The false dawn in the Fractured Dome brought no warmth.
Fang Xi exhaled slowly, seated cross-legged on the edge of the ruined tower, as the last wisps of spiritual energy coiled into his sixth Qi thread. A soft tremble ran through his chest.
Six threads. My core is stabilizing.
I'm now half a step above the others. But not yet beyond them.
He stood, stretching slightly. The others were waking.
Tie Ba sat up with a grunt, rubbing his ribs. Bruising still shadowed his left side from the domebeast's strike. Jiang Ping shivered and muttered something about another bad dream.
Liu Yimei was gone.
Fang Xi immediately noticed the shift in spiritual pressure. Her absence was deliberate.
"She left in the night," he said.
"What?" Jiang Ping jolted. "She left us?"
"She's scouting," Tie Ba offered.
Fang Xi's gaze remained on the trail of half-hidden boot prints in the misty dirt.
"No. She's hunting."
They followed the trail cautiously through the maze of twisted ruins and frostbitten trees. It wasn't long before they found the body.
Number Fourteen, a girl with twin swords, lay half-slumped against a fallen column. A slit across her neck. Clean. Efficient.
Liu Yimei stood nearby, wiping her dagger with the edge of her cloak. Her expression was flat.
"She attacked first," she said before anyone could ask.
Jiang Ping went pale. "You killed her?"
"She was waiting in ambush. Saw me alone and wanted to guarantee her spot. I gave her what she deserved."
Tie Ba frowned, but said nothing.
Fang Xi crouched and studied the corpse.
The wound was too precise to be reactive.
She stalked her.
He didn't speak the thought aloud.
They continued forward through the Fractured Dome. The Echo Pillar — the end-point of the trial — was said to be at its center. As they pushed deeper, the landscape changed. Ruins grew older, more eroded. The air grew colder. A low vibration in the ground hinted that they were nearing something important.
At midday, they encountered another team.
Two survivors — bloodied, bruised, desperate.
They didn't talk.
Just attacked.
The fight erupted instantly.
Tie Ba stepped in with a roar, catching a sword strike against his shoulder before driving a crushing elbow into his attacker's ribs.
Liu Yimei moved like wind — fast, graceful, deadly. Her blade slashed across her opponent's thigh before flicking upward toward the eye.
Jiang Ping flailed backward, too slow to draw a scroll.
Fang Xi didn't rush.
He analyzed.
The remaining enemy had overextended, arm drawn too wide — Fang Xi ducked, stepped inside the man's guard, and rammed his blade upward beneath the ribcage.
Blood sprayed.
The man fell.
After the fight, they stood among the wreckage. One attacker dead. The other groaned on the ground, clutching his side.
"He's finished," Liu Yimei said, stepping forward.
Fang Xi raised a hand.
"Leave him."
She blinked. "What?"
"He's no threat. Wounded. Broken. He's not our enemy anymore."
She hesitated. Her expression unreadable.
But then she shrugged. "As you wish."
Calculated mercy. Makes me look human. She won't forget it, though.
That night, they made camp near a sunken statue carved with ancient sect symbols. The Echo Pillar wasn't far — less than a day's walk. Victory was close.
Jiang Ping paced nervously. "Only three can pass, right?"
"That's what the elder said," Tie Ba nodded. "Three tokens. Three slots."
"Then…" Ping trailed off, staring into the fire. "What happens to the fourth?"
Liu Yimei didn't speak.
Fang Xi glanced between them.
They're all wondering the same thing.
And they're all thinking ahead.
At dawn, they reached the Echo Pillar.
A towering monolith of glowing jade, rooted in a frozen crater. Around it, ancient symbols flickered faintly. In front of the stone were three circular depressions — one for each jade token.
Three spaces.
Four people.
Tie Ba stepped forward.
"I'll give mine up."
Everyone stared at him.
"You what?" Jiang Ping asked.
"I don't belong in the Inner Sect," Tie Ba said quietly. "Not the way you three do. I know my place."
He turned to Fang Xi. "You've got strength and cunning. You'll survive. Liu Yimei's fast and sharp. Jiang Ping's clever."
He nodded. "I'm proud I made it this far. Let me leave on my own terms."
So noble it hurts.
Too noble.
Before Fang Xi could speak, something flashed.
Liu Yimei moved.
A blur of silver.
A dagger thrust.
Tie Ba didn't even scream. Just gasped as the blade drove deep into his side.
He staggered.
Collapsed.
Blood pooling at the base of the Echo Pillar.
Jiang Ping screamed.
Fang Xi stood frozen for a heartbeat — not from shock, but calculation.
She made her move early. She was always going to.
Tie Ba clutched his side, groaning.
"You… didn't have to…"
Liu Yimei crouched beside him, expression neutral.
"You gave yourself up. I accepted. Don't cry about the details."
She rose and turned to Fang Xi.
"Three of us. Now it works."
But Fang Xi stepped forward and dropped his jade token at her feet.
"No."
She blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not sharing a gate with a backstabbing viper," Fang Xi said coldly.
Jiang Ping looked between them, eyes wide with panic.
"You want to fight me?" Liu Yimei's voice lowered.
Fang Xi nodded once. "I want to end this properly."
He stepped onto the frozen stone between the tokens.
"Now."
Liu Yimei smiled.
And drew both daggers.