THE SYSTEM IS NOT MINE

For a moment, the world held its breath.

"What happened?" a voice travelled through the darkness.

"Where's the light?" another asked.

"I can't see."

"Someone is here."

Panic spread among the soldiers until the commander's voice thundered through the night.

"Stay together!"

"Get yourselves together!"

Then they all felt it, the soldiers and the commander alike.

A pulse of spiritual qi, it was very close, about five steps away.

Spiritual Qi Foundation — Second Layer.

The enemy had made a breakthrough, but it was not good news.

The soldiers stood straight as a chill ran through their spines.

"Attack!" the commander barked immediately. "Kill him!"

Boots pounded across the ground as several soldiers rushed toward the aura.

Yan moved first.

His sword flashed through the darkness. It pierced flesh, and a soldier fell without a sound.

Warm blood soaked into the grass.

The breakthrough had just completed.

Spiritual qi flowed smoothly through Yan's body, but what changed most was his perception.

The ground beneath him felt wider.

He could sense footsteps at larger distance than before and could predict where the next step would land, at what angle. The range was bigger than before.

All of it traveled through the earth to him.

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Yan stepped forward.

The darkness had become his ally.

A soldier rushed toward him randomly.

His boot landed on uneven grass, and the soil beneath became slippery. He fell forward.

Yan waved his sword, cutting the throat of the enemy who had just slipped.

Another man lunged from the side.

The ground shifted slightly beneath him as well, and his sword struck his ally instead.

"Ahhh!"

Then Yan arrived next to them and cut them both down.

"I can't see!"

"Careful!"

Shouts erupted across the camp.

"Damn, why did you fall on me?"

Bodies collided.

"He's on the left!"

Steel clashed wildly, the enemy, who was blinded by the darkness, fought themselves.

Some soldiers slipped, and some struck their own allies while some never saw the blade that ended them.

Yan walked among them like a silent predator.

Wherever he walked, the ground beneath their feet shifted in tiny, invisible ways.

Enough to betray them.

At the edge, the enemy commander felt unease creeping into his chest.

The sounds of the battle were wrong.

He could not understand what was going on.

His hand tightened around his sword.

Then he remembered.

"I'm a fire cultivator."

Spiritual qi surged through his arm.

A small flame ignited above his palm as light spread across the darkness.

A face was already in front of him, it was too close, only half a finger's width away from his eyes.

Unconsciously, he staggered back.

Then his eyes fell on the bodies scattered across the grass, which had already turned red.

He looked at the man in front of him.

The man heading toward him.

"Don't..."

"Don't... come..."

The commander took a few steps back, his back touched something and he could not move further back.

Then something struck his wrist, which was ignited with fire qi.

A pebble.

The flame-covered hand was pushed back.

At the same instant, his foot shifted.

The soil beneath him moved, and he felt his legs leaving the ground.

Something was wrong.

The earth itself felt... unstable.

Then he understood.

But it was too late.

Yan's sword moved.

The commander saw only the calm face before him.

Then his vision spun away into darkness as his head fell to the ground.

And just before his head separated, the flame-covered hand touched the grain behind him.

For a moment, the camp was silent.

And then the fire erupted.

Dry wood ignited instantly, carrying the smell of burning grain.

Fire spread rapidly through the stacked supplies.

Flames rose into the night sky.

Far away among the trees, Chen Yu was still positioning the soldiers for the ambush.

Then he saw it.

A pillar of fire rising from the enemy camp.

He narrowed his eyes. Through the flickering flames, he saw a figure standing quietly before the burning supplies.

Yan.

Chen Yu immediately turned around and faced the soldiers behind him.

"What happened?"

"Did someone start the attack?"

Other soldiers began whispering.

Chen Yu spoke only one sentence, "It's the mysterious senior."

The group hurriedly looked at the fire as the enemy supplies burned and the flames climbed higher into the dark sky, smoke spreading with them.