Chương 65: Chapter 28 Part 1

The morning sun had barely crested the high stone walls of the Morvant Estate when the first explosion shattered the tranquility of the courtyard. A deafening, concussive BOOM echoed off the reinforced manor walls, immediately followed by a massive, violent plume of super-heated steam that completely obscured the training grounds. Standing at the edge of the wooden deck, holding a steaming cup of oolong tea, Ming Xuan Ji didn't even flinch.

She simply waved her free hand, sending a gentle pulse of wind-affinity Qi to clear the thick, hissing fog. As the white steam parted, the aftermath of the strike was revealed. In the center of the courtyard, the heavy, dwarven-steel training dummy, a solid slab of metal designed to withstand the crushing blows of a vanguard bruiser, was completely ruined.

The top half of the dummy was warped and glowing a brilliant, cherry-red from intense heat, while the bottom half was encased in a jagged, terrifyingly thick block of absolute-zero ice. Lying flat on her back in the grass, ten feet away from the dummy, was Evanthe. The young Crimson Disciple was gasping for breath, her deep-blue martial tunic soaked in sweat and condensed steam.

Her beautiful, master-crafted Sungold longsword rested in the dirt beside her, humming furiously as it attempted to process the massive influx of conflicting energy.

"I... I missed," Evanthe coughed, staring up at the blue sky, her arms trembling violently. Xuan Ji took a slow sip of her tea, her dark obsidian eyes analytical and completely unfazed. She stepped off the wooden deck and walked gracefully across the grass, coming to a stop beside her exhausted disciple.

"You didn't miss the target, Ev," Xuan Ji corrected, her voice carrying the calm, clinical tone of an instructor reviewing a failed combat log.

"You hit it dead center. The problem is that you also hit yourself." Xuan Ji knelt and placed a hand on Evanthe's shoulder. A warm, soothing current of pure Yang Qi flowed into the girl's body, instantly relaxing the severe muscle cramps and stabilizing her violently fluctuating meridians. Evanthe let out a long sigh of relief and sat up, looking at her hands in frustration. She reached up to ensure the violet crystal of the Twin Soul-Tether pendant was still safely tucked beneath her collar.

"I don't understand, Master," Evanthe said, her luminous red eyes dropping to the grass.

"My core is balanced. The Abyssal Frost Marrow is perfectly countering the heat of the Heavenly Killing Star. But the moment I try to channel that energy into my limbs... it all comes at once. I can't filter it. The ice and the fire collide inside my arms before the blade even strikes."

"Elemental friction," Xuan Ji stated, standing back up and gesturing to the ruined dummy.

"Your constitution is a paradox. You are attempting to wield absolute hot and absolute cold simultaneously. When you push both of those polar extremes through a narrow, unrefined mortal meridian, they violently clash. The resulting backlash is what just blew you ten feet across the yard." Evanthe frowned, gripping her knees.

"How do I stop the clash?"

"In theory?" Xuan Ji began, adopting her best raid-leader persona.

"You need to develop a microscopic, subconscious meridian filter. You need to route the Yin Qi down one channel and the Yang Qi down another, only allowing them to mix at the edge of your blade, maximizing the destructive output while completely shielding your internal organs from the recoil."

"And in practice?"

"In practice, you are overthinking it," Xuan Ji sighed, crossing her arms.

"You are standing in a sunny courtyard, swinging at a piece of metal that isn't trying to kill you. Your brain is trying to calculate the flow of mana. But martial arts isn't math, Evanthe. It's the cultivation of life." Xuan Ji looked at the young girl's unblemished hands. They were the hands of a noble; despite her training from a young age, they completely lacked the thick callouses and micro-fractures of a seasoned warrior.

"The human body is an incredibly stubborn machine," Xuan Ji lectured.

"It will not adapt until it is forced to. Right now, your meridians have no incentive to filter the chaotic energy safely because there is no immediate threat to your life. If we stay in this courtyard, you will spend the next five years blowing yourself up and making zero progress." Of course, Xuan Ji was merely exaggerating. With her limitless talent, even if she were to practice on her own it would probably take only a few months to get the basics of her multi-element core done.

Evanthe looked up, her expression hardening with resolve.

"What do I need to do?"

"We need to bypass your conscious brain and trigger your primal survival instincts," Xuan Ji declared, a predatory, highly satisfied smirk spreading across her face.

"We need to put you in a controlled, life-or-death environment where your body has no choice but to instantly adapt, or be eaten." Xuan Ji turned her head toward the massive, open archways of the estate's armory.

