The Thorne of Destiny

Adrian's thoughts snapped into sharp focus the moment he saw the Vermilion Spirit Grass clenched in the scrawny disciple's hand.

Idiot.

That single word echoed in his mind, directed not at the disciple—but at himself. He had been so caught up watching the clash between two Rank 4 beasts that he had nearly forgotten the very reason all of this chaos existed in the first place.

A Rank 4 herb.

Something that could help him tremendously right now. And now, it was slipping away.

The disciple groaned as he slammed into the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop. His robes were torn, his body bruised, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Yet despite his miserable condition, his grip on the Vermilion Spirit Grass remained ironclad.

Relief flickered across his face when he realized he was still alive.

Then he saw Adrian. Their eyes met, and a strange atmosphere permeated between them.

For a split second, confusion crossed the disciple's face. Then recognition followed, quickly replaced by alarm. He had not expected to run into Adrian here—especially not after watching him being chased by a pack of Flame Wolves earlier.

Even after he had come back, they had only seen him for a brief second before the frame of the Ember Earth Bear blocked their view.

"You—!"

He barely had time to utter a single word before Adrian moved.

There was no hesitation, no wasted motion. His body surged forward, Qi flooding his legs as he crossed the distance between them in an instant. Even without using Astral Steps, his speed was terrifying to behold for someone in the Foundation Establishment realm.

Luckily for him, he had landed quite close to him, so Adrian was able to reach him in just a breath.

The disciple tried to scramble backward, panic flashing in his eyes as he struggled to get to his feet. However, he was too slow.

Adrian's foot came down like a hammer.

CRACK!

A sharp pain exploded through the disciple's wrist as Adrian stomped down, forcing his hand open. The Vermilion Spirit Grass slipped free, landing softly on the scorched earth.

"AHH!"

The disciple screamed, clutching his broken wrist as he rolled away. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with fury and disbelief.

"You dare—!" he snarled, struggling to rise.

Adrian didn't even look at him.

He bent down and scooped up the Vermilion Spirit Grass, carefully storing it inside a jade box before placing it into his storage ring. Only after ensuring the herb was safe did he finally turn his attention back to the Cloudcrest disciple.

Their gazes met again.

This time, Adrian's eyes were cold.

"You should've kept watching the battle," Adrian said calmly. "That greed of yours got the better of you."

The disciple's face twisted with rage.

"Do you know who I am?" he spat. "I'm a disciple of the Cloudcrest Sect! If you hand over that herb now, I might let you die quickly!"

Adrian laughed.

It was a quiet laugh, almost soft—but there was no warmth in it.

"You disciples of the Cloudcrest Sect really are stupid," he said. "First, you used me as bait. Now you think you can threaten me?"

"Do you think I'm a fool? If you all die here, no one can naturally fault me. Everyone would just think the Cloudcrest Sect met a gruesome fate in the mystic realm."

The disciple's expression darkened. He clenched his remaining fist, Golden Core Qi surging violently from his body. Even injured, even disheveled, he was still a Golden Core cultivator.

Unluckily for him, the blast had flung him far away from his fellow disciples, so they weren't aware of his current predicament. Well, that had been his own doing since the beginning, so one couldn't really tell whether his actions were a good thing or if they were coming back to bite him in the ass.

"You think you can take me on?" the disciple sneered. Staring at Adrian, he could only sense the aura of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. In his mind, one move was all it would take to subdue him.

Even though he was injured from the attack from the Ember Earth Bear, he was still at the initial stage of the Golden Core realm, so dealing with Adrian shouldn't be a problem.

He stepped forward, gathering Qi into his palm.

That was when the ground shook.

BOOM!

A deafening impact echoed through the forest as the Ember Earth Bear slammed its massive paw down, crushing what remained of the Flame Wolf's body into the earth. Blood splattered across the scorched ground, steam hissing as it met lingering heat.

The Rank 4 Flame Wolf was dead.

Its massive body lay broken and still, flames flickering weakly before finally dying out.

The Ember Earth Bear let out a triumphant roar, lifting its head to the sky as its aura surged outward like a tidal wave. Trees bent under the pressure. Loose stones rattled across the ground.

Everyone froze, including Adrian and the disciple.

Slowly, the Ember Earth Bear turned its massive head, its gaze locking onto them. The killing intent rolling off its body was thick enough to suffocate. It seemed it hadn't forgotten the human it had chased to this area.

In its view, the human had lured it here because there were other humans in the area. It still remembered the image it had seen when it first got here, before fighting the Flame Wolf.

The injuries on its body while being surrounded by the other humans were enough for it to understand the situation. They probably wanted to do the same thing to it.

How audacious! These humans really didn't take it for much. Thinking that they could use such paltry tactics to take it down made it angry.

It was mad! It was really, really mad! In all its anger, it let out a loud roar filled with unrestrained fury.

The disciple's face drained of color.

"T-this…" His voice trembled. "Why is it looking at us?"

He asked no one in particular. No one had time to answer him, not that Adrian was even listening at all. The bear's nostrils flared as it sniffed the air. It could smell the scent of blood, Flame Wolves, and humans.

However, its sharp senses also picked up on something else—the faint lingering scent of the Vermilion Spirit Grass.

Its eyes narrowed.

ROAR!!!

The roar that followed was filled with unrestrained fury.

"It's coming for us!" the disciple screamed. He didn't wait another second.

Abandoning all thoughts of dignity, he turned and ran, Golden Core Qi exploding beneath his feet as he fled in terror. In his panic, he didn't even spare Adrian a glance.

Adrian watched him go in a slight daze. However, he quickly snapped back to reality, then turned and ran as well. There was no thought of fighting the Ember Earth Bear. Not now. Not ever.

The forest erupted into chaos as the massive beast charged after them, uprooting trees and smashing through stone like paper. Each step it took shook the earth beneath Adrian's feet.

Adrian gritted his teeth, pushing his body to its limits.

WHOOSH!

He activated Astral Steps. His figure vanished into the trees before reappearing dozens of meters ahead. He didn't slow down, chaining his movements as efficiently as possible while carefully managing his Qi.

Behind him, the Ember Earth Bear roared in frustration, accelerating even further. Adrian wasn't running without a plan. In the corner of his eyes, he spotted the remaining three disciples of the Cloudcrest Sect also frantically running away.

With a cold smirk, his speed, which was already fast, increased even more. In just a few breaths, the distance between them closed rapidly. The Ember Earth Bear, which was chasing him, wasn't far behind.

When the disciples of the Cloudcrest Sect saw Adrian and the huge bear behind him, they could only curse in frustration.

"If you want to have a problem with the bear, settle it by yourself. Why include us with your grudge?"

However, in all their anger, their legs didn't slow down. Rather, they sped up, even using their Qi wantonly.

However, their pitiful attempts couldn't compare to such a martial skill like the Astral Steps. He had already caught up to the weakest one among them, the one with the missing arm.

Without much effort, he quickly surpassed him, leaving him behind with the Ember Earth Bear.

The disciple's face was pale, and his breathing was already ragged. However, he continued willing his body to run as fast as he could.

However, he wasn't fast enough. A few breaths after Adrian surpassed him, the Ember Earth Bear was already closing in on him, practically breathing down his neck.

The ground beneath him was shaking from the bear's hulking frame, causing him to stumble and fall forward.

He didn't fall, but the stumble was enough for him to lose the paltry advantage he had over the bear. He could only turn around with his sword in his hand, in a pitiful attempt to save his life.

"AARRGGHHH—!"

He screamed, and with an almost crazed look in his eyes, he lunged toward the bear while swinging his sword. If he didn't fight right now, he would lose his life without even knowing how.