A couple of hours later, Merin kills the final beast, and the crimson sheen surrounding his body fades away as if it never existed.
He straightens slowly, muscles relaxing only after confirming there is no movement left in the forest.
With the sleeve of his robe, he wipes the blood from his sword in a single clean motion, then slides the blade back into its sheath.
When he raises his head, he finds every remaining member of the team still alive, seated or standing amid the carnage, all of them looking at him with undisguised awe.
Elder Lin breaks the silence, her voice carrying genuine amazement.
"Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
Merin does not answer immediately.
Elder Lin continues, her tone firm but no longer commanding.
"With your strength, you have a high chance of becoming a Saint candidate of the sect."
Merin considers this quietly.
Once they leave this place, what he displayed tonight will reach the royal family sooner or later.
That knowledge alone could push them into taking drastic measures.
To remain balanced, to ensure no single force believes they can claim or eliminate him without consequence, keeping his connection to the Golden Lotus Sect open is… useful.
He finally speaks.
"Let's get out of here alive first," Merin says calmly.
"Then we can think about it."
No one argues.
Exhaustion wins.
Everyone sits down on the blood-soaked ground, leaning against shattered barricades, broken trees, and each other, swallowing pills and forcing their breathing to steady.
Merin reaches into his uniform and takes out his last bottle of Blood Qi pills.
Before he can open it, a pleasant voice like flowing music reaches him.
"Lord Merin."
He looks up.
Lin Qiansu stands a short distance away, her veil fluttering faintly in the night breeze.
"Do you need something?" Merin asks politely.
She shakes her head and flicks her wrist.
"Take this."
A small bottle arcs toward him.
Merin catches it easily and looks inside.
A single golden-colored pill rests within, smooth and faintly luminous.
Lin Qiansu's voice follows.
"It's our sect's speciality, the Golden Lotus Pill."
"It will not only restore your Qi, but also heal and cleanse your body."
Merin does not return it.
"Thank you," he says simply, opening the bottle.
Elder Lin's voice drifts over.
"Think nothing of it," she says.
"If you need more, you may ask."
Merin smiles faintly and nods.
He pours the pill into his palm and closes the bottle.
"You're the strongest one here now," Elder Lin adds.
"You need to be more than a hundred per cent."
Merin does not deny it.
He swallows the pill.
The effect is immediate.
Energy spreads through his body like warm water poured over frozen ground, flowing directly into his cells before even touching his meridians.
His Blood Qi recovers at nearly three times its normal speed.
There is no pain.
No resistance.
His body, already refined and cleansed through repeated breakthroughs, accepts the energy smoothly.
He feels no additional cleansing effects.
Only restoration.
Yet even after his Blood Qi fully recovers, he senses it clearly.
Nearly ten per cent of the pill's energy remains unused.
If he were alone, this would be enough for a fourth refinement.
He does not attempt it.
Not here.
Not now.
What he showed tonight is already dangerous enough.
If his true cultivation realm becomes clear, every major force would move.
Not to recruit.
To eliminate.
They would kill him simply to ensure no one else could claim him.
Until he reaches the Soul Awakening Realm, he must remain what they believe him to be.
Minor Inner Realm.
Nothing more.
Merin is the first to stand.
He looks around.
Thousands of corpses lie scattered across the forest floor, demon beasts twisted and broken, blood soaking into the earth and bark.
Among them are the bodies of a few Divine Guards.
He cannot tell which is which.
He does not spread his spirit.
Not with the Golden Lotus Sect present.
Instead, he memorises the scene.
Then—
A snap.
Sharp.
Above.
Merin's eyes lift instantly.
A black blur tears through the air from the treetops.
In the surrounding trees, shapes shift.
Humanoid spiders cling to bark and branches, grey bodies fused with long, jointed legs, motionless until now.
"Incoming," Merin says flatly.
His sword is already out.
He launches upward, blade flashing, and swings toward the descending spider as the next wave begins to move.
The humanoid spider's mouth opens unnaturally wide, stretching far beyond what a human jaw should allow.
From the darkness inside its throat, thick black webs burst forth, shooting toward Merin like spears.
In midair, there is no room to dodge.
Merin's eyes sharpen.
His wrist twists.
His sword hums.
A streak of pale sword light erupts, not grand, not explosive, but fast—too fast.
The sword light cleaves through the incoming webs as if slicing mist, the strands parting cleanly.
It does not stop.
The light continues forward and cuts through the spider itself, splitting its body into several pieces that scatter in the air like broken dolls.
Merin lands lightly, boots touching the ground without sound.
He does not even look at the corpse.
Because the forest moves.
From every direction, humanoid spiders leap down from trees, crawl along trunks, and burst from the undergrowth.
They surround him in an instant.
Merin exhales slowly.
This time, he allows a fraction more of himself to show.
A faint bronze sheen rises beneath his skin, subtle but unmistakable.
