The wind slammed against his face as the ground drifted farther and farther away beneath him.
It took Jin a couple of breaths to process what was happening. One moment he had still been standing among the other disciples; the next, he was floating in the air, held as if he weighed nothing at all.
What the hell is going on…?
His body was stiff—not from pain, but from sheer confusion. He felt no hostility in the elder's grip, yet that did nothing to make the situation any less surreal. On the contrary, it only made it more unsettling.
It was then that, for the first time since his appearance, Jin truly looked at him.
The elder did not look old.
At first glance, he appeared to be middle-aged, with well-defined features and a calm, almost kind expression. His bearing was effortlessly elegant, his outer robe fluttering gently without a single abrupt movement. There was no arrogance in his posture, yet every motion conveyed refined discipline, as if each action had been perfectly measured.
And yet…
Jin swallowed.
He's strong…
It was not an oppressive sensation like the spiritual pressure from before, but something deeper. A dense, powerful vitality that emanated from his body like a tranquil yet endless sea. Though the years had left a faint trace on his face, that energy made him seem more alive than any young disciple Jin had ever seen.
He looked down again. The platform was now a distant speck.
Why is he taking me?
There were no reproaches, no words, no accusing glances. Only silence—and the sensation of being dragged toward something completely beyond his control.
Jin clenched his teeth.
Great… I've barely arrived at the sect and I'm already flying around with an outer elder. This definitely wasn't in the manual.
The outer elder let out a soft sigh as they descended, as if he had just accepted something inevitable. Then he slightly turned his head and, for the first time since taking him, looked directly at Jin.
A few seconds passed in silence.
"For your first week in the sect…" he finally said in a calm voice, "you've caused quite a bit of trouble."
Jin blinked.
Trouble?
A spark of indignation flared in his chest.
Me?
He hadn't sought out a fight, hadn't provoked anyone, much less planned to end up in the middle of a disciplinary scandal. If anything, he had been dragged into all of this by other people's stupidity.
With all due respect, elder… Jin thought, clenching his jaw, I didn't want any of this trouble.
Though he didn't say it aloud, his expression spoke for him: the furrowed brow, the irritated gaze, that mixture of wounded pride and frustration he couldn't hide.
The elder noticed immediately.
The corners of his lips curved slightly… and he let out a low, almost amused laugh.
"Hah…" he chuckled. "That expression."
Jin froze for a moment.
The elder wasn't mocking him. It was a light, calm laugh, as if he had seen something familiar.
"Don't worry," he added in a much more relaxed tone. "I've seen enough disciples to know when someone goes looking for trouble… and when trouble finds them instead."
Jin relaxed his shoulders slightly, though he still didn't fully understand where they were headed—or what exactly this elder intended.
He frowned faintly as they continued moving through the air.
What does this elder actually want…?
He had considered several possibilities: a warning, a private reprimand, perhaps even a covert test. None of them were comforting. Every second without a clear explanation made his mind work faster, reconstructing scenarios like pieces on an invisible board.
Just as he was about to sink deeper into his thoughts, the pressure of the wind around his body changed.
Their speed decreased.
The motion ceased being abrupt and became a controlled descent. Ahead of them, the side of a mountain opened into a wide, deep natural fissure. Simple inscriptions were carved into the rock, worn by time, and a faint flow of Qi emanated from within.
A cultivation cave.
When they touched the ground, the elder released Jin naturally, as if he had carried him that way all his life. Jin stepped forward and, as he raised his head, realized they were not alone.
Someone was waiting for them.
It was a young woman with a slender figure and long blue hair that fell like a veil to her waist. Her features were delicate, almost soft, and though her beauty was undeniable, it wasn't intimidating. There was something clean and attentive in her gaze… like that of a well-mannered child standing before an elder.
The blue-haired young woman took a small step forward.
"Uncle," she said naturally, "thank you very much for fulfilling Yan Mei's request."
The outer elder stopped, closed his eyes for a moment, and let out a long sigh, as if all the accumulated fatigue had suddenly fallen upon him.
"Hmph…" he muttered. "You're always the same."
He opened his eyes and glanced at her sideways, a clear mix of resignation and affection in his gaze.
