First Steps into the Mountains, Feigned "Weakness"

The morning mist had yet to fully disperse. On the main road outside Wutan City, a somewhat frail figure trudged alone with a worn pack on his back.

Xiao Yan kept his head lowered and dragged his feet. Whenever he looked up at the rolling, dark-green mountains in the distance, his brows creased out of habit. With his coarse clothes washed pale from wear, he looked every inch a down-and-out youth crushed beneath the weight of life.

"Haah..."

A soft sigh escaped his lips, carrying just the right measure of confusion and resentment. Had anyone from the Xiao Clan been there, their heart would surely have ached for him—the blow of having his engagement broken seemed to have truly dragged this former genius into utter ruin.

Yet beneath those lowered eyelids, Xiao Yan's gaze was as calm as an ancient well whose depths could not be fathomed.

[System notification: Host's current disguised cultivation realm—Dou Qi Third Stage. Strictly maintain this state during all actions. Any power fluctuations exceeding this realm will trigger the warning mechanism.]

The cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind again, but Xiao Yan had long since grown accustomed to it. Three days earlier, when he had awakened from a haze of chaos and discovered that he had become Xiao Yan, the "trash" whose engagement was broken at the beginning of Battle Through the Heavens, this so-called [Absolute Concealment System] had bound itself to him.

The strength of a Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint, a soul in the Emperor Realm... Things that should have sent him wild with joy were instead locked down by a rule so harsh it bordered on perverse—he could not reveal his true strength before any intelligent being. Eliminating enemies had to be "seamless as a heavenly robe": an accident, blame laid on someone else, or the complete disappearance of the dead, without even a trace left behind.

Exposure meant death.

"What an interesting set of shackles." An almost imperceptible smile curved Xiao Yan's lips, only to vanish beneath his dispirited expression.

His destination was the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a hundred li east of Wutan City. According to the original owner's memories and the system's "main quest guidance," he needed to complete several "beginner quests" there, while also... convincingly playing an "inspirational piece of trash" forced to steel himself and venture into danger in search of herbs to improve his strength.

"Roar!"

A low beastly growl came from the woods beside him. Immediately afterward, two gray shadows sprang out and blocked Xiao Yan's path. They were two rank-one magical beasts, Green Wolves, each a size larger than an ordinary wild wolf. Drool dripped from their jaws, and their eerie green eyes fixed on Xiao Yan. Clearly, they regarded him as prey delivered straight to their mouths.

Xiao Yan's "reaction" was textbook—his body abruptly stiffened, his face instantly turned deathly pale, and his hands instinctively drew back, as though he wanted to hide behind his pack.

"W-wolves!" His voice trembled, and even his legs shook slightly, perfectly reproducing the terror of a Dou Qi Third Stage youth confronted by magical beasts.

The two Green Wolves exchanged a glance, seemingly mocking their prey's weakness. One lunged first, its sharp claws sweeping toward Xiao Yan's throat on a gust of fetid wind.

"Ah!"

Xiao Yan gave a short cry of alarm and toppled sharply sideways, as though fear had robbed him of his balance. That seemingly clumsy roll just happened to carry him clear of the Green Wolf's pounce, with a few awkward stumbles thrown into the movement.

Thud!

The Green Wolf missed and struck the ground with a dull impact.

Xiao Yan scrambled a few steps away in "flight," then fumbled at his waist and drew a rust-covered iron sword—a "weapon" he had deliberately dug out of the Xiao Clan's storeroom, perfectly suited to his "trash" persona.

"D-don't come any closer!" He gripped the sword with both hands, but his arms shook like grain in a sieve, and its tip nearly stabbed the ground.

Seeing this, the other Green Wolf charged with a low growl.

A sharp gleam flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes and vanished. His Emperor Realm Soul had already captured the two Green Wolves' movements with absolute clarity. Their speed and strength seemed as sluggish as snails to him; he could even see exactly how their muscles contracted.

If he wished, a single thought would reduce these two rank-one magical beasts to drifting ash.

But he could not.

"Hah!"

Xiao Yan let out a feeble shout, his body once again avoiding the second Green Wolf's pounce by "the narrowest of margins," while the iron sword in his hand swung wildly forward.

Slice.

With a faint sound, the rusty sword's tip just happened to cut across the second Green Wolf's hind leg. The wound was shallow, but enough to make it howl in pain.

"That... that was close!" Xiao Yan panted heavily. Even his forehead broke out in a "perfectly timed" sheen of cold sweat, as though that last move had been pure luck.

The wounded Green Wolf grew even more agitated and joined its companion in attacking Xiao Yan again.

