Xiang Yu stalked his prey with methodical precision, his footsteps ghosting across the forest floor as he followed the disciple who now hunted for him. Predator becoming prey, hunter becoming hunted.

"Tch, he's not here," the disciple muttered in frustration, pushing aside another cluster of bushes before continuing his search.

Each movement Xiang Yu made was calculated, deliberate. His breathing remained shallow and controlled as he maintained a careful distance. The weight of his situation pressed against his consciousness with crushing force. He had never taken a life before—how could he have? His previous existence had been governed by laws and societal constraints that made such actions unthinkable. But this world operated under different rules—the strong survived while the weak perished, often without ceremony or justice.

In this cruel calculus where the equation reduced to kill or be killed, Xiang Yu had already determined which variable he preferred to be. The answer was brutally simple: he would much rather be the one doing the killing.

As he shadowed his opponent, his foot brushed against something solid. Glancing down, he discovered a substantial stone partially embedded in the soil—roughly half a meter in diameter and weighing approximately fifty kilograms. The moment his eyes fell upon it, inspiration struck like lightning.

Silently sheathing his practice knife, Xiang Yu wrapped his hands around the stone. Thanks to his advancement to the second layer of Body Refining, lifting the substantial weight wasn't impossible, though he still felt its considerable heft. The stone possessed excellent mass and balance—a crude but potentially devastating weapon against anyone in the early stage of Body Refining (1st - 3rd Layer), provided he utilized it correctly.

With painstaking care, Xiang Yu hoisted the stone and positioned himself behind a thick tree trunk. From this vantage point, he observed his target pushing through another dense thicket, completely unaware of the danger lurking mere steps away.

The moment arrived.

Xiang Yu charged forward, stone raised high above his head. The sudden movement finally alerted the disciple, who began turning at the sound of approaching footsteps. Realization and horror flashed across his features, but the reaction came far too late. Xiang Yu brought the stone crashing down with terrible purpose, crushing the disciple's skull before he could even cry out. The impact produced a sickening sound—part crunch, part wet thud—that would likely haunt Xiang Yu's dreams for nights to come.

His chest heaved as adrenaline coursed through his system. The nervous tension that had built throughout his stealthy pursuit now threatened to overwhelm him. Taking a human life—even one bent on ending his own—wasn't something his consciousness could simply dismiss. Yet he forced himself to regain composure, repeating the harsh truth of this reality: death was commonplace here, an expected outcome rather than a tragedy. Had their positions been reversed, the disciple wouldn't have hesitated to end him.

With pragmatic detachment, Xiang Yu knelt beside the corpse and began searching through the disciple's robes and possessions. He hoped to find valuable resources—perhaps martial techniques, cultivation scriptures, or medicinal pills that might aid his survival. His thorough examination yielded nothing of significance, however.

The disappointing result didn't surprise him. Body Refining cultivators typically occupied the lowest rungs of sect hierarchy—outer disciples or even servants with minimal wealth or resources. This explained their willingness to comply with the dean's murderous orders; they had likely been promised rewards or advancement in exchange for eliminating him.

Xiang Yu felt no particular guilt for the man's fate. In this brutal world, everyone made choices based on their individual circumstances. The disciple had made his choice, and Xiang Yu had made his.

…

The clash between Li Yao and Dean Gu Hanming had evolved into a deadly dance of power and technique. With each engagement, they separated only to converge again with greater ferocity, the forest around them bearing witness to their devastating exchange. Li Yao's sword moved with elegant precision, cutting through the air with whistling brilliance as she executed techniques refined through countless hours of dedicated practice.

Despite her extraordinary skill, the dean maintained his ground, his cultivation advantage serving as an impenetrable barrier between her attacks and victory. His fists, wreathed in swirling spiritual energy, deflected her blade with practiced expertise, each impact sending resonant booms echoing through the mountain forest.

Fury burned in the dean's eyes as he faced the unexpected challenge before him. He had been fighting with his full strength for some time now, holding nothing back as he unleashed techniques that had felled countless opponents throughout his long cultivation journey. Yet this slip of a girl continued to stand before him, unbroken and undaunted. The question repeated itself in his mind with maddening insistence: Why couldn't he defeat her? What secret power allowed her to bridge the fundamental gap between their cultivation realms?

