He remained hidden, his Silent Eclipse Dao cloaking his aura, his breath steady as he observed the disciples. They were young, likely no older than seventeen, their qi refined but untested against the marsh's true horrors.
Their presence suggested the Skycloud Sect, a regional power beyond the Endless Plains known for its Thunder and Blade Daos, but their pursuit of the wolf this far into the marsh spoke of ambition—or desperation.
The lead disciple froze, his hand raised in a sharp gesture. "Hold."
Kael shifted his stance, his spiritual senses locking onto the same disturbance—a ripple on the water's surface, subtle but swift, its qi sharp and predatory.
The disciples dropped into guarded postures, their auras flaring in unison, their formation a rudimentary but functional Tri-Spike Array designed to trap agile beasts through pressure fields of linked qi.
