Joong Khan stood quietly inside the Apple Root Ring, holding nothing but the branch Jin Nan had handed him. Across from him, the Skyscraping Sect elder unsheathed a gleaming spiritual sword that radiated Golden Core energy. The difference in weapons could not have been more ridiculous. One man carried a treasured blade refined over decades. The other held a piece of a tree. Several spectators from the Skyscraping Sect began laughing openly. Even some of the Foundation Establishment cultivators shook their heads. To them, the outcome was obvious. Joong Khan looked down at the branch for a moment. Under normal circumstances, he would have considered this madness. Then he remembered the sea of swords, the barrier, and the impossible things he had witnessed since arriving.
The elder attacked first. His sword erupted with silver light as he unleashed 7 consecutive strikes aimed at Joong Khan's vital points. Each attack carried enough power to cut apart buildings. Joong Khan instinctively moved, parrying with the branch. To everyone's shock, the branch didn't break. Not even a crack appeared. The elder's eyes widened. So did Joong Khan's. A laugh almost escaped him. The Sage had handed him a stick and somehow that stick was standing against a spiritual treasure. For the first time in years, he stopped overthinking. He stopped calculating outcomes and worrying about bottlenecks. If Jin Nan said fight, then he would fight. If Jin Nan said use a branch, then he would use a branch.
The next exchange felt completely different. Joong Khan's sword intent suddenly became clearer and more decisive. The hesitation that had haunted him for 47 years began fading away. Strike after strike collided within the ring as spiritual energy shook the ground beneath them. Watching from the terrace, the 11 disciples could feel the difference. Their instructor wasn't merely fighting an opponent. He was fighting the doubt that had trapped him for decades. Beneath the apple tree, Jin Nan smiled and took another bite from an apple he had somehow acquired during the battle. "Good," he muttered. "Now you're finally starting to trust yourself." As if responding to those words, tiny cracks began spreading through the invisible walls surrounding Joong Khan's cultivation.
The Skyscraping Sect elder finally realized something was wrong. He was supposed to be overwhelming this wandering sword cultivator, yet the battle was gradually slipping out of his control. With an angry roar, he leaped backward and formed several hand seals. Spiritual energy surged from his Golden Core as dozens of silver swords materialized behind him. "Thousand Edge Barrage!" he shouted. The swords launched forward like a storm, tearing through the air and leaving deep scars across the arena floor. The attack was one of his strongest techniques. Watching from outside the ring, several Golden Core elders nodded confidently. Even Joong Khan felt pressure from the incoming attack. Yet for some reason, he did not retreat.
Instead, Joong Khan tightened his grip on the branch and stepped forward. His movements became simpler. Cleaner. He no longer relied on complicated techniques or flashy sword arts. Every swing contained only pure intent. The branch danced through the storm of blades, knocking swords aside one after another. To everyone's disbelief, the impossible began happening. The elder's sword rain was being dismantled by a piece of wood. More importantly, Joong Khan felt something awakening inside him. The years of wandering. The years of loneliness. The years spent chasing strength. They were all becoming part of his sword.
The elder sensed it too. Panic appeared in his eyes. "Stop him!" he shouted toward the other Golden Core cultivators outside the ring. Several immediately stepped forward before freezing. The thorn-covered roots surrounding the arena suddenly pulsed with dark light. The poison intensified. Even Late Stage Golden Core cultivators staggered backward. Inside the ring, Joong Khan took another step. Then another. Each movement caused his sword intent to rise higher. The branch in his hand began glowing faintly with golden light. Beneath the apple tree, Jin Nan casually tossed away an apple core and smiled. "That's right," he said. "The sword was never your problem. The man holding it was." At that exact moment, Joong Khan's aura exploded upward.
While Joong Khan's breakthrough battle continued, the remaining Skyscraping Sect cultivators were becoming increasingly agitated. More and more of them were inching toward the arena despite the poisonous roots. Jin Nan noticed immediately. "Hmm, getting restless already?" he asked. Looking up at the sky, he casually waved a hand. Dark clouds instantly gathered above the valley. Unlike ordinary storm clouds, these crackled with golden lightning powerful enough to make Golden Core cultivators nervous. Bolts repeatedly struck the air around the fleet. Several ships violently shook from near misses. The sect elders quickly realized remaining airborne was becoming dangerous. One by one, over 30 vessels descended and landed throughout the valley. Nobody wanted to discover what happened when those lightning bolts actually connected.
The moment the ships touched the ground, the earth began shaking again. The Apple Root Ring expanded outward at an unbelievable speed. Massive roots burst from the ground and spread throughout the valley, twisting together into a gigantic maze surrounding the central arena where Joong Khan fought. Pathways constantly shifted while walls rose dozens of meters high. Even Golden Core spiritual senses struggled to penetrate them. Jin Nan casually pointed toward the maze. "You may help your elder if you can make it to him." The Skyscraping Sect disciples immediately charged forward. Hundreds entered the maze within seconds. Most were confident they could cross a few roots and reach the battlefield. They would soon discover how wrong they were.
As the first cultivators advanced through the maze, branches suddenly sprouted from the root walls. At first everyone ignored them. Then apples began falling from the branches. Thousands of them. Upon hitting the ground, however, the apples split open and transformed into bizarre creatures nearly 5 feet tall. They had tiny arms, powerful legs, razor-sharp claws, and rows of vicious teeth. One stared at a Foundation Establishment disciple for several seconds before screaming and launching itself at his face. More apples landed. More creatures emerged. Soon hundreds of murderous apple monsters were sprinting through the maze. The entire valley descended into chaos. Beneath the apple tree, Jin Nan leaned back and released a wicked laugh. "Hahahaha! Let's see how the mighty Skyscraping Sect handles my guardian apples!"
Screams, screeches, growls, explosions, and angry shouting echoed in every direction. Some cultivators were fighting the guardian apples. Others were lost in the maze. A few unfortunate souls were dealing with both problems at once. The noise carried far beyond Green Willow Village and into the surrounding forests. Several Spirit Beasts fled the area entirely, convinced some ancient disaster had awakened. Yet despite hearing all of it, not a single villager stepped outside. Families remained in their homes exactly as instructed. Some sat nervously around lanterns while others attempted to sleep through the madness. Their Sage had given them 1 instruction: stay indoors until sunrise. That was enough for them.
High above the village, the 11 disciples continued observing from the Golden Gate Terrace. None of them spoke much anymore. Watching their Sage casually toy with a force of 8,000 warriors had shattered many of their assumptions about cultivation. One disciple in particular seemed unusually focused. It was a boy of 13 who had spent most of the night staring at the maze below rather than the battles. His breathing gradually slowed until he entered a strange state of clarity. Without warning, a faint green mist began escaping from his pores. The disciples beside him immediately noticed. His eyes slowly opened, revealing glowing yellow pupils. The spiritual energy surrounding him felt completely different from before.
The changes did not stop there. Trees surrounding the terrace began moving on their own. Branches swayed despite there being no wind. Flowers turned toward the boy as though greeting an old friend. Even blades of grass seemed to lean in his direction. The other disciples quickly backed away in surprise. The boy himself appeared equally confused. He wasn't consciously doing anything. He simply felt connected to everything growing around him. Deep within his mind, a path was beginning to form. Not a sword path. Not a martial path. A different path entirely. Far below, Jin Nan briefly glanced toward the terrace and smiled knowingly. Another disciple had found the first glimpse of the Dao he was destined to walk. The night was proving educational for everyone involved.