With five lotus clones at his side, all refined to the utmost, Hui quickly crushed the second wave. The third wave spawned, and the six of them immediately set into it. Two hits took down a construct, and in a few moments, they’d demolished another wave. The fourth wave passed, then the fifth, all the way through the tenth.

Hui rolled up his sleeves and punched a construct in the face. It reeled back, but immediately grabbed its sword again and went to slash him. Before it could, Hui pummeled it in the face, over and over and over again until his fist burst through the construct’s face. Chunks of construct went flying.

Wiping his forehead with the back of his arm, Hui threw the construct aside. Phew. That actually takes some effort.

He looked at his hands and clenched his fists slowly, feeling the power in his arms. This technique is really powerful! I should reforge all the other clones’ bodies, too. And my original one… my original body, too! Why not?

Well, it might be riskier with my original body… but, but, I’ve already died, in terms of body! I don’t have my body right now, and my body doesn’t have its heart! So how can I be worried about a small body strengthening technique? I’ll be fine!

Nodding to himself, Hui looked around. So, is this trial done…? Or is it a hundred waves? Ugh, I hope not. Ten was enough!

At the far end of the stone realm, a door clunked open.

Ten waves. Good! Hui glanced up and frowned. In the end, we never used those chains. So why are they there?

His hands twitched. Hui scratched his arm. No, no. It’s a trial realm. I’m entering the sect. I… I shouldn’t…

Hui walked out of the realm, casually dusting stone dust off his hands. Behind him, a set of jagged holes stood halfway up the wall, and no net of chain remained in the realm. He looked around. Darkness stretched in all directions, a foggy dimness that he could barely see through. Am I the first one to finish…?

“Ah! Master,” Ying Lin called, waving. She hurried out of the darkness, quickly coming to his side.

Hui nodded at her. “Have you seen Zhubi?”

“Zhubi…? No, I haven’t,” Ying Lin said, shaking her head.

“How long have you been out of the trial?” Hui asked.

Ying Lin opened her mouth, then hesitated and closed it again. “I only just—”

“Ying Lin, tell the truth,” Hui warned her.

Ying Lin glanced down. “I… I’ve been out for about as long as it takes an incense stick to burn…”

Hui smiled. He nodded at her. “Good, good. I’m glad to hear that my disciple is doing so well! You know, it doesn’t make me happy for you to do worse than me. I’m glad when you do better than I do.”

“But… Master, I… I don’t want to demoralize you!” Ying Lin said, clenching her fists.

“No, no. This small cultivator knows his place,” Hui said, nodding. Demoralize me? Just because Ying Lin is better than me? I’ve long understood that she’s fated to surpass me!

…Eh. Why do I feel like I just said those words…?

“No! Master, that’s exactly what I don’t want,” Ying Lin insisted. She shook her head at him. “Master is powerful! You’re strong, and you don’t need to know your place! You’re better than me in many ways, but you’ll only see the ways you’re worse than me. It’s not right!”

“Ying Lin,” Hui sighed. This disciple really can’t stand me having a realistic view of my own strength and potential. There’s no harm in understanding my place!

She glanced around them. “This foggy darkness… it won’t clear. Master, do you have any idea what the next trial is? Where are we supposed to go?”

“Maybe this is the next trial,” Hui murmured, twisting his lips thoughtfully.

Can anyone hear me? Is the node open? Rogue asked.

I can. Is anyone else out of the wave battle? Hui asked.

A beat of silence.

Just you and me, Healer.

Is this a trial? Hui asked.

Not sure—oh, fuck! Rogue’s voice cut off.

Rogue? Rogue, hey! Hui shouted.

Nothing. Frantic emotions and fear.

“Master? Why did you go pale?” Ying Lin asked.

Hui licked his lips. He drew out a barrier talisman and passed a second one to Ying Lin. “Just in case, hold onto this.”

Ying Lin took the barrier talisman and nodded. She drew her sword. Gu Tian’s black blade glinted dully in the cloudy light. “Understood.”

The lotus beasts clung close to Hui, black seed eyes staring into the foggy darkness. The five of them stood in a slowly-rotating array around Hui and Ying Lin, barred against what lurked out of sight. Hui walked forward slowly, Ying Lin holding her sword out protectively at his side.

Putrid reek emanated out of the fog. Rotten and horrid, it filled Hui’s nose and lungs. He lifted his robes over his nose and glanced at Ying Lin. “Prepare yourself.”

“Yes!” Ying Lin replied.

From out of the darkness, a pale face wobbled, eyes and mouth sunk in shadow. It staggered closer. One hand reached out toward them.

Ying Lin lowered her sword. “Master, are they hurt?”

Hui pointed. One of the lotus beasts shot out from the encircling formation and punched at the pale face. A haunting moan sounded out, and the face fell backward. A second later, it reappeared, still wavering in the darkness. Now, though, one of its eyeballs hung loose, wobbling from its eye socket. Ragged robes hung off a lanky, worn frame. Bloodless skin tore open to reveal half-rotted muscles and pure white bone.

Ying Lin yelped, darting back.

“Stay calm, Ying Lin. They’re only ghouls,” Hui said quietly. Internally, he chanted, don’t play dead, don’t play dead, you’ll give it all away if you play dead. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm! No playing dead!

