The Thirty-Day Countdown: The Two Keys' First Resonance

The seventh day after the debriefing.

The bamboo grove.

Dong Jian stood alone before a wooden stake.

His feet were spread apart.

His knees were slightly bent.

He deployed his Sinking Body Stance.

Black Soul Power flowed down from his shoulders, passing through his spine, waist and legs before entering the ground.

The soil beneath his feet slowly sank.

He did not use Light-Body Bear Steps.

Nor did he increase the weight of either leg on its own.

After four consecutive breaths, Dong Jian withdrew his Soul Power of his own accord.

Not far away.

Li Man had just finished training with a three-layer bamboo formation.

The shadows of two main formation bamboos remained fixed in the grove.

One Mobile Formation Eye slowly retreated along a route planned in advance.

She had already drawn another route on the ground.

It was an addition made after the Qinghe Village mission-

A backup formation route.

If the main formation was destroyed, the Mobile Formation Eye could immediately take over the original route without recalculating.

In the past.

The two of them had always trained like this together.

Dong Jian was responsible for attacking the main formation and destroying the Mobile Formation Eye.

Li Man adjusted the backup route in response to Dong Jian's movements.

But over the past seven days.

Dong Jian had always appeared only after she finished training.

Today was no different.

Li Man withdrew her Green Jade Bamboo.

"You changed the time again."

Dong Jian's movements faltered slightly.

"I can't do high-intensity sparring during my punishment."

"An ordinary formation test doesn't count as high intensity."

"I need to retest the limits of my Sinking Body Stance."

"Teacher Yan Feng scheduled that for the afternoon."

Li Man looked at him.

"What did you practice this morning?"

Dong Jian did not answer immediately.

Deep in his consciousness.

The key fragment wrapped in the black-and-white curtain of light was trembling gently.

Whenever Li Man came within twenty paces of him.

The golden bamboo-leaf patterns on the surface of the black key fragment lit up.

Li Man's Green Jade Bamboo responded as well.

Over the past seven days.

The sensation had grown increasingly pronounced.

The first time, the bamboo leaves had merely grown hot.

The second time, their Soul Power had briefly synchronized.

Yesterday, as they passed the cafeteria entrance together, the weight of Dong Jian's right arm had suddenly increased, even though he had not consciously controlled it.

If he had not deployed his Sinking Body Stance in time, the wooden bowl in his hand would have been crushed.

The countdown displayed by the stone stele had also gone from thirty days to twenty-three.

Dong Jian had tried to isolate it.

The black-and-white curtain of light in the Hundred Battles Hall.

Leaving the Divine Dragon Secret Realm of his own accord.

Reducing contact with Li Man.

None of those methods had truly blocked the key fragments' connection.

"Recovery training,"

Dong Jian finally said.

Li Man stared at him.

"You're not recovering."

"You're avoiding me."

Dong Jian frowned slightly.

"No."

"Seven days."

Li Man held up a finger.

"The first time, you said the healing teacher had scheduled an inspection at short notice."

"The second time, you said the Hundred Battles Hall trial had been moved up."

"The third time, you said Teacher Yan Feng had changed the terms of your punishment."

"Today it's recovery training."

She stepped forward.

The golden patterns on her Green Jade Bamboo lit up.

The key fragment in Dong Jian's consciousness trembled violently.

Black Soul Power gathered in his right leg beyond his control.

He immediately deployed his Sinking Body Stance.

He transferred the sudden increase in weight into the ground.

Crack.

A dry branch snapped beneath his foot.

Li Man saw it.

"There it is again."

"What?"

"Your Light-Heavy Conversion."

Li Man said:

"You didn't control it yourself just now."

Dong Jian did not deny it.

"That thing is affecting you."

The bamboo grove fell silent for a moment.

Li Man did not press him further.

She only said:

"There's an escort mission this afternoon."

"Teacher Yan Feng wants both of us to take part."

"You can't stay twenty paces away from me the whole way."

With that.

She turned and left.

Dong Jian watched her retreating figure.

The stone stele in his consciousness lit up again.

Green bamboo key aura detected.

Resonance fluctuations continuing to intensify.

Estimated time until passive resonance: within fifteen days.

There had originally been twenty-three days left.

Because of that encounter just now.

The time had shortened again.

The blockade had not solved the problem.

Instead, it seemed to be steadily building up pressure.

That afternoon.

The south gate of Nuoding Academy.

Three carriages loaded with medicinal herbs stood by the roadside.

The herbs were to be delivered to Qingfeng Town, outside Nuoding City.

The mission's danger level was very low.

The route followed an official road.

There were only a few Ten-Year Soul Beasts nearby.

