Chapter 12 - Day 1. 200 HUNTERS, BUT ONE SURVIVALIST.

  Spectators' area of the Demon Beast exam.

  The wind stirred gently atop the wooden pavilion, rustling the leaves of the Iron Forest. Fang Duan stood alone at the railing, arms folded behind his back, eyes fixed not on the students scouring the forest below, but on the three patriarchs seated just meters away.

  The Bai Clan’s patriarch Bai Haung sat composed, his fan lazily flicking with each breath. Chen Wei, Patriarch of the Chen Clan, sipped tea with a calm too calculated to be genuine. Fang Zhen, patriarch of the Fang Clan, sat with his arms crossed, expression unreadable, as though carved from stone.

  “Quite the turnout today,” Fang Duan said finally, his voice cool. “Such interest in a mere student exam that all the patriarchs attended personally”

  Chen Wei chuckled. “Naturally. It’s not often we get to see the future of Iron Root measure itself. Especially… that Kong boy.”

  Fang Duan’s jaw tightened, just barely. “Indeed. A boy who, strangely, survived a bandit ambush this morning. Near the west road.”

  Fang Zhen raised a brow. “An unfortunate coincidence. But I fail to see the relevance.”

  Fang Duan turned fully toward them now. “One of the bandits had a tattoo on his left wrist. Mark of the Bronze River Syndicate. And, more importantly, he was formerly employed at one of our Fang-owned grain depots… before disappearing six months ago.”

  Fang Zhen’s brows twitched.

  Chen Wei exhaled slowly through his nose. “A grain depot? That’s hardly compelling evidence, head instructor Fang.”

  “And yet,” Fang Duan’s voice sharpened, “he disappeared shortly after rumors of succession began circulating in our clan. I suspect it's not a coincidence… but conspiracy.”

  Fang Zhen finally spoke. “You overstep. Throwing accusations without proof is unbecoming, even for someone in your station.”

  “I speak not to disgrace,” Fang Duan replied, voice iron-hard, “but to warn. My son was nearly killed due to similar schemes.

  His fist clenched..

  “I will uncover the truth. After this exam, there will be a full investigation.”

  A tense silence settled. The patriarchs said nothing more, but their silence weighed heavier than words.

  ?

  Meanwhile,

  Easter Iron Root Forest.

  Kong Ming crouched over the twitching corpse of the small Rank 2 Flame-Furred fox, its final breath still steaming against the forest floor. His blade, dull from the struggle, dripped with blood as he pulled it free.

  His nerves finally returned to normal.

  Instead of chasing more prey, Kong Ming did what few others would: he pulled out a map, a half-burnt compass, and began sketching terrain. His goal wasn’t glory. It was survival.

  Secure water. Set camp near rocky terrain. Avoid beast nests. Preserve stamina.

  He thought in lists. Lists kept him alive.

  After another hour of cautious travel, he reached a small clearing, dense trees around him, rocks jutting out like broken bones. He was about to move on when a cry split the air.

  “Help! Agh!”

  He turned sharply.

  In the distance, a girl fought desperately against a 1-meter-sized gray-furred monkey…

  Kong Ming’s Gaze sharpened.

  It's Rank 3 at least.

  The girl fighting was clumsy, bleeding, and outmatched.

  Kong Ming narrowed his eyes… then kept walking…

  “Stupid….she is actually trying to defeat it? She’s even attacking a rock monkey with her bare fist?!?

  Doesn’t she know that they have tough stone hides? They’re extremely hard to kill…

  It’s a waste of effort when below the 5th stage of body tempering…

  He shook his head..

  and walked in the opposite direction…….

  “Can’t risk injury over strangers.” He mumbled.

  Her scream faded behind him as the distance increased.

  Minutes later, he reached a stream, …a medium-sized stream of clear water running through a ravine. He crouched, checked for contamination, and cupped water into his flask. Then he froze.

  More screaming. Closer this time. And heavier footfalls.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

  The same girl burst through the foliage, wild-eyed, her robes torn. Behind her, three gray-furred stone monkeys now chased her, snarling and flinging stones.

  Kong Ming hissed through his teeth. “You led them here, you idiot!”

  He turned to run and stopped. The stream ahead curved sharply… and vanished.

  A waterfall!

  He looked back. The monkeys were close. The girl spotted him.

  “Please! Help!”

  Shit!

