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Night fell.
Pitch-black figures streaked across the night sky as though cleaving through it, flashing through the mountain forests at astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the darkness one after another.
Then...
Seven or eight figures darted like lightning into a crooked, fissure-like gorge before two enormous mountains, barely wide enough for two or three people to pass abreast...
They hid in the shadows along either side of the narrow gorge without making a sound.
The figures who had entered the gorge between those two peaks raced forward at tremendous speed.
In moments, they had covered several hundred yards.
A fairly spacious clearing appeared ahead. Flickers of firelight rippled within it, and voices could faintly be heard...
"Third Brother! That cultivator can stay in that Mountain Cave for months without coming out. How can he stand being cooped up for so long?"
"He's a cultivator! He practices immortal arts! Naturally, he's different!"
"But Fool Thirteen is a cultivator too, and he couldn't stand it after just half a month!"
"That was before. They say Fool Thirteen's cultivation has improved quite a bit lately! He's already reached something called... uh... Major Completion of the Cultivation Realm!"
"Major Completion of the Cultivation Realm? What's that?"
"Tch! Think of it as the difference between a first-rate expert and a second-rate expert!"
"Hehe! Isn't that the difference between you and me?"
"You must be joking! You little...!"
"...!"
In the little pavilion, two young martial artists dressed in animal hides were chatting and shooting the breeze, looking utterly at ease...
Just then!
Suddenly!
Whoosh, whoosh! The flames on the torches began to flicker.
"Hm?" The slightly older martial artist seemed to notice something