"Durgan! Axel! Garrick!" Xuan Ji's voice cut through the crisp morning air, carrying the authority of a Sovereign.

"Gear up! We are taking the rookie on a field trip!" Within moments, the heavy thud of armored boots echoed from the armory. The Vanguard stepped out into the sunlight. They looked entirely different from the desperate mercenaries Xuan Ji had met a few weeks ago. They had completely discarded the cheap, mass-produced iron plate and worn leather of the Warrior's Guild.

Instead, they wore custom-fitted, high-mobility tactical armor forged from drake-hide and reinforced steel, bearing the dark crimson and silver crest of the Sovereign Faction. Durgan carried his colossal, draconic-alloy battleaxe on his shoulder. Garrick held his towering, weightless Adamantine-scale shield. Axel was practically vibrating with pent-up energy, spinning his Sungold longsword with lethal precision. They radiated a heavy, oppressive, unified aura.

They were no longer independent contractors; they were the elite retainers of the Heavenly Demon. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Orders, Boss?" Durgan rumbled, his deep voice carrying a newfound, terrifying resonance.

"Now that she is healthy, the courtyard tutorial is officially over," Xuan Ji announced, gesturing to Evanthe, who was hurriedly picking up her sword and dusting off her tunic.

"We are going to the Grand Abyss."

The city of Elyndria was not just the capital of the Zareth Kingdom; it was a fortress built atop a literal goldmine of magical resources. The entire metropolis had been strategically constructed directly over the entrance of the Grand Abyss, a colossal, naturally occurring subterranean megadungeon. Unlike the smaller, single-level monster dens scattered across the continent, the Grand Abyss was a terrifying, twenty-floor descent into the planet's primordial crust.

The mechanics of the dungeon were brutally simple. Floor 1 was a sprawling labyrinth of low-tier monsters, perfect for rookie adventurers to harvest basic mana crystals. But with every floor a party descended, the miasma thickened, the magical pressure increased, and the rank of the abyssal horrors spiked exponentially.

No recorded expedition had ever successfully cleared Floor 20, however stories from before the Kingdom was built do state that there was a group of people who managed to slay the boss monster of the 20th floor, hence how the myth regarding the Marrow existed. As the Sovereign's Retinue walked through the bustling, heavily militarized streets of the lower rings toward the dungeon entrance, they drew a massive amount of attention.

The Elyndria Warrior's Guild operated primarily out of this district, and the streets were packed with hundreds of heavily armed mercenaries, merchants, and Royal Guards. When they saw Vice Guild Master Durgan, a man who had supposedly died during the Vael Estate massacre, walking through the crowds wearing unknown, high-tier armor and carrying a battleaxe that radiated a terrifying crimson light, the streets went dead silent. Whispers broke out like wildfire. They recognized Garrick. They recognized Axel.

But their eyes were irresistibly drawn to the woman walking at the center of the formation. Ming Xuan Ji glided over the muddy cobblestones in her pristine dark silk hanfu, her expression one of utter, unbothered boredom, sipping alcohol from a delicate porcelain travel flask.

"Is that her?" a veteran spearman whispered loudly to his party.

"The Heavenly Demon? The one who pacified the dragon?"

"Look at Durgan's aura," another mercenary choked out, his eyes wide.

"He's radiating Master-tier pressure. He broke his limits. He actually broke his mortal limits! He is now one step closer to becoming a Sword Saint." Xuan Ji ignored the murmurs. She treated the awe of the NPCs exactly as she treated the mud on the street: entirely beneath her notice. They arrived at the massive, heavily fortified entrance of the Grand Abyss. It was a colossal, gaping chasm in the center of a heavily walled military plaza.

A wide, spiraling stone staircase carved directly into the bedrock descended into the impenetrable darkness below. The air pouring out of the chasm was freezing cold and carried the distinct, metallic scent of ozone and monster blood. A squad of Royal Guards manned the checkpoint, but one look at the heavy silver Morvant seal Xuan Ji flashed, combined with Durgan's terrifying glare, resulted in immediate, unquestioned entry.

As they stepped past the heavy iron gates and began the long descent down the spiraling stairs, the sunlight quickly faded, replaced by the dim, ambient bioluminescence of glowing moss and crystals clinging to the cavern walls. Evanthe walked close behind Xuan Ji, her knuckles white as she gripped the hilt of her sword. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She had survived cult assassins and a debilitating curse, but the claustrophobic, oppressive atmosphere of a live dungeon was entirely alien to her.