The next few minutes became Xiao Yan's "one-man show." At times, he dodged in "blind panic"; at others, he "summoned his courage" and hacked wildly with his sword. Every attack seemed completely unstructured, yet he always evaded the Green Wolves' lethal pounces at the very last moment. Occasionally, "luck" even allowed him to leave a few insignificant wounds on them.

This "bitter struggle" lasted a full quarter of an hour.

When Xiao Yan finally exerted all his strength to "laboriously" drive his rusty sword into one Green Wolf's neck and watched it slowly collapse, he seemed utterly drained. He slumped onto the ground, gulping air, his chest heaving violently, as though he no longer had the strength even to raise a hand.

Seeing its companion killed, the other Green Wolf showed a flicker of fear in its eyes. After a moment's hesitation, it tucked its tail between its legs and fled into the woods.

"Whew... I nearly died of fright..." Sprawled on the ground, Xiao Yan wiped the "cold sweat" from his forehead with his sleeve, his face filled with the relief of surviving a brush with death.

Only he knew that throughout that seemingly perilous quarter of an hour, his soul power had already spread outward and thoroughly examined everything within a hundred zhang. Only after confirming there were no other spectators had he "ended" this one-man performance.

[System notification: Disguised behavior conforms to the current cultivation realm setting. No warning triggered.]

[Host detected successfully eliminating low-level threats (two rank-one Green Wolves). Classified as "reasonable self-defense." No reward.]

"As expected," Xiao Yan muttered. After resting for a while, he slowly stood, dragged the dead Green Wolf to the roadside, and roughly buried it beneath stones. This was to prevent other hunters or mercenary groups from noticing anything suspicious. A Dou Qi Third Stage youth killing a rank-one Green Wolf alone might be plausible, but doing so too easily would invite suspicion.

Once that was done, he brushed the dirt from his hands and continued deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

As he ventured farther into the mountains, the trees grew increasingly dense. A faint smell of blood and rotting vegetation hung in the air. Occasionally, the roar of a high-rank magical beast drifted from afar, making the leaves tremble and rustle.

Xiao Yan maintained his cautious appearance, looking as though his courage might shatter at any moment. He walked slowly, his wary gaze sweeping his surroundings, as though every step landed on the edge of a blade.

His soul power, however, continued spreading outward like an invisible net.

Even with the system restricting its outward pressure, soul power at the Peak Dou Sheng level possessed a range and precision beyond anything the people of this world could imagine. Magical beasts lurking in the mountains, hidden medicinal herbs, and even mercenary groups hunting magical beasts several li away all appeared clearly within his "perception."

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Xiao Yan paused, his gaze drifting seemingly casually toward a thick patch of bushes on his left.

Two faint presences were concealed there. Their owners had suppressed their Dou Qi fluctuations, clearly hiding on purpose. Yet under the scrutiny of his Emperor Realm Soul, their locations and cultivation levels—a four-star Dou Zhe and a three-star Dou Zhe—lay completely exposed.

More importantly, Xiao Yan sensed a faintly familiar presence from them—the unmistakable flavor of the Mo Family.

The Mo Family, one of Wutan City's three major families, had long been at odds with the Xiao Clan. When Nalan Yanran broke the engagement a few days earlier, the Mo Family had apparently sent people to linger outside the Xiao Residence. Presumably, they had been waiting to laugh at the Xiao Clan's humiliation, perhaps even hoping to exploit the opportunity.

Looks like trouble has come knocking. Xiao Yan understood, but his expression revealed nothing. He even deliberately showed a hint of weariness and lowered vigilance, quickening his pace slightly as he headed toward a more secluded valley ahead.

He knew those two men from the Mo Family would certainly follow.

[System notification: Potential threats detected—Mo Family informants (two Dou Zhe). Eligible for "elimination." Hidden quest issued: Eliminate the Mo Family informants. Requirement: Create the appearance of accidental deaths. Leave no direct traces linked to the host. Quest reward: Basic Alchemy Knowledge Manual (incomplete).]

The corners of Xiao Yan's lips lifted almost imperceptibly.

His first "proper" quest had finally arrived.

He continued playing the inexperienced youth who had no idea danger was upon him, carrying his pack as he walked step by step into the valley ahead. The cliffs on either side blocked the sunlight, leaving the valley somewhat gloomy. Only a few rays slipped through gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light and shadows onto the ground.

Sure enough, the two presences behind him followed him inside, drawing steadily closer.

Xiao Yan could even "hear" their hushed conversation.

"That trash really walked right in. Let's see how he escapes now."

"Heh heh, the family head said we don't need to kill him. Just cripple him and turn the Xiao Clan into a complete laughingstock."

"Relax. A piece of trash at the Dou Qi Third Stage? We can knead him however we like."

The footsteps drew closer, carrying undisguised malice.

Xiao Yan stopped and slowly turned, displaying precisely the right amount of "terror." "W-who are you? What do you want?"

