Elder Liu slept poorly that night.
His quarters felt too quiet after three days of forest sounds, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw that massive shape moving through the ancient trees. Whatever it was, it had made even the Rank 3 beasts flee. He'd barely escaped himself.
But he'd survived. He always survived.
Dawn found him in the clan's lesser dining hall, picking at a bowl of congee while his body recovered from three days of running and fighting. The other early risers gave him a wide berth. His torn robes from the previous night had been replaced, but word of his haggard return had already spread.
That suited him fine. He needed to listen, not talk.
The answer to his unasked questions came soon enough.
"Did you hear?" Two outer disciples at a nearby table spoke in excited whispers that carried easily. "Elder Wang Tian's back to his peak. Maybe even past it."
"Impossible. His meridians were destroyed."
"That's what everyone thought. But he demonstrated it in front of the whole council. His Spirit Fire is working again, and the Patriarch confirmed his cultivation is back to late-stage."
Elder Liu's hands didn't pause over his bowl. His expression didn't change. But something cold settled in his chest as he listened to the disciples' excited chatter.
Impossible. The damage had been permanent. He'd made certain of it, through careful substitution of herbs and patient sabotage of every treatment attempt over nine years.
He returned to his quarters with measured calm. Only then did he retrieve the communication talisman hidden in a false panel beneath his bed.
The communication talisman was a gift from his true masters in the Xue Clan, reusable and untraceable. His lifeline for reporting information.
He channeled qi into the talisman. "Wang Tian has recovered. Cultivation restored to peak, possibly beyond. His Spirit Fire is functional again. I don't know how this happened. He was crippled. The damage should have been permanent."
A long pause. Then the talisman vibrated with a response, the words forming directly in his mind.
Continue observation. Gather details on how he recovered. Do nothing to draw attention.
The talisman went dormant.
Elder Liu replaced it in its hiding spot and sat in meditation posture, composing his face into an expression of weary relief. He was a loyal Wang Clan elder who had survived a dangerous scouting mission. Nothing more.
The thing in the forest. Wang Tian's recovery. The pieces were moving in ways he hadn't anticipated.
He would need to be careful.
The training grounds buzzed with energy Wang Ben hadn't felt since the auction.
Cultivators filled the courtyard in ordered rows, their cultivation ranging from peak body refinement to mid-stage foundation establishment. Outer branch disciples stood alongside retainer family warriors, the usual hierarchies temporarily suspended by the gravity of what was coming.
Wang Ben found a spot near the back, his eyes scanning the crowd. He spotted Zhao Yu before the older boy saw him, noting with interest the subtle changes in his friend's bearing. More confident. More grounded.
Zhao Yu pushed through the crowd toward him, a grin breaking across his face.
"Wang Ben." He clasped Wang Ben's forearm in greeting. "I heard you'd been selected. Didn't believe it until now."
"They need bodies." Wang Ben returned the grip. "Even mid-stage body refinement bodies."
"Stage 6, actually." Zhao Yu's grin widened. "Broke through two days ago. All that training we did together really helped push my body refinement further." He shrugged, some of the brightness fading from his expression. "That and nearly dying to a wolf. Sharpens things."
Wang Ben studied his friend with new eyes. The System confirmed it silently, scrolling text at the edge of his awareness.
[CULTIVATION ASSESSMENT: Body Refinement Stage 6]
[ADVANCEMENT RATE: Above average]
[NOTE: Trauma-induced breakthroughs are common but often unstable. Subject appears to have integrated advancement successfully.]
"Congratulations," Wang Ben said. "You earned it."
"My father nearly killed me anyway when he found out how close I came to dying." Zhao Yu rubbed the back of his neck. "Then he spent three days straight forging me new armor. Said if I was going to be reckless, I'd at least be protected."
Before Wang Ben could respond, a presence swept across the training grounds. Not oppressive, but undeniable. The casual conversations died as cultivators turned toward the raised platform at the courtyard's northern end.
