Beast Empress Sovereign

8. First Mission as an "Expert"

The iron-bound doors of the Task Hall groaned as they swung open, admitting a flurry of cold mountain air and a figure that caused the morning’s whispers to grind to a sudden, uneasy halt. Lin Ardent walked with a stride that was neither hurried nor hesitant. His tattered disciple robes had been replaced by a simple, sturdy traveling coat of dark linen, cinched at the waist. Hidden beneath, the Sovereign Brand on his arm pulsed with a steady, cooling rhythm.

"Look who it is," a disciple whispered, nudging his companion. "The ghost of the Veiled Ravine."

"I heard he survived by crawling into a hole while Senior Brother Fang fought off a demon," another sneered. "What’s he doing here? Window four is for the kitchen-service missions."

Lin ignored them, his eyes fixed on the mission board at the far end of the hall.

"Master, shall I take their tongues now or wait until we return?" Nila’s voice slithered into his mind, vibrant and laced with predatory amusement. "That one on the left... the one with the patchy beard. He smells like cheap wine and insecurity. I could dissolve his jaw before he finishes his next sentence."

Nila, behave, Lin thought sharply. We are here for resources, not to provide the sect with a massacre before breakfast.

You’re no fun today, Sovereign, she sighed. I am hungry. The resonance from last night’s cultivation cleared your meridians, but it drained my pool. My fangs feel... itchy.

Lin approached the high mahogany desk where an elderly clerk with drooping eyelids sat. The man didn't even look up as he stamped a scroll.

"Name, rank, and the task number you're failing today," the clerk muttered.

"Lin Ardent. Outer Sect Disciple. And I'm here for Task 409," Lin said clearly.

The clerk’s brush stuttered. He slowly looked up, squinting through thick, circular glasses. "Task 409? The Frost Wolf heart extraction? In the Frozen Valley?"

"Yes," Lin replied.

A raucous burst of laughter erupted from a group of nearby disciples. A tall, well-built youth in a blue sash stepped forward—Senior Disciple Kael, one of the Outer Sect’s prominent bullies.

"409? Ardent, do you even know what a Frost Wolf is?" Kael mocked, leaning against the desk. "A single swipe from their alpha can shatter the ribs of a Foundation-stage master. You’re at level... what, three? Four on a lucky day?"

"Level isn't everything, Senior Brother," Lin said, his voice as calm as a frozen pond.

"Oh, it's everything when you're being eaten," Kael snapped, turning to the crowd. "Listen to him! The 'Trash of the Clouds' wants to go to the most dangerous hunting ground in the northern range. Why not just jump off the cliff now, Ardent? It’s faster and saves the sect the trouble of filing a death report."

"Is the task available or not?" Lin asked the clerk, ignoring Kael entirely.

"It is," the clerk said, his voice suspicious. "But it is marked as a Grade-4 High-Tier mission. Usually reserved for squads of five. You’re alone."

"I am enough," Lin stated.

Technically, you’re never alone, my Lord, Nila whispered, a low vibration of satisfaction. Tell them you have the strength of a hundred men. Or better yet, tell them nothing and let me watch their faces when you return with a bag of heads.

"Are you insane, old man?" Kael shouted at the clerk. "If you give him that jade-slip, he’s as good as dead. He’s looking for an excuse to flee the sect because of Senior Brother Han’s investigation!"

"My reasons are my own," Lin turned his head slightly toward Kael. For a brief second, he let a sliver of Nila’s aura leak through his gaze.

Kael flinched. He didn't know why, but for a heartbeat, Lin Ardent’s eyes didn't look human. They looked like deep, emerald voids that could swallow the sun. A sudden chill gripped Kael’s spine, making his knees tremble. He took an instinctive step back, his bravado crumbling.

"What... what was that?" Kael stammered, his hand going to his sword hilt.

"If there’s no more comedy for the morning, I have a valley to reach," Lin said.

The clerk, sensing a shift he couldn't explain, cleared his throat and pushed a small, blue jade-slip across the desk. "Sign it with your blood, Ardent. The reward is twenty middle-grade spirit stones and a month’s supply of Earth-Essence pills. If you aren't back in three days, the task is forfeit and your belongings will be auctioned."

"Understood," Lin said. He bit his thumb, pressed a drop of blood onto the jade, and walked out without another word.

"Did you see that?" Kael whispered to his friends once Lin was gone. "The air... it felt like a ghost walked over my grave."

"He's probably using a temporary power-burst pill," someone replied. "A dead man walking. He won't make it past the first ridge."

Outside the gates, Lin moved toward the northern mountain paths, the tall pines quickly obscuring the sight of the sect.

They were quite annoying, Sovereign, Nila hissed, slithering up to rest her head against his collarbone. Especially the one in the blue sash. I wanted to see his eyes go white as I sucked the heat from his lungs.

"We have to maintain the illusion of being 'trash' as much as possible, Nila," Lin said, his pace quickening as the air grew thinner and colder. "But Kael... he saw too much. I was sloppy with the aura."

Sloppy? Or perhaps you were just asserting your dominance, she teased. A Sovereign shouldn't have to apologize for his light.

"It’s not light, it’s a target," Lin reminded her. "The Frost Wolves... why are their hearts so valuable? The task didn't specify."

*Because their hearts contain 'Frozen Fire',* Nila explained, her voice turning informative. A paradoxical essence that alchemists use to stabilize pills for those breaking into the Core Formation stage. But more importantly for us... it is the exact fuel I need to keep the Shadow-Veil active while we climb toward Spirit-Eagle Peak later.

