“Why is there one extra?”

An uncomfortable blanket of warmth brusquely fell down on Auslen and the others.

Lips curling downward into a small frown, Auslen looked up.

A bronze boat hung in the air, within which sat a crimson-robed youth looking down from the boat’s edge with a predominantly indifferent expression. Heat waves roiled off of him, not by intention, but because the young man simply couldn’t care to restrain his Foundation Establishment realm cultivation in the presence of Outer Sect Disciples.

This young man was none other than an Inner Sect Disciple of the Conflagration Nurturing Peak.

His gaze fixated on the taller cloaked individual, and a strange light suddenly shone in his eyes as he met the calm, blue eyes of the only youth, besides Irene, who seemed completely unbothered by his aura.

At this time, a hand fell on Auslen’s shoulder, and the rippling heat continuously irritating his body dissipated. He glanced sideways to see Aiden smiling at him gently.

Being careful not to offend the young man in the boat, Irene took a few steps forward and chucked a small object into the air, gesturing toward Aiden before speaking. “Senior Brother, please examine the jade slip. The addition of this child has already been permitted by Elder Lu.”

After catching the jade slip, the crimson-robed disciple glanced at Irene before raising the jade slip to his glabella. A moment later, a profound gleam arose in his eyes. He raised his eyes to the sky and rotated his head from side to side — as though looking for something nonexistent — before fixing his gaze on Aiden for another moment.

Tossing back the jade slip, the youth agreed casually. “As long as they do not interfere in the Sect Mission and maintain their spectator roles, as Elder Lu communicated, then he and his guards can stay.”

Irene and the Inner Sect Disciple began to converse further, and Auslen shifted his gaze away. His hand reached to lightly pull at Michail’s robe.

Voice softened to a whisper, Auslen acted as though the Inner Sect Disciple floating a short distance away couldn’t hear as he asked, “Who's he, Senior Brother?”

Michail took a look at Auslen with a nonchalant smile as his lips parted, voice traveling directly into Auslen’s ears discreetly. This was an auxiliary Yellow Tier Technique that was popular among practitioners in the Sect, as they couldn’t yet utilize the voice transmission method.

“You don’t need to worry. I’m not exactly sure who he is, but I’m aware that he was sent by the Conflagration Nurturing Peak to evaluate Irene’s performance during this Sect Mission. Once the mission comes to an end, he will have the final say over your Senior Sister’s results, which will decide whether she can enter the Conflagration Nurturing Peak or not.

“And that reminds me. Once you return, I won’t be available to oversee you guys at the Elixir Refinement Hall. I’ll be going into closed-door cultivation soon, so you all will be reporting directly to Elder Lin.”

Auslen blinked a few times before lucidity cleared away the touch of confusion in his eyes. However, he said nothing else, only nodding his head obediently.

Is he finally going to attempt to build his foundation?

At this point, the bronze boat suddenly flew off, disappearing somewhere into the sky just as the predawn light was beginning to show over the distant horizon.

After glancing around at the slowly increasing volume of disciples appearing on the mountain peak, Irene raised her own hood and turned back towards Auslen’s group.

“Now that that’s settled, we should move out,” Irene said while waving her hand with a shimmer from her spatial ring, a huge rug unfurling to float just in front of them. “Everyone, please step on. Enjoy the flight while you can. The majority of our excursion will be on foot.”

Immediately, Aiden stepped forward onto the rug, reaching out to help Auslen board after him.

With a slightly bitter smile, Auslen went along with his brother’s actions. Since the previous night, Aiden had been hovering over him even more so than Vincent, practically treating him just as he did when he was an infant. Auslen wasn’t fully comprehending how Aiden’s overly obliging actions were helpful to the alleviation of his heart demon, but thanks to their father’s words, he could only go along with the circumstances for now and hope that the heart demon was successfully resolved soon.

Everyone boarded the levitating rug, and Michail stepped back.

“I wish you all a safe journey,” Michail smiled encouragingly at his Juniors before focusing on Irene, emotion glinting in his blue eyes as his lips moved silently. “Be careful, Irene. That man won’t help you if you get yourself into trouble.”

The flapping rug began to rise then, and Irene rolled her eyes affectionately as she transmitted without concern, “Aren’t I always careful?”

