The rustling of grass resounds through the surroundings. There is the steady intake of breath, the sound of flies' wings beating an unpleasant tune, the sound of footsteps crunching the grass underneath.

"Damn, it's only spring, how is there so much grass out here?" Kenki could not help but exclaim in displeasure as he uses his hands to push another bunch of foliage out of the way.

'Maybe it's the Qi' a possible answer pops up in the boy's mind as he fishes for an explanation. 'I would have had a lot more trouble if the bunch from before hadn't cleared the path for me. Thankfully if I keep up my pace I should arrive before the first hour mark' Ken nods to himself in satisfaction. By the looks of things this part of the unexpected exam will be easier than the first.

But what happens after that? Will he be forced into a battle against the other disciples? Maybe they'll be tasked with surviving a night in the forest, or maybe forbidden from coming back until they hunt a beast.

Kenki does not know, and deep inside he believes that their examiner Ryo does not either.

'I just have the feeling that he's winging it' a sigh escapes the boy's lips as he hops onto a large boulder, one as large as a house, and runs to its highest point with childish glee; the effort turning out to be quite entertaining. He has to take extra care not to slip as the surface is surprisingly smooth.

Ken brings his hands up in order to cover his eyes from the blinding rays of the sun. In such a manner he surveys his immediate surroundings.

'Is that.. ?' Off in the distance, not too far from his current position, he sees several human figures, five to be exact. Kenki has no doubt they are some the disciples that had rushed out before him, but what they are doing –he hasn't got even the slightest inkling of an idea.

They're just standing there, seemingly talking to each other.

"That's odd, shouldn't they be running to the rendezvous point?" the words are spoken out loud to nobody in particular as Ken assumes the prone position, hiding himself from sight.

As silently as possible he slips off the massive boulder. With steady steps he enters the grass, carefully stalking forwards like a lion on the hunt, the sound produced from his passing minimal.

"...I never forgot what you did to me, you bastard!"

Peeking through the greenery Ken arrives just in time for a show. Now that he is closer he can see that there is a standoff – one against four.

"What is the meaning of this, Ling He!? You coward, face me like a man. Too afraid to fight me in a fair duel?"

"Fair. Fair!? Faair???" One of the disciples, presumably Ling He, shouts at the top of his lungs in outrage, intent filled with malice and rage leaking into the surroundings.

"You are the last person in this world that should be preaching fairness, you honorless thief." Ling He slams a fist to his own chest "Have you already forgotten? How you and your 'friends' robbed me blind in the middle of the day? How you ganged up and brutally beat me half to death, how you took the token and all ten spiritual coins off my broken body" He spits on the ground.

"Don't fret. 'We're not keen on involving the senior cultivators, so we won't end your life, Brother,'" the disciple mockingly recites the same wrath inducing words that had been spoken by his robber back then.

"But I never expected you to be such a pathetic weakling. Four months I have been laying in wait for you to advance to the second stage? It took you four whole months to advance, I would have already been in the third stage if not for my revenge! If not for you!" Ling He snarls, briefly locking eyes with one of the disciples that had not spoken until now. A nod comes from him, some sort of a wordless signal having been sent.

Four youths pounce. The robber attempts to run from his predicament but the effort is a futile one. He is caught in no time at all.

What follows is a brutal beatdown. Two of the youths hold down the disciple by the arms as Ling He proceeds to deliver savage blows to his enemy.

Bones are broken, skin is ripped, muscles are torn, blood is splattered.

'Jesus Fucking Christ!' Ken watches it all happen with disbelieving eyes. 'They can just do that? And nobody is going to stop them? Don't they fear the consequences, aren't they afraid that Ryo will come out of nowhere and smite them out of existence!?' He questions in his mind, quickly making sure that the group of four cannot see him from his current position. Ken is completely hidden.

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'I thought that they were going to give him a beatdown, you know, bruise his skin, maybe punch him in the face and give him a blue eye and a split lip. This is on a whole different level!' Ken winces at the unmistakable sound of a bone snapping. The arm of the beaten down disciple now looks like it has two joints instead of one.

*Thud*

The broken youth is carelessly thrown to the ground after a while.

The group of four exchange some words that Ken is too far away to overhear now that there is no shouting.

They vacate the area after a while, leaving the thief behind.

"..."

'Should I help him?' Kenki asks himself 'What does helping even mean, though? If the words spoken by that Ling He had been the truth then this is simply his just desserts' Ken's ears twitch, managing to pick up the faint groaning up ahead. A minute passes as he deliberates on his next course of action

'I have nothing to gain' He reasons, one foot already facing to step away from the scene. 'Better not get involved, I'm an easy person to remember. My long hair and bow are quite the distinguishing features, I might end up sucked into whatever struggle those two have going on and I seriously doubt that this will be the last that I'll see of this incident'

Kenki shakes his head, disappointment flowing through his body. Deep inside he had held some hope that the disciples were as civil as they presented themselves to be, that the brotherhood and sense of belonging espoused by the customs test truly existed. That there are no internal struggles, no great conflicts, not until the later stages of cultivation at least.

