Before the Spears Fall

Hoa Can studied Hao Nhien’s face and suddenly noticed that the young man’s aura had weakened significantly compared with the beach.

“I’ll have somewhere prepared for you to rest.”

“No need.”

Hao Nhien turned toward Little Spirit.

“I want to stay in the Dwelling.”

“Right here.”

The child blinked.

Then nodded.

“Mm.”

Hoa Can had not yet understood what the two were discussing when Little Spirit walked toward an empty area beside the valley.

It lifted one small hand.

The air several chi above the ground began to ripple.

At first, the disturbance looked almost like heat rising from sun-warmed stone.

Then outlines appeared inside it.

Stone steps first.

Then a large doorway.

Walls.

A curved roof.

Piece by piece, an entire structure emerged.

In only a short while, a cultivation dwelling stood in the open space.

The building was not overwhelmingly large.

From the outside, it resembled a simple but balanced stone residence.

Yet the patterns in the walls and the calm, ancient aura spreading from it made it obvious that its materials were anything but ordinary.

The surrounding spiritual energy did not suddenly surge.

Instead, it slowly stabilized.

The previously mixed fluctuations within the valley became more even.

The Fire Spirit tribespeople fell silent.

One old man opened his mouth for a long time without managing to speak.

Even Hoa Can unconsciously stepped forward half a pace.

His attention remained fixed on the structure that had just appeared from empty air.

“This…”

“Is this an artifact?”

He turned toward Hao Nhien.

“You can think of it that way.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

He did not explain further.

Even he had only begun to understand part of what the Cosmic Ark could do after Little Spirit awakened.

He had used the Dwelling form before.

But the differences between the Ark’s various forms still contained many things he did not yet understand.

Little Spirit reached the entrance.

It turned toward Hao Nhien.

“Inside.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

He led Lang Tuyet forward.

Lanh Hoa followed behind.

Before entering, Lang Tuyet glanced back at Hoa Can.

The late-Golden-Core clan chief was still standing where he had been.

His eyes had not left the Dwelling.

Neither had those of most of his tribespeople.

The doors slowly closed.

Outside, the valley gradually returned to its familiar rhythm.

The wounded were taken away for treatment.

Fires were rekindled in the stone houses.

But ever since the Dwelling had appeared, the Fire Spirit tribespeople repeatedly found their eyes drifting toward it.

By the time night fell over the island, small lights flickered throughout the valley.

Sea wind crossed the cliffs, carrying salt and chill past the ancient Fire Qilin altar.

Not far away, the Dwelling stood quietly among the low houses.

It emitted neither dazzling light nor overwhelming pressure.

Even so, its existence had changed the atmosphere of the entire valley.

Inside, Hao Nhien sat in meditation.

Only now did he have time to examine his condition properly.

Less than thirty percent of his True Qi remained.

Resistance still existed in the meridians affected by the Yin energy, especially in several areas that had been forced to endure the pressure of Fury.

Although the eruption had been brief, that violent state had still thrown his blood and Qi into disorder.

Several secondary meridian branches carried a lingering ache.

Hao Nhien slowly circulated True Qi through the routes that remained relatively clear.

Immediately, he noticed how different recovery felt compared with the past.

While he had still been in Foundation Establishment, each use of Fury had usually required roughly three days for a full recovery.

But now the Golden Core in his dantian had fundamentally changed the way spiritual energy was absorbed and transformed.

The new circulation paths formed after the Fate-Convergence Realm also made recuperation more flexible.

He no longer needed to depend entirely on the major meridians.

At the current rate, perhaps only a day and a half would be needed for his True Qi and blood circulation to return to stability.

Of course, that did not mean the areas obstructed by Yin energy would heal just as quickly.

Those injuries still required time.

And likely a more appropriate method.

Hao Nhien continued meditating.

But whenever he thought of the possibility that the Thunder Spirit Clan might arrive tomorrow, time suddenly felt scarce.

He had reached early Golden Core.

