After Eklavya finished explaining the purpose of the mark, the meaning of the faint golden imprint upon their wrist became clearer to both Zeliang and Chandra. It was not merely a symbol or a temporary binding technique.

  According to Magha, the mark would allow them to sense the positions of the members of the Falling Leaf Sect within the forest while simultaneously monitoring the condition and location of their own group. If anyone encountered trouble during the mission, the others would know immediately and could respond without delay.

  Zeliang lowered his gaze toward the faint golden mark resting at his wrist, studying it with curiosity that slowly replaced his earlier caution.

  “Alright,” he said thoughtfully, “that’s good and all… but how exactly are we supposed to use it?”

  Almost the moment the question left his mouth, Magha’s voice echoed inside Eklavya’s mind. ‘Tell them to focus a small amount of ki into the mark,’ Magha instructed calmly. ‘That will activate the array connected to it.’

  Eklavya nodded inwardly before repeating the instruction aloud. “Just focus a little bit of ki into the mark.”

  Zeliang and Chandra exchanged brief looks before doing exactly that. Both of them gathered a small portion of their internal energy and directed it carefully toward the golden symbol.

  The moment their ki touched the mark, it responded instantly.

  A soft golden shimmer spread outward from the imprint before condensing into a translucent yellow projection that appeared before each of them. The screen hovered in the air, no more than thirty centimetres wide, its surface glowing faintly like a calm lantern in the dim forest light.

  Zeliang blinked in surprise. “What—”

  Before he could finish speaking, shapes began forming within the floating display. A map slowly materialised across the screen.

  It resembled a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding terrain, simplified yet precise. Forest outlines, elevation curves, and faint grid-like divisions appeared across the surface, all framed by a large circular boundary stretching near the edge of the projection.

  Within that boundary were numerous small glowing dots. Near them, all of them were green.

  Many coloured clustered near the position where they currently sat, though several others were scattered throughout the surrounding forest.

  Chandra leaned slightly closer, eyes narrowing as he examined the projection with disciplined focus.

  Zeliang, however, looked openly fascinated. “Where did this come from…?”

  While the two of them inspected the strange display, Magha continued explaining the deeper functions of the array to Eklavya through their mental link. Eklavya activated the mark himself, allowing the same translucent map to appear before him as well.

  For several moments, Magha calmly described each part of the interface—how the marks synchronised with one another, how the sensing radius functioned, and how the energy signatures were interpreted by the formation embedded within the technique.

  By the time the explanation ended, Eklavya understood the system clearly.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  He nodded faintly.

  “Alright,” he said inwardly, “I understand how it works now.”

  Almost at the same moment, Zeliang spoke again while pointing toward the map with a large curiosity. “So… how do we actually read this thing?”

  Eklavya glanced at their displays before answering.

  “The circular line you’re seeing,” he explained, “is the outer boundary of the array’s sensing range. It covers a radius of roughly fifty kilometres from our position—about one hundred kilometres across in total diameter. Everything inside that boundary can be detected.”

  Zeliang leaned closer, studying the glowing dots. “And these?”

  “The green dots represent our people,” Eklavya replied. “That includes both us and the subordinates currently operating in the forest.”

  Chandra nodded slowly, already grasping the tactical implications. “And the Falling Leaf Sect?”

  “They’ll appear as purple.” Both men fell silent for a moment as they processed the information.

  Eklavya continued.

  “The colours will also change depending on someone’s condition. If a green dot shifts to orange, it means the person is in danger but not yet facing a fatal threat. If it turns red…” he paused briefly, “…then that person’s life is in immediate danger.”

  The weight of those words settled quietly between them, lingering in the stillness of the clearing like the final note of a distant bell. For a moment, neither Zeliang nor Chandra spoke. Their attention remained fixed on the faintly glowing projections hovering before them, the translucent maps slowly shifting as tiny dots pulsed gently within the circular boundary.

  Zeliang exhaled slowly, his earlier curiosity now replaced by genuine admiration. “That’s… incredibly precise.”

  Chandra did not respond immediately. His gaze remained locked onto the floating map, sharp and analytical. Even for someone who had spent years walking the battlefield as a Grandmaster warrior, this kind of technique was difficult to accept at first glance.

  Tracking allies, identifying enemies, and observing battlefield conditions in real time were something entire armies struggled to achieve with scouts, signal flares, and communication talismans. Yet here it was—compressed into a single formation mark no larger than a coin.

  And the most unsettling part was how effortless it seemed.

  Well, it might seem effortless, but not for Magha, who had to continuously scan the surrounding forest within a fifty-kilometre radius and transmit the information to the arrays of all three.

  Zeliang shifted slightly, leaning forward to examine the cluster of green dots gathered near their position. Each one pulsed faintly, marking the locations of their own people.

  “So these green points…” he murmured, “they’re all our subordinates?”

  “Yes,” Eklavya replied calmly. “Anyone connected to the formation through the mark will appear like that.”

  Chandra traced the map silently with his eyes, already measuring distances and possible movements. The tactical value of such a system was enormous. With information like this, they would never have to wander blindly through the forest searching for enemies again.

  Eklavya observed their reactions for a moment before adding another detail. “There’s another indicator you should be aware of.”

  Both men looked up. “For stronger opponents,” he continued, “the map will mark them differently. Anyone at the level of a Grandmaster or above will not appear as purple like ordinary enemies.”

  Zeliang’s brows lifted slightly. “How will they appear then?”

  Eklavya raised his hand and pointed toward the darker portion of the map’s interface, where a faint empty marker space pulsed as if waiting to be filled.

  “They’ll appear as black.”

  The statement made both Zeliang and Chandra fall silent again, but this time their silence carried a very different weight.

  A black mark on the map would not simply represent an enemy. It would represent a threat capable of overturning the battlefield.

  Chandra’s eyes narrowed slightly as he continued observing the circular boundary of the map. “That means if a Grandmaster from the Falling Leaf Sect enters the sensing range, we’ll know immediately.”

  “Exactly,” Eklavya said.

  Zeliang leaned back a little, a faint smile creeping onto his face. “This is almost unfair.”

  Eklavya allowed a small shrug. “Information usually is.”

  For several moments, they continued studying the projection, committing its layout and symbols to memory.