Bai Qi—no, Qiu Shandian—wobbled away from the [Qi Spring]. His cultivation was still restricted, and his body was recovering, but even some of the Qi Spring energy had already served its purpose in replenishing his strength.
And while his initial idea was to recover, as his locked cultivation was nothing else than the crazy consuming he had undercome to activate the [Spectral Vessel Shift], Bai Qi had no expectations of finding a girl under siege by a dozen or more cultivators.
This was not his fight. Not his problem. Or so he could decide and think.
But as his eyes locked on the girl, struggling beneath the assault, something within him stirred. Her fear was palpable—weakness, desperation. It was like a magnet to his previous situation, testing his resolve. Though his cultivation was disabled, his mind power—his current strength—remained unchanged. And that was enough.
He had never been the type to like and play hero, even if he did so a couple of times. But now, under the guise of Qiu Shandian, the cold logic of the situation dictated his next steps even if changed by his true feelings.
Control over the battlefield was everything. The girl was nothing more than a means to an end—if he helped her, it would restore his hold over the situation. And to get the information required, he would make the attackers regret their very existence.
In a heartbeat, his mind power extended a silent command. The weaker cultivators crumpled to the ground, their bodies lifeless as if crushed by an invisible hand. It was effortless. After all, a nearly Emperor-tier pressure without any premonition wasn't something to be dealt with by some young generation.
A flicker of lightning shot through the air, searing the others, and leaving charred corpses in its wake. There was no struggle in Bai Qi's movements, no emotion behind them. Just cold precision, even before anyone could actually comprehend that it was him who was doing all of this.
“Leave,” he ordered, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.
The ringleader—a young man with the arrogant air of someone who believed himself invincible—staggered back. His confidence shattered as he scanned the scene of devastation. The air was thick with the smell of ozone, the sizzling remnants of the strike still crackling in the silence.
The ringleader’s eyes widened in fear. He hesitated, but pride drove him to speak, his voice tight with desperation. “You think you can stop us?!” he roared. “Get him!”
Two of his companions, the strongest in the group, surged forward. One wielded a long spear, the other a heavy sword. Their Qi flared to life, crackling with power. Their movements were swift and aggressive—yet utterly futile.
Qiu Shandian didn’t move. He didn’t need to.
With a flick of his fingers, a pulse of lightning exploded from his hands, roaring like thunder - a prepared spell sent off as easily as if he was breathing. The two attackers were blasted backward, their bodies smoldering as they collided with the ground. Their weapons fell, discarded and useless, reduced to blackened husks just under the pressure of the fake lightning created by his mind power.
The remaining cultivators, their eyes wide with terror, looked to their leader. But it was already too late. The girl was forgotten as their panic set in, and with a final glance toward the clearing, they turned and fled.
As the last attackers disappeared into the forest, Bai Qi’s gaze lingered on the girl. She trembled, her blade still half-drawn, but her grip was weak, the blade escaping his grasp - back into the sheathe - as if she never intended to get it out. She was no threat to him. She was nothing even towards the attackers.
He turned towards the girl, his eyes cold. The expression on his face remained unchanged, but his voice was less threatening as he spoke. “You should leave.” It was far softer than even Bai Qi expected, but well, he did help her just now, so some responsibility for her was still to be shown.
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“You should leave.”
Chun Shu swallowed hard, forcing herself to steady her breath. “I… I can’t.”
The man regarded her momentarily, then glanced at the [Qi Spring]. A brief pulse of static seemed to flicker between them, the air humming with an unspoken tension.
“You seek strength,.” he said, his words cutting through the air like a knife.
She nodded, her gaze dropping to the shimmering water. “I need to break through. If I don’t—” Her voice faltered, the weight of her predicament threatening to crush her. “If I don’t, I’ll lose everything.”
The figure was silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, he stepped aside, gesturing toward the spring with a smooth motion. “Then take it. But know this: power gained in desperation, rush, and anger - it often comes at a cost.”
