“I have to!" Chen Wu tried to pull free.

  "GOING TO DIE!" Su Ling yanked him back. "And so will you if you interfere! That attack will kill you both!"

  "I don't care!"

  "I DO!" She held him with both hands now. "Chen Wu, think! Your master trusted you! The sect needs you! You can't throw your life away for—"

  The attack was coming. A beam of pure spiritual energy that would erase me from existence.

  "BROTHER!" He roared it with genuine anguish in his voice.

  But Su Ling's grip was firm. Her cultivation was stronger than him and she held him back by pure force.

  The attack was still building. The projection's finger glowing brighter and brighter.

  Three seconds until impact. Maybe less.

  I looked at Chen Wu. Our eyes met.

  "BROTHER CHEN!" My voice cracked and broke. "PLEASE! HELP ME! DON'T LET ME DIE!"

  I was begging. Crying. All pretense of dignity shattered.

  "CHEN WU! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! PLEASE!"

  Chen Wu's face twisted in agony. "FU YANG!"

  At last, he fought against Su Ling's grip and actually started to overpower her through sheer desperation.

  "PLEASE!" I started sobbing now. Pathetic. "SAVE ME! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU!"

  The words burned on the way out. Each one felt like it was peeling something off me. Pride, maybe..

  But what pride? That I never had…….What pride? If I was going to die here……What PRIDE? What was it worth? A word? An illusion?

  This was me. The real me…and to survive even if I had to beg like a dog, I will do it. Even If I had to kneel, I would kneel.

  Let them think I’m afraid of death. Do I care, when I have already died too many times already………..What scares me is that death, NO. It's losing my freedom…..

  My expression hardened. Whatever was left of hesitation disappeared and something unfamiliar settled inside me.

  "I DON'T WANT TO DIE! PLEASE! CHEN WU! BROTHER! PLEASE!"

  Su Ling was yelling at him. "Chen Wu, no! Don't be stupid! He's already—”

  "I CAN'T!" Chen Wu finally broke free. "I CAN'T JUST WATCH!"

  He launched himself forward, directly toward me like a suicidal heroics. But he did it anyway.

  Because he was Chen Wu. The righteous hero who couldn't abandon people.

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  Su Ling screamed in frustration. "TCH!" Then she followed.

  Not because she wanted to. But because she couldn't let Chen Wu die alone, both of them ran toward me, and above us, the projection smiled coldly, probably amused by what he was seeing.

  His finger released and the beam of spiritual energy shot down like divine judgment.

  I was on my knees when the attack was only one second away. And that's when Chen Wu reached me, his hand stretching out—

  But it was too slow, too late, we were all going to die. And honestly? I was furious about it because everything, every plan I made, every step I took, all was about to be wasted.

  Unacceptable….

  But there was nothing I could do.

  I looked at Chen Wu…. At least this fool will die with me. Small consolation. At least with me, his story would end, and maybe the system would leave me alone in the next……….

  But that's when it happened—

  The world around us exploded with power, not from the attack but from the Clouded Peak Sect itself.

  The mountain's defensive formations activated all at once. Massive barriers of spiritual energy erupted across the entire sect, layer upon layer of protection.

  And then HE appeared. The Sect Head of Clouded Peak.

  He materialized directly between us and the projection. An old man who looked ancient but radiated power that made Elder Yun seem like a child.

  Peak Nascent Soul Realm. The absolute pinnacle of mortal cultivation.

  His presence alone made the projection's attack waver. The beam of spiritual energy dispersed before impact, unable to penetrate the formation barriers which surrounded us.

  "SECT MASTER SHEN!" The Sect Head's voice boomed across the forest. "You DARE attack the disciples of Clouded Peak on my territory?!"

  The translucent projection—Sect Master Shen of Crimson Sword Sect—pulled back slightly.

  And more figures appeared around us. Multiple elders materializing from the shadows. Core Formation and Golden Core cultivators, all of them taking defensive positions.

  The forest clearing was suddenly filled with Clouded Peak's elite forces.

  The moment the elders arrived, I stopped thinking of possibilities. There was no need for it now because the situation had completely changed and so did I.

  Chen Wu was still hovering over me protectively. "Fu Yang, are you—"

  "I'm fine," I said flatly.

