The path sloped downward.
That alone unsettled Chen Yuan.
After days of relentless ascent—of pressure that scraped against bone and qi that demanded constant negotiation—the descent felt like a deliberate deviation. The mountain did not release cultivators lightly. When it did, it was usually because something else waited below.
Stone steps worn smooth by countless years led them away from the Ascendant Grounds and toward civilization.
Toward a city.
Chen Yuan walked in silence, his pace even. His breathing was controlled, but his thoughts were not.
Lin Xue followed beside him, close enough that their auras occasionally brushed. Neither spoke at first. The encounter on the mountain still clung to them like cold mist.
Why was she searching for Zhao Ming?
The question returned, persistent and unresolved.
Not because Zhao Ming mattered to Chen Yuan personally anymore—but because of scale. Someone like the Owl did not involve herself in sect-level conflicts. She was beyond that. Beyond elders. Beyond the logic that governed cultivation society.
And yet she had descended personally.
For Zhao Ming.
Chen Yuan frowned slightly.
No…
His thoughts corrected themselves.
Zhao Ming didn't disappear mysteriously. He fled.
That made more sense.
After the Duos Tourney, after public humiliation, after Elder Zhao's authority fractured—escape was the only rational option. Zhao Ming had always been trapped. The moment the cage weakened, he would run.
And now?
Now he was likely being hunted.
By Elder Zhao.
By the Zhao family.
By rival sects eager to seize a fallen prodigy—or eliminate a loose end.
Anyone with sense would chase him.
Anyone with power might succeed.
"Your steps are uneven," Lin Xue said suddenly.
Chen Yuan adjusted his pace. "You slowed first."
She glanced at him, then forward again. "That woman," she said, voice low, "did not behave like a pursuer."
"No," Chen Yuan agreed. "She behaved like a tracker."
Lin Xue's eyes narrowed. "You believe Zhao Ming is running."
"Yes."
"From Elder Zhao?"
"From everyone," Chen Yuan replied. "Once a prodigy falls publicly, the world becomes hostile very quickly."
Lin Xue considered this.
"And she hunts those kinds of people?"
"Possibly," Chen Yuan said. "Or she hunts what they become when cornered."
That thought lingered.
The city finally revealed itself as the path curved around a ridge.
Massive stone walls rose from the plateau below, reinforced by layered formations that shimmered faintly under the sunlight. Towers stood at precise intervals, their construction practical rather than ornate. Banners bearing a single sigil—a clenched fist wrapped in flame—fluttered calmly in the wind.
The Qiang family.
This was Qiang City.
Unlike sect-controlled territories, this city radiated confidence. It did not beg protection from great powers.
It was one.
Lin Xue slowed slightly. "We are entering Qiang territory."
Chen Yuan nodded. "Which means stability."
"And scrutiny."
"Yes."
As they approached the gates, Chen Yuan felt it—a vast, oppressive absence above the city. Not emptiness, but restraint. Like a sword sheathed so perfectly that one forgot it existed.
Qiang Hao.
The strongest cultivator of this era.
He was not present—but his will was.
Chen Yuan's instincts tightened.
"This city does not belong to the Ascendant Grounds," Lin Xue said. "Yet no sect challenges it."
"Because challenging it would be suicide," Chen Yuan replied.
The guards at the gate scanned them briefly, their expressions neutral but alert. Ascendant entrants were common here—but dangerous ones were remembered.
They were allowed through.
Inside, the city breathed.
Vendors shouted prices. Cultivators bartered techniques and materials. Clans exchanged information behind closed doors. Life flowed normally—but under control.
Chen Yuan exhaled slowly.
"She did not kill us," Lin Xue said as they moved deeper into the streets. "That still troubles me."
"She had no reason to," Chen Yuan replied.
Lin Xue stopped.
Chen Yuan halted as well.
"No reason?" she repeated. "She defeated us in seconds."
"Yes," he said calmly. "Which means killing us would not have proven anything."
Lin Xue stared at him.
"She was not measuring strength," Chen Yuan continued. "She was confirming irrelevance."
That answer sat poorly between them.
"If Zhao Ming is on the run," Lin Xue said slowly, "and someone like her is searching for him… then he has drawn attention far beyond what Elder Zhao intended."
"Yes."
"And if she finds him first?"
Chen Yuan's gaze drifted briefly toward the highest tower in the city—toward the invisible presence of Qiang Hao.
"Then Zhao Ming's story ends," he said. "One way or another."
Lin Xue's hand tightened at her side.
"And us?" she asked.
Chen Yuan met her eyes.
"We are not part of that hunt," he said. "Not yet."
They continued walking.
Behind them, the mountain watched.
Ahead of them, the city waited—ruled by a family whose strongest member stood at the pinnacle of this era.
And somewhere beyond both mountain and city, a hunted man ran—
Unaware that predators far greater than sect elders had begun to take interest.