Wang Lei stood at its center.
The expedition commander was unremarkable at first glance. Average height, weathered features, the kind of face that blended into crowds. But the way the crowd instinctively leaned back, the way even the foundation establishment cultivators straightened their spines, told Wang Ben everything he needed to know. Core formation. The System confirmed it a moment later.
[CULTIVATION DETECTED: Core Formation Stage 2]
"You know the situation," Wang Lei said, his voice carrying without apparent effort. "Beast activity in the Blackwood has reached critical levels. Rank 1 creatures are being spotted at the forest's edge, practically in sight of our walls. Rank 2 beasts are being pushed from their territories by something deeper in the forest."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Wang Lei let them fade before continuing.
"We're not waiting for the tide to reach us. This expedition will strike into the Blackwood, culling the Rank 1 and 2 populations before they can mass into something we can't control." His eyes swept the assembled cultivators. "You will be organized into teams of six. Each team answers to a squad commander. Each squad answers to me. I answer to the Patriarch."
He paused, letting the chain of command settle into their minds.
"Now. The reward structure."
Wang Ben felt the crowd's attention sharpen. This was what they'd really come to hear.
"All beast kills will be recovered by clan servants. Materials belong to the clan. We need them for formations, medicines, and trade." Wang Lei raised a hand to forestall the muttering. "But each of you will earn merit points based on your contributions. These points can be exchanged at the Clan Treasure Hall for cultivation resources."
He gestured, and a younger cultivator stepped forward carrying a wooden case. Wang Lei opened it, revealing rows of small jade tablets, each about the size of a palm.
"Merit tablets," Wang Lei explained. "Put a drop of blood on the surface to bind it to yourself. Once linked, the tablet connects to a tracking formation that will cover our entire hunting zone. When you kill a beast, the formation registers it and credits your account automatically. Your tablet will display your current point total in real time."
Wang Ben's interest sharpened. A formation-based tracking system. Elegant and practical, exactly the kind of innovation he'd expect from a clan that specialized in array work.
"The points scale by beast rank," Wang Lei continued. "Ten points for a Rank 1 kill. Fifty for Rank 2. Two hundred for Rank 3, though I don't expect any of you to encounter those."
"What about realm modifiers?" someone called from the crowd.
"Good question." Wang Lei nodded. "We don't want qi condensation cultivators farming Rank 1 beasts while body refinement disciples struggle for scraps. If you kill below your major realm, you receive less than ten percent of the base points. A qi condensation cultivator killing a Rank 1 beast earns one point, not ten."
Grumbles from some of the higher-realm cultivators. Wang Lei ignored them.
"But if you kill above your realm, you earn bonus rewards. A body refinement cultivator who takes down a Rank 2 beast alone earns seventy-five to one hundred fifty points, not fifty." His lips twitched. "Consider it incentive to challenge yourselves appropriately."
[MERIT SYSTEM ANALYSIS]
[Structure incentivizes appropriate risk-taking]
[Prevents exploitation by higher-realm cultivators]
[Recommendation: Pursue Rank 2 kills when tactically viable]
Wang Ben filed the information away. The system was well-designed, pushing cultivators toward challenges that would actually develop them rather than easy victories.
"One more thing." Wang Lei's voice cut through the crowd's calculations. "The formation doesn't just track kills. It monitors combat engagement, duration, and the cultivation levels of everyone involved. If you swoop in at the last moment to steal a kill you didn't earn, you'll get nothing. If you work together, the points divide equally among contributors. The formation knows the difference."
He let that warning sink in before his expression shifted, something almost like anticipation entering his weathered features.
"Now. The rewards."
Wang Lei stepped aside, and Wang Ben felt his heart skip as a familiar figure climbed onto the platform.