  He grabbed her wrist. “Come on. Don’t stop.”

  They sprinted toward the falls. Kong Ming’s mind raced. At the edge, just before the drop, he yanked her sideways, through a curtain of ivy-covered stone. A narrow ledge behind the waterfall, just wide enough to crouch.

  Water thundered just inches from their faces, masking their scent, their breathing, their panic.

  The monkeys reached the edge. They howled, scanned, they jumped up and down in confusion, scanning the bottom of the falls…

  They think we jumped…

  Ten minutes passed in silence.

  Finally, Kong Ming exhaled. “Next time,” he muttered, “…try not to bring a damn ….horde with you!”

  ?

  Meanwhile….

  Northern Iron Forest, Midday

  The corpse of the Rank 9 Silver Ape lay sprawled beneath Chen Kai’s boots, blood seeping into the mossy dirt. Its silver fur shimmered faintly under the afternoon light, steam still curling off the 3-meter muscular frame.

  Chen Kai stood motionless, eyes sharp, expression unreadable. The fight had cost him a torn sleeve, a shallow gash along his collarbone, but it was a small price. He barely felt the sting.

  He crouched and plunged his gloved hand into the ape’s chest, prying loose a small, glowing inner core. He held it between two fingers, studying its pulsing energy.

  “A perfect kill. Alone. As it should be.”

  He barely had time to open his pouch and put away the core when he heard it.

  , twigs cracking behind him.

  His fist tightened, and physical ki and blood rising.

  “Who’s there?” he snapped.

  From the trees emerged a girl, graceful and composed despite the terrain. Red hair to her shoulders, sharp crimson eyes, and a small black beauty mark below her left cheek made her immediately recognizable, Chen Yue, daughter of Chen Wei and sixth-ranked in the totem exam. Her presence alone could silence most rooms, but Chen Kai didn’t even blink.

  “It’s just you,” he muttered, voice clipped with annoyance. He turned back to the ape without so much as a nod.

  Chen Yue approached, her expression unreadable. “You handled the Silver Ape by yourself?”

  He didn’t answer, wiping blood off his robe with deliberate calm.

  “You’re stronger than before.”

  Still no reply.

  “You broke through, didn’t you?”

  That, at least, earned her a glance. “Ninth stage. Body Tempering,” he said coldly. Twelve years old. Funny, isn’t it? No one seems to be celebrating.”

  She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.

  “Why are you really here?”

  Chen Yue hesitated. Her eyes flicked toward the eastern ridge.

  “Stay away from the eastern ridge during the exam. That’s all I came to say.”

  Chen Kai’s gaze sharpened.

  “Why?”

  She didn’t answer.

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  “Hmph.” He turned away, voice low and venomous. “Let me guess. Another ‘plan.’ Another disgraceful scheme. Something Father and the Elders cooked up in secret, hoping I wouldn’t notice.”

  He paced a few steps, then stopped, voice rising.

  “Do they really think so little of me? That they need to sabotage an outsider with no background or support, just to make me shine brighter?”

  Chen Yue looked away.

  Chen Kai scoffed.

  “That boy… Kong Tian… he’s not even a real threat to them.

  But he is the perfect opportunity for me to prove that I'm the greatest genius that has ever come out of Iron Root town.”

  But instead of letting me deal with him on the field, they smear him with bandits and traps and schemes.”

  Chen Yue quickly shook her head.

  “The bandits weren't our doing.”

  Chen Kai laughed in disdain

  “Oh, so it’s a coincidence that Kong Tian showed up to the exam with sword-shaped cuts on the day of the exam.

  Bandits, assassins, and schemes are tactics of the weak that try to suppress those of true merit.

  I’m well aware of the cowardly tactics of our elders of the Chen clan.

  Cousin, you too have some minor talent, but you possess a similar weak will to those elders have.

  Sickening.”

  He looked back at her now, eyes glinting, not with anger, but something colder. Contempt.

  “Tell them this: I don’t need their pathetic schemes. I’ll win this exam because I’m better. Not because they cleared the road.”

  He stepped past her, his voice dropping low as he left.

  “They’d do well to remember that. I’m not their puppet, I’m their only hope for true supremacy.”

  He disappeared into the trees, leaving Chen Yue alone, her expression shaken by something she hadn’t expected: a tremor of shame.

  Meanwhile, across the stream in

  Northern Iron root Forest, late afternoon.

  Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy in fractured beams, casting golden lines across the forest floor. A black-robed youth sat beneath the shade of a mossy boulder, breathing slowly, even.

  His long hair was slightly damp with sweat, but his expression remained calm as stone.

  Kong Tian looked down at the small pile of demon beast cores spread out across a cloth.

  “One… two… three… four…”

  “…eight… ten.”

  He allowed a small breath of satisfaction. Ten high-rank beast cores, not even counting the lower-tier ones still stuffed in his pouch. That alone should have earned him a solid lead.

  His fingers brushed absently over a gash near his rib, hidden beneath the folds of his robe. It was shallow, but angry red from earlier that morning.

  A faint wince tugged at his face.

  “Sword wound… That Bandit moved well for a rogue cultivator.”

  He pulled his hand away, frowning slightly.

  “Why did it feel… exhilarating?”

  His mind drifted. The scent of blood, the chaos, the way his senses had sharpened, not in fear, but in something closer to joy.

  His uncle’s voice echoed in memory:

  “Tian… your bloodline may stay quiet now, but once you begin to absorb spiritual energy, you’ll feel it… the hunger, the clarity. Don’t run from it.”

  “Am I really starting to feel it already…?”

  His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling foliage. A figure stumbled into the clearing from the north trail, shorter, leaner, wearing the Fang clan’s dark blue inner robes.

  Fang Zhu.

  Fifth place in the totem exam. Not strong enough to lead, but loud enough to scheme.

  The moment he laid eyes on Kong Tian, his footsteps faltered. A drop of sweat slid down his temple despite the shade.

  Why’s he here? Alone? Did he find out?

  Kong Tian didn’t even rise. He looked at Fang Zhu with a passing glance, the kind reserved for stray insects, not threats.

  Then he stood up, turned his back, and walked past him without a word.

  Fang Zhu’s pride screamed in silence.

  “You think you’re better than everyone just because you’re strong?” he blurted.

  Kong Tian didn’t stop.

  “Fine! Walk away. But just so you know, I’ll win Bai Yuyin over.

  You’ll see!”

  That, finally, made Kong Tian pause.

  He turned his head, brows slightly furrowed, not in anger, but confusion.

  “…Who?”

  Fang Zhu paled.

  “B-Bai Yuyin! You know… lady ..bai of the bai clan…Our classmate?”

  Kong Tian looked genuinely lost.

  “Never heard of her.”

  Then he turned and walked off again, leaving silence in his wake.

  ?

  Behind a nearby tree, hidden by a veil of silk, Bai Yuyin stood frozen. Her hand rested lightly on the hilt of her sword, her back straight, her gaze fixed on the retreating figure.

  She hadn’t meant to spy. Not really. She had been scouting, and when she sensed Kong Tian nearby, something made her pause. Curiosity, maybe. Or something quieter.

  Now, she stood in place, her thoughts louder than the wind.

  “He… doesn’t even know who I am?”

  It wasn’t vanity that made the words sting, it was the expectation of recognition. She was a top-ranked student. A prodigy of the Bai Clan. Known for her precision, her poise, her rare beauty. People remembered her even when she wished they wouldn’t.

  And yet… he hadn’t even heard her name.

  Her jaw tightened.

  “We shared classes. We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder in every exam. I, I even, ”

  She shook her head, eyes narrowing.

  “Besides his sickly brother”

  “He only remembers people he’s fought… or those stronger than him.”

  That realization didn’t offend her. No, what offended her was that it made sense. Kong Tian lived in a world shaped by strength, where names meant nothing unless tied to danger or challenge.

  “What kind of person lives like that? What kind of heart beats without curiosity… or care?”

  And yet, she couldn’t look away.

  The detachment in his voice. The effortless way he dismissed Fang Zhu. That brutal honesty, it didn’t feel cruel. It felt… absolute. And in that strange, cold certainty, there was something that pulled at her.

  Fang Zhu turned to walk away, red-faced and breathing heavily. But as he did, Bai Yuyin stepped out from behind the tree.

  SLAP.

  Her hand cracked across his cheek like a whip. Birds scattered from the branches above.

  Fang Zhu clutched his face, shocked.

  “You idiot,” she said, voice cold and precise. “Don’t ever use my name like that again.”

  He opened his mouth, but her glare silenced him.

