NOVEL WEB Chapter 359: Sudden Danger
The night air trembled with rising tension.
Disciples across the outpost, once drifting in the serenity of well-earned rest, now sat or stood upright, eyes scanning the horizon, hands ready to summon weapons or talismans. Even among the ranks of the Inner Court disciples, one could see unease—some clenching their swords tighter, others murmuring to each other as they moved into formation.
Then—like distant thunder—the first sounds of battle reached them.
Boom. Crack. Whhhhhhhhhrr!—a long, keening cry split through the wind, followed by a burst of multicolored light that lit up the western edge of the valley a kilometer away.
Even at this distance, flashes of sword qi lit the distant forest ridge in brilliant arcs, and waves of spiritual energy pulsed in irregular bursts. There was no mistaking it now.
The battle had begun.
"It's the Sword Peak Head," someone whispered nearby. "And the Core Disciples… they're already engaged!"
"Who's attacking them?!" another asked, looking out into the distance with fear in their eyes.
"We're still within sect territory! No one would dare—"
But someone had.
Han Yu stood at the edge of the camp, Wu Shuan and Fatty Kui right behind him. He remained calm outwardly, though his mind was racing. He clutched a talisman tightly, ready to send out a signal if things went south. His other hand hovered near his pouch, ready to retrieve any of his escape or defensive items.
It wasn't just fear in the air—it was unfamiliarity. They didn't know who was attacking. That was the worst part.
And so Han Yu waited—until Chitterfang's voice popped into his head, a whisper carried through their tamed beast bond.
"I see them."
The rat's voice was sharper than usual, his mental tone alert and focused. "From the rocky outcrop. I climbed the tallest tree—still safe. They're fighting about a kilometer west of the outpost. It's intense."
Han Yu immediately locked onto the direction and tried to focus his senses there, but the lingering formations of the outpost and the ongoing clash of spiritual forces blurred everything beyond half a kilometer.
He knew his spirit sense was useless as the battle was far beyond his range of just ten meters, instead what he was hoping to rely on was his ability to sense emotions. While he knew he wouldn't get any eight emotions energy from the fight as he wasn't involved in it yet, he could still feel faint bursts of strong emotions at times. But right now that was impossible as well.
"What do you see?" Han Yu asked, stepping back from the crowd and ducking under the overhang of a storage shed for privacy.
"Three people. All wearing red robes. Blood red," Chitterfang replied.
"Only three?" Han Yu frowned. "Just three against the Sword Peak Head and his disciples?"
"Yes. They're fast. Strong. Their movements… I can barely follow. The Sword Peak Head is leading the charge, but the others are backing him up. He's holding his own, but I can tell—he's taking it seriously. No holding back."
Han Yu's brow furrowed.
Three against over a dozen Core Disciples and an elder?
Something wasn't right.
"Can you describe them?" he asked next. "Any marks, weapons, symbols?"
Chitterfang paused before continuing, as if focusing. "Their robes have broken bottle symbols stitched into them. Big ones—center of the chest. Like the bottle shattered into sharp pieces. One of them—his robes are torn, and I see weird scarring on his arms. Like his skin's... ruptured."
"Broken bottles?" Han Yu repeated out loud.
That was strange. He hadn't heard of a sect or faction with that kind of symbol before. He turned to Wu Shuan, who stood beside him, still watching the edge of the forest with narrowed eyes.
"Wu Shuan," Han Yu said in a low voice. "Does the image of shattered bottles on blood-red robes mean anything to you? Three people in those robes are fighting the Sword Peak Head right now."
At first, Wu Shuan said nothing. But a second later, his face twisted slightly in recognition and concern.
"…I know them," he said grimly. "That's the mark of the Shattered Blood Vessel Sect."
Han Yu blinked. "Never heard of them."
"Most haven't," Wu Shuan said. "They're a minor unorthodox sect. Their base is nestled in the Crimson Gully Mountains, a few hundred kilometers west of here. They've existed for centuries, but never grew beyond a few hundred members. Never declared allegiance to a greater faction."
"And they're usually neutral?" Han Yu asked.
"Yes," Wu Shuan confirmed. "They rarely leave their territory. They specialize in bizarre techniques—blood essence manipulation, internal rupture arts, and poison-infused qi flow. They mostly use the blood of beasts and not humans so they haven't been fully opposed either.
They're nothing righteous, but they've also never been overtly hostile to the big sects either."
Han Yu's frown deepened. "Then why now? And why here?"
Wu Shuan shook his head. "I don't know. But if they're attacking a fully armed sect expedition within our own territory… they've either gone mad or something else is at play."
"Could they be testing our strength?" Fatty Kui asked nervously. "Maybe it's just a distraction?"
"It might be," Han Yu replied. "Or they might be targeting something specific."
He thought back to how the Twin Leaf Peak Sect had mobilized almost all its high-ranking disciples and multiple Peak Heads for this expedition. Perhaps someone else had noticed too. Perhaps this was part of a bigger game.
With how many sects were acting in this expedition, it was hard to tell who was the real person pulling the strings.
"Chitterfang," Han Yu called mentally. "Stay there and keep watching. Focus on their techniques. Anything unusual—report it."
"Already doing it," came the rat's curt reply. "They use explosive bursts. Their qi… it explodes outward, not inward. Makes the ground shake every time they block a hit."
Han Yu filed that away. He'd study more about the Shattered Blood Vessel Sect later, but right now, it was clear they couldn't be underestimated.
The sky above pulsed again with sword light.
The battle raged on.