Chapter 143: Sect Master Fuing
"It will be done, my lord."
Its voice remained the same.
Aiden faced it fully now, his eyes sharp.
"They’ll be on guard," he said. "After what happened, they won’t be careless."
Nyxveil took a single step forward.
Even that small movement made it seem like the light around it dimmed slightly.
"They will search for what they can see," it said quietly.
A faint pause.
"They will not see what does not exist."
Aiden’s gaze narrowed slightly.
"Don’t underestimate them," Aiden said. "There are elders. Experienced fighters. People who have survived longer than the rest."
Nyxveil lowered its head slightly.
"I understand."
Then it added, almost as if stating a simple condition rather than a concern,
"As long as there is no Qi Sense Stage human within the sect... I will not be discovered."
The words were calm.
Certain.
Like a rule it had already tested and understood.
Aiden’s eyes sharpened at that.
"...Qi Sense Stage."
That level.
Above body tempering.
A different kind of awareness.
If someone like that was present, things would change.
Aiden turned away slightly, thinking.
"If there is one," he said after a moment, "you avoid them."
No hesitation.
"No risks. Your role is not to fight."
Nyxveil inclined its head again.
"I will remain unseen."
Aiden continued walking slowly, his voice steady.
"I want everything."
He raised a hand slightly.
"Their numbers. Their movements. Their strongest fighters. Where they gather. Who gives orders."
Each word was precise.
Measured.
"And if you find something important..."
He paused.
"Bring it back."
Nyxveil stood completely still.
Then, slowly, it placed one hand over its chest and bowed deeply once more.
"It will be done, my lord."
----
Clear Water Sect stood quiet beneath the afternoon light, its wide courtyards calm, almost peaceful, as if nothing beyond its walls had begun to stir, and true to its name, clear ponds stretched across the grounds, their surfaces smooth like glass, filled with slow-moving fish in bright colors that drifted beneath blooming lotus flowers, while narrow stone paths curved gently around them, connecting halls and training fields in a way that felt natural and unforced.
But beneath that calm, tension was already building.
Inside the main hall, Sect Master Fuing sat at the head of the chamber, his posture straight, his presence steady like a mountain that had stood through countless storms, his eyes fixed on the young man kneeling before him.
Ren Kai.
Dust still clung faintly to his robes, and though he had cleaned himself, the signs of battle had not fully left him, the faint stiffness in his shoulders, the controlled way he breathed.
He had not fully recovered.
Not physically.
Not mentally.
"...So," Fuing said at last, his voice calm but heavy, "tell me."
Ren Kai lowered his head slightly.
"We encountered it in Riverfall town," he said. "At first, we fought a normal insict monster at first. But the second one..."
A brief pause.
Fuing didn’t interrupt.
He simply listened.
Ren Kai continued, his tone steady, but there was something deeper beneath it, something that hadn’t settled yet.
"It controlled insects," he said. "Not just a few. Thousands. Maybe more. They moved like they were part of her body."
"Her?" Fuing asked.
Ren Kai nodded.
"Yes. It’s a humanoid monster."
Fuing’s fingers tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair.
"Go on."
Ren Kai’s eyes darkened slightly as he recalled it.
"The insects weren’t just for numbers," he said. "They formed armor. Weapons. Even something like a second body."
He paused briefly.
"And it kept changing during the fight. Getting stronger."
The hall remained quiet.
No one else was present.
Just master and disciple.
Fuing finally leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose.
"...Then your judgment is correct."
Ren Kai lifted his head slightly.
"The monster you fought," Fuing continued, "might be at least at peak body tempering."
The words settled heavily.
"But," Fuing added, his eyes narrowing just a little, "because of that ability to command and manipulate insects, it is tricky to fight."
Ren Kai didn’t argue.
He had felt it himself.
Fuing’s gaze sharpened.
"If you had continued fighting..."
He didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t need to.
Ren Kai lowered his head again.
"We would have died."
Fuing gave a faint nod.
"Most likely."
Silence followed for a moment.
Then Fuing spoke again, his tone softer, but no less firm.
Fuing’s eyes rested on him.
"You survived," he said. "That matters more than anything else right now."
A brief pause.
"Go back. Rest. Recover."
His voice lowered slightly.
"And think."
Ren Kai’s expression tightened just a little.
"Think about every move you made," Fuing continued. "Every mistake. Every opening you missed."
His gaze sharpened again.
"That experience is worth more than any lesson I can give you."
Ren Kai took a slow breath.
Then he bowed deeply.
"Yes, Master."
Fuing watched him for a moment longer, then waved his hand lightly.
"Dismissed."
Ren Kai rose to his feet, his movements controlled despite the fatigue, then turned and walked out of the hall without another word.
The doors closed behind him with a soft sound.
And the room fell silent again.
But not everything inside the sect was calm.
Far from it.
Beyond the hall, past the quiet courtyards and the still ponds, where shadows gathered beneath curved bridges and along the edges of carved stone, something else had already arrived.
Unseen.
Unnoticed.
Nyxveil moved along the underside of a narrow bridge, its form flattened into the thin layer of shadow cast over the water, its presence so faint that even the ripples of the pond beneath it remained undisturbed, as bright fish swam lazily just inches below without any sign of alarm.
Its perception spread outward.
Not through sight alone.
Through traces.
Faint remnants of life energy lingering in the air, footsteps left behind, the flow of movement within the sect.
It followed them.
Silently.
From one shadow to another, slipping along walls, pillars, rooftops, never fully taking shape, never allowing itself to be seen, its existence brushing past disciples who walked nearby without a single one of them reacting, their senses dulled just enough to overlook the faint distortion passing beside them.