Across the battlefield, Li Yao steadied her sword, her breathing controlled despite the exertion of prolonged combat. This confrontation was stretching far beyond her initial expectations. While she had confidence in her abilities, fighting a Core Formation cultivator as a Foundation Establishment practitioner required more than just talent—it demanded perfect focus and flawless execution. Yet her thoughts continually drifted to her senior brother, wondering if he had escaped his pursuers or if he now faced mortal danger alone in the forest. This divided attention was a liability she couldn't afford, yet couldn't seem to overcome.

[Stop worrying about that guy and just focus on the battle]

The voice resonated within her mind with familiar authority. It belonged to the ancient empress whose soul had become intertwined with Li Yao's fate through an extraordinary twist of destiny. When her family had been massacred years ago, her mother's final act had been to pass down the family's treasured ring. What appeared to be merely a precious heirloom had concealed an astonishing secret—it housed the conscious soul of an immortal empress from an era long forgotten.

Upon awakening this spiritual remnant, Li Yao had gained access to cultivation techniques and wisdom beyond measure. Under the empress's guidance, her advancement had accelerated to miraculous speeds, earning her recognition from an elder of the Azure Cloud Sect who had taken her as a personal disciple. Her reputation as the sect's foremost genius stemmed directly from this hidden advantage.

The empress had never steered her wrong before, which made her current advice all the more perplexing.

"How could I not worry about him?" Li Yao responded internally, maintaining her external focus on the dean's movements. "He's just barely started cultivating, and he's being chased by five cultivators."

[I understand what you mean,] the empress acknowledged, her tone carrying centuries of wisdom, [but you really shouldn't worry about him. Even if you were to die here, he probably wouldn't die.]

Confusion flickered across Li Yao's features momentarily. "How could that be? Could it be that senior brother is playing the pig to eat the tiger?" she wondered, considering whether he might be concealing his true strength.

[No, he's definitely a mortal with no talent,] the empress corrected, [but he has something even greater than talent.]

"Even greater than talent? What's that?" Li Yao pressed, curiosity mingling with her concern.

[Survival instinct,] came the simple reply.

"The what now?" Li Yao's confusion deepened.

[Your senior brother possesses something more valuable than any spiritual root or heavenly technique,] the empress elaborated, her mental voice carrying a note of admiration. [He walks through a simple town festival as though he expects a meteor to come crashing down upon his head at any moment. Every muscle tensed, every sense alert, his eyes constantly cataloging escape routes even while he pretends to enjoy himself.]

The empress continued her assessment with the weight of experience behind her words. [I've seen countless prodigies with boundless talent reduced to ash through overconfidence, while cautious souls like him outlive them all. In my long centuries, I've watched humble cultivators with this primal survival instinct outlast even the mightiest of immortal masters. They recognize what others forget—that our cultivation world is unforgiving, and eternal vigilance is the true path to longevity. Remember this, often, it is not the strongest who survive, but the most paranoid.]

While this internal conversation transpired, Dean Gu Hanming noticed the momentary distraction in Li Yao's demeanor. Though nearly imperceptible, her focus had wavered ever so slightly—and for a cultivator of his caliber, such a minuscule opening might as well have been a gaping vulnerability.

He recognized the opportunity instantly, a predatory gleam lighting his eyes. Whatever had captured her attention didn't matter; all that mattered was exploiting this chance to end their protracted battle once and for all.

"It's time to end this," he declared, his body launching forward with explosive force as he closed the distance between them. Spiritual energy coalesced around his fists with devastating intensity, the air distorting from the sheer power concentrated there.

When he had reduced the gap to merely five meters, he noticed Li Yao closing her eyes. A flash of confusion crossed his features—had she accepted defeat? Was she surrendering to the inevitable? Regardless, he continued his charge, unwilling to squander his advantage.

At two meters' distance, when victory seemed assured, Li Yao's eyes snapped open. In one fluid motion, she raised her sword directly overhead, the blade suddenly illuminated by brilliant blue light that cast eerie shadows across the battlefield.

"You're right," she replied, her voice carrying newfound resolve as spiritual energy cascaded from her weapon in visible waves. "It's time to end this."