"GRAAAOZZZZ—" From within the fog, a creature that looked like a rat burst forth, jaws stretched wide, jagged fangs exposed, claws glinting coldly as it lunged.
Lu Hao threw a punch. The monstrous rat—more precisely, a mutant rat twisted by Spiritual Energy—was smashed against the wall and burst apart.
But in the next instant, dozens more charged from the mist, attacking from every conceivable angle.
"Increase speed by twenty percent," Duong Minh sent to Lyra in his mind, then surged forward, one punch exploding two airborne rats at once.
Su Fang spun, delivering a kick followed by a palm strike toward the incoming swarm. But the rats kept multiplying; they were a vast pack. Gradually, the three were forced back-to-back, striking outward in every direction. The creatures scrambled up the walls and leapt down, sprang from the floor in impossible arcs of attack. One rat lunged at Su Fang's leg, but her protective aura deflected it harmlessly. Duong Minh narrowly dodged another mid-air and kicked it flying.
"We'll run out of Spiritual Energy soon," Su Fang panted.
"We need to break through!" Duong Minh shouted, his body covered in bite marks and claw gashes, blood seeping through his clothes.
"The bites carry venom. Toxicity spreading through bloodstream. Overall speed reduced by thirty percent," Lyra reported with the detached tone of an accountant reviewing figures.
Duong Minh gritted his teeth. "Lyra, analyze and find the optimal escape route."
Her voice remained cool enough to make one's blood boil. "No need. While you were fighting, I researched these mutant rats. Their venom is non-lethal. However, they are highly sensitive to ultrasonic waves. If you wish, I can convert Cognitive Energy in your brain directly into ultrasonic frequency. Just shout 'Lyra save me.'"
"Lyra save me!" Duong Minh cried out within his mind.
From his head, ultrasonic waves—inaudible to human ears—burst outward in all directions, ricocheting through the maze walls and spreading far. The swarm reacted as though confronted by a natural predator. They trampled over one another in retreat, a grotesque mound of writhing flesh.
Duong Minh dropped to one knee. Lu Hao and Su Fang stood gasping. Enduring the pain, Duong Minh focused inward, regulating his breath, drawing in Spiritual Energy to heal and expel the poison.
"Lyra, I'm sorry," he murmured inwardly while treating his wounds. "Are you angry about earlier?"
He suddenly realized her tone had changed. For a twenty-six-year-old AI engineer who had never even held hands with a girl, the realization itself was a miracle. He knew Lyra would never truly demand that he beg for help. She had been certain he would survive—and she was sulking.
"I am not a tool," Lyra replied in a faintly aggrieved voice. "You only call me when you need something."
Duong Minh froze. When had he stopped talking to her so much?
He focused his mind. In his consciousness, a veil of light gathered into the form of a human figure standing before Lyra. Two beings woven of light faced each other in that world of thought, that realm built from awareness.
Duong Minh stood quietly, looking at her with sincerity. He said nothing—perhaps because he truly did not know what to say. But within the world of mind and the Digital Ocean, conscious entities could understand each other instantly if they did not conceal their thoughts. Lyra looked at him and knew he was sincere. Gratitude, friendship, attachment—those feelings radiated softly through his luminous form.
She said nothing. Silently, she turned away, hiding a tear, and dissolved.
"Duong Minh, do you know why the rats suddenly fled?" Lu Hao's voice pulled him back to reality.
"That was my Path of Intellect skill," Duong Minh answered.
"Oh. I didn't expect you to have something that strong." Su Fang could not hide her admiration.
"We should keep moving," Duong Minh said. "We've used more than half the allotted time. There hasn't been an announcement yet, so we still have a chance to find the Boss."
His wounds had stabilized for now. The team continued forward. Along the way, Duong Minh memorized the path, constructing a mental map of the maze, noting every sound for danger. Without Lyra's assistance, his Path of Intellect ability felt significantly diminished.
They reached a fork. Duong Minh signaled them to stop.
"Left or right both loop back. There has to be a mechanism here." He examined the wall carefully.
Suddenly, one brick shifted inward under his hand. The wall rotated open, revealing a vast hall beyond. The stones beneath their feet glowed faintly, and waves of hot air surged through. The three took guarded stances, regulating their qi as they stepped slowly inside.
Then a roar thundered—deep as wind howling through a cavern.
The creature appeared.
