We reunited with the surviving hero disciples.
Unsurprisingly, they looked like wrecks—as if they’d spent three days rummaging through a garbage dump. Yet instead of reeking of filth, they carried the metallic tang of blood and the sour sting of sweat.
"Charon," someone called out.
"So, here you are, Zeros," Charon replied.
It was Zeros Silver, the one who usually stuck by Charon's side. He was the linchpin of Charon's point-making scheme, smuggling in outside goods and selling them to the other hero disciples.
"Where is Shinba?" Charon asked.
"No idea. But he’s a tough bastard—probably still alive," Zeros replied.
"I see," Charon murmured.
While they spoke, Evan examined Charis’ wounds.
"Evan?" Charis muttered.
"Yes. It's me."
"This is a damn hallucination. Shouldn't I be seeing a stunning beauty if I'm about to kick the bucket?" Charis whined.
From what I saw, the wound wasn’t fatal, but leaving it untreated would be dangerous.
Evan glanced up, noticing my presence. I gave a slight nod and handed him the potion Charles had given me.
"Thank you," Evan said.
Nearby, Hector spoke with one of the hero disciples—likely a noble from his faction.
Catching my look, Hector approached and introduced him. "This is Eddie, the legitimate son of the Piscoll family."
"I’ve heard much about you, Sir Luan," Eddie greeted.
"Just Luan is fine. I’d prefer you drop the honorific," I said.
Eddie glanced at Hector, who nodded in confirmation. "Understood."
"How’s Seren?" I asked.
"She is unconscious right now," Hector answered.
Two hero disciples were taking care of Seren.
Hector paused, then asked, "If she had that kind of power, why didn’t she use it earlier?"
"Perhaps there was a condition, or it’s a high-risk blessing," Eddie speculated.
I scanned our surroundings and said, "Let’s save the talk for later. This place doesn’t feel safe."
"Right. Our group found shelter—we should head there," Eddie agreed.
We left the area, carrying the unconscious Seren and the injured Charis.
The hideout Eddie’s group had secured lay behind a massive boulder. They’d dug into the terrain for camouflage, and with the thicket’s cover, it was well concealed. There, we shared their rations for a quick meal.
"You seem to have a lot of food?" I remarked.
"We invested most of our points in it," Eddie replied.
Though it was only jerky and water, the supplies were valuable in our current situation.
Eddie sighed, his expression sullen. “How did we survive?”
Now that he was full, the reality of their circumstances seemed to dawn on him.
“Sir Hector, what’s going on here?” Eddie asked.
“We’re still figuring it out ourselves,” Hector answered. “But one thing’s certain. This isn’t the time to sit idle and wait for the trial to unfold.”
I stepped in before the mood grew heavier. “How did you end up like this? With seven of you together, it seems you joined forces before the attack.”
“That’s right,” Eddie said. “Zeros over there was the only one who joined us along the way. Originally, there were twelve of us.”
"Three groups together?" I asked.
This wasn’t normal. Even Hector seemed surprised.
Eddie gave an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Sir Hector. The leader insisted, so I had no choice...”
“It’s fine,” Hector said. “I warned from the start that we shouldn’t interfere with each other in the special trial. Who was the leader?”
Eddie’s gaze shifted to the unconscious Seren.
"Was it Seren Goodspring?" Hector pressed.
"Yes," Eddie confirmed.
"Why did you plan that?" Hector asked.
“She claimed to know a lot about the Butterfly Forest,” Eddie explained. “There’s a monster here called the Butterfly Queen. She insisted we had to work together to capture it.”
“Butterfly Queen?” I frowned. “Do butterflies even have queens? Like ants?”
"It is a monster," Hector clarified.
I glanced at him, and he elaborated, “Rumors say one lurks somewhere in the forest. Most of the butterflies here are supposedly born from it. I know it exists, but I’ve never found its exact habitat.”
“Exactly,” Eddie chimed in. “It sounds absurd, but since I’d heard Sir Hector confirm it, I believed her.”
“You believed her enough to unite three groups?” Hector asked skeptically.
Eddie sighed. “Many hero disciples are desperate to rebound in this trial. I doubted her at first, but she’s a Goodspring. I didn’t think she’d lie. Still, strange things happened afterward.”
"What strange things?" Evan asked.
“Before I answer, I have a question for the two Badnikers. This is Seren’s first time in this forest, right?” Eddie countered.
Hector nodded. “Of course. If not for the blessing ceremony, a Goodspring wouldn’t have come to the main house. Even discussions about Luan’s marriage were only verbal.”
"Why do you ask?" I pressed.
“I’m certain Seren has never been here before, yet she acts familiar with the place,” Eddie answered.
The others murmured in agreement.
“She knew about the monsters that appeared.”
“She found the stream first.”
“She even discovered a hidden altar.”
The last detail caught my attention.
“An altar?” I echoed.
