The mission board changed before sunrise.
Li Yun noticed it the moment he stepped into the inner compound. Names had been rearranged. Assignments rewritten. Routes altered.
His name sat alone at the top.
Solo Suppression — Ashwind Ridge.
No partner.
No support window.
Immediate departure.
Li Yun stared at the wooden plaque for a long moment.
Ashwind Ridge was infamous. A high-altitude scarland where violent winds tore Qi apart and distorted spiritual sense. Even inner disciples avoided it unless forced.
They're done pretending, he thought.
This wasn't attrition anymore.
This was pressure with intent.
A Warning Without Words
As Li Yun turned away from the board, Mu Qian stood several steps behind him.
She didn't speak at first.
Neither did he.
Finally, she said, "This one's not meant to be survived."
Li Yun adjusted the strap of his blade.
"None of them were."
Mu Qian's eyes hardened.
"There's an Inner Disciple enforcer stationed near Ashwind Ridge," she said. "Name's Kang Rui. Qi Condensation — Late Stage. Fanatically loyal to Elder Wei."
Li Yun nodded once.
"Thank you."
Mu Qian hesitated, then added, "If you retreat… no one will blame you."
Li Yun met her gaze.
"That's exactly why I won't."
She watched him leave, fists clenched at her sides.
Ashwind Ridge
The air screamed.
That was the only way Li Yun could describe it.
Ashwind Ridge rose like a broken spine from the earth, jagged stone formations stretching upward into swirling gray clouds. The wind howled constantly, carrying fragments of shattered Qi that cut against the skin like sand and glass.
Li Yun stepped into it.
Immediately, his spiritual sense fractured.
Distances warped. Sounds arrived late. Qi circulation stuttered violently as the wind interfered with flow.
He slowed his breathing.
Adapt.
He anchored his Qi inward, compressing it tightly around his core, letting the jade-tempered foundation shield his meridians from disruption.
Step by step, he advanced.
The Marked Ground
He found the corpses scattered across a narrow ravine.
Three cultivators.
All Qi Condensation.
All drained dry.
Not devouring.
Extraction.
Li Yun crouched, touching the ground.
Residual Qi patterns lingered—sharp, disciplined, methodical.
This isn't a rogue cultivator, he realized.
This is execution.
The wind shifted.
Someone laughed.
Enforcer Kang Rui
A figure emerged from the storm, robes snapping violently in the wind. His expression was calm, eyes sharp with the confidence of authority.
"Li Yun," the man said. "You arrived faster than expected."
Li Yun stood slowly.
"Kang Rui."
The enforcer smiled faintly.
"Good. Saves time."
His aura flared deliberately.
Qi Condensation — Late Stage.
Refined. Stable. Heavy.
"This mission was never about suppressing threats," Kang Rui continued. "It was about observing failure."
Li Yun met his gaze.
"And whose?"
Kang Rui chuckled.
"Yours."
Pressure Within Pressure
Kang Rui moved first.
Not rushing.
Not charging.
He walked forward, Qi expanding outward in a controlled wave that crushed against Li Yun like layered stone.
Li Yun's feet sank into the ground.
His meridians screamed.
He circulated Qi instantly, jade-aligned energy reinforcing his flesh, holding him upright.
Kang Rui's eyes narrowed.
"So the rumors were true."
He raised his hand.
The wind bent.
A blade of compressed air and Qi tore toward Li Yun.
Li Yun dodged—but not fully.
The edge sliced across his shoulder, blood spraying into the storm.
Pain flared.
He ignored it.
He stepped forward instead.
The Cost of Standing Still
Li Yun attacked.
Not explosively.
Not wildly.
Every movement was controlled, compressed, deliberate—Qi striking like a hammer wrapped in silk.
Kang Rui blocked easily at first, expression calm.
But slowly—
His brows furrowed.
Li Yun's Qi didn't scatter under the Ashwind distortion.
It resisted.
Each clash sent vibrations through Kang Rui's arms, a dull ache creeping in.
"You're forcing stability where none should exist," Kang Rui said.
Li Yun didn't answer.
He struck again.
And again.
Kang Rui retaliated, landing a palm strike that sent Li Yun crashing into a stone outcrop. Bones cracked. Blood filled his mouth.
Li Yun pushed himself upright.
Still standing, he thought.
That's enough.
Cracks Appear
The fight dragged on.
Minutes stretched unbearably.
Li Yun's injuries accumulated—cuts, fractures, internal strain—but something else accumulated too.
Pressure.
Not external.
Internal.
His Qi compressed tighter and tighter, circulation grinding against an invisible boundary that refused to yield.
Kang Rui felt it.
His expression finally changed.
"You're breaking yourself," he said sharply.
Li Yun laughed hoarsely.
"No."
He stepped forward again.
"I'm tempering."
He unleashed Jade Severing Slash.
Not larger.
Not louder.
Sharper.
The technique cut through the storm itself, slicing a clean line of stillness through the howling wind.
Kang Rui blocked—
And staggered.
His arm trembled.
Impossible.
A Decision Made
Kang Rui's eyes hardened.
"So be it."
He released his full Qi.
The ridge trembled as pressure exploded outward, stone cracking underfoot. This was no longer observation.
This was eradication.
Li Yun felt his vision blur.
His meridians burned.
Blood streamed freely now.
And yet—
Something inside him gave way.
Not collapse.
Release.
The Threshold Screams
Qi surged inward violently.
The compressed energy within Li Yun's dantian spun, condensing tighter and tighter until it felt like a collapsing star.
Pain eclipsed thought.
Li Yun roared.
The boundary shattered.
Qi stabilized—locked—into a new structure.
Not complete.
Not perfect.
But formed.
Pseudo–Foundation Establishment.
A flawed step.
A dangerous one.
But real.
The pressure around Li Yun shifted instantly.
Kang Rui froze.
"What did you—"
Li Yun moved.
He crossed the distance in a blink and drove his fist into Kang Rui's chest.
Not with technique.
With realm weight.
Kang Rui flew backward, slamming into stone with a sound like thunder. He didn't rise.
The wind howled on.
Then slowly—
Quieted.
After the Storm
Li Yun stood alone on the ridge, barely conscious.
His Qi trembled violently, unstable but undeniable.
Not true Foundation Establishment.
But no longer Qi Condensation.
A cracked bridge between realms.
He staggered and dropped to one knee.
Blood soaked into the dust.
But he was alive.
And Kang Rui was not.
Shockwaves
News reached the Black Crane Sect by nightfall.
"Kang Rui… dead."
"Li Yun survived Ashwind Ridge."
"He advanced… mid-battle."
Elder Fang closed his eyes briefly.
"So he forced it."
Elder Wei's hand tightened slowly.
"That path kills people," he said coldly.
"Usually."
A Man Who Crossed Early
Li Yun returned to the sect at dawn.
He walked through the gates under dozens of stares.
Fear.
Awe.
Unease.
He ignored them all.
Inside, his Qi raged uncontrollably.
Pseudo–Foundation Establishment was unstable.
Unsustainable.
But it was proof.
The wall could be cracked.
He entered his room and sealed it completely.
Now, he thought grimly, I either stabilize…
Or die.