  Su Ling was staring at the sect head and elders with wide eyes. She'd never seen this many high level cultivators in one place.

  Above us, the two sect masters faced off.

  "That boy tried to KILL Zhang Kun!" Sect Master Shen's projection pointed at me. "I won't allow—"

  "You won't allow it?" The Clouded Peak Sect Head laughed coldly. "You send spies into my sect... and you still think YOU get to set terms?"

  The Sect Head moved, his spiritual energy condensed into a massive sword construct. Glowing with power that made the air itself crack and scream.

  He swung it at the projection. Sect Master Shen blocked with his own energy construct. The impact sent shockwaves through the forest. The ground cracked. Several smaller trees simply disintegrated from the pressure.

  I watched with clinical interest.

  Nascent Soul Realm versus Nascent Soul Realm. Both at the absolute limit of mortal cultivation. They exchanged three more blows. Each one devastating. The forest clearing was being destroyed just from the ambient pressure.

  But the projection was weakening. It was just a fragment of Sect Master Shen's power transmitted through a token.

  The Clouded Peak Sect Head pressed the advantage. "Leave now before I decide to visit Crimson Sword Sect in person and show you what happens when you violate the treaty."

  Sect Master Shen's projection flickered unstably.

  His eyes swept across the clearing one last time then landed on me.

  "You, boy. I will remember your face."

  Then the projection shattered, dispersed into nothing. The crushing pressure disappeared and I stood up immediately, dusting off my clothes.

  Chen Wu was next to me in an instant. "Fu Yang! That was—"

  I looked at him. "Thank you for trying to save me, brother."

  "Of course. I couldn't just—"

  "Chen Wu. Su Ling. Fu Yang."

  Elder Yun's voice cut through the air. He appeared next to the Sect Head, his expression severe.

  "All three of you. Explain what happened. Now."

  Chen Wu immediately bowed and started explaining. The investigation. Following Zhang Kun. The meeting in the forest. The confrontation.

  I added details where it was needed and played the role of the helpful assistant who'd been trying to stop a traitor.

  The Sect Head listened in silence.

  When we finished, he spoke quietly. "Zhang Kun escaped. Sect Master Shen extracted him successfully."

  "I'm sorry, Sect Head," Chen Wu said. "We tried to—"

  "You exposed a spy who'd been operating for months. That's success, not failure." The Sect Head's expression was unreadable. "The fact that he escaped is... unfortunate. But acceptable."

  He looked directly at me. "You. Fu Yang. You tried to kill him."

  "Yes, Sect Head." I kept my voice steady. "I thought if I could eliminate him before he escaped, the sect would be safer. I..I wasn't thinking clearly. I just... reacted."

  The Sect Head studied me for a long moment. Then nodded slowly. "Brave but stupid."

  He turned to Elder Yun. "These three are your responsibility. Deal with them appropriately."

  "Yes, Sect Head."

  The Sect Head and the other elders vanished. Simply disappeared like they'd never been there.

  Leaving us alone with Elder Yun, whose expression was still complicated. That same unease I always saw, but now mixed with something else.

  "Master," Chen Wu began. "I—"

  "Silence." Elder Yun's voice was cold. "All three of you will report to my quarters at dawn. We have much to discuss about tonight's... incident."

  "Yes, Master."

  Elder Yun looked at me one more time. Then he also left.

  The three of us stood in the destroyed clearing.

  "We should head back," Su Ling said quietly. "Before anyone else shows up."

  Chen Wu nodded. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Can you walk?"

  "I'm fine." I pulled away gently. "Let's go."

  We walked back through the forest in silence.

  I was already running calculations.

  Zhang Kun had escaped. The plan to kill him had failed. But the outcome wasn't terrible.

  Chen Wu's quest still hadn't been completed—the system notification would have appeared in front of Chen Wu. Which meant the system really recognized ME as the real infiltrator.

  I checked my system screen as we walked back to the sect.

  [CORRUPTION PROGRESS: Chen Wu - 49%]

  [ACTIVE QUEST: Conceal your identity - ONGOING]

  [STATUS: Cover maintained. Target trust increased. Continue exploitation.]

  This result was good but—The only negativity was Sect Master Shen's threat. "I will remember you."