The only threat they needed to guard against was ordinary bandits who specialized in robbing caravans.

Yan Feng rode at the very front.

Tang San was responsible for scouting both sides of the road.

Xiao Wu sat atop the last carriage.

Dong Jian and Li Man guarded the left and right sides of the convoy respectively.

"This isn't a combat mission."

Before they set out, Yan Feng reminded them again.

"Protect the herbs."

"Protect the drivers."

"If you encounter enemies, establish a defensive line first."

He looked pointedly at Dong Jian.

"During your punishment."

"You're not allowed to charge out of the convoy alone without my orders."

Dong Jian nodded.

"Understood."

Yan Feng then looked at Li Man.

"Have you drawn the backup formation routes?"

Li Man unfolded a simplified map.

"There are only two main directions along this stretch of the official road."

"The main formation protects the convoy."

"The first backup route leads the convoy toward the riverbank."

"The second backup route enters the woods to the east."

"If the enemy uses fire attacks, abandon the woods."

"If the riverbank is blocked by ranged attacks, abandon the first route."

Yan Feng nodded.

"This is more thorough than what you had at Qinghe Village."

Yu Xiaogang had not joined the mission.

Yet Tang San still committed all of Yan Feng's arrangements to memory.

During this time.

He had sensed with growing clarity.

That Yan Feng's training methods were different from his teacher's.

Yu Xiaogang was accustomed to first settling on the most reasonable plan.

Yan Feng, however, would also prepare a way out in case the plan failed.

Tang San did not think his teacher was wrong.

But neither could he deny.

That when carrying out a real mission, the latter approach was more practical.

The convoy traveled for two hours.

Low hills gradually appeared on both sides of the road.

Tang San suddenly raised a hand.

"There are footsteps ahead."

"There are quite a few of them."

Yan Feng signaled for the convoy to slow down.

Before anyone could stop.

Several massive boulders had already rolled down the hillside ahead.

Boom!

The road was completely blocked.

More than ten masked men charged out of the woods on both sides.

They had no Soul Rings.

Most were merely ordinary people with strong bodies.

Three of them released their Martial Souls.

One was a Soul Master with a short-blade Tool Martial Soul.

Another was a Soul Master with a mountain hound Beast Martial Soul.

Both had Soul Power around level ten.

The last man stood deep in the woods.

His body was concealed beneath a black robe.

He did not release his Martial Soul.

"Protect the carriage."

Yan Feng did not charge at the enemy.

His black iron round shield expanded.

It blocked the falling rocks ahead.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass rapidly emerged.

It bound the first three bandits to approach.

Xiao Wu leaped down from the carriage roof.

With one kick, she sent a man wielding an iron club flying.

Li Man tapped the ground with her Green Jade Bamboo.

"Green Bamboo Binding Formation!"

Two main formation bamboo shadows rose on either side of the carriage.

Bamboo vines linked the wheels to the carriage frame.

They formed the first layer of protection.

One Mobile Formation Eye moved forward along the road.

The other remained at the rear.

The bandits' target was clearly the medicinal herbs.

They did not concentrate their attacks on the Soul Masters.

Instead, they split into several groups and approached from the sides of the carriage.

"Three on the right."

Dong Jian did not leave the convoy.

His right arm grew heavier for a moment.

With one punch, he broke the wooden club in a bandit's hand.

Another man lunged at him from behind.

Dong Jian turned sideways.

His Sinking Body Stance stabilized his center of gravity.

His shoulder slammed into the man's chest.

He did not use Bear Astral Energy Body Protection.

Ordinary people simply could not withstand the force of a Soul Skill.

He used only his body to shove the man away.

Li Man's Mobile Formation Eye had already reached the right side of the road.

According to the backup route, the bamboo vines should have sealed off the hillside.

But a bandit suddenly hurled a jar full of lamp oil at the bamboo shadow.

Smash!

Lamp oil spilled everywhere.

A torch followed.

Li Man did not try to force the original formation to hold.

"The first backup route has failed."

"Switching to the riverbank route."

The Mobile Formation Eye immediately changed direction.

It was not recalculating on the spot.

Instead, it retreated along the second route planned in advance.

Bamboo vines wrapped around the carriage.

They prepared to pull it toward the left side of the road.

Yan Feng watched without intervening.

The improvement following the review was already showing results.

Just then.

The black-robed figure deep in the woods raised a hand.

A piece of black metal slid out of his sleeve.

A slender eye design was engraved on it.

The Return to One Society.

The black-robed figure did not take part in the robbery.

He merely injected Soul Power into the metal device.

A ripple barely visible to the naked eye spread outward.

The key fragment in Dong Jian's consciousness trembled violently.