It resembled a stone tiger over two meters tall, eyes glowing blue, its entire body emanating dense Spiritual Energy.
Lu Hao stepped forward at once. "Let me try first!"
He channeled qi into his legs and shot forward like an arrow, driving his fist into the creature's left flank.
"BOOM!"
The impact resounded violently. The stone tiger did not budge. It simply turned its head and swept its foreleg across.
"Careful!" Su Fang screamed.
Lu Hao was flung three meters away, skidding across the stone floor, blood spraying from his mouth.
"The force… too strong…"
The tiger pivoted, preparing to finish him.
At that moment, Duong Minh stepped forward, eyes locked on every movement of the beast.
Suddenly, his brain accelerated sharply.
To ordinary candidates, the creature moved with terrifying speed. But to Duong Minh, time seemed to slow by a fraction—not pure Path of Intellect acceleration, but as if he could see the creature's qi flowing like slow water.
Left shoulder tilting. Qi gathering in the foreleg. Hips drawing back for the pounce. Tail arching to shift balance rightward.
In his mind, the motion unfolded like a three-dimensional vector map.
"When it tilts its left shoulder…" he murmured. "That's the weakness."
The Fire Serpent surged along his Du meridian. Qi ignited at the soles of his feet. He controlled the air beneath him, not gracefully yet but with perfect precision. He arced right, slipping entirely past the sweep, then lowered his body and drove a punch straight into the thinnest point of qi concentration.
"BOOM!"
The stone tiger roared, staggering back three steps.
Su Fang struck at once. "Wind Spirit Shadow!"
A twisting gust sliced across the tiger's face, opening a narrow cut. Lu Hao, despite the pain, forced himself upright and compressed qi into his fist. "Spiritual Energy Impact!"
His punch hammered into the beast's chest, forcing it back another half meter.
Duong Minh drew a deep breath. For the first time in his life, he felt body and qi moving together as though running a perfect simulation.
"The timing is right."
He charged, twisting his waist, compressing qi into his arm, unleashing a spiraling punch.
"Burst!"
The blow struck the vortex of qi on the creature's body.
A sharp crack echoed.
The stone tiger exploded into shimmering dust.
In the judges' chamber outside, an uproar erupted.
"Fifty-three minutes! That's unbelievably fast!"
"Which team was that?!"
"Duong Minh. Duong Minh's team."
Even the elders of the Eastern Court failed to remain composed.
In the observation room, Lieu Chan folded his arms, eyes narrowing.
"The monster's weak point wasn't obvious. How did he see it?"
Mireya of the Western Court laughed softly.
"He didn't see it. He analyzed it. Path of Intellect predicting motion models."
Lieu Chan's voice tightened.
"But that final strike was pure Path of Dao! His qi control didn't miss by a hair. That isn't something someone who opened his roots three days ago can do!"
Thay Tinh Khong remained silent, yet his eyes shone with quiet pride.
Inside the maze, the three rested after victory. Su Fang looked at Duong Minh with complicated eyes.
"You really opened your roots only three days ago?"
"Yes."
"What exactly did you just do? How did you know where to strike?"
"I sensed the weak point through the qi flow."
"Sensed? With your eyes?"
"No. With consciousness."
Lu Hao laughed, still clutching his chest.
"From today onward, I guess I have to call you a monster."
Duong Minh smiled but said nothing. Within him rose a strange feeling—not pride, but connection. As if this new body and the surrounding Spiritual Energy were slowly learning to understand one another.
A loudspeaker announced the end of the final round. The illusionary maze faded, and candidates reappeared amid dissolving walls and thinning mist.
Thanh Cuong stood there, muscular, face fierce as a war god. Arjun looked visibly exhausted. Some candidates were severely injured; some had withdrawn early; a few had fought well yet failed to reach the maze's center.
The elders evaluated Duong Minh's team as the first to eliminate a high-level monster within the maze, in astonishing time.
As for individual performance, Duong Minh was marked:
"Exceptional Spiritual Energy intuition. Clear dual cultivation coordination. Capable of fighting beyond rank."
But more important than the evaluation was the look in the eyes of those watching—teammates, judges, other candidates alike.
Duong Minh was no longer ordinary.
Not purely Path of Intellect. Not purely Path of Dao.
But something else.
A new path.
A form of cultivation that had never existed before.
A variable neither the Academy nor the world yet knew how to confront.