Wang Tian stood before the assembled cultivators, his bearing utterly transformed from the broken man Wang Ben had known his entire life. Shoulders straight. Eyes clear. He moved with the smooth confidence of a man who had reclaimed something precious, and the crowd's murmurs confirmed what Wang Ben already knew. His father was back.
"Some of you know me," Wang Tian said, his voice carrying the same effortless authority as Wang Lei's. "Most of you know what happened to me nine years ago."
Silence. Every eye fixed on the clan's fallen alchemist.
"That's over now." Wang Tian raised his hand, and flames bloomed across his palm. Deep orange fire tinged with gold, dancing with controlled precision. "My Spirit Fire responds again. My meridians are restored. And I've spent the last three days doing what I should have been doing for the past decade."
He gestured, and servants carried forward several cases, opening them to reveal rows of carefully arranged pills.
"High-quality Grade 9 pills," Wang Tian said. "Low and mid-quality Grade 8 pills. More coming every day as I rebuild my production capacity." His eyes swept the crowd. "These are your rewards. The Treasure Hall has weapons, talismans, manuals, and spirit stones for those who want them. But I suspect most of you are more interested in what's in these cases."
The energy in the courtyard shifted palpably. Grade 8 pills from a Wang Clan alchemist. Not purchased at premium prices from outside sources, but produced internally, available through merit alone.
"Fifty points for a high-quality Grade 9 pill," Wang Tian continued. "One hundred fifty for a low-quality Grade 8. Three hundred for mid-quality Grade 8." He paused. "And for those who truly distinguish themselves, five hundred points or more, I'll take personal requests. Custom refinements tailored to your specific cultivation needs."
Wang Ben watched the crowd's reaction with clinical interest. Greed, hope, determination. The emotions played across faces like wind across water. His father had just transformed a dangerous culling expedition into an opportunity that every cultivator present desperately wanted.
Clever.
"One final note," Wang Lei said, reclaiming the platform. "The tracking formation also marks beast corpse locations for our collection teams. Kill your target, move on, and trust that nothing will be wasted." He began calling names from a list. "Team assignments are as follows..."
Wang Hao studied his assembled team with the patience of a man who'd seen a hundred expeditions come and go.
Six cultivators stood before him in a loose semicircle, their ages ranging from fifteen to thirty-four, their cultivation from mid-stage body refinement to his own peak qi condensation. A typical team composition, neither exceptional nor concerning.
But something about the youngest member nagged at him.
"I'm Wang Hao," he said, keeping his voice level. "Team leader. I've been hunting beasts in this forest since before most of you were born, and I haven't lost a team member yet. Follow my orders, watch each other's backs, and we all walk out of here."
He pointed to the nervous-looking man on his left. "Introductions. You first."
"Sun Bao." The man straightened, trying to project confidence. "Early-stage qi condensation. Outer branch, retainer family. I've hunted beasts in the Blackwood before. Three years experience. I handle support and ranged attacks." He paused, then added, "I talk when I'm nervous. Sorry in advance."
A few chuckles from the others. Wang Hao nodded and moved on.
"Wang Jun." The first of the twins stepped forward, broader in the shoulders than his brother. "Peak body refinement. I hit things hard."
"Wang Xiu." The second twin, leaner and sharper-featured. "Also peak body refinement. I hit things fast. Jun charges, I flank. We've been fighting together since we could walk."
Wang Hao had seen their type before. Twins who'd developed complementary styles, each covering the other's weaknesses. Useful, if they could take direction.
"Zhao Yu." The next boy spoke with quiet intensity. "Mid-stage body refinement. I was senior on the patrol where the Jade Snow Wolf attacked. Wang Ben saved my life." He glanced at the youngest member. "I owe him."
Interesting. Wang Hao turned to the last team member.
"Wang Ben." The boy met his eyes directly, no nervousness, no bravado. Just calm assessment. "Mid-stage body refinement. Lowest cultivation here, but I observe well and I follow orders."
