Tian Lei adjusted his cloak and started walking toward the city's outskirts, where the mist-covered mountains rose in the distance. The roads grew quieter the farther he went—fewer merchants, fewer guards, only the rustle of spirit leaves in the wind.

He was just about to leave the city's outer boundary when sudden noise reached his ears—screams and the roar of spirit beasts. His expression sharpened immediately.

Ahead, down a narrow forest path, he saw a young girl running. She looked about his age—maybe a little older—with long black hair tied loosely, her robe torn and blood-stained. Behind her, three spirit beasts charged through the brush, their fangs glinting with cold light.

But she wasn't alone.

Three men in black clothes followed behind the beasts, their auras faint but trained—beast tamers, low-level but dangerous in groups.

"Just kill her already!" one of them barked. "Finish it fast, and we'll be done!"

The girl stumbled but turned, gritting her teeth. A faint white glow surrounded her as she summoned her beast—a beautiful peacock-like spirit with feathers of silver and blue. It let out a sharp cry and spread its wings, firing a barrage of spirit feathers that cut through the air like blades.

Even while fleeing, she fought back fiercely.

Tian Lei watched quietly from a distance, his hand resting on the hilt of a dagger hidden beneath his cloak. He had no reason to get involved—but something in her stubbornness caught his attention.

The black-clothed men cornered her near a rocky outcrop.

"Nowhere to run," one sneered, raising his blade.

The girl spat blood but held her stance. "If I'm dying," she said coldly, "I'll take at least one of you with me."

The man laughed. "Brave words. Die then."

His sword flashed—red energy surged toward her. But before it struck, another flash cut through the air—clean, precise, and deadly.

Swish!

The man froze mid-motion, eyes wide, before collapsing with a line of golden light splitting his chest.

"What—?!" the other two turned just in time to see a young figure appear from the trees, cloak fluttering, eyes calm and sharp.

Tian Lei moved like a shadow—no wasted motion, no mercy. Within seconds, the remaining two tamers fell, their beasts screaming as their spirit bonds shattered. The beasts dropped instantly, lifeless.

Silence returned to the forest.

Tian Lei walked toward the girl. She was pale, barely standing. Her peacock spirit dissolved into motes of light, returning to her body.

"Are you all right?" he asked, crouching down.

The girl blinked weakly at him, her lips parting as if to speak—but before she could say a word, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed forward into his arms.

Tian Lei caught her before she hit the ground, steadying her gently. He checked her pulse—stable, just exhausted.

"Looks like her willpower finally gave out," he muttered quietly.

He glanced once more at the fallen tamers and their beasts. "Well, no sense wasting good materials."

He stripped the three of their storage rings and gathered the beasts' remains with practiced efficiency before turning back toward the city.

With the unconscious girl in his arms and the evening mist thickening around him, Tian Lei started the walk back to his inn. He could ask questions later—once she woke up.

Tian Lei laid the unconscious girl gently on the bed in his inn room, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders. Her breathing had stabilized, but her complexion was still pale—drained of both spirit and strength.

He stood for a moment, watching the faint shimmer of her spiritual aura—silver-white, calm but deeply refined. Not an ordinary background, he mused silently. Still, whatever trouble she brought wasn't his concern. Not yet.

"Rest. You've earned it," he murmured, before turning away.

Once the door clicked shut behind him, Tian Lei's steps were silent and steady as he made his way down the narrow streets toward the hunter's quarter. The scent of beast blood and smelted metal hung thick in the air—this was where most hunters, adventurers, and mercenaries bartered their kills.

He entered a dimly lit shop marked "Ironfang Hunter's Exchange." Inside, a burly man with scars along his arms looked up from a ledger.

"Got something to sell, kid?" the man grunted, skeptical eyes scanning Tian Lei from head to toe.

Without a word, Tian Lei opened his storage ring. Three beast corpses appeared on the counter with a dull thud—each radiating faint but undeniable pressure. One, in particular, was a scaled feline with silver streaks across its hide—the Moonfang Leopard, a Grade 5 Moon-level beast.

The shopkeeper's eyes widened slightly. "Grade 3… and that one—Grade 5? You hunted these alone?"

Tian Lei just smiled faintly. "Does it matter?"

The man snorted but said no more. He examined the beasts quickly, noting the intact cores and clean kills. "You're efficient. No unnecessary damage. I can offer you nine thousand, five hundred white gold coins for the lot—final price."

"Deal," Tian Lei replied instantly.

A few minutes later, he stepped out of the shop, a new pouch of coins tucked safely into his cloak. His total wealth had grown substantially—enough to fund his next few months of cultivation, maybe even acquire a rare-grade material or two.

He glanced up at the sky; dusk had deepened into night, the twin moons casting pale light over the rooftops.

"Not a bad day," he said softly, turning back toward the inn. "Now… let's see who exactly I saved."

With quiet confidence, he walked back through the lamplit streets, unaware that the girl in his room was beginning to stir—her spirit signature flickering like a waking flame, and her lips whispering a name only she could remember.

When Tian Lei returned to the inn, the oil lamps in the corridor flickered gently, casting long shadows across the wooden floor. He unlocked his room door quietly, expecting to find the girl still unconscious.

But she was awake.

The girl sat upright on the bed, her long black hair cascading down her shoulders, her expression guarded yet composed. Her silver-white aura still faintly shimmered around her, like moonlight reflecting off still water. When her eyes lifted to meet his, they held the calm intensity of someone used to command.

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