I

Using Spiritual Sight, Hao Zhen could see three human-shaped clusters of spiritual aura drawing closer and closer. Like Lan Yue had said earlier, they weren’t moving quickly, but instead gradually approaching. Not quite walking, but definitely not running.

Hao Zhen tightened his grip on his sword. He held it in his right hand, in front of him. His left hand, he kept behind his back, out of sight. To his right, Tian Jin and Lan Yue also had their weapons out—Lan Yue with her fifth-order sword, and Tian Jin with his fourth-order sword. Tian Jin would only use the Radiant Light Sword as a last resort.

It didn’t take long for the party of three to reach the clearing, stepping out from the trees into plain sight. At the front, a step ahead of the others, was a young man in plain, unadorned white robes. He had a tall, slender body, and wore his head neatly tied behind his head in a bun. All prim and proper, he was handsome in a scholarly way—someone whom a brush would suit more than a sword.

As he stared at them from across the clearing, Du Qing wore an expression of confidence and disdain. It was almost the same expression he had shown them in Central Light Square after Bao Yun had left.

Hao Zhen narrowed his eyes. Something was about the way Du Qing looked at them, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Briefly, Hao Zhen shifted his gaze to Du Qing’s two companions. Like Du Qing, they were both in their early twenties, though the third-level clearly looked younger. They were both clad in thick, expensive-looking robes, contrasting with Du Qing’s simple, unadorned robes.

The one on Du Qing’s left—the third-level redsoul—had a frown on his face, and his posture was guarded. The one on Du Qing’s right—the fourth-level—had one of his eyebrows slightly raised and the edges of his lips curled up.

Neither gave Hao Zhen the impression of a lackey or follower.

To Hao Zhen’s surprise, the one that seemed to hold Du Qing’s attention wasn’t Tian Jin, but Lan Yue. His eyes were narrowed as he regarded the girl, who glared fiercely back at him. Du Qing’s inspection of her was cut short, however, as his expression suddenly went blank. The next moment, Du Qing shook his head and murmured something to himself, before looking focusing on Tian Jin.

Hao Zhen frowned.

“Tian Jin,” Du Qing said, his voice cold, and Hao Zhen focused back on him.

Tian Jin held Du Qing’s gaze, unflinching. Then again, Hao Zhen didn’t think Tian Jin could flinch. “Du Qing.” Tian Jin’s voice was just as cold—if not colder—than Du Qing’s.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hao Zhen glanced at Lan Yue. Just like in their previous encounter with Du Qing, there was something dark and wicked in her gaze as she looked at the prime disciple.

Hao Zhen wasn’t certain which of his two teammates made for a more terrifying enemy.

“You…” Du Qing started to say, before trailing off. Hao Zhen returned his attention to the prime disciple and noticed that Du Qing’s gaze was on their weapons. The prime disciple’s frown deepened.

Again Hao Zhen felt like there was something wrong with Du Qing’s expression. The way his eyes shifted back and forth between Tian Jin and Lan Yue, the way he worked his jaw wordlessly… There was a tightness to him. Almost as if he were… hesitating.

Then, through clenched teeth, Du Qing said, “Leave the sect.”

The two inner disciples behind Du Qing shot him alarmed looks, but the prime disciple paid them no mind.

Hao Zhen schooled his own expression. Thankfully, Du Qing’s eyes were on Tian Jin.

Tian Jin gave Du Qing a long, hard look. “What?” There was a touch of surprise in his teammate’s voice.

Du Qing pressed his lips into a straight line. He glared at Tian Jin, his jaw tight. “Leave the sect,” he repeated. “Leave the sect, and I’ll leave you be.” He spoke as if each word he uttered cost him a year of his life.

The fourth-level redsoul behind Du Qing harrumphed, earning him a dark glance from the prime disciple.

Wordlessly, Tian Jin stared at Du Qing. His expression was, as usual, for the most part unreadable, but Hao Zhen believed he could detect some hints of suspicion. Finally, Tian Jin said, “No.”

Simple, straight to the point, painfully direct. Hao Zhen cringed. Tian Jin wasn’t sticking to the plan. Hopefully, Du Qing would keep on talking.magic

Sure enough, the prime disciple’s expression turned ugly. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but once again stopped himself. Then he took in a deep breath as if to compose himself. When Du Qing spoke again, his voice had lost its tight, strained quality, and his expression was no longer as warped.

“I’m not telling you to go rogue,” Du Qing said, employing a more diplomatic tone. One that Hao Zhen could tell was carefully crafted. “All I’m asking you is to cut your ties with the sect, formally, after the Hunt is over. There are other magical organizations near Drifting Clouds City—some of them even stronger than the Blazing Light Sect. You’re free to join any of them. I just want you to leave the sect.” He shifted his gaze to Lan Yue, then to Hao Zhen, before returning it to Tian Jin. “All three of you.”

Again, Tian Jin gave Du Qing a long, wordless stare. The suspicion was clearer on his face now, this time with a touch of indignation. “No,” Tian Jin finally said, just as curtly, just as coldly. His tone was as firm as it got, brooking no argument.

And just like that, Du Qing lost the composure he had just regained, his expression warping into a scowl. The prime disciple glowered at Tian Jin, his face tighter than ever.

Seeing that the situation was about to come to a head, Hao Zhen quickly gathered his thoughts. Du Qing’s attempt at making peace—if it could even be called that—was unexpected, but what really mattered were the of it.