Two men dressed in black stepped out from behind the trees, savage smiles on their faces. One held a short blade that glinted coldly in the dim light.

"Xiao Yan, stop pretending. Be good and accept your death!" the leading man snarled with a grin, openly releasing the aura of a four-star Dou Zhe to bear down on Xiao Yan.

Under that aura, Xiao Yan's "face" grew even paler. His body "involuntarily" retreated several steps until he struck the rock wall behind him, as though he had nowhere left to go.

"You're... from the Mo Family?" His trembling voice carried "anger" and "fear." "The Xiao Clan has no quarrel with you. Why are you attacking me?"

"No quarrel?" The other man sneered. "Who told you to belong to the Xiao Clan? Blame yourself for being useless enough to become trash!"

With that, the two exchanged a glance and lunged at Xiao Yan together. Their weapons whistled through the air, making it clear they intended to finish this quickly.

A cold glint flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes.

Now.

He closed his eyes in apparent despair, but in that instant, his body shifted at an exceedingly slight, almost imperceptible angle.

At the same time, a barely detectable thread of Spatial Power gathered at his fingertip—a power belonging to a Dou Sheng, compressed to its utmost limit until it was as fine as a strand of hair. Silently, it slipped into the space before him.

Hiss...

An almost inaudible sound arose, as though the air had been torn apart.

Just as the two Mo Family men were about to reach Xiao Yan, a rift no wider than the gap between fingers appeared without warning in the space beneath their feet. It was a deep gray-black, its edges flickering with faint spatial fluctuations, yet strangely, no energy leaked out.

The two Mo Family men noticed nothing amiss. Their forward momentum carried them onward, planting their feet squarely inside that Spatial Rift.

"Huh?"

Both men suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath their feet. An immense, irresistible suction surged from the rift, as though it would tear their bodies apart by force.

"What is that?!"

"Aaah—!"

Their cries of shock and agony had barely escaped their mouths before they abruptly stopped.

The Spatial Rift suddenly widened for an instant, completely swallowing their lower bodies, then swiftly contracted and vanished, as though it had never existed.

Only their upper bodies remained, their faces frozen in terror and disbelief. Then they fell to the ground with a thump, blood gushing out.

Almost simultaneously, Xiao Yan "abruptly" opened his eyes, his face filled with "bewilderment" and "horror," as though he had no idea what had happened.

"Th-this is..." Staring at the severed bodies and gushing blood on the ground, he began trembling "violently," as though he had suffered an immense fright. "H-how did this happen?"

He "scrambled" away from the bodies, his eyes brimming with "fear," muttering to himself, "N-no... I didn't do it... There's... there's something wrong with this place..."

[System notification: Spatial Rift activation detected. Targets deceased. Evaluating nature of deaths...]

[Evaluation result: Spatial Rift classified as a natural phenomenon (low probability), with no direct connection to the host. Meets the criteria for "accidental death."]

[Hidden quest completed. Reward: Basic Alchemy Knowledge Manual (incomplete) delivered to system storage.]

Xiao Yan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his shaken appearance. He even "fearfully" picked up a stone and threw it at the ground from a distance, as though checking whether danger still lurked nearby.

Only after confirming it was safe did he turn in a "panic" and stumble toward the valley's exit, not even daring to look back, as though an evil spirit were chasing him.

After running far from the valley, Xiao Yan gradually slowed only once he was certain he had completely left that area behind. He found a secluded cave and slipped inside.

Leaning against the cold rock wall, he finally cast off all his disguises, his gaze returning to calm.

"The Mo Family, huh..." he murmured. "Since you've come, don't expect to leave unscathed."

He opened the system storage and took out his reward, the Basic Alchemy Knowledge Manual (incomplete). The manual felt slightly cool in his hands, its title written across the cover in an archaic script. He flipped through a few pages, finding basic methods for identifying medicinal ingredients and practicing alchemy.

"Although it's only an incomplete beginner's manual, it's just right for the current 'Xiao Yan.'" Xiao Yan casually flipped through several pages, committed them to memory, then returned the manual to system storage.

Next, he needed to find several herbs in the Magical Beast Mountain Range suitable for cultivation at the Dou Qi stage, such as "Qi-Gathering Grass" and "Dewdrop Flower." This would both fit his persona of "searching for herbs to improve his strength" and lay the groundwork for his subsequent "progress."

Of course, before that, he had something more important to do—according to the system's vague sensing, something unexpected lay hidden somewhere in these mountains.

A Fragment Map to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.

Xiao Yan stood, brushed the dust from his clothes, and put on that "timid" mask again. Leaving the cave, he headed deeper into the mountains.

Sunlight spilled through the leaves, stretching his shadow long.

Within the shadows, the god of death had silently opened his eyes.