Yet in his present state, repeatedly confronting cultivators like Hoa Can was something he should avoid.

At that moment, faint footsteps sounded near the entrance.

Little Spirit had appeared without him noticing.

The child watched Hao Nhien for a while.

Then suddenly said,

“You’re waiting.”

Hao Nhien opened his eyes.

“Waiting for what?”

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“Power.”

He was slightly surprised.

Then nodded.

“Yes.”

“Before, it would have taken at least three days.”

“Now I think half that may be enough.”

Little Spirit shook its head.

“Doesn’t need that long.”

Hao Nhien looked at it.

“You have a way?”

“It’s different now.”

“How?”

Little Spirit did not answer immediately.

It walked over and sat opposite him.

Then placed one small palm against the floor.

A faint fluctuation spread outward.

At first, Hao Nhien only sensed a slight change in the spiritual energy inside the Dwelling.

When he observed more carefully, he realized the surrounding currents were slowly adjusting to the rhythm of his breathing.

Within them, a very thin stream of Wood spiritual force began to mingle.

It carried a gentle vitality that helped calm his disordered blood and Qi.

The Golden Core in his dantian trembled faintly.

Spiritual energy entered and transformed more smoothly.

The Wood force seeped gradually through the injured meridians, soothing the tension without attempting to force open the places still obstructed by Yin energy.

At the same time, the circulation of soul force produced an extremely faint fluctuation.

Its rhythm almost corresponded to the movement of the surrounding space.

Hao Nhien opened his eyes.

“You’re adjusting the spiritual energy inside the Dwelling?”

Little Spirit thought.

Then answered,

“Not doing.”

Hao Nhien frowned slightly.

“Then what?”

“Let the Ark…”

“Follow you.”

The answer was short.

But this time Hao Nhien understood at least part of it.

The Cosmic Ark was not directly sending power into his body.

Nor was it healing the damage caused by Fury.

It was simply making the surrounding spiritual energy move in a rhythm more compatible with his current Golden Core and soul circulation.

The Golden Core became the point of convergence.

The soul maintained the rhythm.

True Qi still had to absorb and transform spiritual energy normally.

Nothing was being forcibly driven into his meridians.

But the fluctuations outside his body were no longer constantly out of alignment with the circulation within.

As a result, absorption became significantly smoother.

Hao Nhien closed his eyes.

He slowly adjusted his breathing.

This time, he did not attempt to increase the speed of True Qi circulation.

He reduced the amount passing through branches that still contained resistance.

The secondary routes that had formed through the Body-Soul Fist Art continued handling whatever flow they could safely bear.

Time passed quietly.

After one hour, the amount of True Qi in his dantian had risen noticeably.

By the second, circulation had become far more stable, despite the lingering pain in several meridian points.

By the third, when Hao Nhien opened his eyes, nearly eighty percent of his True Qi had recovered.

The result genuinely surprised him.

Ordinary recuperation would have required far longer to restore so much power.

Yet when he tested several damaged meridian routes, he immediately recognized that their limits remained unchanged.

His True Qi had recovered.

The meridians had not recovered to the same degree.

The areas still obstructed by Yin energy remained difficult to use.

If he forced too much power through them, the injuries could easily worsen.

Hao Nhien withdrew his intention and looked at Little Spirit.

“If I used Fury for longer…”

“Or pushed it as far as I did at U Minh Mountain…”

“Could this method still restore me this quickly?”

The child shook its head.

“Longer.”

“How long?”

“Don’t know.”

Little Spirit tilted its head.

Then added,

“Don’t use too much.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“I know.”

The child said nothing more.

It placed its palm against the floor one more time.

Then slowly stood.

The spiritual energy within the Dwelling continued moving in the stable rhythm.

Little Spirit no longer needed to adjust it constantly.

Hao Nhien watched the small figure.

After the Boat Spirit awakened, the Cosmic Ark was indeed revealing capabilities he had never been able to use before.