Something in the way he said it. Not false modesty, not insecurity. A simple statement of fact, delivered with the composure of someone much older.
Wang Hao had seen that look before. In veterans who'd survived impossible odds. In cultivators who'd faced death and come out changed.
Never in a fifteen-year-old.
"Right." Wang Hao distributed the merit tablets, watching each team member examine theirs. "The formation's already active. Your tablets will update as we make kills. Questions?"
Sun Bao raised his hand. "What's the signal if we need to retreat?"
"Two sharp whistles means regroup on me. Three means full retreat to the nearest checkpoint." Wang Hao's voice hardened slightly. "And if I give the retreat signal, you run. No looking back, no trying to finish a kill. Anyone who puts points ahead of survival answers to me. Clear?"
Nods all around.
"Good. We move out in ten minutes. Eastern sector, grid seven. Mostly Rank 1 territory, but expect Rank 2 encounters near the streams." He looked at each of them in turn. "Stay in formation. Call out contacts. Don't be heroes."
His eyes lingered on Wang Ben for just a moment longer than the others.
The boy noticed. Didn't react.
Interesting indeed.
The Blackwood Forest swallowed them within an hour.
Wang Ben moved through the undergrowth with careful steps, his senses straining against their limitations. Body refinement meant no spiritual perception, no ability to feel the qi signatures of approaching beasts. He relied on sound, smell, the subtle wrongness that preceded an ambush.
And the System, scrolling silent assessments at the edge of his awareness.
[ENVIRONMENT SCAN: Eastern Sector, Grid 7]
[Beast activity: Moderate]
[Nearest signatures: 3 Shadow Hares (Rank 1, Early-stage), 200 meters northeast]
[Rank 2 presence: None detected within 500 meters]
[NOTE: Servant collection teams are following 1 kilometer behind expedition front]
Wang Hao held up a fist, and the team froze. The older cultivator's head tilted, his qi condensation senses picking up something the body refinement members couldn't detect.
"Contact," he said quietly. "Three Shadow Hares, northeast. Early-stage, based on the movement pattern."
Sun Bao's hands moved to his throwing knives. The Wang twins exchanged a glance, falling into their practiced formation without a word.
"Jun, Xiu, you're on point. Zhao Yu, left flank. Wang Ben, right flank with me. Sun Bao, range support from behind." Wang Hao's orders came crisp and efficient. "Shadow Hares are fast but fragile. Don't let them scatter."
They moved.
Wang Ben kept pace on Wang Hao's right, watching the team leader's movements while maintaining awareness of his sector. The forest floor was soft with decades of fallen leaves, muffling their footsteps but also hiding potential obstacles.
The hares burst from cover thirty meters ahead.
Three streaks of dark fur, moving with supernatural speed, their cultivation granting them reflexes far beyond natural animals. Wang Jun charged to intercept, his bulk surprisingly quick, while Wang Xiu circled wide to cut off escape.
Two of the hares pivoted away from the twins, heading for the flanks.
Wang Ben was already moving.
The hare that came at him was fast, but he'd fought faster. The Jade Snow Wolf had been a blur of white death; this was merely quick. He read its trajectory, stepped into its path, and brought his sword down in a clean arc.
The beast died before it knew it was in danger.
[KILL CONFIRMED: Shadow Hare (Rank 1, Early-stage)]
[Merit awarded: 10 points]
[Current total: 10 points]
On the left flank, Zhao Yu's blade caught the second escaping hare mid-leap. Wang Jun and Wang Xiu had already finished the third, their coordinated strike leaving the creature no chance.
Three beasts. Perhaps eight seconds from first contact to last kill.
"Clean," Wang Hao said, surveying the results. "Tablets should be updating. Move on. The collection teams will handle the bodies."
Wang Ben checked his tablet. The jade surface glowed faintly, displaying "10" in clear characters. Simple and efficient.
