A sharp, sudden bark of laughter erupted from Bi Kan, a sound so unexpected it made the weary Junior Elder flinch.

  Bi Kan slammed a fist on the polished wooden counter, not with the force of a tantrum, but with the resounding finality of a judge's gavel.

  "You jest, Martial Uncle," he declared, his eyes gleaming with a cold, hard light that seemed far too old for his face.

  "Why would I hesitate to kill bandits? They are a rot.

  They prey on the weak, they rape and pillage villages that lack the strength to defend themselves.

  They are not people; they are a plague to be cleansed." He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, chilling whisper.

  "At the very least, I can grant them a painless death. Instant."

  The Junior Elder leaned back, his brows furrowing as he stroked his brown beard. He looked at the boy before him, truly looked, and saw not an eager disciple, but something far more unsettling.

  "You… are you really just a boy?" he murmured, his voice laced with a genuine, unnerved curiosity.

  "You speak of killing as if it were a chore, a second thought. Such a peculiar nephew…"

  Bi Kan straightened up, the cold fire in his eyes receding as his strategic mind took over once more.

  He rubbed his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

  "Sister Ming Mei will need to grow," he said, his tone shifting to one of a concerned senior.

  "That mission is a perfect crucible for her. Still… interfering would be detrimental to her growth, but I wish to be close, just in case."

  He looked back up at the Elder, the glint in his eyes now one of pure, calculated cunning.

  "Do you have any bandit extermination missions near her whereabouts?"

  The Junior Elder let out an exasperated sigh, muttering under his breath.

  "Stupid brat, only thinking of his friends rather than the sect's own grand design… no, he’s only doing this because it merits him points as well! Hmph."

  He rummaged through a stack of jade scrolls before tossing one across the counter.

  It slid to a stop just before Bi Kan's hand.

  "There. Read the damned scripture. It'll put you in the vicinity of your friend's mission. May you never meet, brat!"

  Bi Kan rubbed his head where a corner of the scroll had lightly tapped him, a playful pout on his lips.

  "Heh, don't be so mad, Martial Uncle. At least I'm helping the sect. Two birds, one stone!"

  He picked up the jade scroll, its cool surface humming faintly as he poured a trickle of Qi into it.

  The mission details flooded his mind. "I see…" He turned and stepped out of the Mission Hall, his brow tilting in thought as he walked.

  These bandits… I wonder what group they're from. It's obvious the sect is sending us out to these remote villages to gain reputation and goodwill.

  But the leader… if he's the head of a major group, he shouldn't be comparable to our Junior Elders, but he could probably rival a mid-tier Core or Direct Disciple.

  He weighed the risks. This jade notes three villages. I can gather information there, and probably go even further… but when things are beyond me, I will stray away.

  He headed back to his room, ascending the worn stone stairs to prepare for his journey.

  For four hours, he worked with a methodical focus, wrapping steamed rice and seasoned meat in broad banana leaves.

  The simple, repetitive task calmed his mind.

  "Phew… I think that's enough," he finally declared, placing the 30th rice ball into his travel pouch.

  "That should last me a couple of weeks."

  Descending the stairs once more, he spotted a crowd of Outer Disciples gathered in the courtyard, their faces a mixture of awe and envy.

  They were surrounding a youth of seventeen, his bright orange hair tied up in a neat bun, a rugged scar tracing a line down his right cheek.

  It appeared someone had finally passed the brutal trials to become an Inner Disciple.

  "Y-you did it, Senior Brother Dong Kai!" one of the disciples exclaimed.

  Dong Kai, the newly promoted Inner Disciple, grinned, his aura now pulsing with the dense, powerful energy of the Body Tempering Realm.

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  "Hehe! I got lucky! In the last trial, when they made the ten of us fight, most of them were at Stage 8! And just one at the Peak!"

  "O-oh! Isn't that unfair…" a disciple sighed.

  "Tch, I can imagine the guy at the Peak stage's pain," another added.

  "He had his luck cut down by you, Senior Brother."

  Dong Kai laughed heartily, a broad, honest sound. "Haha! He can try again in a month's time. Although,"

  he added, his expression turning serious as he clasped his hands, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone, "I'm impressed with another boy in those trials. He passed just like me, in another group. He was only at Stage 8, and most of his opponents were at the Peak… but he won!"

  A wave of shocked murmurs went through the crowd.

  "S-stage 8?! The lowest requirement… and he won against Qi Sensing Realm Peak cultivators?!"

  Dong Kai nodded, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead at the memory.

  "It's really strange. He had long black hair and his eyes seemed… dead. I must advise you all not to get on his bad side. I have a feeling he kills with no remorse… even innocents wouldn't be safe from him."

  The disciples shivered, the name of this mysterious new prodigy now a whispered legend in the courtyard.

  Bi Kan, who had been listening from the edge of the crowd, felt a flicker of profound interest.

  A long-haired boy with dead eyes… interesting. A wolf in sheep's clothing. I wonder if I'll catch a glimpse of him when I become an Inner Disciple.

  He clasped his hands behind his back. Or maybe, he'll soar higher, and I can only catch a glimpse of him in the tournament. Interesting, indeed.

  He shook his head, clearing his mind of the distraction. "Alright, no more delays. It's time for my journey."

  His footsteps echoed softly as he left the Outer Disciple Courtyard, the whispers of Dong Kai’s tale about a mysterious, dead-eyed prodigy already fading into the background buzz of sect life.