Yet Little Spirit itself clearly did not understand the full extent of what it could do.

Much of its behavior seemed driven by familiar instincts left behind within fragmented memories.

Hao Nhien did not think further.

He closed his eyes and resumed meditation.

This time, he had enough True Qi to maintain the circulation routes he needed.

For the rest of the night, he focused mainly on stabilizing his blood and observing the meridians that remained injured.

At dawn, Hao Nhien stepped out of the Dwelling.

His complexion was far better than the previous evening.

True Qi in his dantian was nearly full.

His blood circulation had stabilized.

But the obstructed meridians still forced him to remain careful whenever he used power.

He was not fully recovered.

But the current state was sufficient for ordinary emergencies.

Lang Tuyet met him near the edge of the valley.

She looked at him once.

Then more carefully.

“You look much better.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“I am.”

“Yesterday I thought I might have to stand in front of you today.”

“So did I.”

“And?”

Hao Nhien looked toward a nearby rock.

Little Spirit sat there watching several Fire Spirit children running through the valley.

“Someone discovered another way to use the Ark.”

Lang Tuyet followed his gaze.

“I’m beginning to think bringing that one along is extremely profitable.”

Little Spirit immediately turned its head.

“I’m not for sale.”

Lang Tuyet laughed.

“I wasn’t planning to buy you.”

The child studied her for several breaths, apparently deciding whether the statement was trustworthy.

Then it turned away and resumed watching the children.

Hao Nhien smiled and continued walking.

Morning in the Fire Spirit settlement looked little different from an ordinary village.

Elders lit fires outside their homes.

Women carried water from stone wells.

Children ran through the narrow paths between low buildings.

But on closer inspection, weapons were always within reach.

A man repairing a fishing net had a long spear beside his knee.

A teenager splitting wood kept a blade near his foot.

People carrying water instinctively looked toward the valley entrance whenever an unfamiliar sound appeared.

Preparing for battle had become part of daily life.

Lang Tuyet noticed as well.

“No one seems to be making any special preparations.”

Hao Nhien looked at a man testing a bowstring outside his house.

“Because they’ve been prepared for too long.”

Lang Tuyet fell silent.

After a moment, she sighed.

“If the war really has lasted for generations, convincing them to stop won’t be easy.”

“I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“First, hear both sides.”

She glanced at him.

A hint of amusement appeared.

“At least this time you aren’t planning to reach a conclusion first.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“Have I done that often?”

“More than once.”

He shook his head.

He did not argue.

At that moment, a dull explosion sounded beyond the rocky ridges.

BOOM!

The entire valley trembled.

Everyone working stopped.

There were no screams.

No chaotic fleeing.

Instead, everyone capable of fighting immediately seized a weapon and moved toward positions they had clearly occupied many times before.

Hoa Can appeared in the open area.

His expression was grave.

“They’re here.”

In the distance, lightning tore across the mountainside.

At first, only a few figures appeared.

Then dozens.

Then hundreds.

They moved down through the paths between the cliffs.

Dark leather armor.

Long spears.

Weapons wrapped in faint electrical light.

A formation stretched toward the valley.

At the front walked a tall man with black-and-silver hair.

A scar ran from his temple almost to his jaw.

The aura surrounding him was no weaker than Hoa Can’s.

Late Golden Core.

Hao Nhien stood beside Lang Tuyet and observed.

Gradually, he understood why neither clan had managed to completely subdue the other despite generations of warfare.

It was not merely hatred.

Both possessed enough strength to make any decisive victory extraordinarily costly.

The silver-haired man stopped before his people.

His gaze moved across Hoa Can.

Then toward the two unfamiliar figures standing near the altar.

“Outsiders?”

Before Hoa Can could answer, Hao Nhien stepped forward.

A flying sword appeared beneath his feet and gently lifted him from the ground.

He released no threatening pressure.

Hao Nhien stopped in the empty space between the two sides, at a distance where both clan chiefs could see him clearly.

“You are the Clan Chief of the Thunder Spirit Clan?”