Sun Bao was examining his own tablet with evident disappointment. "Zero. I provided covering fire and got nothing." He looked up at the others. "And even if I'd landed the kill myself, I'd only get one point. One point for a Rank 1 beast at early-stage qi condensation."
"Then find Rank 2 beasts," Wang Xiu said, not unkindly. "That's where the real points are anyway."
They pressed deeper into the forest.
The morning passed in a rhythm of contact, combat, and movement.
Wang Hao led them through their assigned grid with methodical efficiency, his decades of experience evident in every decision. He found beast trails, predicted ambush points, positioned his team to maximize their advantages.
By midday, they'd killed eleven Rank 1 beasts. The twins had four kills each, Zhao Yu had two, and Wang Ben had one. Sun Bao had contributed range support to several kills but hadn't secured any himself, his tablet stubbornly displaying a meager three points from assists.
"Break," Wang Hao announced as they reached a stream crossing. "Eat, drink, check your equipment. We push into Rank 2 territory after."
Wang Ben found a flat rock near the water and settled into stillness, letting his body recover while his mind processed. The System had been cataloging everything: beast behaviors, terrain features, team dynamics. It was building a picture of the expedition's tactical situation.
[TEAM PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT]
[Wang Jun: Aggressive, effective, occasionally overextends]
[Wang Xiu: Precise, supportive, excellent awareness]
[Zhao Yu: Steady improvement, high motivation]
[Sun Bao: Technically competent, lacks confidence]
[Wang Hao: Experienced, observant, suspicious of Host]
The last note made Wang Ben glance toward the team leader. Wang Hao sat apart from the others, eating dried rations with mechanical efficiency, but his eyes kept drifting back to Wang Ben.
He'd noticed something. The question was what, and whether it mattered.
Zhao Yu dropped onto the rock beside him. "You're quiet."
"Conserving energy."
"You're always quiet." Zhao Yu pulled out his own rations. "The wolf attack, the auction, now this. You never seem... I don't know. Rattled."
Wang Ben considered his response carefully. "Would being rattled help?"
"No. But most people our age would be anyway." Zhao Yu shook his head. "I'm not complaining. If you hadn't been calm during the wolf attack, I'd be dead. I just notice things now that I didn't before."
"The breakthrough changed your perception."
"Everything changed after almost dying." Zhao Yu's voice dropped. "I dream about it sometimes. The wolf's eyes. The moment I knew I was too slow. And then you were there, and it was over." He looked at Wang Ben directly. "How did you know what to do?"
"I read the situation. Made decisions." Wang Ben kept his voice level. "Training and instinct."
"You'd been training for two months at that point." Zhao Yu's eyes were searching. "I'd been training my whole life. I was a full stage ahead of you, senior on the patrol. And I froze."
"You didn't freeze. You engaged. The wolf was just faster."
"You know what I mean."
Wang Ben did know. Zhao Yu was asking the question that everyone who looked too closely eventually asked. How did a fifteen-year-old body refinement cultivator move like a veteran? Think like a strategist? Stay calm when death came calling?
He couldn't answer honestly. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
"Some people respond differently to pressure," Wang Ben said finally. "I don't know why I'm one of them. I just am."
Zhao Yu studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Fair enough. Just... if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. You saved my life. That means something."
"I know." Wang Ben allowed a small smile. "Now eat. Wang Hao's almost done, and Rank 2 territory won't clear itself."
They found the Ironback Boar two hours into the afternoon.
The beast was massive, a Rank 2 creature that outweighed any three of them combined. Its hide was the mottled gray-brown of iron ore, tough enough to turn glancing blows, and its tusks had an unnatural sheen that marked it as something beyond an ordinary animal.
Wang Hao signaled a halt, his face grim.
"That's a big one," Sun Bao whispered. "Qi condensation equivalent, probably mid-stage based on size."
