C54 - The Beast Above the Ravine

The massive claw slammed into the edge of the ravine.

Stone exploded.

A section of the cliff collapsed, sending rocks crashing downward.

Everyone scattered.

Ye Chen grabbed Lin Xu and pulled him toward the wall. Gu Lie leapt backward. The scarred disciple rolled across the ground.

The spear-wielding disciple immediately raised his weapon.

Then the creature appeared.

Two enormous eyes emerged above the cliff. They were dark. Cold. Unmoving. A massive head slowly lowered into view. Thick black scales covered its face. Two curved horns rose from its skull. The beast opened its mouth. Rows of jagged teeth appeared.

Lin Xu's face became pale.

"That's..."

Ye Chen stared.

He had seen its description in the sect's wilderness records.

"Earthscale Python."

Gu Lie's expression hardened.

"Not a python."

He swallowed.

"That's a Black-Horned Earthscale Python."

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed.

A third-grade spirit beast.

Something far beyond their current cultivation. The creature stared down at them. For several breaths, nobody moved.

Then it opened its mouth. A wave of foul-smelling air swept through the ravine. The spear-wielding disciple whispered,

"Why is it here?"

Ye Chen looked toward the Spirit Spring.

He immediately understood.

"The spring."

Gu Lie looked at him.

"What?"

"The spring attracted it."

The blue water continued to glow. The spiritual energy was becoming stronger. The beast wasn't interested in them. It wanted the spring. That realization changed everything. Ye Chen looked toward the others.

"We need to leave."

Gu Lie nodded.

For once, none of them disagreed. They began moving toward the narrow exit. The Black-Horned Earthscale Python suddenly roared.

The sound shook the entire ravine. Its tail swept across the cliff. Stone shattered.

The exit disappeared beneath a landslide. Everyone stopped. The scarred disciple stared at the blocked passage.

"We're trapped."

Ye Chen looked upward. The cliff was too steep.

The beast occupied the upper section. The only remaining path was deeper into the ravine. Toward the Spirit Spring. Gu Lie clenched his jaw.

"Move."

They ran.

The python descended.

Its massive body slid down the cliffside, scales scraping against stone. Every movement shook the ground. Ye Chen looked behind him.

The beast was coming.

Fast.

Far too fast.

"Spread out!"

The group separated.

The python struck the ground between them. Its jaws snapped shut.

Nothing.

Ye Chen rolled aside. Lin Xu jumped over a rock.

Gu Lie sprinted toward the opposite wall. The scarred disciple stumbled. The python turned toward him.

"Run!"

The disciple tried.

Too late.

The python's tail struck him. He flew across the ravine and crashed into the ground. His trial token immediately flashed. Participant critically injured. A warning signal appeared.

The sect elders would now be aware of his condition. But they could not enter the trial zone immediately.

The rules prevented interference unless a disciple's life was in immediate danger. Ye Chen didn't think about the rules. He looked at the injured disciple. Then at the python.

"We need to distract it."

Gu Lie understood.

"You're suggesting we attack?"

"Not to kill it."

Ye Chen pointed toward the Spirit Spring.

"Make it move away from the injured disciple."

Gu Lie nodded. He raised his saber.

"On three."

Lin Xu tightened his grip.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

All three attacked.

Gu Lie's saber struck the python's head. Ye Chen's sword hit its eye ridge. Lin Xu attacked the exposed neck. Their weapons landed.

The result was almost meaningless.

The python's scales absorbed most of the force. But the beast turned. That was enough. The injured disciple crawled away.

Ye Chen shouted,

"Move!"

The man dragged himself toward the rocks. The python hissed. Its attention shifted back to the attackers.

Gu Lie stepped backward.

"We can't hurt it."

Ye Chen looked at his sword. His weapon had left only a faint scratch. The difference in strength was overwhelming. This wasn't a battle.

It was survival.

The python lunged. Ye Chen jumped. Its jaws snapped beneath his feet. He landed on its back. For a brief moment, he saw the scales beneath him. There was a gap. Between two sections of armor.

Ye Chen's eyes sharpened.

He thrust his sword.

The blade entered slightly. The python screamed. Its body twisted violently.

Ye Chen was thrown into the wall. Pain exploded through his back. His sword nearly slipped from his hand. But he had learned something.

The scales were not invincible.

There were weak points.

"Gu Lie!"

"What?"

"The scales!"

Gu Lie understood.

He attacked the same region. His saber struck. The python roared.

Blood appeared.

Not much.

But enough.

The beast became enraged. Its tail swept across the ravine. Gu Lie jumped. Lin Xu ducked. Ye Chen barely escaped.

The python smashed into the wall. The entire ravine shook. Then something unexpected happened. The Spirit Spring erupted. Blue light shot into the sky. The python suddenly stopped.

Its enormous head turned toward the spring. The spiritual energy had intensified. The beast abandoned them. It moved toward the water.

Ye Chen stared.

"Why?"

Gu Lie answered.

"It's feeding."

The python lowered its head.

It began drinking.

The blue water rapidly disappeared.

Ye Chen's eyes widened. The mission. The Spirit Spring. The python had been protecting it because the spring contained something valuable. As the beast drank, its aura became stronger.

"That's bad," Lin Xu whispered.

Ye Chen nodded.

"Very."

The python's body began glowing faintly. Its scales hardened. Its spiritual pressure increased. The third-grade beast was advancing.

Gu Lie looked toward the blocked exit.

"We leave now."

Everyone agreed.

They climbed toward a narrow crack between two rocks. One by one, they squeezed through. Ye Chen was the last. Before leaving, he looked back. The python remained beside the spring.

Its eyes suddenly opened.

They locked onto Ye Chen.

For one terrifying moment, Ye Chen felt as though the beast could see directly into his soul. Then the python turned away. Ye Chen disappeared through the rocks. The group emerged on the other side of the ravine.

Nobody spoke.

They simply walked.

After several hundred meters, Gu Lie finally stopped.

"We survived."

Lin Xu laughed weakly.

"That's one way to describe it."

The spear-wielding disciple looked back.

"What about him?"

He was referring to the injured disciple. Gu Lie's expression became complicated.

"He'll be retrieved by the elders."

Ye Chen nodded.

The sect's emergency formation would eventually extract critically injured participants.

The trial continued. But something had changed. The four disciples who had been enemies moments ago now understood the same truth. The forest was far more dangerous than any competition between outer disciples.

Gu Lie looked at Ye Chen.

"Today, we are even."

Ye Chen glanced at him.

"We didn't fight for points."

"I know."

Gu Lie turned away.

"But you saved one of mine."

Ye Chen said nothing. Gu Lie continued walking. The others followed. For the first time since entering the Emerald Spirit Forest, Ye Chen felt something unusual.

Not trust.

Not friendship.

Something simpler.

Respect.

The sky above the trees had begun turning orange. The first day wa

s nearing its end. But somewhere deep beneath the earth, beneath the Spirit Spring they had just escaped from, something ancient had awakened.

And the sect's elders had not yet realized it.

The Outer Court Trial had just become something far more dangerous than they had planned.