The spirit stone mine had become a pressure cooker. Three days since Elders Huo Wei and Huo Mei arrived—an arrival Huo Chen wouldn't forget.

  The air had turned thick and heavy as the two Foundation Establishment experts descended. Fifth-layer disciples had dropped to their knees from the weight alone.

  The Clan Head hadn't taken chances. Following Elder Shun's report on the Iron Fang attack, he'd sent two Foundation experts to lock down the mine. Since then, the relaxed pace of the camp had vanished.

  Elder Wei stalked the perimeter constantly, layering earth formations until the ground itself hummed with power. Elder Mei moved with sharp precision, assessing every disciple and assigning them to defensive positions.

  Huo Chen was stationed on the eastern perimeter with Huo Jian. The elevation gave him a clear view of the hills—the same hills where his Earth Clone had been sensing movement for days.

  "They're still out there," Huo Jian muttered. "I can feel them watching us."

  Huo Chen nodded. Through his clone's awareness, he knew Huo Jian was right. Multiple groups prowled the mountain passes, staying just beyond the Elders' detection range.

  The tension grew worse each day. Disciples checked their weapons constantly, jumped at falling pebbles. Everyone knew the attack was coming.

  On the morning of the fourth day, Huo Chen was helping reinforce an earth barrier when he felt it.

  Pressure.

  Not passive but Active and Hostile, descending on the mine like a mountain dropping from the sky.

  Huo Chen's knees buckled. His lungs seized. Around him, fifth-layer disciples collapsed face-first into the dirt, choking. Even sixth-layer cultivators dropped to one knee, shaking.

  Huo Chen gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright through sheer will. His vision tunneled. Sweat broke out across his forehead.

  "Foundation Establishment. More than one. Damn it."

  This was different from when Elders Wei and Mei had arrived. That had been passive weight.

  This? This was a blade pressed against every throat at once.

  Then the pressure suddenly lifted.

  Huo Chen sucked in a breath as Elder Wei's earth-aligned Qi and Elder Mei's wood-aligned Qi spread outward in a protective wave, dispersing the hostile pressure and shielding the disciples.

  "Everyone stay down!" Elder Wei's voice boomed across the camp. "Don't move unless ordered!"

  Huo Chen looked up and saw three figures descending from the sky to the northeast. Even from a distance, he could feel the density of their Foundation Establishment cultivation.

  Elders Wei and Mei rose into the air to meet them, their own spiritual pressure flaring as they positioned themselves between the approaching cultivators and the mine below.

  The two groups met perhaps fifty meters above the mine entrance, close enough that Huo Chen could hear their conversation clearly.

  Two of the approaching cultivators wore robes bearing the flame emblem of the Lin Clan.

  The third was unmistakable—a scarred face, rough clothing, and an aura of barely controlled violence. Scarred Fang.

  One of the Lin Clan cultivators, a middle-aged man with sharp features and cold eyes, spoke first. "Elder Wei, Elder Mei. It's been some time since we've met."

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  "Lin Tao." Elder Wei's voice was flat and unfriendly. "What are you doing in Huo Clan territory?"

  Lin Tao smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "Come now, do we really need to pretend ignorance? You know exactly why we're here."

  The second Lin Clan cultivator, younger with an arrogant bearing, looked down at the assembled Huo disciples with obvious contempt. His gaze swept over them like they were insects, barely worth noticing.

  "The spirit stone mine," Lin Tao continued, gesturing toward the entrance below. "Surely you don't think the Huo Clan can swallow this entire pie alone? A mid-grade vein of this quality affects the balance of power in the entire region. The Lin Clan has a legitimate interest in ensuring fair distribution of resources."

  "Fair distribution?" Elder Mei's voice was sharp with anger. "This mine is on Huo territory, discovered by Huo disciples, and protected by Huo blood. There's nothing to distribute."

  Lin Tao's smile widened. "Then let me be direct. The Lin Clan demands fifty percent of the mine's output. This is non-negotiable."