The ambient miasma made the air feel thick and heavy in her lungs.

"Nervous, my lady?" Axel asked, his voice a low, teasing whisper from the shadows to her left. The dark elf's crimson eyes literally glowed in the darkness.

"A little," Evanthe admitted, her voice trembling slightly.

"Don't be," Garrick rumbled reassuringly from her right, his massive shield already unstrapped and ready.

"Floor One is a beginner's zone. Mostly Crawlers, Cave Goblins, and low-tier Dire Bats. We've cleared this floor a thousand times. We could do it blindfolded."

"Which is exactly why you three are not going to attack anything," Xuan Ji's voice echoed crisply through the cavern. The Vanguard paused, looking at their Sovereign in confusion. Xuan Ji stopped on the wide stone landing that marked the official entrance to Floor 1. Ahead of them lay a sprawling, chaotic labyrinth of jagged stalagmites, deep ravines, and dark, twisting tunnels. She turned around to face her heavily armed retainers.

"This is not a farming run," Xuan Ji declared, her tone shifting into unyielding command.

"This is an escort mission. Durgan, Garrick, Axel, you are the perimeter. You will establish a defensive formation around Evanthe. You will pull aggro, you will manage the crowd control, and you will ensure she is not overwhelmed." Xuan Ji locked eyes with the towering half-orc.

"But under no circumstances are you permitted to execute a monster. Evanthe is the sole damage dealer today. She needs the combat experience, and she needs the pressure. If a goblin slips past her, you block it, you push it back, but she has to be the one to kill it. Understood?" Durgan's battle-hardened eyes shifted to Evanthe. He saw the nervous tremble in her hands, but he also saw the brilliant, undeniable determination burning in her red irises.

The half-orc slammed his massive fist against his chest plate in a crisp salute.

"Understood, Boss," Durgan growled. He turned to the dark elf and the shield-bearer.

"You heard the Sovereign! Vanguard, establish the diamond formation! Garrick, take the front. Axel, watch the flanks. I'll cover the rear." The three veterans instantly snapped into motion. They moved with a terrifying, synchronized fluidity forged from years of fighting back-to-back. Garrick slammed his towering shield into the dirt, anchoring the front line. Durgan took up the rear, his massive battleaxe resting easily in his hands.

Axel melted into the shadows near the cavern wall, completely concealing his presence. Evanthe was left standing perfectly in the center of the protective pocket.

"Master," Evanthe asked, looking back at Xuan Ji, who was casually leaning against a glowing stalagmite.

"What are you going to do?"

"Me?" Xuan Ji smirked, unscrewing the cap of her tea flask.

"I am the chaperone. I am going to stand right here, drink, and evaluate your mechanics. Your goal is simple, Evanthe: survive, adapt, and don't blow up my Vanguard." Before Evanthe could respond, a low, guttural, clicking hiss echoed from the darkness of the tunnels ahead. It wasn't a single sound. It was dozens of them, multiplying and echoing off the cavern walls until it sounded like a wave of clicking bones rushing toward them.

"Contact front!" Garrick roared, bracing his heavy boots against the stone. Surging out of the shadows, scrambling over the jagged rocks with terrifying speed, was a massive pack of Crawlers. They were grotesque, wolf-sized arachnids with thick, chitinous armor, multiple glowing red eyes, and massive, venom-dripping mandibles. There were at least twenty of them. Evanthe's breath caught in her throat. The sheer, overwhelming reality of the monsters triggered a massive spike of primal terror in her brain.

Her conscious mind, the part that had been carefully calculating the flow of Yin and Yang in the sunny courtyard, instantly completely shut down.

"Draw your sword, Lady Evanthe!" Durgan bellowed over the hissing of the swarm.

"Anchor your footing! Do not let them break your center of gravity!" The first wave of Crawlers lunged. Garrick didn't swing a weapon. He simply stepped forward and slammed his heavy shield into the ground. A shockwave of pure physical force rippled outward, catching the leading monsters mid-air and violently throwing them back into the swarm, disrupting their charge.

"Now, rookie!" Axel's voice snapped from the shadows.

"Strike the opening!" Evanthe didn't think. She simply reacted. Driven entirely by the desperate, primal instinct to survive, she gripped the golden hilt of her sword and ripped it from its scabbard. And as the Heavenly Killing Star violently flared to life within her Dantian, the absolute, unadulterated chaos of the Grand Abyss officially welcomed its newest challenger.