  “You’ve embarrassed yourself enough for one lifetime.”

  “And even felt the need to embarrass me as well?”

  She walked past him without a second glance. Her steps were calm, but her heart beat just a little faster.

  And far ahead, hidden by the trees, the one who had forgotten her name left no trace behind, except a question she didn’t want to ask:

  “Why do I want him to remember me now?..”

  ?

  Meanwhile, at the spectators' camp.

  The sun dipped low on the horizon, casting the Iron Root Forest in streaks of gold and blood-red shadow. The spectator camp bustled with subdued energy, officials and elders whispering, runners delivering tallies, lanterns flickering to life around the luxurious tents set up for Iron Root’s elite.

  Inside one of the largest tents, a layer of silence hung thick.

  Steward Gu entered without ceremony. Though outwardly calm, his usually smiling face was taut with tension. In his gloved hand, he held a small, ancient talisman, its worn jade surface pulsing faintly with a sickly, reddish glow.

  Lady Chan-Chan, seated cross-legged on a silk cushion, opened her eyes as he approached. For once, her playful expression had vanished.

  “That talisman… it responded?” she asked, her voice low, careful.

  Steward Gu nodded.

  “There’s no doubt anymore, Young Miss. The thing we’ve been searching for is here. Somewhere in the Iron Forest.”

  Lady Chan-Chan blinked, a flicker of excitement rising in her chest, but it was quickly swallowed by unease.

  “Are you certain?”

  Gu held out the talisman, letting it float in the air between them. It pulsed again, faint but unmistakable.

  “It’s responding to a particular frequency of beast aura. Ancient. Dormant, but undeniably powerful.”

  Lady Chan-Chan stood slowly. The firelight painted her elegant face in shifting hues. For once, she looked her age, not a mysterious young girl playing schoolgirl, but a daughter of a greater clan, sent here with a hidden purpose.

  “So… it’s been under our noses all this time,” she murmured. “But how has this backwater town stayed untouched?”

  Gu hesitated. “…Perhaps it’s been hibernating. That’s the only explanation.”

  “And if it wakes?”

  “Then every spirit beast in the region will flee… or go mad. This forest will become a graveyard.”

  A beat of silence passed between them.

  Lady Chan-Chan crossed her arms and looked toward the forest’s darkened horizon. Dozens of children ran through those trees, unaware of the ancient force sleeping beneath their feet.

  “We’ll wait. Watch the qi tides carefully. If it stirs again, we seal the area immediately.”

  Steward Gu nodded grimly. “Yes, Young Miss. But if it fully awakens before the exam ends, ”

  “Then we’ll have no choice but to intervene… regardless of who sees.”

  ?

  Nearby: at The Fang Clan’s Tent.

  In a neighboring pavilion lined with the Fang Clan’s blue banners, voices whispered behind tightly drawn curtains.

  Fang Zhen, current patriarch of the Fang Clan, stood with arms folded, his brows furrowed. A few trusted elders sat beside him, their expressions equally tight.

  “Zhu’s little stunt nearly exposed everything,” one of them muttered.

  Fang Zhen exhaled sharply. “I knew about the plan. We all did. But I assumed the boy had sense. He should’ve hired real killers. Discreet. Not half-drunk amateurs waving cleavers in broad daylight.”

  Another elder snorted. “And now Fang Duan smells blood again. He already suspects us for the Cloud-Seeking Sect’s Exam incident two years ago. This time… he might act.”

  Fang Zhen’s face darkened. “Fang Duan is a problem. He’s always been a problem.”

  “He was the martial genius of our generation,” an older man said quietly. “And unlike the rest of us, he hasn’t slowed.”

  Another elder added, “If he confronts us directly… even with Grand Elder Liu’s help, the outcome isn’t guaranteed.”

  Fang Zhen clenched his jaw.

  “We can’t afford a civil fracture… not yet. Not with outsiders watching.”

  A moment passed.

  “Fine,” he said at last. “Keep Zhu out of sight. No more whispers. No more bandits. If anyone asks, he was never involved.”

  The tent fell into uneasy silence.

  “If Fang Duan moves… we prepare. But we don’t strike unless cornered.”

  They nodded, reluctant, fearful, and very aware that one wrong move could tear their clan apart from within…

  ?

  Meanwhile…

  Eastern iron root forest in a Hidden cave behind the waterfall …

  The cave was wide enough for two people, but it was dry and defensible. Its entrance was hidden by the curtain of roaring water just outside..