The man looked at him.

“What does that have to do with you?”

“I want to speak before you continue fighting.”

The man frowned.

“Who are you to interfere in our affairs?”

“Yesterday, one of my people nearly died because of this war.”

Hao Nhien met his gaze.

“I want to know why.”

The man looked toward Hoa Can.

Suspicion flashed across his face.

“So he found outsiders to help him.”

Hoa Can immediately frowned.

But Hao Nhien spoke before him.

“I did not come here to help either side fight the other.”

The man laughed coldly.

“You say that and expect me to believe you?”

His hand tightened around his spear.

Lightning patterns along the shaft lit up.

Small arcs leapt into the air, creating sharp fluctuations.

“I am Loi Trach.”

“If you think words alone can stop this battle, you should first understand who you are standing in front of.”

Hao Nhien did not draw his sword.

He merely looked at the lightning constantly flashing around Loi Trach’s spear.

The familiar fluctuations spread through the air.

His intention moved.

Several scattered threads of Lightning force suddenly changed direction.

Hao Nhien remained silent.

He slowly drew the Fire Spirit Sword.

Dark-red metal appeared.

Flame patterns along the blade brightened faintly.

Loi Trach frowned and tightened his grip.

But before he could speak, the lightning wrapped around the spearhead began behaving strangely.

It no longer moved according to the rhythm of his spiritual power.

One arc suddenly separated from the spear.

Guided by Hao Nhien, it entered his body.

Almost immediately, the Lightning force passed through his arm and into the Fire Spirit Sword without remaining inside his meridians.

Then another arc followed.

Then another.

Each traveled through him and gathered along the blade.

Loi Trach froze.

He could clearly sense that the lightning being led away had come from his own weapon.

Yet it was now moving according to the intention of a complete stranger.

An elder behind him unconsciously stepped forward.

His voice grew hoarse.

“Thunder Divine Mark…”

The surrounding Thunder Spirit tribespeople changed expression.

“Impossible!”

“How can an outsider control Lightning?”

“Even the Clan Chief’s Lightning is being led away…”

Whispers spread rapidly.

Loi Trach remained still.

His eyes did not leave the Fire Spirit Sword.

Rather than immediately withdrawing his power, he circulated spiritual energy through the spear again.

Fresh lightning appeared.

The moment it formed, part of it was once more affected by Hao Nhien’s intention and transferred toward the sword.

This time, the astonishment in Loi Trach’s eyes became impossible to conceal.

“You…”

“How?”

Hao Nhien looked at the Lightning force curling around the Fire Spirit Sword.

Then at Loi Trach.

“I only borrowed a little Lightning from your spear.”

He lowered the blade.

The electrical arcs slowly dispersed into the air.

“The Thunder Spirit Clan is not the only one capable of using Lightning.”

The calm answer only made Loi Trach more serious.

Hao Nhien continued,

“I only want both sides to sit down and speak before more people die.”

Loi Trach was silent.

Then looked toward Hoa Can.

“You agree?”

Hoa Can remained silent for a moment.

“I agree to hear him.”

“That does not mean the Fire Spirit Clan will surrender the ancestral land.”

“Nor will we.”

Loi Trach answered immediately.

The two looked at each other.

Their auras began tightening again.

Lang Tuyet stepped forward beneath Hao Nhien.

“If neither side intends to yield, then that is even more reason to state clearly what you are trying to protect.”

“One hour.”

“You lose nothing by talking for one hour.”

Loi Trach looked at her.

“Who are you?”

“The person who nearly died because of your war.”

She answered naturally.

“So I would also like to know what exactly I nearly died for.”

Loi Trach paused.

Lang Tuyet continued,

“You brought hundreds of tribesmen.”

“You clearly came prepared for a major battle.”

“But understanding your opponent before attacking is hardly a disadvantage.”

He looked at her.

Then toward the people behind him.

After a long moment, Loi Trach slowly lowered his spear.

“One hour.”