  Scarred Fang spoke up, his rough voice carrying a mocking edge. "And the Iron Fang Alliance will be taking a twenty percent operational fee for providing security services in these dangerous mountains. Bandits are everywhere these days, after all. It would be such a shame if something happened to your mining operations."

  The young Lin cultivator—Lin Feng—finally spoke, his voice dripping with arrogance. "You should be grateful we're offering terms at all. A branch clan like the Huo, trying to control a resource of this magnitude? It's almost laughable. Accept our generous offer before we're forced to take less pleasant measures."

  Down below, Huo Chen's jaw tightened. The arrogance of their demands burned in his chest, but this was Foundation Establishment business. He stayed still and watched.

  "Ridiculous!" Elder Wei's face had gone cold as stone.

  "Outrageous," Elder Mei agreed, her hand moving to her sword hilt. "You come to our territory, threaten our clan, and demand we hand over half our resources? Have the Lin forgotten their place?"

  Scarred Fang laughed. "Big words from a clan that's about to lose everything. Do you really think two Foundation experts can hold this mine against three? We tried the polite approach. You chose to ignore it. Now the price has gone up."

  "Hmph. Courting death," Elder Wei said.

  His palm lashed out without warning. A massive projection of compressed earth-Qi shot toward Lin Tao, the technique moving so fast it created a sonic boom that echoed across the valley.

  Lin Tao's hands moved, and a wall of intense fire erupted between them. The flames burned white-hot at the edges. The earth technique struck the fire barrier and the impact sent shockwaves rippling outward in all directions.

  BOOM!

  The explosion was deafening. Disciples on the ground covered their ears and hunched down as debris and spiritual energy rained around them.

  Lin Feng's hands formed seals. A massive bird of compressed fire-Qi materialized and shot toward Elder Mei, wings trailing flames that scorched the air.

  Elder Mei's sword flashed free in a streak of green light. Her blade created an arc of wood-aligned Qi that met the attack head-on.

  The two techniques collided in an explosion of fire and emerald light.

  Scarred Fang circled, looking for an opening. His attack pattern was twisted, dark and corrupted.

  Projectiles of condensed dark Qi shot from his hands toward both Huo elders, each one carrying corrosive properties. Elder Wei spun and raised an earth wall, but several of the projectiles punched through, forcing him to dodge.

  "Mei! We need to move this away from the disciples!"

  "Agreed!"

  Both Huo elders burst upward and outward, deliberately drawing the fight away from the mine entrance. The three attackers followed immediately.

  The aerial battle moved rapidly to the northeast, the five Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanging techniques at speeds that made them blur to Huo Chen's sixth-layer perception.

  Explosions of fire, earth, wood, and dark Qi lit up the sky. Down at the mine, the disciples stood frozen in awe and terror, staring at the distant battle.

  "Did you see that?" someone whispered. "Elder Wei's technique cratered the ground just from the shockwave."

  "Foundation Establishment," Huo Jian said quietly, his face pale. "We're not even playing the same game as them."

  Huo Chen watched the distant flashes of light and felt the ground shake from impacts happening hundreds of meters away. His sixth-layer cultivation, which had felt so significant just days ago, suddenly seemed small.

  "This is the real world of cultivation. Everything I've achieved so far is just the beginning."

  The battle continued to rage in the distance, explosions echoing across the mountains.

  Elder Shun appeared, his expression grim. "Stop gawking! Just because the Foundation experts moved the fight doesn't mean we're safe."

  Huo An looked up nervously. "Elder Shun, do you think they'll send more attackers?"

  "Count on it," He said flatly. "The Lin Clan didn't bring three Foundation Establishment experts just for a conversation. They're keeping our elders busy for a reason."

  He raised his voice. "All disciples, maintain defensive positions! Stay alert and keep your Qi circulating. The moment those Foundation experts are fully engaged, we could be the next target."

  Huo Chen felt it then—a faint tremor through the earth. Movement in the hills, subtle but deliberate.

  Around him, disciples shifted nervously, weapons gripped tight, eyes scanning the treeline.

  The Foundation battle raged on in the distance.

  "Keep watch," Elder Shun ordered. "And stay ready. This isn't over yet."