I can feel my heart racing as I think about the ambush waiting ahead of us.

Though, I quickly see a silver lining from the very same ping.

Sister Nuan is nearby. As well as Master Ming, Elder Li, and Senior Tian. With the three all being on the elder contract and at the higher end of core formation… there won’t be any need to worry.

At that moment, I get a message from Sister Nuan.

“Just a heads up. There are a few cultivators up ahead. It appears that they are from the Long family, looking to have a ‘friendly’ competition with our three elders here, because of earlier grievances. Don’t worry too much about them. We’ll take care of it.”

…oh right. Even before I got involved with everything, Master Ming had mentioned he suspects it was the Long family that had caused their injuries and cultivation decline.

They never really had proof, but this might be a bit of a sign, though.

I can feel my hand unclench, a subconscious action that I hadn’t suppressed, in worry that I would have to fight a core formation.

“Okay, thanks Sister Nuan. We’ll keep going and j…”

A jolt of fear passes through me. A thought has come to mind, from both my scan and the peculiarity of the situation.

This is the Long family we are talking about. Everything I know about them is that they are schemers, planners, and a force to be reckoned with.

If they’ve dispatched three core formation experts to counter our three elders, that still leaves Sister Nuan to protect me. Which means there’s no way that they would choose this moment to do a competition without some kind of goal in mind.

And a way to deal with Sister Nuan.

Just as I’m about to say something, I can hear her clear her throat through the slip.

While that is normal, even for cultivators, to do as a habit… for us, it’s a signal. An indication that we must be wary and that neither of us should speak further. To expect the worst.

Oh shit. That’s not good.

And with that in place, I can’t even say anything to the rest of the group. But luckily, we already have ways around that.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Slowly, I let the growing stress of the upcoming situation melt off me. Making myself seem calm, normal, and uninvolved.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Two breaths are all it takes now for me to get full control of my body, at least to the point of controlling outward cues. A product of reaching the Rank 4 Qi Condensation.

Stepping out of the carriage with a clear mind, I climb onto the top of the carriage, where Mei Lin is currently swinging her giant sword. I take another breath before speaking to her, loud enough that everyone can hear.

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…

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? I didn’t teach you to do it that way! Do it again. And the right way, this time.”

…

Tears start to form in Mei Lin’s eyes, and her hands quiver.

My words cause everyone to immediately freeze in place and tense up. But not because of my words, but because of what they represent.

This is the signal we practiced beforehand.

And since their 'boss' is furious, now everyone has an excuse to be tense and wary of their surroundings, in a way that won't raise suspicions.

But even though we practiced it and I’m absolutely sure that Mei Lin knows that this is the signal, the look of shock and fear she’s showing me is completely breaking my heart.

I have to turn away.

“Cough. Keep going for three more sequences and then meditate on how to improve. We’ll talk once you figure out what you’ve done wrong.”

…

I really wish everyone had a jade slip that I could text them a warning on. I’m not sure I could do this again.

Turning to everyone else, I send a frustrated look over at their forms of practice.

“I’ll stay out here for a bit. Hopefully, being out here will provide better motivation for you all to avoid disappointments.”

I can sense Mei Lin wince behind me, and it takes me another intense re-centering breath to not just drop the signal, to let her know I don’t mean it.

Of course, I disguise this as a sigh of disappointment.

And in that way, I set the environment for an instant response.

As planned, Yalei moves closer to me and Mei Lin, while Jin Chin stays in the middle of everyone else. All the while they continue to warily ‘practice’, but in actuality are on high alert.

Even the spirit beasts in the carriage are ready to fight, not to mention the turtle, frog, and other spirit beasts hidden on my body.

Closing my eyes and sitting on the ground, I do my preparations as well.

After double checking that there isn’t a spiritual sense watching us, I put my plan into action.

With my healing aura and cultivation technique, I cover everyone here with the reactive version, making it so that no one here would die in a surprise attack. They’ve already had it on them with my healing, but at a much lower level. One normally meant for Foundation Establishment attacks, and below.

This version could handle the complete devastation that a Core Formation expert could bring.

While Middle Foundation Establishments have abilities that could affect a city block, Core Formations usually have city level abilities. Meaning that getting turned into dust isn’t just a phrase to them.

This is the exact reason that I’ve chosen the Tortoise Swallows Dragon method. To prevent them from suffering that level of attack in the first place.

With a subtle wave, I have a completely transparent layer of shield covering everyone here; myself included. Each of which has the properties of absorbing damage to strengthen itself and me.

Of course, the method isn’t perfect, and the shield has limits on how much damage it can take, especially when against the superior qi quality of core formation experts.

But I don’t need it to be perfect. I just need it to keep them alive so I can heal them.

Using it like this means that I don’t have to pour an abundance of qi into the shields. Just enough for it to take hits.

In contrast, I dedicate significant investment into my shield. Not for protection, though, but for the reinforcing and cultivation aspect. The more damage and attacks my barrier takes, the more qi I absorb from the attacks, and that is all the more qi and healing I can reinvest in the others.

…

Ah. This means I need to be on the front line, then? I never truly internalized that part. I was always hoping that I could stay in the back while healing, protecting, and leading people.

I guess, at least for this potential battle, it was not meant to be.

Everyone takes a quick glance over at me, as this happens. As if to confirm it's me making these changes, I give them a brief nod. With no response, they return to watching the area.

I refocus my mind on my abilities.

Should I use the taming abilities?

No… that would give too many of my cards away. While I’m sure it’s known that I have influence over creatures and spirit beasts, the extent of which isn’t. If I omit it in the subsequent context, it may potentially imply limitations to others.

As I think this, a booming voice resounds over the thousand miles.

“Ming, Tian, and Li! We three would like to challenge you to a friendly duel, here and now, to settle our differences!”

And so, it begins.