Du Qing wouldn’t be acting this way if he was confident—and that told Hao Zhen everything he needed to know.

Deciding on a course of action, Hao Zhen channeled some spiritual power through the hand he kept behind his back, and into the sound-transmission token he held in his grasp. “In ten,” he murmured. He kept his gaze on Du Qing, not looking at his two teammates so as not to give anything away.

Hao Zhen channeled some spiritual power into his spatial ring, and a talisman replaced the sound-transmission token he was holding.

Hao Zhen opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself, seeing a talisman appear in front of Du Qing. It was just like the one Hao Zhen was holding, except the spiritual aura it radiated was even more intense.

Hao Zhen’s eyes widened.

Thoughts snapping in his head like lightning, Hao Zhen coated the talisman in his hand with his spiritual power and flung it across the ceiling, plan be damned. Coated in spiritual power, the talisman flew out in front of him like an arrow.

With an alarmed look, Du Qing waved his hand in front of him, and his talisman was similarly sent flying.

.

His mind racing, Hao Zhen focused on the two talismans flying through the air to the exclusion of everything else. The moment the two talismans crossed each other halfway through the clearing, he took action. Only vaguely aware of what he was doing, he willed some of the spiritual power encasing his talisman to flow into the matrix inscribed on it.

His talisman flashed.

A massive explosion rocked the clearing. The ground erupted, sending smoke and dirt skyward in a shockwave that battered Hao Zhen and threw him backward. Swept off his feet, he crashed onto the ground near the trees, a few feet away from his original position. His ears were ringing, and he could vaguely make out the sound of someone shouting something, though he couldn’t discern what they were saying or even who was speaking.

Were— Smoke? Dirt. All around him. His head throbbed. Sounds— What—

, Hao Zhen thought through his daze, faintly at first. he repeated, stronger, sharper, cutting through his confusion.

Grounding himself, Hao Zhen inhaled sharply, painful clarity flooding him. He looked wildly through the cloud of debris hanging in the air, searching for Tian Jin and Lan Yue, or at least to see what was going on in the clearing. Unable to make out anything—the dust in the air too thick—he hurriedly channeled spiritual power into his eyes. Before he could take proper stock of his surroundings, he caught sight of a flash of red rushing toward him. One radiating aura of the third level of the Red Spiritual Realm.

Hao Zhen froze, then snapped into action. Once again moving faster than he could think, he jumped to his feet and ran straight into the tree line. Even as he ran, he channeled spiritual power into his spatial ring, picked out the desired item in his mind’s eye with perfect precision, and a barrier talisman appeared in his hand.

Still running, Hao Zhen threw the talisman out behind him, then activated it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shimmering barrier of white light coalescing behind him. The next moment, he stepped into the forest proper, and he shifted his attention back forward, to his immediate surroundings.

Hao Zhen didn’t slow down his pace, making his way through the undergrowth and around the trees. In his chest, his heart raced. In his head, his mind raced. He didn’t know which one was faster. One beating thunderously, the other throbbing like flashes of lightning. He wondered about Tian Jin and Lan Yue. What they were doing, whether they—

Hao Zhen glanced behind him and saw a glowing red form drawing closer and closer. A plan forming in his head, Hao Zhen came to an abrupt stop. With a thought, another barrier talisman appeared in his hand. Fourth-order, just like the last one. Just in case. In his other hand, a red pellet appeared.

Moments later, his pursuer became visible to his normal sight, Du Qing’s third-level redsoul helper stepping into his physical field of vision.

Now that they were both physically visible to each other, the third-level similarly came to an abrupt halt, his eyes narrowing, his expression tense. Hao Zhen followed the man’s gaze to his own hand—to the top portion of the talisman sticking out of his tight grasp. Hao Zhen took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm his heart.

Unfortunately, being scrutinized by a higher-level cultivator wasn’t exactly conducive to relaxing.

The inner disciple—or at least Hao Zhen believed that was the man’s rank, unless Du Qing had roped in another prime disciple—simply stared at him, unmoving. Because of the way Hao Zhen was holding the talisman, there was no way to tell what type of talisman it was. Only its spiritual aura, that of the fourth order of the Red Spiritual Realm, could be discerned. And that meant that as the third-level redsoul was concerned, he could be holding yet another fourth-order explosion talisman. He could see the spiritual power gathered in his opponent’s eyes.

And that was exactly what Hao Zhen wanted. First, Hao Zhen activated Ethereal String Puppetry, then attached an Ethereal String to the inner disciple. Hao Zhen then waved the hand holding a talisman in front of him, as if he were about to throw the slip of paper, and the inner disciple flinched. At the same time, Hao Zhen channeled his spiritual power into the red pellet he was holding in his other hand before throwing out his arm, launching the spiritual beacon towards the outer disciple.

Deactivating Spiritual Sight, Hao Zhen jumped backward just as the beacon exploded in a cloud of red smoke. Tapping into the Ethereal String, Hao Zhen was just about to cause a sensory overload when the man broke out from the spiritual beacon, jumping out of the red cloud. He glared daggers at Hao Zhen, not showing any signs of confusion or blindness. Somehow, he had managed to turn off Spiritual Sight fast enough not to be blinded by the beacon.

Hao Zhen went still. So much for plan A. Inner disciples really were a step above outer disciples.

He clenched his teeth.

Time for the much riskier plan B.