The deeper Lin Chen ventured into the Hidden Trials, the quieter the world became.
Gone were the jeering outer disciples and sneering inner sect elites.
Gone were the distant roars of monsters that echoed through the bamboo forests.
Here, in the heart of the trial zone, only the whispering mist remained — thick, silver, and laced with killing intent.
Lin Chen paused atop a jagged outcrop, his senses straining.
"Still following me, are they…" he mused, lips curling into that familiar smirk that danced between humor and danger.
Behind him, hidden among the crooked trees and thorny vines, six figures crept through the mist. Their movements were careful, but not careful enough. Lin Chen had smelled their stink an hour ago.
"Rival sect dogs," he muttered. "Could've picked a better ambush spot."
His fingers flexed. Veins pulsed faintly under his skin — a sign that the forbidden body technique he refined days ago was itching to erupt.
The Crimson Vein Tempering Art — an inheritance he stumbled upon by chance… or perhaps by fate.
---
A branch snapped somewhere behind.
Then another.
Lin Chen sighed dramatically. Loud enough to carry through the fog.
"Well, well… Took you bastards long enough."
The ambushers froze.
A heartbeat later, a cold voice barked out:
"Attack! Kill him before he sounds the alarm!"
Six shadows lunged from the mist — blades glinting, spiritual energy surging.
But Lin Chen didn't flinch.
Instead, he chuckled. "Six against one? Cheating already? And here I thought your Scarlet Moon Sect prided itself on honor."
His words were a taunt, but his body was a blur.
He moved like liquid mercury, slipping between blades with ease born from lifetimes of battle.
---
Clang!
His dagger met the first attacker's sword — not with a block, but a deflection that spun the man sideways.
Lin Chen's palm shot out, landing squarely on the enemy's chest.
Boom!
The man's ribcage caved in with a wet crunch, sending him flying back into the mist.
Five left.
---
The second and third attackers flanked him from both sides.
One lashed out with a whip crackling with lightning qi; the other swung a heavy axe that roared with flame.
Lin Chen's smile widened.
"Lightning and fire? Someone's compensating."
He ducked low, the axe whistling inches above his head. His dagger flicked upward — cutting the whip clean in half.
Before the lightning cultivator could blink, Lin Chen was already in his face.
Thud!
A knee to the gut.
A dagger across the throat.
Two more down.
---
The remaining three hesitated. Fear creeping into their eyes.
Too late.
Lin Chen's aura flared — Crimson Vein Tempering Art activating fully for the first time.
His veins bulged, glowing faint red under his skin. His muscles swelled subtly, and his presence grew oppressive.
"You want to play assassin in my backyard? Fine. Let's play."
---
The fight became a slaughter.
Lin Chen's movements were fluid yet brutal — like an artist painting with blood.
When the last enemy fell, gurgling as he clutched his severed wrist, Lin Chen stood amid the carnage.
His chest heaved slightly, but his grin remained.
"Idiots," he muttered. "At least send someone in the Foundation Establishment realm next time. This was just… disappointing."
---
He turned to loot their corpses with practiced ease.
Pills, spirit stones, a few cheap weapons — all pocketed without ceremony.
But one thing caught his eye:
A small jade slip bearing the mark of the Scarlet Moon Sect.
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed as he read the hidden orders etched inside.
"Kill Azure Sky Sect's Lin Chen at all costs. He cannot be allowed to return alive from the trials."
"Priority target. Suspected connection to fallen powers of the past."
---
Lin Chen's smile faded for the first time that day.
"Fallen powers… So they're starting to suspect."
His thoughts flickered — to galaxies far beyond this planet, to thrones once sat upon by apex beings, to women with eyes like stars who waited, still grieving in distant corners of the universe.
His fists clenched.
"No. Not yet. Not until I'm ready."
---
The wind shifted.
Suddenly, a new presence stepped into the clearing — light as a whisper, cold as moonlight.
Lin Chen's dagger snapped up instinctively, eyes hard.
But when he saw the woman, he relaxed — only slightly.
---
She was tall, her features sharp yet elegant, with streaks of silver in her long black hair.
Her eyes, though beautiful, were distant — like frosted glass hiding old wounds.
Yu Xueqing.
The cold widow-senior sister he'd encountered briefly before.
"...You handled them well," she said, her voice low and emotionless.
Lin Chen raised a brow. "Praise from Ice Queen Yu? I must be dreaming."
She didn't smile.
Didn't even twitch.
But her gaze lingered on him — just a beat longer than necessary.
---
"You've made enemies," she said simply.
Lin Chen shrugged, wiping blood from his dagger.
"Wouldn't be the first time. Won't be the last. The universe is big, sister. And I plan to offend all of it, one day."
---
A faint snort escaped her lips.
Barely audible — but Lin Chen caught it.
He grinned wider.
"Got her."
---
But before he could press his luck with another quip, Yu Xueqing's eyes sharpened.
"There's a bigger threat ahead. A nest of Cloud Serpents. Rank 3 beasts. Lethal even to Core Formation cultivators."
She paused.
Her gaze flicked over him — from his worn clothes to his faintly glowing veins.
"If you want to survive… you'll need help."
---
Lin Chen tilted his head, studying her.
"Help? From you? Why, senior sister… Is this your way of proposing an alliance? So forward."
Yu Xueqing's frosty aura flared slightly.
But again… her lips twitched.
Just a hair's breadth.
---
"Fine," she said curtly. "Alliance. Temporary."
Lin Chen sheathed his dagger and clapped his hands.
"Excellent! A cold widow and a shameless rogue, teaming up to kill snakes. What could go wrong?"
---
Above them, the mists swirled.
And in the distance, the first bone-chilling hiss echoed through the trial zone — long and hungry.
The real battle was about to begin.