The morning after Jiang Wei's death felt different. Nobody joked around the campfire. Even the loudest disciples spoke in whispers.Ken sat with his back against a tree, staring into the flames. He had barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Jiang Wei's final expression — not fear, but disappointment. The boy had wanted to enter Pai Zhua Sect. He had wanted to grow stronger. His life had ended before he got the chance.Ken clenched his fist. I cannot let that happen to me.His cultivation still sat at Beast Geek Level 13. The barrier toward Level 14 had cracked but not broken. He needed to grow. Not tomorrow. Now.Mu Qing stood over him, arms crossed. "You look terrible," she said. "Thank you," Ken said."Not a compliment.""I know."She sat beside him, quiet for a moment. "Thinking about Jiang Wei?""Yes.""He was not your friend.""I know. But he wanted the same thing I want." Ken looked at his hands. "Some people have better Martial Spirits. Better teachers. Better reso

Ken fell again, and at this point, he was beginning to suspect the Canine Forest held some kind of personal grudge against him specifically.Darkness swallowed everything. No ground, no ceiling, no direction, only cold wind tearing at his clothes as he dropped through the void. Then he heard Suzuki's voice cutting through the black."Le Ken!""I am here!" he shouted back."Catch me!"He spotted her falling several meters away and stretched out his hand at once. "Give me your hand!"Their fingers brushed, then locked, and Ken's shoulder nearly tore from its socket as he caught her full weight."You are heavy!" he grunted. Suzuki glared at him despite the wind screaming past her face. "Are you insulting me while we are falling to our deaths?""I am trying to keep you alive!""Then stop talking!""You are the one who started shouting!"Even in freefall, she somehow found the composure to look murderous, and Ken almost laughed despite himself. Then something enormous moved in the darkness

Ken stood before the golden doorway, fingers tightening around the Devouring Beam Sword until his knuckles ached. His shoulder throbbed where the ancient blade had punched through it, and most of his Beast Qi had already burned away in his first, reckless attempt at the Four Fingers of Heaven. His body wanted nothing more than to collapse. Something in the darkness ahead, though, kept pulling at him — not his exhaustion, but the inheritance buried in his chest, humming like it recognized what waited beyond.Suzuki stood at his shoulder, her Heavenly Swan circling lazily behind her, wings trailing pale light. "We should leave," she said, arms crossed."You're finally saying something sensible," Ken muttered, glancing sideways at her."I'm serious.""So am I." He looked back the way they'd come — the passage had already caved in behind them, sealing off retreat as neatly as a closing fist. Suzuki followed his gaze, jaw tightening."We don't have another path," she said."Exactly." Ken l

The expedition moved fast, nobody complaining about pace anymore, nobody caring about herbs or crystals, only the dead zone at their backs and the gray, leafless trees closing in like a held breath. Elder Han led with his Stone Eagle circling above, Le Bao near the younger disciples, Mu Qing glancing over her shoulder again and again. Chen Rui limped beside her. "How far until the safe zone?""Three hours," Elder Han said without turning."Three hours?""Unless you'd like to carry yourself.""I suddenly feel much better," Chen Rui said, and Le Bao barked a laugh — the first anyone had heard in hours. It didn't last. A strange wind slid through the trees, and every Martial Spirit in the group flickered at once — Mu Qing's Moon Fox blinking out, Le Bao's Iron Bear thinning to mist, Elder Han's Stone Eagle nearly collapsing mid-air. "What happened?" a disciple asked, voice cracking.Elder Han stared at his trembling hand. "The Beast Qi is being drained.""By what?""I don't know," he sai

The golden footprints lingered on the road long after the expedition left the dead zone, fading slowly like a held breath finally released, though Ken couldn't shake the feeling that whatever left them wasn't gone, only waiting. He walked near the back of the group with Suzuki at his side, pain flaring through his ribs with every step."You should rest," Suzuki said, glancing at the blood soaking through his sleeve. "I'm fine," Ken said, waving her off. "You're bleeding," she said flatly. He shrugged. "Not enough to complain about," he said."You always say that," she said, crossing her arms. "And I'm usually right," he said, smirking. "No. You're usually stubborn," she said, and he laughed despite the ache in his chest.The peace didn't last. A sharp whistle cut through the trees, and the whole group froze as Elder Han raised his hand. Footsteps echoed closer, and a group of men in dark-gray robes stepped out from the shadows, faces hidden, clothes bare of any clan symbol."Who are t