“The hell was that?” Bing Wan shot up to his feet in shock. “Damn near burst my eardrums!”

Gong San also stood up and turned to the source of the sound. “It came from the front entrance. And the guardian formation seems to be broken. Something is very wrong here.”

They exchanged glances before Gong Sun spoke again.

“You stay here and look after the yin physiques. I’ll go scout out the situation.”

“Careful.”

“Yeah.”

Bing Wan watched as Gong San disappeared. While he was concerned for the safety of his friend, he wasn’t all that worried. That was because he knew something very few others knew. Gong San had already advanced to the minute realm long ago. And that was the qualification to become an elder of the sect, one of the highest-ranking positions. The only reason he hadn’t become one already was that he didn’t want to be saddled with all that responsibility. It didn’t match his lifestyle. So, if anyone could assess the situation and come back in one piece, it was Gong San.

***

As a wind element cultivator of the minute realm, Gong San had a high movement speed. Not only that, but he also came and went like the wind, quiet and invisible. These two traits of his were well suited for scouting missions where one could find themselves in extreme danger at the drop of a hat.

It seemed this was exactly such a situation.

‘They really barged in from the front. Quite confident in themselves.’

When Gong San arrived near the front entrance of the sect, he saw the massive damage that the guardian formation had taken and four people leisurely strolling through the halls of the sect. They were acting as if they had just taken a detour on the way home because they had seen something interesting down the street.

Other than that, there was another disturbance taking place a ways away that he couldn’t see. It seemed that they numbered at least five. But if this group of four was one division, then they could number eight, or even more.

‘It looks like they haven’t spotted me.’

Gong San decided to tail them to gather any useful information. He was particularly interested in the reason that they came and the extent of their abilities, as, depending on the situation, he may decide to deal with them himself and earn merit points, or retreat and let the others handle it.

Fortunately for him, they were so confident in themselves that they were openly communicating with each other.

***

Hei, Auntie Yimin, Jing’er and Xiaoli strolled steadily through the halls of the sect which were leading them underground. This wasn’t something they did because they were overly relaxed, it had actually been Hei’s idea.

“Is your friend going to be okay by himself?” Xiaoli asked, turning her gaze to the masked one walking beside her. “His tribulation is straight out of the legends. I can’t imagine what it feels like.”

“There’s no need to worry about him,” Hei responded. “He’s not so incompetent as to fall to something like that.” He placed his hand on his chin. “Then again...”

Xiaoli waited for the continuation but there wasn’t any.

“Then again?”

“Never mind that.” Hei pointed in front of him, past Auntie Yimin who had taken the lead. “Enemies. Twelve o’clock.”

Both Xiaoli’s and Auntie Yimin’s eyes lit up at the sound of that.

“I finally get to use Evil Slaying!”

Xiaoli dashed forward incautiously, and Auntie Yimin followed suit, but Hei placed a hand on her shoulder.

“They’re no good. It won’t be any fun.”

“Oh...”

Auntie Yimin’s excitement faded away.

Hei patted her back. “Don’t worry about that. There are a few strong ones here. You should be able to have your fill.”

“I hope so.”

***

‘It won’t be any fun?’

Gong San watched as one of the four, a young woman, rushed recklessly to face of a group of disciples not too far away.

‘Is this confidence or foolhardiness?’

The young woman unsheathed the sword that was hanging from her waist while in full sprint, speeding towards the group of disciples in front of her.

‘The way she moves. It looks like she’s also a wind element cultivator.’

Her footsteps were light and agile. Her form appeared and faded as she seemingly glided through the air, barely taking any steps as she fluttered forward.

‘A newly ascended minute realm cultivator. I see why they think they can walk around sideways.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘But if this is all they’ve got, they’ve made a big mistake coming here.’

Gong San knew the group of disciples they were facing. They were seven of the strongest transcendent realm cultivators in the sect who had recently taken a break from trying to ascend to the minute realm.

‘Though they’re only in the transcendent realm, they would be able to put up at least a little resistance against a newly ascended minute realm cultivator. This will be a good measure of the intruders’ ability.’

Gong San kept his pace, staying a good distance from the intruders while monitoring the situation. He could also sense that an elder had intercepted the other party some distance away, where a fierce battle was likely taking place.

He watched as the young woman met the group of seven. For a while, she was bobbing and weaving, dodging their attacks while attacking vulnerabilities in their formation.

Honestly speaking, he wasn’t impressed. ‘She’s only able to match them due to her superior cultivation.’ When it came to utilising qi, she was far from adequate. ‘Hm? What’s that?’ Her sword started to glow, shimmering with a multitude of colours. ‘Haven’t I seen that somewhere before?’

Fortunately, the young woman seemed to be quite boastful.

“This technique was invented by Lady Shufang, of the Zhu Clan.”

She stood straight, her sword tip pointed to the group of seven who quickly surrounded her.

“It was revived by our benefactor, He Who Dons the Mask.”

The group of seven weren’t interested in listening to her monologue. They all attacked simultaneously. But she didn’t seem to care.

“Behold the bane of demons.”

She stepped forward, escaping the encirclement in a display of speed she hadn’t shown before, and as she came to a stop, her sword was already mostly back in its sheath. Only a small section of it was left unsheathed, held there by her thumb.

After a moment, she curled her thumb, clicking the sword into its sheath.

“Evil Slaying.”