Chun Shu hesitated, her instincts screaming at her to question him, to ask who he was and why he had helped her. But time was short, and the Dark Days loomed.
She knelt at the basin's edge, her hands trembling as she cupped the glowing water. A crack of thunder split the sky above as if the heavens themselves were responding to her decision. The moment the water touched her lips, a searing heat coursed through her veins, her vision blurring as her body adjusted to the surge of energy.
As the energy of the [Qi Spring] rushed through her, Chun Shu felt her cultivation breaking through the bottleneck she had been struggling against. Yet, in the back of her mind, the figure’s warning echoed, a shadow over her triumph.
When the process was complete, and the spring’s glow dimmed to nothing, she rose, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She had done it—she had broken through to the Warrior Lord realm.
But as she turned to thank the figure, she found the clearing empty.
A final gust of wind howled through the trees as if carrying the weight of his presence. The forest, once oppressive, now seemed eerily quiet. Chun Shu’s gaze lingered on the spot where the figure had stood, a chill running down her spine.
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Yang Hua was a simple guard of [Yuxuan City], though there had been a time when she had been the nominated heir of the [Yanghua] family ruling over part of the eastern district. That had been before they discovered she was incompatible with the [Yang] or [Light] element imbued into their family’s cultivation methods. She had reached the peak Warrior Lord realm by that time, but it wasn’t enough.
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In place of banishing her, the matriarch of the Yanghua family—an irony in itself, given the male dominance of the [Yang] element—offered her a position serving the city. It was hardly a gift, but after all the hardships, it was a far better fate than being cast out. Yang Hua had agreed, and since then, she had worked with pride, knowing she could still hold a place of authority.
The city gates were hers to command, at least the ones facing east—the so-called easy ones. After all, to the east lay nothing but the cities of the [Great Forest] region, where the most minor disturbance would be rare. Yet, now, with the [Eastern Inscription City] incident, security had tightened, and Yang Hua had been itching for an opportunity to prove herself. Capture an enemy? Show the city that even without the [Yang] element, she was still worthy of recognition. Not even she knew how to do the latest, but she was earnest to do it, even after all of this time, never shrinking from her duties.
She stood at the city gates, scanning the horizon, when her attention was caught by a lone figure approaching. A middle-aged man, wearing a ragged black cloak over tattered martial attire. There was no presence, no aura, no cultivation that she could sense.
"Stop there!" Yang Hua called, her voice firm. "The City does not accept refugees at the moment."
It wasn’t that the city didn’t accept refugees, but after the incident in [Eastern Inscription City], the city’s leaders had become cautious. Anyone arriving without proper clearance could be a potential threat.
The man stopped, unfazed by her command. “I am not a refugee. I am a guest,” he said, his voice calm, almost placating, though it showed no emotion, not even the displeasure that usually a guest would show when stopped at the gates.
Yang Hua felt her brows furrow. Her Qi flared as a subtle warning, pushing at him with the force of her peak Warrior Lord cultivation. Yet, the man stood unbowed, as if her aura meant nothing. His eyes, hidden beneath the hood, held no trace of fear.
From his tattered robes, he produced a token. The gleam of it was unmistakable—[Shoumen City], a member of the council's envoys.
Yang Hua’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t recognize him, but the token was genuine, and no one would dare forge such a thing. She glanced up at the man once more, weighing her options.
“Very well,” she said, lowering her Qi and stepping aside. "But don't make me regret this." She whispered in a shaky and barely inaudible voice, somehow preparing that if something went bad, it would be her the one to be held accountable.
The man nodded once to the first, a barely perceptible motion, and walked past her into the city, showing no hint of even hearing her low-key complaint basked in a good deal of anxiety.
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Sometime before Qiu Shandian's appearance at the [Yuxuan City] eastern gate.
Bai Qi let out a slow breath as he drew a thin, polished talisman from his robes. Its surface shimmered faintly with runic inscriptions, Grandmaster Li’s personal communication token—a lifeline forged for when it was truly a necessity. Bai Qi had only used it as a threat until now, but, it was time to ask the Grandmaster for a favor.
