The sun hung low in the west, dyeing the blue stone slabs of Panshi Fist Academy's inner courtyard a warm golden hue.
Wang Yuan slowly withdrew his stance. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his brow, and heat steamed from his body like a small furnace.
He carefully sensed that wisp of Rock-Solid Qi and Blood within him.
After a full day of bitter training, especially the nourishment from that midday meal of Monster Beast Meat.
That wisp of Vital Blood had clearly grown much stronger. It surged and circulated through his meridians, becoming increasingly solid and nimble, bringing with it the reassuring sensation of strength filling his body.
"At this rate, perhaps I'll be able to attempt the First Blood Change in less than half a month..."
The corners of Wang Yuan's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
The steady growth of his strength was his greatest source of security in this perilous world.
Just then, a somewhat animated burst of laughter and conversation drew closer from afar.
Wang Yuan looked up and saw the three senior disciples he had met during the bone-root test approaching.
There was the pale-faced, restless-eyed Young Man surnamed Liu; the pretty, cool-tempered Woman surnamed Jiang.
And Senior Brother surnamed Liu, broad and burly, who had once sneered at the commoner disciples.
"Junior Brother Wang, still working so hard? You really are diligent!"
The Young Man surnamed Liu spoke first, piling a warm smile onto his face as though he and Wang Yuan had been old friends for years.
Liu Senior Brother also forced out a somewhat stiff smile and said in a booming voice:
"Junior Brother Wang, you've only just arrived. As your senior brothers and sister, it is only proper that we welcome you properly."
"We've reserved a private room at Drunken Immortal Tower tonight. It's the best restaurant in the Outer City. Come join us for some excitement, and we'll let you see the prosperity of Gaoye City!"
Senior Sister Jiang said nothing beside them, but she gave a slight nod, her eyes carrying a hint of goodwill.
Drunken Immortal Tower?
Wang Yuan had heard of it. It was one of the Outer City's finest money-burning establishments; a single table of food and wine likely cost as much as an ordinary household spent in several months.
The three of them clearly wanted to use this chance to draw him into their little circle centered around wealthy Inner City youths.
If it had been an ordinary teenager receiving such an invitation.
Especially an invitation from Inner City disciples whom he ordinarily had to look up to.
He would likely have been flattered beyond measure and agreed in a rush.
But Wang Yuan's mind remained crystal clear.
He knew full well how precious time was. The evening was the golden hour for digesting what he had gained during the day and consolidating his cultivation.
Going to a restaurant to clink cups and exchange hollow pleasantries would not only waste time and energy, but offer not the slightest benefit to his cultivation.
What was more, he had no friendship with these people. Nor did he want to owe them a favor for no reason and become entangled in needless conflicts between circles.
At once, Wang Yuan put on an appropriately apologetic expression. He cupped his hands toward the three of them, his tone calm yet firm.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Brother Liu, Liu Senior Brother, Senior Sister Jiang."
"However, this junior brother has only just begun learning the Fist Technique today and feels that he still has many shortcomings. I need to quietly reflect on it tonight and consolidate my Vital Blood, so I truly dare not let myself be distracted."
"This welcoming banquet—this junior brother appreciates the gesture. Please forgive me, senior brothers and sister."
His words were neither servile nor overbearing, and his reason was impeccable, leaving no fault to pick at.
Yet to Wang Yuan's three companions, it was like receiving an invisible slap across the face!
Who were they?
They were children of prominent Inner City Lineages. Normally, people only ever fawned over them. When had they ever taken the initiative to invite a poor brat from the Outer City?
Yet now, having lowered themselves to warmly invite him, he had actually... refused!
And with such a perfunctory excuse as "I need to train."
The smile on the Young Man surnamed Liu's face instantly froze, while a flash of astonishment and anger passed through his eyes.
The forced smile on Liu Senior Brother's face vanished completely as well. His expression darkened at a visible pace, turning iron-blue.
His chest rose and fell slightly. He was clearly furious.
He felt he had been subjected to enormous contempt.