  He made his way towards the main gates, his mind focused on the mission ahead, a familiar sense of purpose settling over him.

  High above, perched on the ornate balcony of an Inner Sect building, a pair of eyes watched his departure with a venomous intensity.

  Si Gun leaned against the polished railing, his knuckles white as he gripped the wood, his teeth grinding with the raw, grating sound of suppressed fury.

  "How dare he humiliate me," he hissed, the words a low, dangerous whisper.

  The memory was a fresh, festering wound: an Outer Disciple, a mere Stage 5 ant, had not only defeated his champion but had publicly taunted him, forcing him to surrender seven precious contribution points.

  The shame was a physical thing, a hot coal burning in his gut.

  "But, I must stay calm," he forced himself to think, his gaze tracking Bi Kan's receding figure.

  "He's lucky for now. The recent trials have thinned the ranks of the desperate. I'll need to recruit some new friends…"

  His eyes swept over the courtyard below, landing on a group of downtrodden disciples. An idea, cruel and simple, began to form.

  He patted the heavy pouch of Spirit Stones at his waist, a slow, predatory grin spreading across his face.

  "He dares provoke me? Si Gun, a Body Tempering Realm Stage 3 expert?!"

  A faint, almost imperceptible prickle of killing intent brushed against the edge of Bi Kan’s awareness.

  He remained calm, his expression unchanged, his stride unbroken.

  He had to stay aloof. If the enemy knew he was aware, their plans would become more thorough, more dangerous.

  For now, he would simply keep his guard up, a silent predator aware of the hunter in the shadows.

  "Another one holds a grudge against me," he mused internally, the list of potential culprits already forming in his mind.

  "Who could it be this time?"

  The murmur of the sect faded behind him, replaced by the tranquil sounds of the wilderness.

  The river streamed past, its burbling a soothing counterpoint to the tension in his soul.

  He paused, his alchemist’s eye spotting a patch of Sun-Kissed Dewleaf.

  He plucked a few of the vibrant herbs, placing them carefully in his pouch.

  "It won't hurt to gather even more," he sighed, the familiar motions of his craft a welcome comfort.

  "I haven't practiced alchemy for a while. Maybe I'll refine more pills once I'm done with this mission."

  He thought back to Dong Kai's achievement, the pride and excitement in the new Inner Disciple’s voice.

  He pumped his chest with a fist, a silent vow to himself. "I'll do my best as well."

  After three days of treading the forests, his herb pouch growing steadily heavier, he encountered a familiar flash of jade green.

  A lone viper, slithering frantically through the undergrowth.

  "W-what?" he whispered, his body instantly tensing.

  "Its nest must have been destroyed recently for it to flee this far."

  He leaped into the trees, his movements silent and fluid, his eyes stern.

  "I don't know if my training could endure a direct bite. I know how that ended… I almost died."

  He shuddered at the memory of the cold, creeping paralysis, saved only by the kindness of a mortal family.

  "But I am far stronger now. If it stops in its tracks, I'll jump down and crush it with my strength."

  He observed silently from his perch as the viper wiggled across a small clearing.

  If its nest was recently destroyed… then…? As if summoned by his thoughts, two figures emerged from the brush, their auras pulsing at the 7th Stage of the Qi Sensing Realm.

  "There it is!" one of them shouted.

  "O-oh! We found it, hehe! We won't let you go this time!"

  the other chimed in, his voice nearly identical.

  Figures, Bi Kan thought, settling back into the shadows of the leaves.

  They were probably sent by the sect to take down another nest. I pity the snakes, being weeded out like this. But if we let them run rampant, they'd turn this entire grove into a snake swamp. They're invasive. It's for the best.

  "Hah, luckily I thought about it before jumping down," he murmured. "I don't want to be seen right now."

  He moved through the canopy, a silent wraith leaping from branch to branch, putting incredible distance between himself and the other disciples.

  "They look like twins… maybe they are."

  As night fell, painting the sky in deep indigos and purples, he found a cave, its entrance a dark, yawning mouth in the side of a cliff, dimly lit by the rising moon.

  He descended from the trees and, with a flick of his wrist, tossed a flame talisman onto a pile of dry leaves, igniting a small, cheerful campfire within the cave's mouth.

  As the flames pushed back the darkness, Bi Kan could see that the cave was far deeper than he had first thought, the light swallowed by an arching, impenetrable blackness just a few dozen feet in.

  "I didn't realize it was this big," he mused, a familiar thrill of curiosity stirring within him.

  "Should I go explore it?" He sat by the fire, pulling out one of his rice balls. The practical part of his mind screamed at him to focus on the mission.

  "I know I shouldn't get sidetracked," he reasoned with himself, chewing thoughtfully.

  "But… what if there are treasures inside?" His gaze drifted again to the overarching darkness, the memory of the wolf's grotto a powerful, seductive whisper.

  An hour passed.

  The fire crackled, the rice balls were gone, but the call of the unknown had only grown stronger.

  With a decisive grunt, Bi Kan lit a long, dry piece of wood in the campfire, creating a makeshift torch.

  He rose to his feet, the flickering light casting his shadow long and distorted on the cave walls, and took a single, deliberate step into the dark.

  His footsteps slowly descended, fading deeper and deeper into the belly of the earth.