A full day had passed since the trial began. Day two dawned, painting the sky in hues of orange and violet. In his hidden cavern, Jian Feng's eyes snapped open. His night had not been spent resting, but in a deep meditative state, analyzing the data he had gathered and refining his strategy for the day ahead.
He activated the new tracking disk. It shimmered to life, showing him a simplified map of the valley, dotted with faint lights. The scattered, dimmer lights were the weaker disciples, moving aimlessly. But two lights burned with a fierce intensity. A chaotic, fiery red shimmer—undoubtedly Hu Jin—and a dense, unwavering green—Gui Ren. With a slow, inexorable certainty, both lights were converging on a single point in the western marshlands.
"A Dragon's Vein Token," Jian Feng surmised, a flicker of interest in his eyes. "One that is clearly not well hidden."
He had no intention of rushing there to compete with them. A direct confrontation was the tool of the brute or the desperate. His path was one of intellect. Consulting his mental map, he identified a tall, granite ridge that overlooked the entire marshy basin. He set off at once, his movements silent and efficient, aiming not for the prize, but for the perfect vantage point from which to watch the play unfold.
(Hu Jin's Perspective)
"Faster, you slugs!" Hu Jin roared, crashing through the murky water of the marsh. His amber eyes were fixed on a small, mossy island about a hundred meters ahead. Resting on a stone pedestal was a glowing Dragon's Vein Token. His blood sang with the thrill of the hunt. This would be the first token claimed by his Tiger Clan.
His path was blocked. Standing stoically on the edge of the island's bank were Gui Ren and his contingent of Black Tortoise disciples. They stood like a wall of green-shelled statues, their defensive formations already active.
"Get out of my way, turtle!" Hu Jin bellowed, planting his feet firmly. "That token belongs to the Tiger Clan!"
(Gui Ren's Perspective)
Gui Ren watched the approaching tiger with an impassive gaze. He and his team had arrived ten minutes earlier, having followed the stable ley lines of the earth directly to this spot. He had no interest in fighting Hu Jin. It was an inefficient use of energy. His goal was simply to hold this position until the Tiger Clan disciples gave up and left.
"The token is here," Gui Ren stated, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. "We are here. Therefore, the token is ours. Leave."
For Hu Jin, this was an unacceptable challenge to his pride. With a roar that shook the marsh, he launched his attack. "Fine! I'll crack that shell myself! Raging Tiger Claw!"
Five massive claws of fiery Qi tore through the air, aimed directly at Gui Ren. The battle had begun.
From his concealed position on the ridge above, Jian Feng watched the spectacle with detached curiosity. It was exactly as he had predicted. Hu Jin was all offense, a whirlwind of explosive, powerful attacks that churned the marsh into a boiling cauldron. Gui Ren, in contrast, was a bastion of absolute defense. He stood unmoving, a thick, yellow-brown barrier of earthen Qi absorbing every blow without so much as a ripple. Their disciples clashed around them, a chaotic melee of fire against earth.
It was a perfect stalemate. Hu Jin couldn't break the defense, and Gui Ren showed no inclination to counterattack. They were two powerful forces locked in a prideful, energy-draining struggle.
But Jian Feng wasn't just watching the fight. His Star-Chart was active, analyzing the deeper truths of the conflict. He saw the way the violent churn of elemental Qi from their battle was agitating the marsh water, causing small, dark-petaled lotuses to rise to the surface. Shadow-Lotuses. A 100-point alchemy ingredient that only appeared in environments of extreme elemental chaos. A valuable resource the combatants below were completely oblivious to.
He also saw the guardian of the token—a slimy, tentacled beast called a Marsh Lurker—get incidentally vaporized by one of Hu Jin's stray attacks. The path to the prize was now clear.
While the titans battled, the ghost made his move. He slipped down the far side of the ridge, his movements silent. He activated one of his illusion disks, his form shimmering and blending into the marsh mist. He gracefully moved across the water's surface, his feet tapping on submerged roots he had already mapped, and quickly harvested a dozen of the freshly bloomed Shadow-Lotuses.
Then, under the cover of his illusion and the deafening explosions of the ongoing fight, he walked onto the small island.
At that exact moment, the battle below reached its climax. Hu Jin and Gui Ren, having both expended nearly half of their spiritual reserves, unleashed one final, grand technique each. The resulting explosion sent a massive wave across the marsh, forcing both sides to stumble back, panting and glaring at one another.
"Had enough, turtle?" Hu Jin growdled, his chest heaving.
"Your attacks are futile," Gui Ren stated flatly, though a sheen of sweat was visible on his brow.
Their rivalry momentarily forgotten, they both instinctively turned their gaze to the prize that had caused the conflict.
And their hearts froze.
Standing on the stone pedestal, next to where the token had been, was a lone, slender figure in azure robes. They recognized him instantly—the 'failed prodigy' from the Azure Dragon Clan. He calmly placed the Dragon's Vein Token into his pouch, his aura still feeling deceptively weak.
Jian Feng gave them a brief, unreadable glance before turning and melting back into the mists of the marsh, vanishing as silently as he had appeared.
Silence descended upon the basin, broken only by the sound of dripping water. Hu Jin and Gui Ren, the two proudest lions of their generation, stared at the empty pedestal, then at each other. Their faces cycled through shock, confusion, and finally, a shared, burning humiliation.
They had fought a battle of titans, shaking the earth and wasting immense energy, only for a ghost they hadn't even registered as a player to walk onto their stage and steal the trophy from under their very noses. The game was not what they thought it was. And they were not the only players.