  Kong Ming had even checked for claw marks and animal scent trails.

  The mysterious girl sat by the fire, sneaking a glance at this strange boy with silver eyes, he carried a sense of profundity…

  Kong Ming sat down after one last inspection of the cave.

  “It's safe, for now”.

  A small fire crackled in the center, casting flickering shadows across the rough stone walls. Kong Ming sat with his back to the far wall, legs crossed, arms folded, watching the flames dance.

  The girl sat opposite him, hugging her knees.

  They hadn’t spoken much since the escape.

  He glanced at her again. She was still here.

  She had big blue eyes and dark brown hair in the form of a bowl cut, styled bangs that parted at the forehead.

  She had a harmless and innocent aura to her.

  “Why are you even still here?” He asked, breaking the silence.

  She shook her head.

  “I’m not sure and have nowhere else to go, and it’s dark and scary out there.”

  Kong Ming Sighed.

  “Why is someone like this even taking the exam?”

  Kong Ming grew up with only his brother and Uncle Lao.

  He only warmed up to Gu Bi recently, mainly because they’re similar.

  The townsfolk treated them like a disease, unseen or unwanted. Only Kong Tian ever extended kindness toward others, despite the pain they’d suffered.

  .

  Kong Ming had learned a different lesson: trust no one, especially not strangers who smiled too easily.

  The closer people tried to come, the more he pushed them away, because closeness invited pain.

  And yet… here she was.

  She reached into her pouch and pulled out a small, cracked piece of dried bread. Wordlessly, she broke it in two and held out half toward him.

  Kong Ming didn’t move.

  He kept his gaze fixed on the fire, willing her hand to lower it.

  His stomach growled.

  Loudly.

  The girl tried not to smile.

  “Thanks,” she said quietly, breaking the silence. “For saving me.”

  He snorted. “I didn’t save you. I saved myself.”

  She blinked.

  “You running around screaming would’ve drawn more of those damn monkeys. I just didn’t want to deal with that.”

  She didn’t argue. Just nodded slightly and took a bite of her half.

  A few more seconds passed before he reached out and took the bread.

  “Xing Cai,” she said softly. “Third level Body Tempering. I’m twelve.”

  He chewed slowly, swallowed, then replied without looking at her.

  “Kong Ming. Second level. Same age.”

  Another pause. The fire popped.

  “Are you planning to keep tagging along?” he asked.

  Xing Cai stayed quiet.

  “Tch. I get the feeling you’re the type to stay even if I tell you to go…”

  A sigh escaped him.

  “Fine. But at least make yourself useful.”

  She looked up.

  He didn’t face her, eyes still on the flames.

  “Useless people…” he said quietly, “…don’t just waste space. They hurt the ones who care about them. They drag others down without even realizing it.”

  He flicked a glowing ember, voice steady but low.

  “They freeze up when it matters. “

  His grip on the stick tightened.

  “They get protected when they should be fighting. Shielded when they should be shielding. And then someone better… someone stronger… pays the price.”

  A flicker of heat passed through his expression, too soft to be called rage, too hollow to be called grief.

  “And the worst part? They don’t even mean to do it. They’re not evil. Just… weak. Useless.”

  “The useless are the Blameless assassins of the capable.”

  ….The fire crackled in the silence.

  Kong Ming’s gaze stayed locked on the flames, as if he couldn’t bear to look anywhere else.

  “If you don’t want to be that kind of person… then don’t wait for someone to save you. Earn your place. Pull your weight. Or leave.”

  His voice dropped even lower.

  “Because once someone you love dies because of your inability, you don’t ever stop carrying it.”

  A silence fell.

  Xing Cai fiddled with her hands quietly, contemplating Kong Ming’s words.

  The fire hissed as a drop of condensation from the cave ceiling struck the coals.

  And in the glow of the flame, his eyes flickered, just for a moment, as if he saw something not there.

  A pair of hands. Rough, calloused, trembling. Pushing him behind a stone wall. Blood on the floor. A blurred figure standing between him and danger. Until that figure eventually turns to dust.

  Gone.

  Just like that.

  ?

  Kong Ming blinked, and the image vanished.

  He exhaled through his nose, slow and shaky. His voice returned to its usual guarded tone.

  “Get some sleep. We move at dawn.”