It was not the faint response from before.

It was a near-uncontrollable collision.

The black-and-white screen of light in the Hundred Battles Hall was instantly covered in cracks.

Pollution source location detected.

Seal failed.

Passive resonance activated ahead of schedule.

Dong Jian's expression changed dramatically.

"Li Man, withdraw your Martial Soul!"

Li Man had just been about to move the Mobile Formation Eye.

Hearing his voice, she paused.

"Why?"

"Now!"

Dong Jian rushed toward her.

This already violated Yan Feng's order not to leave his position without permission.

But he had no time to explain.

The black key fragment burst through the screen of light.

The broken stone tablet in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm fully unfolded.

In reality.

An extremely faint black light appeared on Dong Jian's chest.

The golden markings on Li Man's Green Jade Bamboo lit up at the same time.

She had not released it of her own accord.

Four bamboo shadows appeared together.

The main formation layer.

The Mobile Formation Eye.

The Instant Formation Eye.

The Three-Layer Bamboo Formation completely lost its separate control.

All the bamboo vines grew wildly.

"It wasn't me!"

Li Man immediately realized something was wrong.

She tried to dismiss her Martial Soul.

But her Soul Power was forcibly drawn along by another force.

Dong Jian had only just approached.

When a line of black-and-gold light appeared between them.

Boom!

Their consciousnesses were pulled into another space at the same time.

Dong Jian saw a golden bamboo forest.

Massive bamboo roots plunged deep underground like coiled dragons.

Countless young bamboo shoots grew around the center.

In its depths.

A tall plant Soul Beast slowly bent its bamboo body.

As though protecting something.

Beneath the bamboo forest.

There was a sealed stone gate.

At the center of the gate were two key-shaped recesses.

One bore a black-and-white beast pattern.

The other bore a golden bamboo leaf.

Li Man, meanwhile, saw the Hundred Battles Hall.

A black stone stele.

Endless stone steps.

And a broken key fragment wrapped in slender eye patterns.

She also saw behind the stele.

A massive black-and-white Soul Beast hung in the darkness, suspended by chains.

Black metal was embedded all over its body.

With every breath, polluted Soul Power poured from its wounds.

"Number Zero..."

The Soul Beast raised its head.

Its gaze seemed to pass through both their consciousnesses.

"Don't come..."

The vision twisted violently.

The pollution's eye patterns began spreading toward the Green Jade Bamboo along the black-and-gold light between them.

Fine black lines appeared on Li Man's right hand.

The edges of the bamboo leaves also darkened rapidly.

Dong Jian completely lost control of his body weight.

His left arm grew lighter.

His right leg grew heavier.

The weight of his waist kept changing.

His body fell forward.

"Sever the resonance!"

Dong Jian gritted his teeth and deployed his Sinking Body Stance.

But the weight of his feet was uneven.

He could not transmit his strength properly at all.

Li Man was also enduring a mental shock.

The Three-Layer Bamboo Formation was operating all at once.

The main formation's bamboo vines kept tightening around the carriage.

The Mobile Formation Eye lost its route and began moving toward the crowd.

Instant Formation Eyes appeared one after another along the road.

If this continued.

The bamboo formation would hurt their own people first.

"Maintain the main formation layer!"

Li Man fought through the headache.

"Stop the Mobile Formation Eye!"

She did not try to regain all control at once.

Instead, she followed the training method for the three-layer bamboo formation.

She voluntarily abandoned the Instant Formation Eye.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several suddenly formed bamboo shadows shattered on their own.

The mental backlash made blood trickle from the corner of Li Man's mouth.

But it also reduced the number of targets she had to control.

"Dong Jian!"

"Transfer the weight to the main formation!"

Dong Jian understood immediately.

He couldn't stabilize the weight of his entire body now.

But through the resonance between them, he could direct the uncontrolled force toward the green bamboo formation core connected to Li Man.

He grabbed the main formation's bamboo vines with both hands.

The Sinking Body Stance unfolded again.

The constantly shifting weight in his shoulders, waist, and legs no longer remained inside his body.

Instead, it traveled along the bamboo vines into the fixed formation cores.

Boom!

The two bamboo shadows of the main formation sank at the same time.

A broad web of cracks appeared in the ground.

Li Man used the opening to lock down the main formation layer.

Then she voluntarily severed the Moving Formation layer.

The second moving bamboo shadow shattered.

Only the two most basic fixed formation cores remained.

The mental pressure dropped sharply.

"Now!"

Dong Jian pressed all the remaining weight into the ground.

Li Man withdrew her Green Jade Bamboo.

The black-and-gold light finally snapped.

Both of them retreated at the same time.