“She muttered something in an unknown language and said, ‘It’s done.’ Then...” Eddie trailed off.
“Then what?” I urged.
“Before the trial began, Seren told us to stockpile as much food as possible. Even then, some of us thought it was wasteful—but now, it’s a godsend.”
So, Seren had known this would happen. But how? Did she overhear the plan? I wondered.
My gut told me this probably wasn’t the case. It was an unfounded prediction, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the secret Seren was hiding lay beyond the reach of reasoning.
I turned to the female hero disciple tending to the unconscious Seren. "How is she?"
"Her body is icy..." she stammered.
Like a corpse— that was what she meant. It was a common metaphor, but the word itself carried an unsettling weight for the hero disciples, who had seen real corpses.
I studied Seren. Her once-fair skin had turned deathly pale.
"Let me see." I lightly grasped her wrist. A chill seeped into my fingers as if I’d dipped my hand in a winter stream.
Yin Qi is running rampant.
Superficially, her condition didn’t appear severe. Yet she was far worse off than Charis, who had only lost a bowl of blood. Left untreated, Seren would die within hours.
My gaze shifted to Hector. He seemed deep in conversation with Eddie and Zeros, exchanging information.
"What’s your plan now?" Hector asked. "We’re heading to camp."
"The camp..." Eddie smiled bitterly. "I’d like to help, but... honestly, I doubt I’d be of much use."
"I see. Then I’ll give you the location of our shelter. Rejoin the other hero disciples there. It’s safer to stay together."
"Okay," Eddie agreed.
Charis looked at Evan. "Don't overdo it."
"You should worry about yourself," Evan shot back.
"I’m fine now. The potion worked wonders. Should I come with you?"
Before they could leave, I spoke up. "Can we take Seren?"
"Wait, what?" one of them blurted.
"I think I can heal her," I explained.
Fortunately, Cold Qi was the culprit behind her deteriorating condition. My Fire Qi could neutralize it, at least partially.
Moreover, if healed, Seren would be a valuable ally. Having fought alongside her against Hariba, I knew her strength better than anyone.
"Fine. There’s nothing we can do for her anyway."
"Then leave her to me."
"Ah, right—take these."
Before departing, Eddie’s group handed over provisions: jerky, a canteen, and five potion bottles.
"Appreciate it."
"Stay safe." With that, Eddie's group left.
I told those around me, "I’ll need to focus for a while. Please stand guard around me."
"How long will it take?" Hector asked.
"Let's see. Thirty minutes to an hour, at least."
"Understood," Hector said.
I placed my hand on Seren’s forehead—her upper dantian—and closed my eyes. A bitter chill seeped into my palm. The purity was higher than I’d expected, and for a moment, I nearly clenched my fingers, but I resisted.
I forced Fire Qi into my hand, driving away the cold.
Normally, exploring another person's meridians was difficult, but Seren was completely unconscious, so there was no resistance.
I need to find the source.
A normal body couldn’t sustain this; the Cold Qi had to originate somewhere.
She would've died long ago if it were in the middle dantian. That meant it was most likely near the bottom dantian. The path would be long since I was starting from the top, but this was the Cold Qi's weakest point. If not, I wouldn’t have been able to enter so easily. I had to endure it.
I continued downward, releasing Fire Qi as I went, but halfway through, I hit an impasse.
Beyond that point, the Cold Qi intensified exponentially—like stepping into a blizzard. My current strength wasn’t enough to push through.
What now?
If I had time, I could find another way, but there was none. The moment I considered forcing my way through, a wave of heat suddenly surged through my arms.
The Spirit Jade?
I’d kept the elixir on me throughout the training camp, but this was the first time it had reacted. As I struggled to process it, the Spirit Jade’s heat surged through me, as if it had gone berserk, mixing roughly with my Fire Qi.
Did it react to Seren's Cold Qi?
I managed to steady my internal energy despite my surprise. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Thanks to this, my Fire Qi grew much stronger.
With my newfound strength, I pushed through the freezing cold until I reached the source of the chill.
What I found was baffling. At the deepest part of Seren’s body, coiled like a serpent, wasn’t Yin Qi but Yang Qi. How could such intense cold emanate from a source of pure warmth?
Regardless, I melted the core of the chill.
Done for now.
There was also an unexpected harvest. The Spirit Jade had melted significantly from the ordeal, shrinking by about 10%. Its dissolved energy had fused with mine, and after mingling with Seren’s cold, it had nearly doubled in potency.
This alone granted me several times more internal energy than the Extreme Yang Grass. If anything deserved to be called a fateful encounter, this would be it.
As expected, doing good deeds pays off.
Seren was saved. When she’d regain consciousness depended entirely on her own resilience.
Just then, she let out a groan, tossing and turning. Soon, her snow-dusted eyebrows twitched, and her glass-like eyes fluttered open.
"You..." she began.
"Hey. You’re alive."
"It seems so." Seren shook her head and sat up.