"Mid-stage," Wang Hao confirmed. "Maybe pushing into late. This is beyond training exercise territory." He looked at his team. "I can take it, but I'll need support. Jun, Xiu, you're distractions. Keep it turning, don't let it focus. Zhao Yu, Wang Ben, flank and look for openings in the hide. Sun Bao, blind it if you can. Go for the eyes."
[TACTICAL ASSESSMENT]
[Ironback Boar (Rank 2, Mid-stage)]
[Primary threat: Tusks (piercing), charge (trampling)]
[Weakness: Joint articulation points, eyes, underbelly]
[Recommended approach: Hamstring attacks to limit mobility]
[NOTE: Wang Hao's strategy is sound but conservative]
Wang Ben processed the System's analysis against his own observations. The boar was grazing near a fallen log, its bulk making it confident in its territory. It hadn't noticed them yet.
"The rear legs," Wang Ben said quietly.
Wang Hao looked at him sharply. "What?"
"The hide is thinnest at the joint articulation. If we can hamstring it, the charge becomes less dangerous." Wang Ben kept his voice level, offering analysis rather than instruction. "Just an observation."
A long pause. Wang Hao's eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded.
"Good observation. Jun, Xiu, adjust. Go for the rear legs first, then switch to distraction once it's hobbled." He drew his own blade. "On my signal."
They spread out, encircling the beast with practiced coordination. Wang Ben found his position on the left flank, blade ready, waiting.
Wang Hao's signal came as a sharp whistle.
The twins exploded from cover, Wang Jun bellowing a challenge that drew the boar's attention while Wang Xiu darted toward its hindquarters. The beast spun with surprising speed, tusks sweeping in an arc that would have disemboweled Wang Jun if he hadn't been expecting it.
Sun Bao's throwing knife flashed through the air, striking the boar's eye with precision. The beast screamed, head jerking sideways, and Wang Xiu's blade bit deep into its rear leg.
Blood sprayed. The boar's charge became a stumbling lunge.
Wang Hao moved in from the right, his peak qi condensation cultivation lending speed and power to his strikes. His blade found the gap Wang Ben had identified, severing tendons, crippling the beast's mobility further.
Wang Ben saw his opening.
The boar was focused on Wang Hao, its remaining good eye tracking the greater threat. Its flank was exposed, the hide rippling over ribs that weren't as armored as its back.
He moved without conscious thought, crossing the distance in a burst of speed that his body refinement cultivation barely supported. His blade found the gap between ribs, driving deep, and he twisted.
The boar's scream cut off abruptly. It swayed, stumbled, and crashed to the forest floor.
Silence.
[KILL CONFIRMED: Ironback Boar (Rank 2, Mid-stage)]
[Group kill: 5 contributors detected]
[Host contribution: Killing blow (enhanced share)]
[Base merit: 50 points ÷ 5 = 10 points per contributor]
[Killing blow bonus: +15 points]
[Merit awarded: 25 points]
[Current total: 35 points]
Wang Ben pulled his blade free, breathing hard. The exertion had pushed his body to its limits. He could feel the tremor in his muscles, the deep ache of flesh pushed beyond what it was meant to endure.
"Well." Wang Hao's voice was flat. "That was unexpected."
The team leader was staring at Wang Ben with an expression caught between approval and suspicion. The others were similarly stunned. A mid-stage body refinement cultivator had just landed the killing blow on a Rank 2 beast.
"You identified the weakness," Wang Hao said slowly. "Then you exploited it while we kept the beast occupied."
"The opportunity was there." Wang Ben met the older cultivator's eyes steadily. "I took it."
"Mid-stage body refinement against a mid-stage qi condensation beast. That's a full realm of difference." Wang Hao's voice was carefully neutral. "How did you know you could make that strike?"
"I didn't know. I assessed the risk as acceptable."
The silence stretched. Wang Ben could feel the team's attention on him, the questions forming behind their eyes. Zhao Yu looked unsurprised, almost proud. Sun Bao's mouth was hanging open. The twins exchanged significant glances.