Behind her, the group of seven had still been mid-swing when they found themselves accosted by horrendous pain in their chests, causing them all to fall to the ground, clutching their hearts.

‘Evil Slaying? That’s bad news. Really bad news.’

To put it simply, the existence of that one technique was enough to bring the Crimson Moon Sect to its knees.

‘It looks like we've kicked a steel door this time.’

Oddly enough, Gong San had a relaxed smile on his face.

While a technique like Evil Slaying spelt doom for the Crimson Moon Sect, for him in particular, it wasn’t much of a concern. Firstly, that young woman wouldn’t be able to hit him with it at her level. And secondly, he had doubts as to whether such a technique would be able to harm him in the first place.

That being said, he wasn’t one to test these things out.

He continued to observe the situation. As of yet, he hadn’t gathered enough information to decide on his next move.

***

Hei, Auntie Yimin and Jing’er walked over to Xiaoli who had stayed still since her last attack.

Stepping over the bodies of the fallen seven, Jing’er placed a hand on Xiaoli’s shoulder.

“What’s the matter, Xiaoli?”

“I didn’t know…”Xiaoli was looking down to her palms, which were shaking uncontrollably. “I didn’t know that…” She turned to Jing’er and grabbed his shoulders. “It would feel so cool!” She shook him back and forth. “Did you see that? I took down seven demons! I’m a real demon slayer now!”

The glee in her eyes was plain to see.

“Really?” Jing’er patted the backs of her hands signalling her to let go. When she did, he continued with a look of pity in his eyes. “But… That was so lame.” He then backed away, joining Auntie Yimin and Hei. “I’m not sure I want to be associated with you anymore.”

“What?!” Xiaoli stepped back, shocked. She saw that both Auntie Yimin and the masked one had averted their gazes. “But…”

Jing’er shook his head. “Behold the bane of demons… Really?”

“I thought it sounded cool.”

“And what was up with that weird pose you did at the end?”

“… I saw it in a movie… Isn’t that what heroes do?”

Jing’er sighed and shook his head. Xiaoli turned a teary gaze to Auntie Yimin, looking for support, but there was none. Left with no other options, she turned to the masked one, who did a fake cough and continued walking.

“Even you…” Xiaoli walked dejectedly behind the other three.

“If it’s any consolation, there’s a part of myself who would have done the same thing.”

“Really?” Xiaoli perked up an caught up with the rest of the group.

***

‘These people are… really carefree.’

In a way, Gong San found it admirable that this group could so laxly saunter through enemy territory. To stay true to oneself regardless of the rain and the winds was an ideal he strived towards. Though, there was a fine line between staying true to oneself and being unable to adapt to the situation.

***

“Alright.” Jing’er stopped and addressed the rest of the group. “I have some personal matters to take care of, and I would rather handle it on my own.”

Auntie Yimin nodded her head. “Be careful.” She wouldn’t stop Jing’er from going solo. That was because she knew what it was that he wanted to do and she was confident that he would be able to take care of himself.

“And I have some demons to slay.” Xiaoli stretched her upper body and prepared to run off, but she was held back by Auntie Yimin.

“Not so fast. You’re staying with me.”

“No fair!”

Xiaoli’s complaints were ignored by all parties involved.

Hei turned to Jing’er.

“Do what you want, but avoid causing too much damage. We’re underground and if you somehow cause a cave-in, innocent people could be hurt.”

Jing’er nodded his head in understanding, and seeing so, Hei continued.

“Once I secure the yin physiques, I’ll broadcast it for all of you to hear. Until then exercise self-restraint.”

They all acknowledged.

“Then, I’ll also be going off on my own. When next we meet, the Crimson Moon Sect will be no more.”

“Then!” Xiaoli jumped in. “Why don’t we put our hands together like they do in the movies?”

“There you go again with your lame ideas.”

“Just do it!”

Each of the four put a hand out and Xiaoli did the honours of voicing the cheer.

“We fight on the side of justice, so we won’t fail. We cannot fail. Together, we will rout all evil in this world.”

“So lame.”

“Shut up!”

Xiaoli continued past the interruption.

“The Zhu Clan and the Two Flames shall lay waste to this nest of demons. Break!”

“Break.”

“Break, I guess.”

“…”

With that, they split up and went their separate ways.

***

‘So, they’re after the yin physiques. That means Bing Wan is in danger.’

Gong San was already heading back to the cell where Bing Wan was still standing guard. While Gong San himself may not be too afraid of the intruders, Bing Wan wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

‘It sounds like this will be a fight to the death between them and the sect. Decisions, decisions.’

Before he could think any further, his path was obstructed by a small figure. One dressed all in black and wearing a metal mask.

Gong San came to a stop and sized the masked one up.

“So, you did detect me after all. And here I was, thinking I had gone unnoticed.” He readied himself for battle. “If you think you’ll be able to handle me as easily as the others, you may find yourself disappointed.”

“There’s no need for all of this talking.” The masked one stepped forward, releasing a suppressive aura. “You responded to the term ‘yin physiques’. Take me to them and I’ll let you live.”

“Straight to the point, I see.” Gong San stood tall, looking straight into the black holes of the mask. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Then we have a problem.” The masked one took another step forward, increasing the strength of his aura.

“So it seems.” Gong San sharpened his eyes and his clothes started to sway despite the lack of wind.