Not blazing.
Not dominant.
Just enough.
Each of the humanoid spiders radiates strength comparable to a Blood Seal Realm warrior.
Their movements are coordinated.
Their strikes are precise.
They are not beasts.
They are soldiers.
Merin steps forward.
The first spider lunges, its clawed limbs slicing toward his throat.
Merin shifts half a step to the side and cuts upward.
The spider's upper body separates from its lower half.
Black mist spills out instead of blood.
Two more attack together, one from the front, one from behind.
Merin pivots, sword tracing a tight arc.
Steel flashes twice.
Both heads fall before either attack can complete.
Another spider spits webbing toward his legs while charging low.
Merin leaps, lands on its back, and drives his blade straight down through its skull.
The corpse collapses, twitching violently before going still.
Around the camp, the others engage.
Commander Di moves like a storm, his silver-refined Blood Qi blazing openly now, each strike crushing spider bodies into fragments.
Elder Lin stands firm, staff glowing, golden waves pulsing outward with every step she takes, obliterating spiders that come too close.
Lin Qiansu fights beside her, movements elegant and lethal, her near-Saint-ranked lotus artefact flaring intermittently to incinerate enemies.
For everyone else, the battle is brutal.
Divine Guards in the Blood Seal Realm struggle against opponents equal to them in strength.
They fight in groups, supporting one another, covering blind spots, retreating and advancing in practised coordination.
Steel clashes against chitin.
Webs snap and burn.
Some guards are thrown back, others are dragged down before comrades pull them free.
Merin remains at the centre of the chaos.
He does not rush.
He does not retreat.
He advances, step by step, carving a path through the spiders.
Every movement is deliberate.
Every strike is lethal.
The bronze sheen on his skin deepens slightly as his Blood Qi circulates faster, supporting his relentless pace.
A spider leaps high, trying to come down on his shoulders.
Merin turns mid-stride and slashes backwards without looking.
The spider's body splits in half midair.
Another spider manages to rake its claws across his side.
The claws scrape against his skin and slide away, leaving only shallow marks.
Merin does not slow.
He thrusts, twists, pulls free.
The spider collapses.
Minutes stretch into an hour.
Then another.
Gradually, the attacks thin.
The forest grows still again.
The last humanoid spider screeches and tries to flee, only to be pinned to a tree by Commander Di's blade.
Silence returns.
Breathing echoes.
Merin lowers his sword and surveys the aftermath.
Bodies of humanoid spiders litter the ground, grey limbs twisted at unnatural angles.
From one of the corpses near his feet, something catches his eye.
He bends down and picks it up.
A crystal.
Dark, almost black, with faint veins of gold threading through it.
As he turns it in his hand, he glances around.
Captain Ji lies nearby, supported by two guards, his chest torn open by claws, blood soaking his armour.
A member of the Golden Lotus Sect sits cross-legged not far away, face pale, struggling to stabilise her Qi.
Aside from them, most of the team bears only minor wounds.
Scratches.
Bruises.
Exhaustion.
Merin straightens and focuses on the crystal.
He probes it lightly with his spirit.
A shock runs through him.
Divine energy.
Dense.
Pure.
Contained within the crystal like a sealed tide.
Commander Di notices the object in Merin's hand.
So does Elder Lin.
Their gazes sharpen instantly.
Elder Lin steps closer and examines the corpses around them.
She finds similar crystals embedded within several of the spider bodies.
Her expression changes.
Merin does not speak.
He channels a thread of intent and absorbs the energy within the crystal.
The reaction is immediate.
A surge of power floods into his body, far more violent than any pill.
His Blood Qi responds instinctively.
Before he can stop it, refinement begins.
Merin sits down sharply, crossing his legs as his inner cycle accelerates.
Bronze light rises from his skin again, darker than before.
The energy continues to pour in.
Hours pass.
No one disturbs him.
When Merin opens his eyes, the bronze sheen has changed.
It is lighter.
Sharper.
Silver light glimmers faintly beneath the bronze.
He has advanced another refinement.
Commander Di and Elder Lin stare openly now.
Merin notices their gazes.
Before either can ask a question, he stands.
Without explanation, he walks among the corpses, collecting the dark-gold crystals one by one.
Then he sits again.
This time, he refines deliberately.
Others follow his lead.
Golden Lotus members begin cultivating with the crystals.
Commander Di hesitates only briefly before doing the same.
Merin absorbs another crystal.
Then another.
His Blood Qi refines again.
The silver deepens.
Then shifts.
A faint golden hue appears, subtle but unmistakable.
Light golden.
Merin opens his eyes sharply and stops.
He looks up.
From the edge of the camp, figures emerge.
Grey Wolf Army soldiers.
Their skin is pale white.
Their movements are stiff.
Their eyes are empty.
They walk forward in silence.
Like the dead returning to fight once more.