Dawn's first light spilled through the pines like molten gold, bathing the Shrek Academy camp in warm hues. The remnants of last night's lanterns lay cold among broken branches, and the soft hiss of morning stirred in the underbrush. Tang San knelt beside Xiao Wu, rapping his knuckles lightly against the healing sausage Oscar had just make.
"Hold still," Tang San murmured as he give the healing sausage toward and try to fed her. Seeing this Xiao Wu take the sausage in Tang San hand and eat it. She did not to be fed this times around. The air shimmered briefly with spirit power, knitting torn flesh beneath the sausage's lingering warmth. Xiao Wu exhaled a soft sigh, eyes fluttering closed.
Oscar hovered nearby, spirit sausage in hand, cheeks pink. "I—uh—got the recipe right this time?" he asked, voice trembling.
Xiao Wu opened one eye and nodded, lips curving into a tired smile. "It's perfect."
Dai Mubai dragged a boot across the mossy ground, sending a spray of dew into Ma Hongjun's face. "You snore louder than a bear," he teased, crossing his arms. "One more night, and I'll set you on fire."
Ma Hongjun sputtered as embers danced across his palms. "You wouldn't dare," he shot back, launching a playful blaze that fizzed harmlessly into the grass.
Ning Rongrong, perched on a flattened log, handed out small, glowing ration packets. "Eat these," she urged. "They'll restore your spirit power for the journey ahead." She offered one to Dai Mubai, who barked a laugh before tearing it open and downing it in a single bite.
As the camp stirred to life, Li Wei remained apart, seated on a low boulder at the edge of the clearing. The Build Ridewatch in his palm caught the amber light of dawn, its metallic segments gleaming inscrutably. He turned it over and over, fingertips brushing the cool surface. It felt… foreign, yet undeniably powerful.
Zhu Zhuqing emerged through the mist, the Hell Civet aura still crackling faintly around her as she make a patrol around the camp. She stopped beside him, eyes narrowing slightly. Li Wei caught the exchanged glance and raised a hand in greeting.
"Morning," Li Wei called, his tone light. "Ready to move?"
Zhu Zhuqing inclined her head but did not directly approach Li Wei. Instead, she brushed past him, pausing at his elbow. "You saved them all," she said quietly, voice soft enough that only he could hear. "Especially Xiao Wu." Her shoulder brushed his. "Thank you—for helping her. She seems more cheerful than before as if her burdens lighten."
Li Wei throat tightened. He closed his hand around the Ridewatch and tucked it into his coat pocket. "I couldn't let anything happen to her, she is one of my friend" he replied, gaze fixed on the forest beyond.
She gave the faintest of nods. "I'll walk beside you today," she offered, almost shyly. "Let me guard you for once."
He opened his mouth, then closed it. "Thank you," he said at last, voice low. "I… appreciate it."
Between them, the morning light wavered, a silent promise forged in mutual respect.
---
They broke camp swiftly. Tang San and Xiao Wu took the lead, Zhu Zhuqing flanking Li Wei on his right, Ning Rongrong and Oscar to his left, and Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai forming the rear guard. The forest canopy arched overhead, ancient branches woven in latticework, and the scent of pine and damp earth filled their lungs.
Midway along a winding path, the forest air quivered. Leaves hung suspended in motion, as if gravity had paused for a heartbeat. A chorus of bird calls froze mid-note, and the distant drip of water into a pool stilled into silence. The world seemed to shudder.
Li Wei's heart stuttered. He instinctively reached for the Diendriver at his side. Zhu Zhuqing stiffened beside him, aura flaring.
"Prepare yourselves," Li Wei whispered.
No sooner had the words formed than the underbrush exploded. A dozen Corrupted Forest Rabbits, their fur mottled and patchy, lunged from the shadows. Black ichor dripped from their snarling mouths. With a hiss, they exhaled a poisonous mist that curled like living smoke.
"Rabbits!" Ma Hongjun cursed, flicking sparks at one that lunged too close. The creature screeched as flames licked its flanks.
