of blackened stone, the banners of the Wandering Vein Sect fluttered like torn ghosts. Their emblem—a severed hand holding a burning thread—seemed almost alive against the storm-streaked sky.
Rael stood at the base of the stone stairs, blood dried on his sleeve, the Core Vein Fragment still pulsing faintly beneath the wrappings around his wrist.
Yue Qingshi didn't speak as they climbed. Her silence wasn't cold—it was thoughtful. Rael could feel it in her presence, a strange steadiness that matched the rhythm of his own exhausted heartbeat.
Behind them, the canyon they had bled in was already being sealed. New challengers would face it someday, but not today.
Today, they were still alive.
And that was enough.
---
The Wandering Vein Sect wasn't like the golden palaces of the central provinces. It didn't gleam. It didn't rise.
It descended.
Its halls and chambers were carved deep into the roots of the earth, through veins of dormant ore and buried bones.
Every step echoed with forgotten screams.
"New Initiate," a stone-robed elder barked at Rael as they passed a threshold lined with rusted weapons. "Left path. No light. You crawl till you find the chamber."
Rael stared at him. "No light?"
"Not unless you brought your own soul flame," the man replied, eyes unreadable. "Initiates without fear don't belong here."
Yue arched an eyebrow. "Charming hospitality."
The elder shrugged. "We forge survivors, not diplomats."
---
Rael entered the tunnel alone.
His footsteps soon vanished into silence.
It was not a test of direction, nor endurance.
It was a test of reaction.
As soon as the final light vanished, the air changed.
Slick.
Wet.
Breathing.
Something was alive in the tunnel.
[System Alert: Environmental Hostility – Passive Predator Field Detected]
Warning: Visual and spiritual senses compromised. Initiating adaptive sensory override.
Temporary Trait Activated – 'Nerve Echo Map' (Instinctual Spatial Threading)
Cost: Mild nerve fatigue and slowed reflexes post-use.
Rael didn't stop walking.
He felt the space now.
Not with eyes.
But with pressure shifts. With memories of how the air curved around walls. With the way moisture collected differently across his left cheek than his right.
Something snapped near his head.
He ducked—barely—feeling strands of hair sliced clean from his scalp.
A whisper followed.
"Not prey…"
Then silence.
---
He emerged into a circular chamber moments—or maybe hours—later.
A single brazier glowed with soft blue flame. Bone dust filled the air.
And seated cross-legged at the far end was a girl no older than him, skin marked with scars shaped like runes.
"You made it."
Rael said nothing.
The girl smiled. "I'm Huo Lin. Senior of the third circle. You're the new one."
Rael nodded.
Huo Lin tossed him a stone disk. "Your sigil. You'll need it to walk these halls. Step without it, the walls might eat you."
"Anything else?"
She grinned, leaning forward. "Yeah. You're going to need allies if you want to survive this sect."
Rael raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because this place doesn't just train disciples," she said, eyes narrowing.
"It breaks them."
---
Wandering Vein Sect – Core Grounds
Three days later.
---
Rael stood in the courtyard surrounded by jagged statues—each one carved from black ore, depicting disciples who had failed.
He wasn't intimidated.
He was curious.
From the side path, a figure approached.
Yue Qingshi.
But she was no longer cloaked.
Her robe bore the silver crescent insignia of her clan. The Lunar Qi threads danced across her sleeves, sharper than before. She had tied her hair back, and in her eyes was a glint of mischief Rael had learned to expect.
"They're watching you," she said.
"I know."
"You make them nervous."
"I know that too."
She smiled. "Good. Let's use it."
Rael blinked. "We?"
"You're smart, Rael," she said. "But you're alone. That won't work here. The sect's inner trials are coming. Pairs survive. Soloists die."
He studied her.
"You want to partner?"
"I want to win," she said. "And I think you do too."
Rael turned back to the courtyard, silent.
Then he nodded.
---
That night.
In the underground stone dorm assigned to him, Rael unwrapped the Core Vein Fragment and pressed it against his skin.
[Core Integration Ritual Initiated.]
Stabilizing Trait: Shadowflow Calculation.
Warning: Trait not fully compatible with existing physique.
Auto-adjusting Root Attributes…
Rael gasped as black lines etched across his chest, spiraling toward his heart.
[Temporary Trait Acquired – Flowghost Nerve Sync]
Effect: Allows brief moments of hyperfocus. Predicts enemy movements up to 1.2 seconds in future.
Side Effect: Causes nerve backlash, vertigo, and partial memory fog after prolonged use.
He steadied his breath.
Everything good… had a cost.
---
Elsewhere.
In a hidden wing of the Wandering Vein Sect, masked elders watched the ripples Rael had left across the dungeon.
"He survived Echo Imprint activation without formal training," one whispered.
"And sacrificed a memory to do it," said another. "He's ruthless."
A third elder stepped forward.
"No… he's still learning to be ruthless."
They turned to a floating mirror etched with blood-runes.
Inside, Rael stood alone—eyes calm, yet distant.
"Mark him," the elder said.
"He's passed the first scar."