The sun dipped behind jagged clouds, staining the sky with the colors of ash and blood.
Inside the border city's temporary sect camp, disciples gathered around the command tent. Orders had come down from the top:
> "Form teams. Coordinate attacks. The Golden Bone Ape is too great a threat to ignore. Slay it."
---
A New Perspective
Yan Qing sat quietly near the campfire, sharpening her blade, but her eyes followed Ash across the clearing as he spoke with a group of patrol leaders.
She didn't say much, but when a nearby disciple scoffed—
> "That guy again? Always acting like he's someone important."
Yan Qing spoke, calm but firm.
> "He's more than you think. If he hadn't been there yesterday, you'd be dragging back three bodies instead of one report."
Lian Rou, polishing her saber nearby, raised an eyebrow.
> "Didn't know you were so impressed," she murmured.
Yan Qing shrugged. "I don't trust easy. But I trust what I saw."
There was a pause between them.
Lian Rou's eyes lingered on Ash a moment longer than necessary before she said:
> "He's hiding something."
> "Aren't we all?"
---
Strategy in the Tent
Inside the command tent, four inner elders and six squad captains debated loudly. Maps were laid out, ink circles marking beast sightings, movement patterns, and cave networks near the dense central forest.
Ash stood near the edge, arms crossed, listening.
> "We need three units at least to corner it," one elder growled.
> "And what if it runs again? Last time it vanished for three weeks!"
Ash finally spoke.
> "It won't run this time."
Eyes turned toward him.
> "Why?" a captain asked, skeptical.
Ash's voice was steady. "It's not killing for hunger. It's defending something. Maybe a nest… or a relic site. Whatever it is, it'll stay close."
A quiet hush followed.
One of the elders nodded slowly. "You've seen it twice now. Perhaps your instincts are right."
The plan was redrawn.
Three main strike teams, each with a balance of direct and inner disciples, supported by formation experts and spirit beasts.
Ash, Lian Rou, and Yan Qing were placed in Team Black, one of the front units.
> "Tomorrow at dawn," the elder announced. "We march."
---
Night Before Battle
Ash sat cross-legged in his tent, Vulcan standing silently in the corner like a loyal shadow, and Mrit curled beside him in slumber.
Shen Mu's voice whispered in his mind.
> "You're getting too involved. This battle may force you to show power you cannot explain."
Ash replied without opening his eyes.
> "I know. But if I retreat from every risk, I'll never rise."
There was a pause, then a chuckle from Shen Mu.
> "Very well. Then I will prepare the throne."
Ash's soul pulsed faintly.
Deep inside his subconscious realm, the Obsidian Throne—still half-formed—shimmered with a new rune. One shaped like a spear piercing a crown.
> "Growth through danger," Shen Mu whispered. "Let's see if you live long enough to rule."
---
Lian Rou's Dilemma
Elsewhere, Lian Rou stared out of her tent toward the darkened treeline. Her thoughts swirled like a storm.
> "He saved me… risked his life again for Yan Qing… and he's only at Root Forging?"
No matter how many explanations she tried, none satisfied her.
She was from a royal bloodline, taught since childhood to see through lies and judge people by their hidden power.
And Ash didn't fit anything she knew.
She clenched her fists.
> "Tomorrow, in the battle… I'll see what he really is."
---
Closing Scene – The Awakening Forest
Far away, in the heart of the wildwood, the Golden Bone Ape slammed its claws into a stone altar half-buried in moss.
A faint blue aura pulsed from the altar's cracks—something ancient sealed inside it.
The beast roared.
It wasn't just defending territory.
It was guarding something not even it could understand.
Something that stirred as Ash's throne grew stronger.