Once He Yu and Zhang Lifen were a fair distance down the path back to the main areas of the inner sect, and well out of earshot of the Sixth Realm back at the garden, Zhang Lifen finally spoke.

“Excellent work,” she said. “I think your display back there more than qualifies as setting an example.”

“I’m glad you approve,” He Yu said, bracing himself for whatever was coming next. The unspoken “but” hung over him like a sword, and he now knew her well enough that it was easy to see the blade was about to fall.

“You were, perhaps, a bit overzealous,” Zhang Lifen added. He Yu wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about her smile as she said it. “Da Ning and Cui Bao will recover well enough, I should think. Mo Zhiqiang is another matter completely.”

“Will it be a problem?” he asked as they walked among the pines lining the path. “I didn’t think the attack would have been that strong.”

“Golden Core is quite the advancement, isn’t it?” Zhang Lifen waved a dismissive hand before she continued. “You might be penalized a few contribution points. Maybe you’ll have to forfeit your stipend for a bit, or the payout for a few sect jobs. I wouldn’t concern myself overmuch with it, were I you. These things happen, after all.”

While he wasn’t exactly comfortable with how flippant she was about the fact that he’d maimed a fellow disciple, He Yu decided it was something he best meditate on later, when he was alone. As grateful as he was for Zhang Lifen’s guidance thus far, it was becoming increasingly clear that their ideals diverged significantly in some areas.

Instead, he asked a question that he felt he should have come to grips with earlier, but had been bothering him once again now that he’d seen the difference between himself and Sha Xiang. “Was it truly necessary?”

Zhang Lifen turned to look at him as they walked side-by-side, both of them the picture of an immortal, hands folded within their sleeves. “In truth, that’s a question that you’ll have to answer for yourself,” she began. “However, I feel it was. I expect you’ve since come to realize that things are quite different for you now, are they not?”

It was easy to see what she referred to. Much had changed since his advancement. The most obvious were all the little outward signs. He’d already packed on a fairly noticeable amount of muscle before his advancement, both because of the initial training under Ren Huang, and from the benefits of the Body Refining stage.

Since advancing to Golden Core, he projected a sort of power that came from more than his physique alone. It was a qualitative change that was difficult to put his finger on, but one shared by all the Fourth Realm cultivators he’d encountered thus far. Every movement contained more potential that those of a mortal—the promise of strength that was more that physical.

The other change had come in his features. He had lost the boyish cast he previously had, and a certain refinement had replaced it. He looked almost like one of the nobles, somehow at once delicate and strong.

The most startling change had come in his eyes. Although, thankfully, they hadn’t changed in color like Zhang Lifen’s, they seemed to hold a distant flickering light within. Like flashes of lightning on the far horizon. He supposed that was fitting, given the refinement of his presence. Combined with the changes the advancement had wrought to his spirit, he felt ever more the immortal than he had before.

“What’s going to happen to Sha Xiang?” he asked. There had been something about the way Yi Xiurong had spoken to her, referring to her by name, rather than as a fellow sect member, despite their difference in rank. Although he didn’t know First Disciple Yi all well, he didn’t think she was the type to forgo that sort of formality.

“I imagine she will expel her from the sect,” Zhang Lifen said as if it were merely a trifle.

“Why? I was the one who attacked her. Or does this have something to do with how she’s been conducting herself otherwise?” Although he immediately didn’t understand why that would be the case, he was glad for it. It would be nice to have at least a bit of a reprieve where he could finally perhaps cultivate and advance in peace.

“It has more to do with her technique,” she replied. “The demon core has grown too powerful for her to control properly. It was the only thing that allowed her to fight for as long as she did, as I’m sure you noticed. It would have most likely consumed her eventually anyway, but she’s pushed both it and herself far enough that she has come to the end of her Way, it seems.”

“Demon core?”

Zhang Lifen grew serious again, stopping in the path and fully facing He Yu before she continued. “It is a sliver of the Sunset Empress’s power. I told you of Jin Xifeng’s techniques, and the bargains she makes with her followers. The demon cores she bestows upon them are the greatest of those. They provide and consume the most. Should the recipient of one of her cores master the core in the process of bonding with it, they become what we call ‘pacted.’ The most powerful members of the Sunset Court have all received such cores.”

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Although he had a pretty good idea of the answer, He Yu asked anyway. “What happens to those who don’t master the core?”

“First, they become mindless husks of their former self, driven by an insatiable need to consume. Eventually, they are themselves consumed. Their cultivation base then returns to the Sunset Empress.”

“But she’s sealed within the Dawn Palace array.”

“She has to sustain herself somehow, doesn’t she?” Zhang Lifen asked.

Something about the explanation didn’t quite add up, but He Yu couldn’t place a finger on exactly what. He supposed the truth was likely beyond him. Honestly, this whole business with the empress and the court—it was so far above what he was capable of. He thought back to that presence he’d felt after the fight with King Hao. Although he couldn’t have known as much, it only could have been one of those pacted members of the court, as far as he was concerned.