Even Senior Sister Jiang, always so cool and aloof, imperceptibly furrowed her delicate brows. The way she looked at Wang Yuan now held an added trace of scrutiny and displeasure.
The atmosphere immediately became stiff and awkward.
The Young Man surnamed Liu took a deep breath and barely maintained his composure, letting out two dry laughs.
"Heh... hehe, Junior Brother Wang certainly is... diligent."
"Since that is the case, then we won't disturb you."
His tone had already turned much colder.
Liu Senior Brother merely snorted. Too lazy to even spare Wang Yuan another glance, he turned and left.
The three had come brimming with enthusiasm, only to have a basin of cold water dumped over their heads. Their faces went green and purple as they left the inner courtyard in embarrassment.
Wang Yuan watched their retreating figures, his expression calm and unruffled.
He did not care about offending them. Those who walked different paths could not plot together.
His goal was clear—become stronger, and gain enough power as quickly as possible to protect his family and settle old debts.
As for such pointless socializing and circles, they would only scatter his focus.
Dusk gathered from all sides, and night seemed to fall faster than usual.
Wang Yuan had immersed himself in training in the inner courtyard. It was not until Zheng Shan reminded him that he realized how late it had become.
After hurriedly bidding farewell to his master, Second Senior Sister, and Senior Disciple Brother Shi Long, who was preparing to leave as well.
Wang Yuan quickly left the Fist Academy and headed toward Bluestone Alley.
Night always arrived with particular haste in the Outer City, and the daytime clamor swiftly faded away.
In its place came a silence and unease lurking beneath the shadows.
The alleyways were deep and secluded. Only scattered points of lamplight shone from a few windows, while most places lay shrouded in hazy darkness.
With the physique and night vision far beyond ordinary people granted by Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone, Wang Yuan moved lightly through familiar paths.
His family was on his mind, as was his plan to continue digesting today's gains after returning home. His pace unconsciously quickened further.
However, just as he passed a more secluded, narrower dead-end alley that he rarely used.
An extraordinarily strange fragrance, so rich it seemed impossible to dissolve, suddenly slipped into his nostrils without warning!
It was neither the scent of flowers nor food.
Rather, it was an... indescribable, heavy fragrance carrying a cloying sweetness, rot, and an unusual medicinal odor.
Within the foul, stifling air of the alley, it seemed especially abrupt and eerie.
What alarmed Wang Yuan even more was that the wisp of Rock-Solid Qi and Blood within him.
The instant he smelled that fragrance, it actually stirred faintly beyond his control, as though something had drawn it in.
"Hm?"
Wang Yuan halted. The extraordinary senses bestowed by Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone allowed him to instantly pinpoint the source of the fragrance.
It came from behind a dilapidated wooden door hanging half open at the deepest end of the alley.
Curiosity and an inexplicable wariness rose within him at once.
He held his breath, reined in his presence to its lowest point, and silently approached the wooden door.
Through the narrow crack in the door, Wang Yuan cautiously peered inside.
But the sight beyond made his pupils abruptly constrict!
Inside was an abandoned Small Courtyard, overgrown with weeds. Right in the center of the yard lay a person.
No, to be precise, a corpse!
The corpse's face was gray and defeated, its eyes wide open, long since devoid of breath.
But strangely, a dark-red incense stick about half a foot long had been inserted into its chest.
That bizarre fragrance, so thick it made one dizzy, was emanating from the slowly burning incense stick.
What made Wang Yuan's back run cold was that two people dressed in extremely strange clothing stood around the corpse.
Both wore loose black cloaks that concealed them from head to toe. Their faces seemed to be covered by masks as well, making their features impossible to see.
The two stood at different positions around the corpse, heads lowered and completely motionless, like two silent statues.
A corpse, thick incense, Black Robes... The sinister and bizarre scene made Wang Yuan's scalp prickle, and a chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
Just as his mind shook and his breath grew ever so slightly disordered from shock.
One of the two Black Robes—the one facing Wang Yuan's direction—suddenly raised his head.
Within the shadows beneath the hood, it seemed as though two cold, piercing gazes shot through the crack in the door and straight at him.
"Who?"
Before you continue