It was the third anniversary of me joining the Myriad Beasts Sect on a summer solstice. Time really flew by when Cultivation was just about everything you did. Long months just disappeared, merging into one without any excitement to differentiate them apart.

Vilya and I stood at the eastern side, the farthest I could go, waiting to see the new arrivals. It was the only thing that was even remotely interesting in the Sect, without having to spend any money. Of course, it would be a month before the kids could properly join after making their own homes in the Outer Sect.

We were not the only ones there. There were many other Disciples there, looking to see what’s up. No doubt many of them were gathering information on the newcomers so they would have an advantage when the bets officially opened.

I sat on a small boulder with elbows on my knees, looking into the distance with Arcane Eyes. Vilya leaned onto my shoulder beside me. She was officially at the first step of the Nascent Soul. It took slightly longer than I predicted to boost her that high, but otherwise, she managed to almost completely recover from the curses.

Having greater power than when the damage was done helped her greatly, and training in Body Cultivation the entire time also helped her repair her body so that it was stronger than ever. We jokingly sparred a few times with each other and I showed her a few tricks, but let’s be honest, rolling around on the ground and playing was completely different to a real fight.

When it was a matter of life and death, most fancy techniques went out the window. The brutality of combat was not something easily learned through safe practice. It was gained on the battlefield with blood, sweat, and broken bones.

It was not suitable for her and I didn’t want to push her that way. I liked her the way she was.

“Think there is going to be anyone interesting this year?” She asked in a slow, dreamy voice, her head resting on my shoulder.

[Wouldn’t that be nice? But most likely it’s just going to be a lot of average people, like always.]

“Hmm…” She hummed quietly and I wrapped my hand around her. I was very peaceful and quiet, except for the distant murmurs of other young Cultivators.

Sparse sunbeams broke through the dense crowns of the mighty Ironbarks, their woody girth all but blocking our sight from anything more than a hundred meters away. But my gaze was sharp, piercing through the wood, stone, and anything in its path. Arcane Eyes just cared about the energy, nothing else.

And then suddenly I saw them. The fog of Qi in the distance turned into many distinctive dots, some of which were many hundred times brighter than the rest. The Mortal new arrivals and their escorts.

They were far away and walking slowly, still a distance away from even beginning to climb the mountain. An hour or so, before they would be settled in and shown their new home in the Outer Sect. A small plot of land for them to build their village with their own hands. The first lesson. Rely on yourself and your Brothers, because together we can do anything.

Some time passed and the other guys around us also began to notice the group. They also had visual techniques, yet they were at best a third as good as mine. It came from a Spirit Realm Cultivator after all. It had to be good.

“Oh, I see them!” Vilya suddenly said and perked up. “Looks like there are quite many this year.”

[Yeah, there is a lot.] I agreed. The villages really outdid themselves, giving birth to so many talents more than a decade ago. I counted nearly 200 in the group. There surely had to be a good seed or two among them.

They were just about to climb the stone steps when my vision went haywire. The lazy Base Qi in the air was suddenly mobilized, getting sucked into the ground beneath the group, creating voids in the environment. It then exploded hundreds of meters high in a blinding fireball that could be seen from our position with the naked eye.

There were frightened gasps, and a few seconds later we heard the sound of a distant explosion and felt the earth tremble. Then there was nother, further to the south and east. And another. And another. Dozens, hundreds of explosions rang out, some distant and quiet as a whisper, some close and loud like a crack of thunder.

“What… What was that?”

The people around us went into panic and I stood up, my gaze sharp. Vilya squeezed herself close to me and I covered both of us with my barrier while I assessed the situation.

Warning bells started ringing all over the Sect, signaling us to retreat inside. If that wasn’t enough, many Elders suddenly appeared, demanding we vacate the premises while they contained the damage and assessed the situation. Disciples from Law Enforcement Hall also ran to the front lines in great numbers, so I decided to avoid them and instead took a roundabout way back home.

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Since we were on the eastern side, we went straight north through the Outer Sect and then west, where there were no explosions. On our way there we saw many Outer Disciples running higher up the mountain into the Inner Sect for safety while we just continued on the outside. I didn’t like big crowds of people, especially not a panicked one.

If anything happened, it would just be confusing and more difficult to assess the situation.

The whole thing was already confusing enough. Someone just killed the entire group of new arrivals, as well as their guardians, which was no small loss. I suspected other groups were similarly obliterated, judging by the man explosions all over the mountain range.

Were we under attack? Was that some kind of sabotage? An attempt to make us weaker? Because that surely wouldn’t work, it was at most a thousand people, Mortals even. Such a loss was easy to replace, heck it wasn’t even a loss. It was supposed to be a small gain, but I guess not.

