Li Chen stared back.
He was shaken by what he had done. His stomach churned, and a wave of nausea threatened to rise up.
But he didn't regret it.
These people hadn't minded killing him. They had used him as bait without a second thought. So why should he feel guilty about killing them?
He forced down the disgust rising in his heart.
This was the way of the jianghu. If someone wanted to kill you, you killed them first.
His expression hardened.
From this moment on, he wasn't going to let anyone bully him.
Not man.
Not beast.
Not even the heavens themselves.
CRACK.
Thunder rumbled across the sky, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Li Chen looked up. Dark clouds were beginning to gather overhead.
He shook his head. This place was still dangerous. He needed to find a way out of here.
His eyes returned to Zhou Wei's body.
Li Chen brought his hands together and lowered his head.
"May you find peace in the next life."
He held the pose for a moment, then dropped his hands.
"Sorry. I hate you too much to build you a proper resting place."
He glanced at the blood pooling around the corpse. With this much blood soaking into the ground, this area would be swarming with monsters soon.
Li Chen crouched down and began rummaging through Zhou Wei's belongings. His fingers found a small pouch at the man's waist - a spatial bag. He took it without hesitation. He also retrieved the sword he had dropped, sliding it back into its sheath.
He stood and gave the body one final look.
"Thank you for the items. I'll use them well."
Li Chen offered a short bow.
Then he turned and ran into the forest, leaving the corpse behind.
…
Li Chen sat high on a thick branch, his back resting against the trunk of a tall tree.
He looked around, scanning the forest below.
This should be far enough, right?
He allowed himself to relax, just a little. Now he needed to figure out where he was.
Although he was unfamiliar with these deeper levels of the forest, he had often collected herbs in the areas closer to the sect. If he could just recognize something, he might be able to find his way back.
His eyes swept across the horizon until they landed on a certain direction.
His expression brightened.
He didn't even need to recognize any of the places he used to gather herbs. After all, he could clearly see the Stormblade Sect sitting at the top of the distant mountain.
Li Chen heaved a sigh of relief.
It seemed he wouldn't have to die here and get eaten by monsters after all.
Still...
Now that he was actually thinking about returning to the sect, an uneasy feeling began to settle in his chest.
He was just a servant.
If he returned by himself after inner disciples like Zhou Wei hadn't come back... wouldn't that look suspicious?
What was he supposed to do?
He hadn't seen any other bodies. He wondered if the other inner disciples had survived. Maybe they had already reported the unusually powerful monster to the sect.
Li Chen shook his head.
No. He couldn't rely on that.
Those guys were probably dead.
With Zhou Wei's character - even though Li Chen hadn't known him for long - he had known him long enough to understand one thing. Zhou Wei would be the last to die in any group. He would use everyone around him to escape with his own life.
And given the condition Zhou Wei had been in when they met, it seemed he had just barely managed it.
Li Chen wondered if the monster was still out there.
A shiver ran down his spine.
A monster capable of completely eliminating a group of inner disciples... he didn't even want to think about it.
As for the matter of returning to the sect, he would figure something out.
His gaze dropped to the spatial pouch he had taken from Zhou Wei.
His expression wasn't particularly pleased.
Since the owner had died, the bag could technically be accessed. But you still needed qi to retrieve the contents within.
And Li Chen didn't have internal energy, let alone qi.
Internal energy was something gained upon entering the Body Refining Realm. It was like an inferior form of qi. Since he had confirmed he wasn't actually in the Body Refining Realm...
He sighed.
He stared at the pouch in his hand, disappointment visible on his face.
Could he really not open it?
Suddenly, his vision flickered.
A massive tree appeared before his eyes.
This... it was that tree from before.
Without warning, his hand seemed to rupture from the inside. Blood sprayed outward, splattering across the bark beside him.
Li Chen looked at his hand in shock.
But what surprised him even more was what happened next.
The contents of the spatial bag came flying out, scattering into the air.
He released the pouch in reflex, his eyes fixed on his injured hand.
It hurt like hell.
But he didn't dare scream.
What was that just now?
He stared at the blood seeping from his palm, his mind racing.
Come to think of it... since he hadn't actually broken through to the Body Refining Realm - which he had used to explain everything that happened before - then did that mean all of it was real?
The visions. The tree. The light.
What did it all mean?
Li Chen tore a strip of cloth from his robes - already little more than rags at this point - and wrapped it tightly around his bleeding hand.
Then, slowly and carefully, he descended from the tree.
His feet touched the forest floor. He picked up the spatial pouch, turning it over in his hand.
What had just happened?
His eyes moved to the items scattered on the ground.
A few pills. Two manuals. A small stack of spirit stones.
He reached for one of the pills - the only one he recognized.
A Body Building Pill.
After picking it up, he was about to gather the rest of the items when…
His expression froze.
Heavy breathing washed over the back of his neck.
He didn't have to look back to understand what was happening.
The monster.
Had it found him because of his blood just now?
He had to get away.
Now.