"The moment your message reaches me, you're already dragging me into trouble with outer disciples," he continued. "Do you have any idea how many things I had planned for today?"
Yan Mei tilted her head slightly, wearing a gentle, completely guiltless smile, as if she were used to that kind of scolding.
"But uncle, if it hadn't been you, no one else would have intervened," she replied in an almost sweet tone. "Besides… you arrived just in time."
The elder shook his head, though the corner of his lips curved faintly, betraying his true mood.
"Brat," he said at last. "Every time you call me, I know it won't be something simple."
Jin watched in silence, completely bewildered.
Uncle…?
He looked back and forth between Yan Mei and the outer elder, and for the first time since everything had begun, he clearly felt that he had been dragged into something far more troublesome than he had imagined.
The outer elder turned slightly. His relaxed expression became serious, and the lightness from before almost completely vanished.
"I can't stay any longer," he said calmly. "I'll be indisposed for a period of time. As you well know… I must prepare for my breakthrough."
Yan Mei nodded immediately, her demeanor returning to one of respect.
"I know, uncle. Don't worry."
The elder cast one last glance in Jin's direction—a brief but deep look, impossible to decipher—then stepped into the void. His figure rose smoothly before turning into a streak of light that vanished into the distance, as if he had never been there at all.
The silence left behind was different.
Jin couldn't explain why, but he felt the air inside the cave change. The invisible pressure that had surrounded him before dissipated… only to be replaced by another sensation, subtler, more unsettling.
He turned his head.
Yan Mei no longer wore her previous docile expression.
Her posture was still elegant, her face beautiful and composed, but something sharp and dangerous gleamed in her eyes. It was no longer the gaze of an obedient girl before her uncle… but that of a tigress left alone with her prey.
Jin swallowed unconsciously.
…Ah.
He had the distinct feeling that something bad was about to happen.
Before Jin could say a single word—thok!
A sharp knock landed directly on his head.
"Ah—!" The sound caught in his throat as the pain shot straight down to his bones.
Yan Mei withdrew her hand casually, as if she had just reprimanded a mischievous child. There was no violent Qi or intent to injure, but the flick was precise enough to make stars explode in his vision—far from pleasant, considering he was already half-destroyed.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused?" she said, crossing her arms.
Jin looked at her with slightly unfocused eyes, clearly confused, as a new wave of pain joined the constant hell already raging in his arm.
"I… what…?"
"You injured yourself by using your own Qi like that," Yan Mei continued, clearly annoyed. "Do you know what that means? You won't be able to cultivate properly for months. Months. An entire year ruined if nothing is done."
Each word struck him like another invisible blow.
"Now I have to help you recover," she added with a snort, "and make sure you don't waste your time."
She looked him up and down, with a mix of irritation and clinical evaluation.
"Honestly… the master definitely chose an idiot this time."
Jin opened his mouth, but no response came out. His mind was still trying to catch up: elders, corrupt deacons, spiritual pressure, being carried through the air… and now this.
Master?
Help me?
Chosen?
The pain in his arm throbbed fiercely, as if mocking him.
"I just…" he murmured, but his voice came out weak.
Yan Mei watched him for a few more seconds, then sighed in clear resignation.
"Incredible," she muttered to herself. "And on top of that, he's half-dead."
Jin, for his part, could only think one thing with absolute clarity:
Definitely… this day isn't done getting worse yet.
Jin was still trying to sort through his thoughts when Yan Mei let out a long sigh, as if she had finally surrendered to something inevitable.
"I can't explain everything that's going on," she said at last, her tone more restrained. "At least, not now. You'll have to wait… until the tournament ends."
Jin blinked.
"The… tournament?"
"In a year and a half," she continued, glancing at him sideways. "Until then, there are things I simply can't tell you. Not because I don't want to—but because I mustn't."
That only made Jin's confusion grow thicker. He was about to ask something else when a soft, mature, and surprisingly pleasant voice interrupted them.
"Yan Mei, don't be so hard on the boy."
The voice carried a natural warmth, like lukewarm water flowing over stones. Jin turned his head toward the sound… and froze.