We jogged along the dirt path in silence when I saw a small group quickly approaching from the outside. I guess not everybody was killed in the explosions. Then again, the direction they were coming from had no explosions. Lucky them.

But then I suddenly stopped and gestured for Vilya to be quiet and crouch down. That group, I at first thought they were Mortals, but as they came closer I noticed they were not. Their cloaking abilities were good, just not good enough. When they came close enough, I could instinctively feel their Souls. They were all peak Golden Core.

[Well, well, well…] I narrowed my eyes at the group. Why would a group of such strong Cultivators try to get into the Sect just as an attack happened on the other side of the mountain? While being cloaked no less.

[Stay here.] I whispered to Vilya, and then slowly and silently, made my way forward.

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Emron quietly cursed his luck in getting chosen to lead the infiltration party. There were many other groups that could have been chosen, but it just so happened that his had no real backing in the Sect.

He was certain that such things played a major role. They were expendable. Of course, he knew that since he couldn’t advance to the Spirit Realm, death on the battlefield was all but a foregone conclusion for him, yet when the time came, he still felt like he got the short end of the stick.

He hoped he could at least prove himself in a real battle and not… whatever this was.

He and his team waited in silence, hidden beneath a tarp enchanted with various concealment arrays. There were fifteen people total, him included, and the space was tight. Absolutely nobody dared to release a sound, much less speak.

Suddenly the ground shook and a distant sound of explosions reverberated across the mountain. It was time.

Emron gestured his team to move, and they quietly, yet swiftly, made their way up. Many powerful beings flew above their heads, completely unaware of their presence.

“Go, go, go! Just plant the bombs, set the timer, and get the fuck out. Do not waste even a single second and we just might still survive this.” He whispered to his team harshly. None of them replied, but he knew they all heard him. They had trained for this.

“Creature up front.” A person whispered and they immediately came to a halt. A large red beast covered in scales blocked their path, moving slowly with its tail swaying left and right.

“Shit, is that a Dragon?”

“No, it has no wings. It’s a Drake. Damn these bastards, flaunting their wealth like this!” Emron answered and squinted his eyes, scanning the creature. They were still completely hidden beneath the tarp. “It’s still in the early stages of Golden Core. Doesn’t seem like it has noticed us. Stay still and let it pass, we can’t afford to get exposed.”

The Drake suddenly stopped and lifted its head. Emron suddenly had a bad feeling about the entire situation. Under the tarp, their visibility was limited, but as the Drake turned, he noticed the creature had a weirdly humanoid shape.

“Fuck!”

The drake sniffed the air and flicked out its forked tongue. Emron could practically feel its gaze staring right at him.

[Well, well, well…] It growled. [What do we have here?]

Emron could swear it was grinning. Cold sweat began to pour down his back. They were found out. It was over!

No, focus! It’s weak! Only the Second Layer…

He nervously wiped his brow and licked his dried lips. They still had a chance, but they had to be quick. He turned to his team.

“Get ready. Kill the creature as fast as you can and don’t let it make any sound. Use your treasures and relics if you have to, do not let it leave! Get ready, 3, 2, 1…”

They threw their cover off and charged as one the last few steps. Emron had never before felt so terrified in his life as he did at that moment. It was just a weak creature, a weak Cultivator. He killed many stronger beasts, but never when every second mattered so much.

“Go!” He shouted and unsheathed his blade, his prized possession. The fastest few were already there in mid-air, enchanted daggers in hand, ready to stab the beast and seal its Qi. The blades glowed with silver energy, the Spirit Stones powering them giving it their all.

There was a clanging sound as the blade collided with red and black scales. And then another. And another.

Emron came to a stop, his sword raised high, and stared dumbly. Did he just see their strongest, sharpest blade coated with Spirit Qi fail to penetrate the skin of an early Golden Core? Surely not.

But then he noticed it was not just one. All of them did, bouncing harmlessly off the scales or at most leaving a shallow mark.

The beast in human shape began to laugh. Slowly and quietly at first, but then ever louder. The monstrous giant stood high on his legs and they could see an unmistakable form of a man.

[Well, well… Isn’t that funny?] It rumbled. [Your toothpicks cannot hurt me.]

It then took one of his team, and tore him in half, before taking a bite from the still screaming torso. It looked at them as I slowly chewed and began releasing its own Aura. There was no mistake, it was definitely at the Second Layer, but the size… It just kept growing. And growing.

“What?!” Emron shouted, his eyes wide as saucers. His brain could not comprehend what he was seeing. It made no sense. Why was its presence stronger than even some of his Elders?! Such a thing should be impossible!

[Now, shall we play?] The beast asked with a grin.

Emron, having been prepared for death since decades ago, snapped, and launched forward amid a maddening roar.

“KILL IT!”