…

The clouds were still indistinct in the sky, which was experiencing the growing irradiation of daybreak.

Tucking his half-tied golden hair back into his flapping hood, Auslen sat cross-legged near the back corner of the rug, his eyes looking onto the terrain they were descending to. Numerous smaller mountains of all shapes and sizes stood proudly along the forested ground beneath them, and any significant stretch of flat land seemed to be a rare commodity.

By this point, their group had already traveled around ten kilometers, and yet, it felt like the colossal Outer Sect Mountain was within arms reach, showing just how enormous the territory belonging to the Five Profound Elements Sect was.

The five Outer Sect Mountains encircled the rest of the Sect in a perimeter, marking the private boundaries that non-sect-members were forbidden from trespassing within. However, their group were flying to the opposite direction, making this the first time in a year that Auslen had truly left the Sect.

Along the way, they had passed by a handful of other disciples utilizing various flying apparatuses, and it was then that Auslen realized that identity concealment was commonplace. Of the dozen or so they passed, only one was lacking any sort of cloak or mask.

As Auslen continued scrutinizing the forest below, Nathaniel was just in front of him on his hands and knees, gaping at the beautiful, foreign, and untamed scenery excitedly.

And Nathaniel wasn’t alone.

Mia was looking down as well, breathing deeply as she took in the surrounding sounds of rustling leaves and distant birds chirping. The strange and suffocating feeling of alienation that she consistently felt within the Sect was finally falling away, and she yawned happily.

Tarek seemed to be the most centered of their group. His expression was calm, but his eyes held solemness, with a touch of hidden anxiety mixed in.

Soon, the group descended into a gap in the canopy of trees before the rug landed flush with the soft grass, inviting Auslen and the rest to step off. Then, Irene put the rug away, a wisp of Soul Force extending from her body to survey the area as she began to speak.

“All of you, listen to me carefully.

“The Eastern Empyrean Continent is not a safe place, and there is a chance of encountering varying degrees of danger each time you leave the Sect. I will be guiding you through your first expeditionary Sect Mission so that we can avoid encountering danger as much as possible, but do not just follow blindly. Do your best to memorize and comprehend my actions and my instructions, in case you ever wish to venture out into the Eastern Empyrean Continent’s wilderness on your own after this.”

“Yes, Senior Sister!” Auslen and the other disciples said, while Aiden nodded silently beside them. Cedrick had taken him on several excursions into the forests near the Bright Forest Kingdom, so he was curious how the experience in this new continent would differ.

Irene continued, “About 400 kilometers away from us is the Lockwood Village, so if we ran directly there, we would arrive in roughly six to seven hours. However, taking a straight shot in any given direction is ill-advised. Who among you knows why this is the case?”

Tarek, who was standing behind his shorter group members with his arms crossed, smiled and said, “Running impulsively in a single direction will increase the chances of encountering danger exponentially, including threatening environmental conditions, Demons, and even other cultivators.”

Hearing Tarek’s complete and succinct answer, Irene clicked her tongue and smiled with praise.

“Your fellow disciple is correct,” Irene continued with a low, evocative tone, turning away from them to gaze upward — straight through the tree canopy. “The forest and mountains surrounding you lay home to endless hazards. Miasma, deadly poisonous plants, venomous animals, and malicious itinerant cultivators are the most frequent causes for concern. In addition, there are numerous terrifying Lesser Demons lurking here, though one would be hard-pressed to run into any stronger entities. Truly powerful Demons would never choose to reside so close to a Major Sect.

“Your fellow cultivators, however, are a type of hazard very difficult to avoid or see coming.”

Mia — who had been looking particularly liberated until then — was now revealing hints of trepidation and insecurity at Irene’s anxiety-inducing description. Behind her, Tarek’s expression was serious, having already grasped the possible dangers beforehand.

Meanwhile, Auslen and Aiden looked calm. Nathaniel, though, was still looking around the forest distractedly, as if everything was new. He appeared entirely unconcerned over their current circumstances, as though the possibility of him encountering danger was nonexistent.

Irene turned back around, and in her previously empty hands was a scroll, held together by two silver dowels.