The lotus beast chirped, jumping back. It looked up at Hui, questions in its eyes.

Yeah, I’m wondering about that, too! Our reforged bodies are hugely powerful. Any normal ghoul should be in pieces on the floor right now. Are these ones particularly invulnerable, like that ghoul skin I forged?

Come to think of it, what happened to that ghoul skin?

“Use your life qi,” Hui instructed the lotus beast.

Nodding, the lotus beast clenched its fist tighter. A gold aura surrounded its fist, and it punched again. This time, the gold light surged into the ghoul. The ghoul whimpered and stiffened, its head tilting all the way back. It hissed out a last breath and wilted, skin blackening as it withered to the floor.

Ying Lin flinched back. “Is it supposed to do that?”

Hui licked his lips. “Probably? Anyways, it’s defeated now.”

Holy fuck! There’s ghouls everywhere! Where’s everyone else? Sectgoer shouted.

Sectgoer? What’s going on? Hui asked.

An image flashed through Hui’s mind. Sectgoer smashed down on a ghoul’s head with his beating stick. A pulse of rot qi ran through the stick, and the ghoul shuddered and rotted away. A trial, I think? Should we group up?

No, we don’t want to be too obvious. Stay with who you’ve been sticking with.

Ptui! Are you telling me to be a single dog forever? Sectgoer grumbled.

Anyways, weren’t you using a sword? Hui asked.

Sectgoer wrinkled his nose. First telling me to die a single dog, then telling me directly to go die.

Ah. It didn’t go well, Hui surmised.

It’s not all my fault. A certain senior decided to only teach me the parts of his technique that he wanted to show off to that damn—my apologies! Please accept this small cultivator’s heartfelt apologies!

Sectgoer, say it aloud, aloud! Hui urged him. He shook his head and sighed aloud. “We never had any hope with the sword, did we…?”

“The sword?” Ying Lin asked.

Hui turned. His eyes widened. All this time, I had eyes but failed to see Mount Tai! He reached out to Sectoger again. Senior Chen Wuya, there’s a budding young swordsmaster over here. You should come—

“Why didn’t you say so from the start?” Chen Wuya asked, appearing out of the fog. He circled over Hui, then swooped down and landed on his shoulder. His red eyes landed on Ying Lin. “Her?”

“Eh?” Ying Lin asked.

Hui turned to her. “Ying Lin, Chen Wuya is a swordsmaster from the previous generation. Would you like to learn his style?”

Ying Lin nodded. “Yes!”

Chen Wuya looked her up and down. “It might be too late for you. Your cultivation is already so high… with so many years cultivating your sword art, you—”

“I’ve only cultivated for a few weeks?” Ying Lin said, tilting her head.

Chen Wuya stumbled. He looked at Ying Lin. “Say again?”

Hui nodded. “Ying Lin has only just stepped onto the path of cultivation. She’s only been cultivating for as long as she’s been my disciple… which is to say, about a month.”

Shaking his head, Chen Wuya fixed his feathers, winnowing through them with his beak. He watched Ying Lin from the corner of his eyes. “Geniuses… it seems they grow faster with every generation. Ah, well. If she’s willing, I could use another disciple to accept my technique… since the other one’s about to blow his ankles out.”

Ying Lin bowed to Chen Wuya. “This disciple is in your care.”

Hopping from Hui’s shoulder to Ying Lin’s head, Chen Wuya closed his eyes. “I’m going to pass the manual directly into your mind. Xiao Hui, you protect her.”

Ying Lin dropped to the floor, immediately assuming the lotus pose and entering a meditative state.

“Eh… me?” Hui asked. He gulped, turning into the fog, then looked at the lotus beasts around him. He breathed out. Ah, with five helpers, I’ll be fine!

Qi condensed around Ying Lin, visible even with the fog. In the darkness, it glowed faintly, ebbing with Ying Lin’s breath and circulation. Hui threw his arm out, and the lotus beasts circled around Ying Lin, facing into the darkness.

Eerie cries sounded from the fog. Dark shadows faded in and out of Hui’s vision, never quite forming up. Hui narrowed his eyes. Ying Lin drawing qi must be gathering the ghouls. Good thing I’m the life-qi-using clone!

Pale-faced figures rushed at him out of the darkness. Gold light glowed around Hui’s fists as he condensed life qi around himself. All around him, the lotus beasts did the same, their shiny black eyes glimmering as a wave of gold light passed over them.

A ghoul leaped at Hui, mouth open wide. Ragged, stained white robes hung from its limbs. A cold aura of death qi clung to it, and its breath dragged at his life and heat.

“Here we go!” Hui shouted. He drew back his fist and punched the ghoul. Gold light blasted out of his hand. The ghoul went flying. Midair, its skin blackened. Like a puppet with its string cut, it soared down, lifeless body cutting a hole through the fog.

The lotus beasts cheered.

Ghouls rushed at them from all directions, screaming in horrible, grating tones. Hui and the lotus beasts clenched their fists. Pale limbs and white robes jabbed at Hui and the beasts. Hui jumped forward, meeting their claws with a punch. Protect Ying Lin!

Protect her now, and she’ll finish the fight for me once she learns that sword art!