The only solace he could give himself was the certainty that had settled over him upon reaching Golden Core—he wasn’t anywhere close to the end of his Way. He would advance. Then the Fifth Realm, then beyond. If a being such as Jin Xifeng existed, there needed to be those capable of opposing her. He would make himself into one of those immortals.

“Such determination,” Zhang Lifen said as one of the inner sect plazas came into view at the end of the path. “If I’m not careful, you might even beat me to the Soul Refining stage.”

“I would never think to try and reach the Sixth Realm before you, Master Zhang,” he said.

An unfamiliar laugh came from nearby. “Junior Brother is too humble,” came a deep and refined voice laced with so much arrogance it made He Yu’s skin crawl. Two cultivators, both firmly in the Fourth Realm, stepped into view.

The one who’d spoken looked exactly how He Yu would have expected given the tone. He wore his hair in much the same way Li Heng did—held back in a crown hairpin and left loose to cascade down his shoulders and back. His features were the sort of fine, almost delicate, mien that marked many of the nobles and higher realm cultivators. The corners of his lips quirked upward in a mocking grin as he eyed He Yu. He wore finely made robes of pale blue and white silk.

The second, who had remained silent, was almost the exact opposite. His hair was similarly held back, but it was wild and untamed in appearance. He had an intense expression that would have come across as angry if not for his obviously relaxed posture. He dressed more like a warrior, forgoing the sort of robes common to inner disciples in favor of an outfit more reminiscent of a soldier’s—only missing the armor to complete the look.

Neither held weapons, and both kept their presences restrained. Despite that, Zhang Lifen stepped in front of He Yu. “Wang Xiaobo,” she said to the one who’d spoken. “What makes you show your face?”

He Yu did not like the obvious animosity in Zhang Lifen’s words. The last thing he needed—or wanted—at the moment was another fight.

“I’m simply checking up on my Junior,” Wang Xiaobo said. “It would be rude of me not to, after all. He’s given the rest of us lowly Fourth Realms quite the show today. I suppose you had a hand in that, didn’t you, Senior Sister Zhang?”

“Perhaps I did. Now, get out of our way. I’ll not countenance an attack on my disciple this day. Don’t make me resort to threats.” Although she kept her spirit fully withheld as she spoke, Zhang Lifen allowed some of her killing intent to descend over the four of them. It was easily double the intensity of Tan Xiaoling’s—even restrained as it was.

The one who’d not spoken yet stepped forward to join Wang Xiaobo. “My brother is true to his word. We are merely here to offer our congratulations to Junior Brother He.”

“Xin Lu, your words do you no merit. I should see no reason why the two of you would appear here together today other than to intimidate my disciple. Need I remind you that he is still ranked six hundred third among the inner disciples? Golden Core or no, it would be inappropriate of you to concern yourself with him.”

“You and I both know you don’t believe that, Senior Sister,” Wang Xiaobo said. “Junior Brother He will no doubt ascend quickly now that he is on equal footing with people who actually matter. I expect he won’t stay at such a low rank for long.”

“Nor do I,” said Xin Lu.

Wang Xiaobo pressed a fist into his palm. “Welcome to the Fourth Realm,” he said. Xin Lu did likewise, and they both turned and left.

“What was that about?” He Yu asked, turning to Zhang Lifen. She still glared at the retreating backs of the two disciples.

“As you may recall, I told that I had made some enemies during my time as an inner disciple,” she said.

He Yu did recall, and he’d been desperately hoping during the entire exchange that Xin Lu and Wang Xiaobo weren’t any of them.

“Well,” she said, “those two were particularly vexing to me. I did my fair share to put them in their places. It isn’t surprising they’ve held a grudge.”

The elation He Yu had been feeling at finally being rid of Sha Xiang and all the problems she had caused for him and his friends evaporated. “How strong are they?” he asked.

“Wang Xiaobo is ranked ninety-third, and Xin Lu is ranked ninety-ninth. They’ve likely advanced to the late Fourth Realm by now.”

He’d been afraid the answer would be something like that.

“Your rank is far too low for them to move against you directly just yet, but they still have plenty of ways to make your life difficult. If you want to ensure continued access to resources, you ought to increase your sect rank quickly. Of course, doing so will bring more attention. With attention will come challengers. How you choose to proceed is up to you.”

He Yu sighed. “I suppose I should have expected as much,” he said.

“I did tell you things would be difficult once you reached the inner sect, didn’t I?” Zhang Lifen gave him not entirely sympathetic smile. “Go give Li Heng his sword, then meet me at our usual training field. We have a lot of work to do.”

As he left Zhang Lifen behind, he cursed her under his breath. The last thing He Yu heard as he retreated was a quiet, amused laugh.