Finally, Wang Hao nodded once.
"Check your tablets. The formation should be marking the corpse location for collection." He turned away, but not before Wang Ben caught the calculating look in his eyes. "We continue hunting. Stay alert."
They moved on. But something had shifted in the team's dynamic.
Wang Hao was watching him now.
In the workshop that had witnessed his restoration, Wang Tian worked with a focus he'd almost forgotten he possessed.
The cauldron before him blazed with Spirit Fire, deep orange flames licking the vessel's sides with precisely controlled intensity. Inside, herbs dissolved and recombined, their essences merging according to patterns his hands remembered even after nine years of disuse.
Grade 8 refinement. The first batch of many.
Li Mei sat in the corner with Chen, watching her husband work. The baby was quiet today, his infant eyes tracking the dancing flames with an intensity that might have been spiritual awareness or might have been simple fascination.
Wang Tian didn't let himself be distracted. The pills forming in his cauldron would be rewards for the expedition, resources that could mean life or death for cultivators fighting in the Blackwood. They deserved his full attention.
But beneath his focus, something else was building.
His cultivation had been strange since the restoration. The enhanced meridians drew spiritual energy with an efficiency that bordered on uncomfortable, his dantian filling faster than his body could process. He'd been suppressing the sensation, channeling the excess into his work.
Now it was becoming undeniable.
The pressure in his core had been building for hours. Not pain, exactly. More like a dam straining against flood waters. His cultivation wanted to break through.
Stage 8.
For nine years, he'd been trapped at Stage 5, his damaged meridians unable to support advancement. Before that, he'd spent decades at Stage 7, the highest point he'd ever reached, convinced it was his ceiling.
Now his body was telling him that ceiling had been an illusion.
Wang Tian focused on the pills. One thing at a time. Finish this batch, set it to cool, and then...
The dam broke.
Spiritual energy surged through his meridians, not from outside but from within. His dantian, overfull and straining, finally released the pressure it had been building. Power flooded through channels that were wider and deeper than they'd ever been, finding new capacity where none had existed before.
Wang Tian gasped, hands leaving the cauldron as cultivation consumed his awareness.
The breakthrough was nothing like his advancement to Stage 7 forty years ago. That had been a gradual thing, months of preparation culminating in a controlled ascension. This was a flood, a transformation his enhanced meridians had been preparing without his conscious awareness.
Stage 8.
He felt it lock into place, his cultivation stabilizing at a level he'd never imagined reaching. The spiritual energy in his dantian settled into new patterns, denser and more refined than before.
When he opened his eyes, Li Mei was on her feet, Chen clutched to her chest, her face pale with worry.
"Tian..."
"I'm fine." His voice came out rough. "Better than fine. I just broke through."
"Broke through?" Her eyes widened. "To Stage 8?"
"Yes." Wang Tian looked at his hands, feeling the power thrumming through them. Not just restored. Elevated. "Whatever that technique did to my meridians, it's still working. Still refining. I didn't push for this. It just... happened."
Li Mei crossed to him, Chen gurgling between them. "Is that safe? Should we get a physician?"
"I don't think any physician in Redstone City would know what to make of me." Wang Tian pulled her close with one arm, careful of the baby. "I'm not in danger, Mei. I'm the opposite of in danger. For the first time in nine years, I'm actually becoming stronger."
He looked at the cauldron, where his pills were completing their formation without his guidance. The batch would be slightly irregular since breakthrough interruptions always affected refinement quality, but they would still be usable.
"I need to return to the expedition headquarters," he said. "Report my advancement. And check on Ben's progress."
"He's been out there all day." Li Mei's worry shifted targets. "With beasts. Fighting."
"He survived a Jade Snow Wolf. He found a technique that healed me. He knows what he's doing." Wang Tian kissed her forehead. "Our son is going to be fine."