Nearly thirty percent of their Soul Power was drained away in an instant.

Dong Jian dropped to one knee.

Li Man braced herself against the carriage, her face pale.

The entire resonance had lasted only a few breaths.

But the onlookers had only seen the bamboo formation suddenly spiral out of control.

Then Dong Jian and Li Man had both erupted with abnormal Soul Power.

Yan Feng had already driven back the short-blade Soul Master.

Seeing the state they were in, he rushed over at once.

"What happened?"

"A Return to One Society device."

Dong Jian pointed toward the woods.

Having successfully pinpointed the location, the black-robed figure was already preparing to retreat.

Tang San activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Blue Silver Grass lashed in from the side to entangle the black-robed figure.

The black-robed figure had no intention of prolonging the fight.

The metal device in the black-robed figure's hand exploded.

Black smoke obscured everyone's vision.

By the time Yan Feng dispersed the smoke with his round shield, the figure was gone.

The remaining bandits had lost their leader.

They were all quickly subdued.

None of the medicinal herbs had been lost.

Only two of the drivers had suffered minor injuries.

But after the mission ended,

there was not the slightest relief in the air.

Li Man sat on a rock by the riverbank.

Her Green Jade Bamboo lay across her knees.

A trace of black still lingered along the edges of its leaves.

Dong Jian walked over to her.

"The contamination hasn't spread any further."

Li Man didn't look up.

"You knew all along there would be resonance."

"I only knew it would happen within thirty days."

"So you started avoiding me."

"I wanted to find a way to isolate it first."

Li Man looked up.

"You weren't avoiding the Return to One Society."

"You were avoiding what I might find out."

Dong Jian fell silent.

Li Man continued:

"When the Fusion Soul Beast exploded,

your Divine Dragon Secret Realm took something away.

"It was a contaminated key fragment.

"It had something to do with my Green Jade Bamboo.

"You already knew all of that."

"Yes."

Dong Jian finally admitted it.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know whether the resonance would hurt you."

"So you decided for me."

Li Man's voice was quiet.

"You decided I should wait in the dark until danger came looking for me."

"The key fragment was contaminated,"

Dong Jian said.

"The Return to One Society could use it to locate us.

"If I told you, you might have started investigating it yourself

"and gotten dragged in even sooner."

"I've already been dragged in."

Li Man pointed to the black markings along the edge of the Green Jade Bamboo.

"That wasn't decided by whether or not you told me.

"And you forgot what we said before."

Of course Dong Jian remembered.

They couldn't decide for each other whether to continue

just because they were worried the other might get hurt.

Now,

he had done exactly the same thing.

"It was my fault,"

Dong Jian said.

"I shouldn't have let you bear the resonance without knowing why."

Li Man looked at him.

She didn't immediately soften because of a single apology.

"I'm not asking you to tell me every secret of the Divine Dragon Secret Realm.

"That's yours.

"But as long as it involves me,

"you should at least tell me what the danger is."

Dong Jian nodded.

"After the mission is over,

"I'll tell you everything about the key fragment."

"Not everything about the Divine Dragon Secret Realm,"

Li Man said.

"Just the parts that involve me."

"All right."

Things between them were still a little strained.

At least he was no longer keeping her completely in the dark.

Yan Feng came over from a distance.

He knew nothing about the key fragment or the Divine Dragon Secret Realm.

He had only seen the abnormal Soul Power from the two of them.

"Can you still travel?"

"Yes."

Li Man put away her Green Jade Bamboo.

"That was Martial Soul resonance caused by a Return to One Society device."

That was as much as they could explain to others for now.

Yan Feng didn't press them further in the wilderness.

"We'll have you checked when we return to the academy.

"Today's mission went from low-risk to a Return to One Society ambush.

"No one is allowed to leave the group alone."

The convoy set off again.

Before night fell,

they finally reached Qingfeng Town.

The medicinal herbs were handed over.

Dong Jian and Li Man were assigned to rest in the same courtyard.

They had just prepared to examine the contamination left on the Green Jade Bamboo

when, deep in their consciousness,

a voice came from the black key fragment once more.

This time,

Dong Jian was no longer the only one who could hear it.

Li Man looked up as well.

A hoarse, feeble voice sounded between their currents of Soul Power.

"Don't come to Dragon Spine Valley..."

"The valley guardian..."

The voice suddenly turned pained.

"Is no longer human."

The eye patterns on the black key fragment's surface opened at the same time.

Far to the north,

in a valley surrounded by mountains,

someone slowly raised his head.

His eyes were long and narrow.

There was not a trace of human emotion in his pupils.

"The key fragment.

"It's finally awakened."