The marshlands had grown quiet.
Too quiet.
So quiet the sound of dripping water felt like distant thunder.
Lin Feng walked behind Xuanyu Ye, his senses sharpened after the elder's death. The mist around them thickened, coiling like living creatures that wanted to whisper secrets into their ears.
Xuanyu glanced back.
"Stay close. Something is following us."
Lin Feng's fists tightened. "I thought so."
"You sensed it?"
"Not exactly," Lin Feng admitted, "but the hairs on my neck keep trying to evacuate."
Xuanyu Ye gave him a small approving nod.
"Good. Instinct is the foundation of survival. We'll cultivate that."
For the first time since they'd met, Xuanyu's voice took on the tone of an instructor — calm, confident, quietly overwhelming.
"Since something strong lurks in the fog, we should use the urgency to increase your combat potential."
Lin Feng blinked. "…You want to train me NOW?"
Xuanyu's lips curled. "Fear accelerates learning."
"That's a terrifying teaching philosophy."
"Then learn quickly."
Xuanyu tapped his fan against his palm.
"Your lightning essence is potent but undisciplined. You rely on brute force and instinct. It's suitable for survival but insufficient for true power."
Lin Feng frowned. "So what do I do?"
Xuanyu extended his finger, and a small thread of pale lightning arced out, dancing gracefully in a perfect spiral.
"Technique one," he said.
"Spiral Thunder Control."
Lin Feng's eyes widened.
"That looks… complicated."
"It is. But it will allow you to condense lightning, conserve qi, and strike with precision instead of waste."
The thin bolt fluctuated, then vanished.
"Master this," Xuanyu continued, "and your opponents will fear what they cannot see."
Lin Feng nodded slowly, absorbing the words.
"And the second technique?"
Xuanyu smiled faintly. "That one is… destructive."
He raised his hand.
The marsh trembled.
Lightning roared silently — contained, compressed, a power barely held by will.
"This is—"
The lightning cracked outward, tearing a scar through the fog.
"Heaven-Piercing Thunderstep."
Lin Feng staggered back. "That wasn't a STEP— that looked like you kicked the world!"
Xuanyu closed his fan.
"It allows instant movement through electric displacement. Dangerous to the body without sufficient control, but invaluable in combat — or escape."
Lin Feng swallowed hard. "And you want me to learn THAT?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Xuanyu's eyes drifted toward the fog, narrowing.
"…Because something with long memory is waiting for you."
Lin Feng instinctively shifted his stance, qi swirling around him.
"What exactly is following us?" he whispered.
Xuanyu didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he pointed ahead.
Through the fog — faint, barely visible — hung a pair of eyes.
Huge.
Unblinking.
Luminous with a dim sickly-blue glow.
Lin Feng stiffened.
Those weren't animal eyes.
Nor human eyes.
Nor any beast he'd heard of.
They were ancient.
Hungry.
Curious.
And aware.
The eyes blinked — sideways.
A wet, sliding membrane sweeping across them like a reptilian shutter.
Lin Feng felt his stomach twist.
"Xuanyu…" he whispered. "What is… that?"
Xuanyu's expression remained calm, but Lin Feng noticed his fingers tighten on his fan.
"That," Xuanyu said quietly, "is a Marsh Warden."
"A… warden? Like a guardian spirit?"
"No. Like a jailer."
Lin Feng swallowed. "…And what is it guarding?"
"The thing that recognized your lightning."
Xuanyu's voice dropped.
"The thing I sealed long ago."
The eyes shifted slightly, observing Lin Feng with unsettling interest.
A pulse of energy washed through the fog — cold, wet, suffocating.
Even the mist seemed to retreat.
Lin Feng trembled — not in fear, but in the instinctive shock of prey realizing the predator wasn't hiding anymore.
Xuanyu stepped lightly to Lin Feng's side.
"Listen carefully. I'll guide you."
Lin Feng nodded slowly. "What do I do?"
Xuanyu extended two fingers, tapping Lin Feng's wrist.
"Circulate your qi in a spiral. Just like the Spiral Thunder Control I showed you."
Lin Feng inhaled.
Lightning flickered over his forearm.
"Good," Xuanyu said. "Condense it. Don't let it escape."
Lin Feng exhaled, face tensing as he almost lost control.
"Steady. Again."
This time, the lightning moved smoother — a thin ring rotating around his wrist.
Xuanyu nodded approvingly.
"And now," he whispered, "step forward with your right foot. Let the lightning carry you."
Lin Feng's heart dropped.
"You want me to use Thunderstep NOW?!"
"Yes."
"Against THAT?!"
"Better than learning for the first time while being eaten."
Lin Feng swallowed and braced himself.
Lightning surged down his legs.
The Marsh Warden shifted.
Its massive eyes dilated.
Xuanyu's voice turned sharp.
"Lin Feng—NOW!"
Lin Feng stomped.
Lightning exploded.
His body vanished.
For a split second he traveled through an electric flash, the world stretching thin around him.
He reappeared ten meters to the left—
—and fell face-first into the mud.
"PFFT—gah—okay, okay I see why this is dangerous!"
Xuanyu sighed. "But effective. Try again."
Lin Feng scrambled upright.
The Marsh Warden blinked slowly… then began moving forward, its massive form still obscured by fog.
It was patient.
Curious.
Studying him like prey learning to stand.
Xuanyu placed a hand on Lin Feng's shoulder.
"Listen to me," he said softly. "If that thing reaches you, you will vanish without a trace."
Lin Feng shivered.
"Then we run?"
Xuanyu smirked.
"No."
"For once… we fight."
Lightning flared around Lin Feng's arms.
The fog stirred violently as the Marsh Warden's enormous silhouette emerged—
its eyes glowing, its breath shaking the marsh, its hunger palpable.
Xuanyu slid his fan open with a soft snap.
"Lin Feng," he said quietly, "I will handle its body. You handle its eyes."
Lin Feng exhaled.
"Spiral Thunder Control… Heaven-Piercing Thunderstep…"
Thunder crackled around him.
His eyes hardened.
"Alright then."
He stepped forward.
"Let's blind a monster."