He wished he was as certain as he sounded.
Evening found the expedition teams regrouping at the designated rally point.
Wang Ben sat with his team near one of the cook fires, his body aching from a day of combat but his mind alert. The System had been processing all day, cataloging beast patterns, terrain features, and something else.
Something wrong.
[ANALYSIS: Eastern Sector Beast Distribution]
[Expected Rank 1 density: 8-12 per square kilometer]
[Observed density: 4-6 per square kilometer]
[Discrepancy: 40-50% below baseline]
[Pattern suggests: Displacement by superior predator]
[Estimated predator rank: 3+]
Wang Ben had noticed it during the afternoon hunting. Too few beasts in territory that should have been thick with them. Too many trails leading away from the deeper forest. The Ironback Boar had been the largest thing they'd encountered, but something larger had driven it to the edges of its territory.
Squad Commander Wang Daiyu was moving between teams, collecting reports. When she reached Wang Hao, her expression was professionally neutral, but Wang Ben caught the slight tension around her eyes.
"Team seven. Status?"
"Fourteen Rank 1 kills, one Rank 2." Wang Hao's voice was crisp. "No casualties. All tablets updated and verified."
"The Rank 2?"
"Ironback Boar. Mid-stage qi condensation equivalent. Team effort, but the killing blow came from our body refinement member." Wang Hao nodded toward Wang Ben. "Wang Ben. Wang Tian's son."
Wang Daiyu's eyes shifted to Wang Ben, evaluating. "Mid-stage body refinement against a qi condensation-equivalent beast. Impressive."
"He identified the weakness and exploited it." Wang Hao's tone was neutral, but the words carried weight. "Showed good tactical awareness throughout the day."
"Noted." Wang Daiyu made a mark on her tally sheet. "Anything else unusual?"
Wang Hao hesitated. "Beast density seemed low in our sector. Fewer Rank 1s than expected."
"Other teams reported the same." Wang Daiyu's expression tightened slightly. "Commander Wang Lei is aware. We'll adjust tomorrow's patrol patterns accordingly."
She moved on to the next team. Wang Ben watched her go, noting how her tension hadn't eased.
"She knows something's wrong," Zhao Yu said quietly. "You can see it in how she's carrying herself."
"The beasts are being pushed out of the deep forest," Wang Ben replied, equally quiet. "Something's driving them toward the edges."
"Something bigger?"
"Something they're more afraid of than us."
Zhao Yu was silent for a moment. "That's not reassuring."
"It's not meant to be."
The evening deepened around them. Teams ate, compared point totals, boasted about kills. The twins had racked up impressive numbers, their coordination earning them the day's highest individual scores. Sun Bao was more subdued, his meager tally of assist points a sore spot he was trying not to show.
Wang Ben checked his tablet. Thirty-five points. Modest for mid-stage body refinement, but the killing blow on the boar had earned him an enhanced share despite it being a group kill.
But his mind wasn't on points.
The System kept cycling through its analysis, building models from incomplete data. Something was in the deep forest. Something big enough to displace entire beast populations. Something that even the Rank 2 and 3 creatures fled from.
And the expedition was marching toward it.
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: Inconclusive]
[Insufficient data for predator identification]
[Recommendation: Maintain vigilance, prepare for escalation]
[NOTE: Elder Liu's delayed return may be related to predator activity]
Wang Ben stared into the fire, letting the flames blur his vision while his mind worked. Elder Liu had been sent to scout the northern approach. He'd been missing for three days, only returning this morning. The timeline fit.
Whatever was in the forest, Elder Liu had seen it.
And he'd said nothing about it.
Wang Ben filed that information away. Another piece of a puzzle he was still assembling.
Tomorrow they would push deeper into the Blackwood. Tomorrow they would find out what the beasts were fleeing from.
He hoped the expedition was ready.
He suspected it wasn't.
END OF CHAPTER 18