As she unfurled the scroll to present to the group, she explained, “This is a map that is curated by the Sect, with the assistance of the Patrol Disciples and other brave Outer Sect Disciples. It’s purchasable for Merit Points and is very frequently updated, denoting the locations of the any perceived dangers within a 1000 kilometer radius of the Sect. With its help, we now have knowledge of the routes that are the safest to travel.

“Though, you all should remember that this map is never one-hundred percent accurate, and proper vigilance is still required as we continue further.

“Those that refuse to pay attention to my words and draw forth danger upon the group will be bereft of the 2,500 Merit Points they would have been eligible to receive, and will be written up to the Sect for further punishment.”

With a nudge from Auslen, Nathaniel suddenly felt Irene’s glare aimed at him.

“He he,” Nathaniel chuckled from embarrassment as he ceased his curious observation.

Irene's words were ruthless, but the solicitude within her tone and actions made her concern for their safety evident.

Nodding with satisfaction at the group’s consolidated focus, Irene continued, “With our cultivation, it would be foolish to randomly fly around this forest. So from now on, our safest option is to advance on foot. There will be no more unnecessary chatter unless I say otherwise. Gather around, and I’ll explain our course of travel.”

“...”

Once Irene finished describing their route, the team officially began their expedition.

Moving at a steady pace of about 50 kilometers per hour, Irene led the group like a completely different person. Her eyes were slightly squinted and filled with caution. Her Soul Force extended at timed intervals, periodically inspecting the area within 50 to 100 meters from them in short bursts, doing her best to keep track of signs of danger while preventing herself from exhausting her Soul Force too quickly.

Behind her, Auslen ran through the boundless forest with concentration. His eyes flew here and there, attempting to stop his fast-moving feet from tripping over jutting rocks and protruding tree roots, as he had never ran for an extended amount of time over this type of terrain.

He had tripped a few times already — which was not an isolated event among their young group — but Aiden had reached out to steady him before he could ever completely lose his balance.

Hours passed quickly as they advanced in silence.

Morning sunlight permeated through the soaring woods, mottling the green grass that his boots quietly thudded along, fragmentary shadows of leaves and branches whizzing by his figure endlessly.

During their cheetah-like sprint, Auslen was able to adapt very quickly. After minutes of struggle, his feet began to adjust to the transition before moving around the terrain expertly, side-stepping obstacles with merely his peripheral vision and much less concentration.

At an unknown point in time, his knees had bent further than typical, lowering his center of gravity greatly. He was bouncing off the balls of his feet, and his stride had lengthened with a new-found, preternatural instinct.

Only then did Auslen realize that his subconscious control over his strengthened body had improved tremendously.

It was rare for Auslen to place himself in a position where he would need to pay so much attention to his body for hours at a time. The ease at which he was running through the forest — with not a path in sight — was simply incomparable to the mobility he was capable of during his frequent, mortal-paced hikes in his past life.

Even now, after sprinting for hours at the speed of a car on the highway, only a light sweat could be seen moistening his forehead!

Auslen was immersed, repeatedly scanning himself with his Soul Force to ascertain any of the other subtle changes in his body that he might have missed until now.

…

Within a clearing located deep in the dense forest, a youth could be seen bathing in solitary silence inside a small, clear lake. His wet, silver-blue hair gleamed against the sunlight, clinging to the supple skin on his pale arms and torso.

Near the lake shore, a bronze-skinned, one-armed man was kneeling quietly, his hulking figure patiently waiting for the youth to acknowledge him.

The bathing youth’s eyes were lowered to the lake as he softly spoke. “Tell me. Did you find it, Horux?”

“No, Sire.”

The youth raised his eyes, and his head slightly tilted as he asked, “Then why have you made your presence known to me?”

Seeing that the youth’s round pupils had become long and thin, Horux bowed his head lower and considered his next words carefully, taking into account his Sire’s temperamental attitude.

Maintaining an appropriate degree of subservience, Horux replied, “Although it hasn’t been found, its traces have been located near a human settlement.”

Instantly, the youth’s pupils reverted to normal and a handsome smile was on his young-looking face. The light shining in his icy eyes was full of strong curiosity. Although absent from his expression, the rippling waves suddenly cresting along the entire surface of the lake betrayed his growing excitement.

“Where?”