"So it's not just a mission for resources. It’s a mission for survival."

Everything we do is for survival, Master, she murmured. The mountain is waking up. Look at the birds.

Lin looked up. The sky was clear, but the birds were flying south, away from the Frozen Valley. A heavy, stagnant pressure hung in the air—the smell of ozone and old, forgotten earth.

"They’re afraid," Lin noticed.

Not of the wolves, Nila said, her voice dropping to a low hiss. They are afraid of what’s underneath the snow. There is something... familiar here. Something from the ancient days.

They traveled for hours, the temperature dropping until Lin could see his own breath. By the time they reached the mouth of the Frozen Valley, the ground was a solid sheet of jagged white ice. High above, the white peaks tore at the clouds like dragon’s teeth.

"First Mission as an 'Expert'," Lin whispered to himself, standing at the precipice of the descent. "Ready, Nila?"

I was born ready, Sovereign, she replied. But don't try to be a hero alone. The Veil of the Empress only works if you let me guide your shadow.

"I’m level 6 now. I can handle a wolf or two on my own," Lin said, pulling a short sword he had scavenged from his shack’s rubble.

We shall see, Nila purred. The first one is five meters to your left, behind that crystalline rock. He’s been tracking you since you crossed the stream. He’s fast, Sovereign. Don't blink.

Lin tightened his grip on the hilt. He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, activating his Qi. One... two... three!

A blur of white fur and glistening fangs erupted from the rocks. The Frost Wolf was the size of a small horse, its eyes glowing with a feral blue malice. Its claws struck the ice with the sound of cracking glass.

"Master! Sidestep! Now!"

Lin pivoted, feeling Nila’s energy surge through his legs. The wolf’s snout missed his shoulder by an inch, its icy breath frosting his cloak. Lin swung his blade in a low arc.

Clang!

The wolf’s fur was as hard as iron. The blade vibrated, nearly flying out of Lin’s hand.

"It’s too tough! The sword is garbage!" Lin shouted.

Stop trying to cut hair and start cutting Qi! Nila roared in his mind. Concentrate your Sovereign essence into the edge of the blade! Turn the shadow into a saw!

"Right! Sovereign Edge!" Lin roared back.

His shadow surged upward, coiling around the rusted steel of his blade, turning it into a vibrating line of purple-black energy. As the wolf lunged again, its mouth wide enough to crush Lin’s skull, he didn't move. He waited.

"Now!"

Lin slashed upward. The shadow-coated blade bypassed the wolf’s physical fur, slicing through its spiritual core like a hot knife through tallow. The creature let out a truncated shriek, splitting into two frozen halves before it even hit the ground.

Not bad for a first try, Nila hissed, appearing in her human form for a fleeting second amidst the shadows. She caught a glowing, crystalline organ that tumbled from the wolf’s chest before it hit the snow. One heart. We need twenty.

"You said 'we' were a team," Lin panted, his hands shaking slightly from the sudden drain. "You could have warned me about the iron fur before it jumped."

"Where is the fun in that, my Lord?" Nila laughed, her obsidian dress swirling around her. She looked into the deeper parts of the valley, her emerald eyes narrowing. "Wait... do you hear that?"

Lin listened. Beyond the howling wind, there was a different sound. A deep, rhythmic thrumming that shook the ice under his feet. It wasn't the sound of an animal. It was the sound of a heartbeat... but a massive one.

"Is that... the Alpha?"

No, Nila said, her voice becoming deadly serious. She turned toward a sheer cliff face at the far end of the valley where a dark opening was hidden behind a waterfall of frozen ice. The wolves are just guardians. That sound... it's coming from inside the mountain. It’s ancient, Lin. Very ancient.

"The Tomb of the Ancient Tamer?" Lin whispered, recalling a legend he’d heard in the library once.

"It isn't a tomb," Nila murmured, her pupils slanting into vertical slits. "It's a storage house. For power that was never meant for humans."

"Let's get the twenty hearts first," Lin said, refocusing his Qi. "Then we'll see if the 'Expert' can handle a mountain's heartbeat."

A wise choice, Sovereign, Nila smiled, melting back into his shadow. But look up. The pack has smelled the blood of their brother. Twenty might be too small an estimate. We are being surrounded by fifty.

Lin looked up at the ridges surrounding them. Hundreds of blue, glowing eyes were opening in the twilight, staring down at him.

"Well, Nila," Lin said, his Sovereign Brand beginning to glow with a violent light. "I guess it’s a good thing I brought a Goddess to a dog-fight."

Indeed, she whispered. Shall we dance, Master?

"Let's dance," Lin replied, his shadow elongating across the snow until it resembled a massive, coiling dragon. "And leave nothing but the dirt."

The first wave of Frost Wolves descended, and the Frozen Valley began to scream as purple light met ice-blue fire. The trash of the Black Cloud Sect was gone, replaced by something the mountains themselves were beginning to fear.

Status Update:

Lin Ardent: Hunting Frost Wolves. Progress: 1/20 Hearts.

Nila: Consuming Frost Wolf Essence to sustain high-tier Shadow-Veil.

Conflict: Fifty Frost Wolves attacking simultaneously.

Hook: A massive "heartbeat" coming from a hidden cavern—The Tomb of the Ancient Tamer.