With only four days left until the evaluation day, Shen Yuan immersed himself in cultivation while trying to comprehend the Divine Star Manual even further.

He wanted to act.

But since it was morning...

He had to wait for the sun to set.

The scar-faced wolf had long since recovered from the previous night’s madness.

It now lay beneath the shade of a large tree overlooking the lake, lazily watching Shen Yuan cultivate.

Unlike before, it no longer looked at him with hostility but with annoyance.

The kind one would have after getting beaten dozens of times for absolutely no reason.

"Haa..."

Shen Yuan slowly exhaled.

Countless motes of light floated through the air around him.

When the motes touched his body, he let them enter his body. He would pull them through the paths mentioned in the cultivation techniques until the moment the qi reached his dantian.

Instead of letting the qi enter it, he would just touch it and let it slide back out of the body.

Shen Yuan was not trying to cultivate because he knew if he did that, he might end up breaking through the next realm, which would mean giving up on solidifying his foundation.

For the entire morning, Shen Yuan spent time comprehending the Divine Star Cultivation Manual.

By the time he stopped,

[ Divine Star Manual — Semi-Earth Grade Manual — 10,000 Exp. has been rewarded. ]

Level: 10/10 (Late Stage of body Tempering ) XP: 65,650/50,000

[Do You want to Break Through The Next Major Realm?]

"It took me a whole Twelve Hours to comprehend and go from Beginner’s stage to Proficient." By now, it was already the end of the afternoon, so he decided to leave and came back later for cultivation.

Sensing movements from his spot, the little wolf opened its eyes and turned to look at Shen Yuan.

"I have to leave, little guy." Shen Yuan sensed its gaze and walked up to the scarred wolf. He reached out to pat its head only for his hand to be swatted away. "Now that I think about it, I have yet to make you, right?"

He looked at the big confused wolf for a second. It was sitting on its butt with its front arms fully stretched down.

He looked at its fur, his face, and his physique before adding, ’Bear’. I will name you Bear. It seems you have no objections; okay, then it’s settled."

Before Shen Yuan could pat the wolf a second time, Bear simply turned its head away with a huff. "Grrmph."

"...So that’s your answer?" Shen Yuan nodded to himself. "I’ll take that as approval."

He turned around without another word and walked deeper into the forest.

After only a few steps, his figure blurred.

Silent Reaper’s Step.

His body melted into the dense shadows between the trees before disappearing completely.

Only the faint rustling of leaves remained behind.

Bear slowly lifted his head. Its silver-grey eyes quietly watched the direction Shen Yuan had disappeared.

"..."

The wolf stared for a long time.

Only after Shen Yuan’s presence had completely vanished did it finally lower its head once again.

Its tail gave a lazy flick before closing its eyes.

...

Night slowly descended upon the outer servant district. A crescent moon hung high above the sect.

Behind one of the worn-down servant huts, three figures sat around a crude wooden table made from chopped logs.

Several empty wine jars already lay scattered across the ground.

"Hic..." A burly servant slammed another bowl of cheap wine onto the table. "I still say Peng Ho is dead."

The man opposite him immediately shook his head.

"No way. He was the strongest among us."

"Who could kill him? Besides..."

He lowered his voice. "Didn’t Overseer Jiang personally ask around after he disappeared?"

"If someone inside the district really killed him..."

"...wouldn’t they already be dead?"

The third servant silently drank another mouthful before speaking. "Maybe he ran away."

The other two stared at him.

"Ran?"

"What kind of idiot runs away from the sect?"

"You think the Blood Moon Sect lets people leave alive?"

"..."

The man scratched his head awkwardly.

"I don’t know. I’m just saying, people disappear all the time."

The first servant snorted. "Disappear? He disappeared together with that useless brat."

"What’s his name again? The one Peng Ho kept beating every other day."

"Shen..."

"Shen Yuan."

The second servant answered almost immediately. "The gutsy servant", so they call him, for standing up to Peng Ho even when he is beaten black and blue. I heard he returned alive a few days ago; it turns out he was with some hickey in some brother for a whole month."

"*Whistle* Way to go, huh. He must know that he will die and is spending all of his savings on the brothel before dying."

The burly servant nodded. "But..."

"Both of them disappeared on the same day...Isn’t that suspicious?"

The three men looked at one another. For a brief moment...

Nobody spoke.

Then the third servant suddenly leant forward. "You don’t think..."

"...Shen Yuan killed him?"

Silence.

The next second—

"Pfft!"

"Hahahaha!"

"You’ve drunk too much!"

All three burst into laughter.

"That skinny little trash?"

"He couldn’t even beat Peng Ho’s dog."

"You expect him to kill Peng Ho?"

"I’d rather believe Peng Ho flew into the sky."

Their laughter echoed behind the servant huts. After nearly a minute, they finally calmed down. The burly servant wiped tears from his eyes.

"Still..."

"If Peng Ho really died..."

"...someone had to benefit from it."

The atmosphere immediately quietened again.

All three instinctively looked in the same direction. Towards another row of servant houses.

The second servant lowered his voice. "Shi Jin."

The burly servant slowly nodded.

"He took over Peng Ho’s boys almost immediately."

"Half of them already listen to him."

"He doesn’t even let us collect protection money in the eastern district anymore."

The third servant frowned.

"You think he planned it?"

"I didn’t say that. But... He was always unhappy being number two. He followed Peng Ho for nearly three years." The burly servant let out a cold laugh. "But the moment Peng Ho disappeared..."

"...he suddenly became the boss."

The three fell silent again.

The second servant emptied another bowl of wine.

"Before you say something you cannot take back. I should warn you, don’t. Even the walls have ears in this place, and you cannot just speak bad about the man who has now full control of this servant district."

The three exchanged meaningful glances. No one seemed to disagree with the words of the man; after all, they knew the dangers lying in the shadows of the demonic sect.

But what they did not know was that... it was already too late.

High above them...

A dark figure stood silently atop the roof of a nearby servant hut. Moonlight reflected faintly off a pair of emotionless silver eyes with hints of purple.

The face of the man was covered with dark cloths, just like the rest of his body. Only his eyes were visible through the black outfit, not his hands or his hair.

He was patient, like a hunter, waiting for the right moment to strike down his prey.

And the moment was... finally here!