He infused the talisman with a thread of his still unrecovered Qi. The intricate patterns hidden inside the talisman glowed to life, signaling the link’s activation.
No matter the situation, Bai Qi took care of the image he would present, especially to a man who actually rushed to save him before, so he calmed him enough for his words to be measured, his tone calm, only slightly underlined by urgency. “Grandmaster Li, it is Bai Qi. This message reaches you under pressing circumstances. My current situation demands a... retreat. My escape from the [Eastern Inscription City] was successful after I encountered unforeseen danger during my stay there, and I also lack information on what happened, so I can only say that we were attacked by the same [Shadow Lotus] so renowned for destroying a city and acting bravely far behind the frontlines. My current location remains safe but temporary. I will not disclose my new identity here, only that it will allow me to operate unnoticed for the time being.”
He paused, his mind calculating the next steps. {Transparency and directness. He must understand the risk for me as well., but I should also show trust after all what I mean to ask.}
“The identification badge bearing my name is no longer in my possession and must be voided immediately. As a great favor, I humbly request two replacements: one marked only with Shoumen City’s insignia, and another bearing my name and affiliation as the owner of my estate in the city. These are crucial to my continued survival and strategic planning.”
Bai Qi’s tone softened slightly, though the undercurrent of his usual pride remained. “I also ask for assistance in re-establishing communication with my companions. Deng Guiying and the others in Shoumen must be informed of my survival—discreetly. Only those at the highest levels of influence, those who already understand the delicate nature of my position, should be made aware. I trust your wisdom to determine who needs to know.”
He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “As for my companions, the ones who already met me or are expecting me at some point are...” Bai Qi explained about everyone he met, interacted or else, excluding just two pairs.
{The Bai sisters... Chun Hua and her master...} His thoughts lingered momentarily. “The [White Tiger] sisters you met last time will not hide themselves, and their uniqueness alone will draw attention. They should not be hard to locate. Chun Hua and He Delan are pursuing the latter’s nemesis, which complicates things, but clues will surface if pressed, especially with her still being an elder of the [Void Palace].”
A long pause followed as he considered his final words. This was not just a request but a test of bonds forged in past alliances.
“Finally, a favor on behalf of myself but for everyone who will know: inform anyone who has to know to maintain discretion regarding my status. Play my disappearance as necessary, as I am not sure of the actual situation, but the players must know that I live, even if I am hidden. There is already a war going on, and from what I have encountered, it's not going so well. So please help me, Grandmaster, to maintain them clearheaded at least on my behalf.”
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I hope that all can be accomplished. If something can not be done, do not blame yourself, as I am the one asking for more favors without returning any. With all of my respect, Bai Qi."
The glow of the talisman dimmed as Bai Qi withdrew his Qi, the link severed. He slipped the now-dead token back into his robes, his pace resuming as the forest’s cool winds whispered around him.
***
Bai Qi had sent the message just to let his close ones know that he was okay and to avoid trouble if he could get the support, spending whatever trump card it could be to actually protect them from trying to search for him.
And so, by his approach towards [Yuxuan City], he had not even considered using a badge, as he, initially, had nothing on his new name, anyway, and now he had lost several of the badges as well, but he was, greatly surprised.
*Swoosh* *Glitter*
A box the size of a human head suddenly appeared before him, cutting through the air and overgrowth as if it didn't exist there, glittering in the rose jadeite used for the quickest of communication talismans.
*Crack*
As soon as Bai Qi attempted to check on the box with his mind power, the box opened, revealing its contents.
All cultivators that didn't use a concealment technique specifically aimed at hiding their persona, still revealed some of it in all of their movements or powers, be it skills, arts, spells, aura, qi, mindpower, or whatever they used or did. And while setting it to a single resonance was a bit harder than just setting conditions, Grandmaster Li actually managed to do so, even as what could pass for a beginner in Advanced-tier planes, as Bai Qi would discover after he checked the contents of the box.