That hope had been utterly crushed.

It had been a whole week since the boy joined the outer sect, a week solely dedicated to studying and cultivating.

He needs to spend some time just getting acquainted with the sect, making friends with others, getting a deeper feel for the surrounding culture. The difficulties faced by the outer disciples…

…Lest he takes the wrong step, ending up like the person ahead.

'This sect became a lot more Xianxia all of a sudden, I can only pray that this is an isolated incident and not the norm.'

Ken silently slips away.

=======================

'Is he gone?' Suzu, the final disciple to leave the building and the person that Kenki had spoken to last, thinks to herself.

[Echo of the Netherwing Bat]

She utilizes one of her most vital skills, a cornerstone in her less-than-honorable pursuits. Inspired by a perilous spiritual beast, this technique allows its user to detect high concentrations of Qi not aligned with the darkness element.

A wave of darkness Qi floods out from Suzu's dantian and into the surroundings. Most of it is absorbed by the environment, never to return again, some of the Qi however bounces back.

There is a single response, the origin being her 'fellow disciple' Ling He.

"Good" she whispers before molding the energy in her dantian to utilize a second technique.

[Veil of the Westland Hawk]

A method influenced by a mysterious and highly elusive creature discovered on the farthest side of the continent. The Westland Hawk is an ambush predator categorized as a 'sub-spiritual beast'—a species inherently adept at utilizing Qi without necessarily undergoing the Trial of the Mind.

They have the ability to alter the shape and color of their feathers, manipulate their bone structure, and modulate the tone of their crows in order to blend in with the birds they prey on. Although not as swift and mighty as many other hawk species, their exceptional abilities more than make up for those shortcomings.

While altering the bone structure might be too demanding for a mere second-stage initiate, making mild adjustments like slightly compressing her hair's length, changing its color, changing her voice, and adding a mole to her face are entirely feasible.

Alone, the alterations have little impact, yet when combined, they transform her appearance into that of an entirely different person.

Suzu steps forward.

Insects scatter in every direction as she pushes through the tall grass ahead. Meanwhile, the disciple remains in pain, groaning where the group of four abandoned him.

Suzu carefully rummages through the injured youth's pockets, her fingers grazing several spiritual coins tucked away within.

"Lucky~" she chirps out with a smile, stars appearing in her eyes.

'I'm unsure if they didn't take his coin deliberately or just due to forgetfulness, but I refuse to miss out on this golden opportunity.'

Without any hesitation Suzu snatches the four spiritual coins away.

"Yo– you witch!" The boy shouts, blood spilling from his mouth as he coughs. "You can't just do this and expect no consequences! Do you think I'll stay injured forever? I’ve already remembered your face, leave now and you won’t have to face my vengeance when I recover from my wounds!"

The teenage girl replies with a dismissive “Uh-huh” as her arms proceed to roam through his body, searching for anything else to grab before making her getaway.

‘Is this it? Not even a dagger or anything of the sort, why in the world would he even bother stealing if he won’t use the coins to buy anything good?’ Suzu pouts in disappointment.

“Don’t igno–” The youth wants to continue with his shouting, yet another surge of blood halts him abruptly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. The strain on his body had proven too much.

“...”

‘Wait… he didn't, did he?’ A few moments of indecisiveness pass by in silence before she opts to press two fingers against the disciple’s neck. She exhales in relief upon feeling the pulse beneath her touch.

"Hells, I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest" Suzu murmurs, reaching into her satchel and pulling out a phial filled with a clear blue liquid. 'Should I heal him? His internal injuries seem severe' she hesitates, staring at her hand, caught in an internal struggle.

'Hah, not happening.' She decides 'This potion set me back twenty spiritual coins. And I've got no lighter options on hand, especially with the [Darkness Womb] technique' The item is safely tucked back into the satchel.

'Worst comes to worse and and someone comes to investigate I have that boy, Kaito, to help me out as a witness.' Suzu steps back, content with her purse now being four coins heavier, all of it achieved with minimal effort on her part.

Suzu's original intentions had been to scout out for a new mark she could steal from, and she had found that mark.

Kaito.

Too bad that the boy's trail had been lost. However she's not going to lament about how the events unfolded, he can always be tracked down later anyways.

Disciples with the elements of fire and light tend to be loaded with coin owing to the ease with which they can hunt. It's unlikely that Kaito would even notice a portion of his wealth going missing~

Suzu dispels [Veil of The Westland Hawk], returning to her original appearance.

'Better get back to it or I might actually fail the exam'