The night after the poisoning was uneasy. Fires burned low, their light casting long shadows across tense faces. The disciples were no longer a single mission-bound group; they had fractured into clusters, each huddled around their own flames, whispering.
"He found the cure.""Without him, half of us would be corpses already.""Or maybe he caused it just to play hero."
The words spread like smoke, curling between truth and suspicion.
Lin Xuan sat calmly by his fire, his circle gathered close. Li Mei polished her sword, Chen Yu practiced steady breathing, and Wu Ming nervously gnawed dried bread that hadn't been poisoned.
Across the camp, Zhou Ren leaned lazily against a log, his voice pitched just loud enough for others to hear. "Convenient, isn't it? Poison strikes, and suddenly Lin Xuan has the cure ready. Perhaps he knew more than he admits."
Gasps and murmurs followed. Some nodded, others frowned, uncertainty growing like rot.
Wu Ming bristled, half-rising. "Senior Brother, he's—"
"Sit." Lin Xuan's voice was quiet, calm. "Words are wind. Let them scatter."
Still, his eyes narrowed faintly. Meng Zhao's hand moves even here. They cannot allow me to stand unchallenged.
As the night deepened, a few disciples quietly drifted closer to Lin Xuan's fire. One, pale-faced and trembling, bowed his head. "Thank you… for the herbs. If not for you…"
Lin Xuan only inclined his head, offering no grand words. Gratitude was its own chain.
But for every disciple who edged nearer, others turned away, their whispers sharpened with envy.
"He plays the hero.""He's building his own faction.""Elders will never allow it."
The campfire cracked. Sparks rose like fleeting stars.
When the fires burned low and most disciples lay in uneasy rest, shadows stirred. Three figures crept silently toward Lin Xuan's circle, blades gleaming faintly in the moonlight. Their breaths were measured, steps careful — trained hands sent to strike quietly.
One raised his dagger, aiming for Wu Ming's throat.
But before the blade fell, Lin Xuan's eyes opened. Calm, silver-lit. His spear moved without sound, the haft striking the assassin's wrist. The dagger clattered to the ground, shocking the silence into a crack.
Li Mei was already up, blade flashing. Chen Yu leapt to her side, covering her flank. Wu Ming woke with a scream, flailing his staff wildly, managing to trip another assailant by sheer luck.
The third lunged at Lin Xuan, but his movements were caught mid-arc. Lin Xuan's spear flowed — Crane Step merged into Gale Slash, seamless, fluid, a new hybrid strike. The attacker flew back, crashing into the dirt, coughing blood.
The camp erupted with shouts as disciples woke, rushing toward the noise.
Zhou Ren strode forward, feigning outrage. "What's this? A fight in the dead of night? Lin Xuan, are you trying to kill your fellow disciples now?"
Lin Xuan's gaze swept coldly over the wounded attackers. Their faces were pale, terror in their eyes — but none dared speak who had sent them.
Wu Ming clutched his chest. "Senior Brother! They nearly— they— you saw, right?! They tried to gut me like a fish!"
Other disciples crowded closer, eyes darting between Zhou Ren and Lin Xuan.
"He saved his circle again…""But why are disciples attacking disciples?""Something is rotten here."
The whispers thickened, suspicions shifting, but no one dared speak openly. The elders were far away; out here, only survival mattered.
As silence fell again, the System pulsed softly.
[Battle Fusion Activated: Crane Step + Gale Slash.][New Hybrid Technique: Flowing Wind Cut created.]
Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed faintly. So the path opens further. Even their assassins sharpen my blade.
By dawn, the attackers had vanished, dragged off into the shadows by unseen hands. No one admitted to knowing who they were. No one asked too loudly.
The disciples marched on, but the atmosphere had changed. Trust was gone. Every shadow was suspect, every glance heavy.
Wu Ming whispered hoarsely, "Senior Brother… we're not just fighting beasts, are we?"
Lin Xuan's gaze was steady, the forest's edge looming ahead. "No. We fight the sect itself."
And from the trees, a distant roar answered, shaking the ground beneath their feet.