Before them stood a woman of mature appearance, yet extraordinarily beautiful. Her figure was slender, her posture elegant, and her gentle smile radiated a serenity that seemed capable of calming anyone. And yet, the moment Jin saw her, something inside him screamed loudly.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
It wasn't open spiritual pressure, nor obvious hostility. It was worse than that—an instinctive sensation, like a rabbit noticing the shadow of a hawk passing overhead.
Before he could react, Yan Mei had already moved.
"Aunt Han!" she exclaimed joyfully.
She ran toward the woman and stopped in front of her with a sweet smile, completely different from the tigress expression she had shown Jin moments earlier.
The woman chuckled softly and rested a hand on Yan Mei's head.
"You're still just as impulsive," she said fondly.
Then her gaze slid toward Jin.
"So you're the troublesome little one," she remarked with a gentle smile.
Jin swallowed.
Yan Mei turned slightly and spoke naturally.
"Uncle brought him here. This is Aunt Han Yiling, an 'outer' elder and medical cultivator of Jade Peak."
A medical cultivator… at the Golden Core realm?
Han Yiling's smile remained gentle, almost comforting… but Jin had already learned something important that day:
In this sect, the people who smiled like that were usually the most terrifying.
Still reeling from the chain of events, Jin finally opened his mouth.
"Could someone tell me what's actually going on…?"
He didn't get to finish.
"That can wait," Han Yiling interrupted softly.
Her voice wasn't louder or harsher, yet it cut off Jin's words with absolute naturalness. As she spoke, she took a step—and at some point Jin couldn't perceive, she was already beside him.
Before he could react, a hand settled on his shoulder.
"I came at someone's request," she continued. "My task is to help you recover as quickly as possible."
The moment her fingers made contact, Jin felt something surge through his body.
A current of cold, clean, and exquisitely refined energy flowed down from his shoulder like an icy river, passing through muscles, meridians, and bones. It wasn't painful, but it was overwhelming. Every damaged part of his body reacted instantly, as if exposed to an intense light.
Jin tensed instinctively.
His vision blurred for a second.
And yet… he didn't fall.
"Oh…" a voice murmured beside him, carrying genuine surprise. "Interesting."
Jin heard Han Yiling's voice very close to his ear.
"With internal injuries, meridians damaged by reckless Qi usage, and an arm in that condition…" she continued calmly, evaluating him. "How are you still standing?"
The cold energy continued to flow, exploring him without mercy—but with flawless precision.
Jin took a deep breath, clenching his teeth.
He didn't know whether he should feel proud…
or worried that a Golden Core medical cultivator had just noticed that, logically speaking, he should already be unconscious.
Jin opened his mouth, searching for some clumsy excuse—anything that sounded even remotely dignified.
"I just… it was that in the moment…"
Just then, the icy energy withdrew.
Not abruptly, but like a tide receding and leaving the shore exposed.
The instant the pressure vanished, Jin's body lost the last invisible support holding him upright.
His eyes went blank.
He didn't fall.
He simply remained there—standing, rigid—like the world had stopped just for him.
Yan Mei was the first to react.
"Jin…?"
Han Yiling blinked, surprised for a fraction of a second. Then she looked more closely: the irregular breathing, the tense shoulders, the internal Qi no longer responding to his will.
One… two seconds passed.
Then the medical cultivator let out a light, soft, almost amused laugh.
"Ah… I see."
She stepped a little closer and placed two fingers on Jin's wrist, confirming the obvious.
"Don't worry," she said calmly. "He's not dead, nor in immediate danger."
Yan Mei frowned, clearly annoyed.
"Then what's wrong with him?"
Han Yiling withdrew her hand and smiled faintly.
"He's been at his limit for quite a while," she explained. "He forced his body during the fight, then endured the pain, the adrenaline, the elder's pressure… and finally my examination."
She made a vague gesture with her hand.
"While he was tensing every muscle to stay conscious, his will held him together. But the moment my energy withdrew and his body relaxed… his mind simply gave out."
She looked at Jin, still standing like a poorly placed statue, and added in an almost playful tone:
"In short: he fainted. He just forgot to fall."