While Wan Lihan was navigating the quiet forest paths to gather fresh herbs, a sudden clash of iron and aggressive snarling echoed through the thickets. Moving silently on foot, he parted the oak leaves to peer into a small ravine below.
To his surprise, he spotted his remaining roommates, Rou Zhou and Chu Tang, desperately attacking a low tier level wild boar. Despite it being a low-level monster, the two 4th Layer disciples were struggling against its dense physical charges, their coordination slipping from exhaustion. Lihan watched them calmly from the ridge.
Instead of jumping down to steal their kill, he reached into his black supervisor robes, pulled out one of his freshly written inscriptions, and tossed it down. "Use this."
Rou Zhou caught the paper, instantly slapping the Shield Talisman onto the dirt. A translucent barrier flared to life, absorbing a brutal headbutt from the charging boar and throwing the beast completely off balance.
"Thanks, Brother Lihan!" they both shouted in unison, their faces filled with immense relief.
With the beast staggered, the two roommates quickly drove their blades forward, successfully winning the battle. They methodically stripped the valuable parts from the carcass before the three of them turned on their heels and walked back toward the residential pavilion. Along the path, Rou Zhou and Chu Tang were laughing and having a great time, celebrating their hard-fought victory. Lihan walked right beside them, but he wasn't laughing. His face remained a cold, expressionless stone mask, his mind entirely detached from their simple joy.
Returning to the cottage, Rou Zhou built a fire in the hearth and methodically cooked the fresh wild boar meat they had just harvested.
As the scent of roasted meat filled the room, the three of them sat around the table, casually talking about the grueling paths required to one day pass the promotional trials and become true inner disciples. Once the meal was finished, they dropped into a comfortable silence. The three of them crossed their legs, closing their eyes to quietly cultivate and nourish their core channels.
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An hour later, Lihan quietly stood up and slipped back into the privacy of his personal supervisor quarters, locking the heavy wooden door behind him.
He sat cross-legged on his cot, pulling out the glowing, heavy prize he had harvested from the river—the valuable Elemental Crystal. Gripping the stone with both hands, Lihan activated his core cultivation pathways, forcefully consuming the dense, liquid-like water Qi trapped inside the crystal. The immense influx of energy surged violently through his channels, shattering his internal barriers in a quiet explosion of power.
The breakthrough was seamless. Wan Lihan successfully advanced to the 8th Layer of the 15-Layer Qi Cleansing Realm.
Suddenly, a sharp, whistling sound of flying wind sliced through the midnight air outside his window. Swish!
Lihan’s hyper-focused survival instincts instantly flared. He slipped out of his room, moving like an absolute shadow as he descended the mountain trails to investigate, eventually reaching the exact secluded riverbank where he always went to practice his martial arts.
He stopped dead in his tracks, hiding his tall frame behind a massive boulder.
Hovering gracefully just a few feet above the rushing water currents was a stunningly beautiful woman wrapped in elegant, flowing silk robes. She was riding upon a gleaming spiritual blade—a elder master commanding the true high-speed aerial flight of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Her long hair caught the pale light of the crescent moon, making her presence look breathtakingly timeless and divine. It was Elder Xue Qing, the sole female judge of the high council. Lihan stared at her beauty for a single, silent second.
But his 8th Layer Qi signature wasn't enough to hide from a true master of liquid Qi.
The beautiful Elder smoothly pivoted in the air, her sharp, radiant gaze locking directly onto the boulder. Her voice carried a calm but commanding tone. "What are you doing here?"
Lihan slowly stepped out from behind the rock, completely masking his shock behind a perfectly flat, respectful bow. "This junior was just out taking the midnight air, Elder. How about you?"
Elder Xue Qing floated lower, her feet gently touching the shore as she sheathed her flying blade, a subtle smile playing on her lips. "I am also out taking a breath... and looking at the moon."