Dai Mubai roared, charging into the horde. His third ring—Vajra Transformation—ignited around him, fur and armor blazing gold. He caught two rabbits in a bear hug and hurled them into the trees.
Tang San moved like liquid silver, vines snaking from his palms to bind another pair. "Stay back!" he called, dragging them into a knot that snapped bones. A vine-whip cracked, the thud echoing like a drumbeat.
Ning Rongrong shrank back, eyes wide as the mist drifted toward her. But Zhu Zhuqing slid her hand onto her —boosting her spirit—thia give her a boost of strength—heart glowing. Instantly, Ning Rongrong straightened, sluicing will into her companions.
"Thank you," Ning Rongrong whispered, using her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to boost her companion.
Oscar, with shaking fingers, summoned a Flying Mushroom Sausage, accidentally flinging it at a trio of rabbits. Seeing the food in front of it the shadow rabbit lunge and eat it. This then lifted them into the air that stop their movement, just long enough for Dai Mubai to knock them unconscious.
Within moments, the corrupted rabbits lay twitching, becoming a dark carpet beneath the floor of the forest.
But no time to celebrate. The hush returned, heavier now.
---
"You feel it?" Zhu Zhuqing whispered, voice taut.
Li Wei didn't answer. He scanned the dim corridor of trunks. Something moved just beyond sight, too fast for the eye to follow.
A flicker.
A blur.
Tang San hair brushed his neck. "Look," he murmured.
Through the trees darted a Phantom Assassin—a masked figure draped in shifting shadow. It moved like liquid night, limbs elongated, every motion surreal. The air around it crackled with malicious intent, as if it absorbed the light.
Li Wei jaw clenched. "We're not alone."
Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a nod. In a heartbeat, they gave chase.
Li Wei activated his driver.
[AttackRide: Blast!]
Several bolts of blueish energy lanced forward, illuminating the clearing for a heartbeat.
But the phantom was gone—no scorch marks, no echo. Only the whisper of displaced air.
"Damn it," Tang San cursed, spinning in the direction the assassin fled.
Zhu Zhuqing dashed after him, blades of fury in her eyes. "We'll flush him out!"
Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai lunged to intercept any flankers, while Ning Rongrong hovered, her hand at her martial spirit ready to bolster their strength. Oscar trembled at the edge, clutching a sausage as if it were a shield.
Li Wei followed at their rear, mind racing.
Who is he?
What does he want?
Why haunt us like wraiths?
---
Tang San burst into an open glade, vines coiling. He slashed at the phantom, but his palm passed through empty air. The figure flicked into shadow once more, reforming behind him—two steps, gone.
Zhu Zhuqing sprang from Tang San's side, snapping her Hell Civet claws in an arc. A phantom clone swatted her aside. Tang San twisted, vine snapping the assassin's leg to the ground—but the phantom dematerialized before the vine could tighten.
Their weapons connected only with mist and smoke. Each strike yielded no promise of victory.
Li Wei arrived just as Zhu Zhuqing crumpled to one knee, winded by a blow that should not have landed as it hit her. Tang San's vines twisted in midair, uncoiling with frustration.
He summoned again: CrossAttack—two Rider silhouettes dropped from the sky, phasing into view and striking phantom assassins simultaneously. The apparitions dissipated with a shudder.
But the real figure remained. Silent. Watching.
With a low hiss, the surrounding world shattered into fractal reflections. Tang San's voice echoed as if underwater. Zhu Zhuqing's legs doubled beneath her. Ma Hongjun's flames stuttered.
Li Wei's heart thundered. The path beneath him dissolved into mist. He reached for Tang San's hand, but found only fog.
"Where—what—" Li Wei gasped, Diendriver raised but powerless.
All around him, every tree multiplied and inverted, and endless mirrors stretched to infinity. Somewhere, a masked whisper slithered through the void:
"You tread where you should not have walk outaider… Veiled Envoy will awaits on your road."
Li Wei's blood ran cold. He tried to call out, tried to summon any power. But the forest had vanished, and he stood alone in a realm of silver shadows.
His breath caught. His spirit flared in panic.
A new test.
A deeper trial.
And no one to save him but himself.