BOOOOOOM!
The ground beneath Kael's feet split apart.
“Master!”
Jian grabbed Kael's shoulder.
“Run!”
The ceiling collapsed behind them.
Kael barely avoided a falling stone as the two rushed through the underground passage.
Another explosion shook the mountain.
Dust filled the tunnel.
Kael coughed.
“What is happening?”
“Black Lotus found us,” Jian replied.
“You said they were retreating!”
“They were.”
Jian's expression was grim.
“Then someone stronger arrived.”
Kael's heart tightened.
Someone stronger than those cultivators?
How strong?
Before he could ask, a terrifying pressure swept through the tunnel.
Kael's knees nearly gave out.
His breathing became difficult.
Jian immediately grabbed him.
“Don't resist the pressure.”
“What is it?”
“A cultivator.”
Jian looked toward the tunnel entrance.
“A very powerful one.”
Kael clenched his fists.
The golden mark on his palm flickered.
For a moment, the pressure weakened.
Jian noticed.
His eyes narrowed.
“Your Human Flame is reacting to him.”
Kael looked at his palm.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Jian pulled him forward.
“But we need to get out before you find out.”
They reached the end of the tunnel.
A cliff opened before them.
Below was a dense forest.
Kael looked back.
The mountain was already collapsing.
“Jump.”
Kael stared at Jian.
“Are you serious?”
“Do you want to stay here?”
“No.”
“Then jump.”
Kael took a breath.
He jumped.
The wind struck his face.
His body dropped toward the trees.
At the last moment, golden energy surged through his legs.
BOOM!
Kael crashed into a tree branch, bounced off another, and landed heavily on the forest floor.
He rolled several times before stopping.
“Ow…”
Jian landed beside him effortlessly.
Kael glared at him.
“You could have warned me.”
“I did.”
“You said jump.”
“Exactly.”
Kael sighed.
Then he heard something.
A twig snapping.
His expression changed.
“Someone is coming.”
Jian immediately became serious.
“How many?”
Kael closed his eyes.
He focused.
One.
Two.
Three.
Five.
No...
More.
“Ten.”
Jian nodded.
“Good.”
Kael looked surprised.
“Good?”
“You're learning to sense Qi.”
Jian drew his sword.
“You're improving faster than I expected.”
A group of Black Lotus cultivators appeared between the trees.
At their center stood a man wearing a gray robe.
He wasn't wearing a mask.
He looked young.
Perhaps thirty.
But the pressure coming from him was completely different.
Kael felt it immediately.
Foundation Establishment.
The man looked at Jian.
“Jian Ren.”
Jian's hand tightened around his sword.
“Long time no see.”
The man's eyes moved toward Kael.
“So this is the boy.”
Kael stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“My name doesn't matter.”
He raised one hand.
The surrounding Black Lotus cultivators spread out.
“You won't leave this forest alive.”
Jian stepped in front of Kael.
“Stay behind me.”
Kael didn't move.
He looked at the enemy.
Then at his own trembling hands.
He was afraid.
But he didn't want to keep hiding behind Jian.
“I can fight.”
Jian glanced at him.
“You're Body Tempering.”
“I know.”
“They are Qi Gathering.”
“I know.”
“And that man is Foundation Establishment.”
Kael swallowed.
“I know.”
Jian sighed.
“Then why are you still standing there?”
Kael looked at him.
“Because if I always hide behind you…”
He clenched his fist.
“I'll never become strong.”
For a moment, Jian said nothing.
Then he smiled faintly.
“Good answer.”
The gray-robed man laughed.
“Do you really think a child at Body Tempering can fight my people?”
Kael stepped forward.
Golden light appeared around his fist.
“I don't need to beat all of them.”
His eyes became sharp.
“I only need to survive.”
The first Black Lotus cultivator charged.
Kael moved.
BOOM!
His fist struck the man's chest.
The cultivator staggered backward.
Kael immediately followed with another strike.
But another enemy attacked from the side.
Kael barely blocked the sword.
Pain shot through his arm.
He was pushed backward.
Too strong.
His opponent raised the sword again.
Kael remembered something.
A movement.
A step.
A turn.
His body reacted automatically.
He moved inside the sword's range.
Then struck.
CRACK!
The cultivator's arm bent awkwardly.
He screamed.
Kael stepped back.
His breathing was heavy.
I'm getting used to it.
The golden energy inside him was becoming easier to control.
But suddenly—
The gray-robed man disappeared.
Kael's instincts screamed.
Danger.
He turned.
A palm was already inches from his chest.
Kael couldn't dodge.
BOOM!
Jian appeared between them.
His sword blocked the palm.
The forest exploded with wind.
Trees bent.
Leaves scattered.
Kael was thrown backward.
He crashed into the ground.
“Master!”
Jian remained standing.
But blood slowly dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Kael froze.
Jian had been injured.
The gray-robed man smiled.
“Your injuries are worse than I expected.”
Jian wiped the blood from his mouth.
“I've had worse.”
“You're lying.”
The man's smile disappeared.
“You can't protect him anymore.”
Kael looked at Jian.
For the first time, he realized something.
Jian wasn't invincible.
He could lose.
He could die.
And if Jian died...
Kael would be alone.
His golden mark suddenly burned.
A strange warmth spread through his body.
Then a message appeared inside his mind.
Not a voice.
Not a memory.
Just a feeling.
Breakthrough.
Kael's eyes widened.
His muscles tightened.
Qi began gathering around him.
The gray-robed man noticed.
“What's happening?”
Kael slowly stood.
Golden energy flowed through his meridians.
His cultivation began to rise.
Body Tempering — Second Layer.
Kael looked at his fist.
Then at the enemy.
He smiled.
“Let's try again.”