The vessel flew at a steady speed, passing through the clouds without turbulence. Below them, the landscape changed without pause: endless stretches of forest, mountains rising like walls of stone, and, from time to time, small villages that appeared in the distance before fading once more into the mist.
For anyone, it would have been thrilling.
Jin, however, lounged lazily against one side of the craft, watching the sky as the clouds drifted slowly overhead. When he boarded, he had expected at least a formal speech or some explanation for the new disciples, but the elder—who, judging by his bearing, must hold an important position within the sect—gave a few brief instructions to one of the youths and then disappeared into what seemed to be a cabin.
After that, nothing.
The vessel simply continued on its course.
To his right, Wei remained seated in seiza, back straight, hands resting naturally on his thighs. His breathing was steady and deep, as though the outside world held no relevance at all. On the other side, Xiao Er stared at the landscape with wide eyes, following every forest and mountain with impossible-to-hide fascination. She leaned forward slightly whenever something new entered her field of vision, as if afraid of missing the smallest detail.
Jin glanced at her sideways before lifting his gaze back to the sky. A long sigh escaped him.
"Doesn't staying in that posture all day bore you or tire you out?" he asked, turning his eyes toward Wei.
Wei opened his eyes just enough to answer without changing position.
"Mentally, no. Physically, it's exhausting. That's why I maintain it. It strengthens discipline."
Jin rolled his eyes.
"Of course…"
He looked away and thought, without saying it aloud, that Wei was truly a strange fellow. More than once he seemed more like a cultivator than the disciples themselves, who were now chatting calmly near the bow.
With that thought lingering, Jin stood and stretched his arms, back, and neck one after another, small cracks escaping before he began walking toward one of the disciples standing near the edge. Xiao Er lifted her head when she saw him move away; she hesitated only a moment before following him with short, quiet steps.
Stopping at a respectful distance, Jin straightened his back and performed a proper martial salute—measured and without exaggeration.
"Excuse me, senior brother. May this junior ask you a few questions?"
His voice was polite and controlled, his posture carefully imitating that of a well-mannered child. The disciple frowned at first, annoyed by the interruption, but upon observing him more closely, he hesitated. The manners were correct, the expression far too composed for his age, and the clothing—though without emblems—was not common. He recalled the earlier exchange with Elder Zhao.
Lost young masters?
He cleared his throat and softened his expression.
"If it is within my ability, I will answer."
Jin nodded courteously.
"The honorable elder accompanying us… does he belong to the sect?"
"Correct. Elder Zhao is an elder of the outer sect."
Jin seemed merely to confirm a suspicion, but soon asked another question more cautiously.
"And his cultivation level?"
The disciple hesitated.
"It is not something to be discussed lightly, but I can say with certainty that he is at the Golden Core stage."
Jin's eyes glimmered for the briefest instant.
Golden Core.
At last, something befitting a cultivation world. A flying vessel, complex spiritual formations, long-distance travel… everything made more sense now.
He was about to continue asking when the atmosphere shifted.
Several voices rose at once, and some disciples moved toward one side of the vessel. Several children pointed at something in the distance. The disciple in front of him turned his head, distracted, and Jin followed his gaze without pressing further.
Everyone began to gather at the edge.
At first it looked like nothing more than a shadow on the horizon, but as the vessel advanced, the figure took shape. It was a bird… and not an ordinary one. When it came close enough, there was no doubt: a gigantic beast, nearly as large as the vessel itself.
Exclamations and murmurs spread among the children. Some instinctively stepped back; others froze. Wei appeared beside Jin without a sound.
"What do you think that is?" he asked quietly. "My instincts say something is about to happen."
Jin gave a faint smile.
"You're not wrong."
The bird was imposing. Feathers of deep purple, perfectly aligned, its bearing noble and majestic. Yet around its body swirled a faint but persistent dark aura that clashed with its appearance. It was like a shadow clinging to its essence.
Then it opened its beak and released a deafening screech.
The vessel's spiritual formation reacted instantly, deploying a translucent barrier. The sound struck it and dispersed in visible waves, but the vibration shook the craft. Some children grabbed onto whatever they could; Xiao Er trembled and, without thinking, moved closer to Jin, clutching his clothes tightly.
The bird hovered before them, wings beating slowly as the dark aura writhed violently. Suddenly, bolts of lightning burst from its body and crashed against the barrier in a succession of impacts that made the formation glow with increasing intensity.
The disciples moved without coordination.
"Call Elder Zhao!"
"We're under attack!"
"This has never happened before!"
So it was indeed an incident.
Jin was about to ask what kind of creature it was when he felt something different. It was neither sound nor movement, but a presence that appeared beside him without warning. He turned sharply.
Elder Zhao was there.
As if he had always been.
His black robe fluttered gently as he observed the bird with a calm expression. Hands clasped behind his back, gaze serene, completely detached from the chaos gripping the vessel.
"Hmm… interesting. A Dian Tian Yan bird," he murmured calmly. "Naturally attuned to lightning… but its spiritual energy is contaminated."
He stepped forward.
The vessel halted in midair as if held by an invisible hand. Lightning continued to strike the barrier, yet the elder passed through the defense without resistance and floated before the beast.
Man and beast suspended in the sky.
Bolts of lightning struck him, but a transparent barrier covered his body, dispersing them like droplets upon a lake's surface. He did not retreat a single inch. He observed the bird with clinical precision, as if examining a flawed specimen.
"You attempted to ascend to a fourth-grade spiritual beast and fell into the demonic path… What a pity."
The bird's dark aura intensified, twisting like living smoke. It responded with a furious screech and unleashed more lightning, each strike more violent than the last.
The elder sighed.
"Allow me to send you to samsara."
From the vessel, Jin could not hear clearly, but every movement etched itself into his mind. He watched as the elder drew from his sleeve a small dark sphere, no larger than a marble. It emitted no light and seemed insignificant… until a flame burst forth from it.
The fire did not spread chaotically.
It moved with absolute precision.
As if it possessed will, it unfolded around the bird and began encircling it from every direction. The beast tried to escape, beating its wings violently and releasing desperate lightning strikes, but each bolt dissipated upon touching the ring of fire.
The dark energy began to writhe and disintegrate.
The fiery circle slowly tightened, compressing with increasing force until it completely enveloped the bird. Its movements grew erratic, then frantic… and finally vanished within the flames.
In the next instant, the fire returned to the sphere as if it had never left. The elder closed his hand and stored it away with utter indifference.
Where the beast had once floated—
Nothing remained.
Only ash scattering into the wind.
The sky regained its calm.
Jin remained silent, staring at the empty space. Without needing words, he understood his suspicions were correct.
It was a world where a single cultivator could erase an entire existence with a mere gesture.