Li Wei left the mission hall without drawing attention to himself.

  The courtyard outside was still busy with disciples moving between buildings and training grounds. The morning sun was now above the mountains.

  Most people did not pay him any attention as he moved across the courtyard.

  Some disciples glanced at him before looking away. For them, Li Wei was just a cripple in the outer sect disciple who would soon be kicked out when it would be time for the annual outer sect competition.

  This worked in his favor.

  Li Wei moved towards the outer sect gate.

  The path to the gate sloped gently downwards along the edge of the terrace. From this position, the forests beyond the sect walls could be seen stretching across the mountainside.

  The Azure Cloud Sect was one of the 3 Major Sects in the Southern Borders, with its territory spanning across several mountain ranges and deep valleys. The sect itself was built along the mountain terraces with the elders and core disciples occupying the peaks.

  Tall pine trees covered the mountain slopes, with dark green needles swaying softly in the mountain wind.

  One such path went directly to Black Fang Valley.

  When Li Wei arrived at the gate, Zhao Tian's group had already left.

  Two outer sect guards stood at the sides of the two stone pillars at the sect entrance. They leaned against the sect wall lazily, talking to each other as they looked at the disciples going out or coming in.

  Li Wei walked up to the guards, when one of them spoke.

  "Mission?"

  Li Wei shook his head.

  "Just going out for a bit."

  The guard looked at him briefly. Li Wei had no large equipment, looked calm, and was an outer sect disciple. As long as he was not gone for too long, he could go out.

  The guard waved him through.

  "Don't stay out past nightfall."

  Li Wei nodded and walked past the gate.

  The moment he left the sect grounds, the atmosphere changed.

  The carefully maintained paths of the outer sect gave way to rough dirt trails winding through the forest.

  Tall trees formed a canopy in the sky, filtering the sunlight into ray patches that moved with the wind.

  The air smelled of tree bark and damp soil.

  The sounds of the sect faded quickly behind him.

  Li Wei followed the mountain trail leading toward the valley.

  The forest around him was quiet except for the occasional call of birds hidden among the branches. But from time to time he noticed signs of spirit beasts. Claw marks on tree bark. Broken branches scattered along the trail. Large footprints pressed into the soft soil. Nothing out of the ordinary.

  Spirit beasts usually roamed the wilderness surrounding sect territory. Most of them stayed away from human settlements unless something disrupted their territory.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Black Fang Valley, however, was different.

  The valley was known for having more spirit beasts than other areas surrounding it. The reason the sect sometimes assigned suppression missions to this area.

  After walking for about thirty minutes, the terrain gradually began to descend. After an hour of walking, the forest began to thicken. The trail began to narrow until it was almost just a trail through thick tree roots.

  In front of him, the terrain opened up slightly. A small valley formed between two forested ridges.

  Black Fang Valley.

  Li Wei gradually slowed his pace.

  The soil of the valley was darker than the forest. Tall trees blocked the sunlight, leaving the floor covered with shadows and leaves. The air thicker than usual. A faint smell of damp earth, along with an animal smell, was present.

  Li Wei glanced towards the floor.

  Footprints.

  Five separate sets of footprints, going deeper into the valley.

  Zhao Tian's party had passed this way recently.

  Li Wei followed the footprints quietly.

  The more he went into the valley, the quieter the forest got.

  The sounds of birds and insects, which normally filled the forest, stopped.

  The air was tense.

  Spirit beasts usually controlled the forest. Other animals avoided the forest where the spirit beasts were present.

  Li Wei stopped for a moment at a tree trunk lying on the ground.

  The interface flickered faintly.

  [Location Analysis]

  Black Fang Valley

  Activity: High

  Threat Probability: Elevated

  Li Wei closed the interface.

  Several minutes passed before he heard faint voices. But clear enough to know it was the voice of human beings.

  He walked quietly through the trees until the forest opened up into a small clearing.

  It was Zhao Tian and four other disciples.

  One of them was kneeling next to a large spirit beast lying on the ground.

  The spirit beast looked like a wolf, but its body was almost twice the size of a normal wolf. Thick black fur covered the beast's back, and two long curved teeth protruded from the beast's lower jaw.

  The beast was already dead.

  One of the disciples pulled a knife out of the beast's chest, then took out a small glowing crystal.

  "The core is still intact!"

  Another disciple wiped the blood from his sword.

  "It's good it was injured."

  Zhao Tian stood beside the dead beast, he had a bad premonition.

  "Keep alert. There should be more."

  The disciples were collecting things from the beast.

  Li Wei was still hiding among the trees, observing the scene.

  Suddenly, the interface flickered again.

  [Future Event Approaching]

  Location: Black Fang Valley

  Timeframe: Imminent

  Li Wei looked at the clearing. The disciples were relaxed.

  Too relaxed.

  This warning came a second after a growl sounded through the trees. This growl sounded deeper than the one from the wolf-like creature earlier. Every single disciple in the clearing stood frozen.

  Zhao Tian's head moved in the direction of the far end of the forest.

  "Something is coming! Retreat!"

  Branches snapped. A massive creature crashed through the trees. It was far larger than the one lying dead on the ground. This creature's body was covered in thick dark fur, and a long horn protruded forward from its skull.

  This creature's eyes were filled with red light.

  Third-rank spirit beast! Black-furred Bear!

  The disciples froze.

  The disciple at the rear turned his foot outward to flee when the bear charged at them. Zhao Tian quickly threw himself towards his right, narrowly dodging the foot of the bear but the others weren't so fortunate, all of them were thrown backwards by the bear's momentum, while the guy at the rear who already had his body turned back, had his back pierced through by the horn. His chest caved inwards, his ribs shattered some of his ribs protruded through his chest, some fell to the ground.

  Chaos broke out in this clearing.

  The disciples saw this scene and were horrified, they quickly fled in different directions, scattering through the forest. Zhao Tian quickly stood on his feet and ran as fast as he could, but the bear was a third-rank spirit beast, equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he could not outrun it. After running for a few meters, he saw the beast charging towards him. He gritted his teeth and took out an explosion talisman and threw it towards the bear.

  The talisman waved near the head of the bear and exploded with a force equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was the only rank 3 talisman he had, which he had won when he won the annual outer sect competition the previous year.

  Although he had used a third-ranked talisman, it couldn't really kill the beast, at most it could injure it. After all, it wasn't his own power he could only injure it and stall for a bit more time to get to the sect gate.

  Li Wei observed the scene from the forest edge.

  Zhao Tian's qi was already depleted due to the usage of the talisman. The bear was still being bombarded by the might of the talisman, Li Wei suddenly appeared in front of Zhao Tian and pulled him towards a patch of bushes behind a few trees.

  Zhao Tian gazed at Li Wei.

  He looked like he was still in shock, unable to speak.

  "You…?"