Cilian’s arms strain under Xulian, his breath coming in sharp, panicked gasps as he scans for a place to lay her down. Every second feels like a lifetime—the hall littered with unconscious or groaning bodies, carved marks on stone, and the faint lingering hum of residual energy. He quickly moved her to a stone slab raised slightly at the far end of the hall. It was wide and clean enough to lie her down and check her condition. He adjusted his grip, muttering under his breath, “Stay with me… don’t die on me now.” He laid her down carefully, placing a finger under her nose to check for breath.

  Her breathing was faint and unstable. Not enough. Not nearly enough.

  “Cilian!” Sunette’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and immediate. She was already dragging a stumbling Lilian toward him.

  Agitha snapped into action, weaving between unconscious bodies and moving them to relative safety. “Everyone who’s conscious—get moving! Make space for the injured!” Her voice sliced through the chaos like steel. She hauled a Vanguard Knight onto his side, checking vitals with rapid, precise movements. “They’re fine—mostly minor bruises. Luim’s banged up worse than the rest, but he’ll survive!” she reported, though a trembling edge of amazement colored her voice.

  “I need help, now!” Cilian shouted, urgency thick in his tone. “She’s not stable—Lilian, can you—” His voice broke off as Lilian’s eyes widened at the sight.

  Lilian dropped to her knees beside Xulian, hands immediately checking her chest, limbs, and neck while her mana scanned Xulian’s entire body. Her eyes widened as the feedback of Xulian’s condition came back.

  “This… this is worse than I thought,” Lilian muttered, urgency sharpening her voice. “Cilian, we need to move fast—she’s…”

  Cilian stiffened, unease stirring as he looked down at Xulian. “Tell me the truth. How is she?”

  Lilian pressed a hand to Xulian’s chest, a faint white glow spreading as she poured more mana into her spell. “Everything is compromised. Her bones—some are starting to crack. Her internal organs are under extreme strain from energy overload. She poured way too much into herself… she pushed her body beyond any safe limit.”

  Cilian’s jaw tightened. “I’ll hold her steady. Tell me what we need to do.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” Lilian said firmly, directing her mana into stabilising Xulian’s organs and halting internal bleeding. “But it’s going to take time. I need you to make sure she doesn’t move while I work. Every second matters.”

  Xulian’s chest rose and fell unsteadily, her body trembling with pain. Lilian pressed on, her mana weaving through Xulian’s body as she cast a regeneration spell, trying to stabilise her first. “She’s resisting. This isn’t going to be an easy job…”

  Cilian’s eyes stayed locked on Xulian, anxiety sharpened by guilt. “I didn’t know she could take that much… I pushed her too far.”

  Lilian didn’t look up. “We don’t have time for guilt. Help me keep her alive.”

  As Lilian poured more mana into her spell, she closely monitored Xulian’s entire body. Despite her young age, Lilian worked for the temple and was one of their best healers. But this situation left her stumped.

  “Cilian, I—I think she’ll make it,” she muttered, frowning at what she saw. She simply couldn’t understand it.

  “What is it?” Cilian asked as he noticed her frown before looking back at Xulian. “Is there something else wrong with her?”

  Lilian didn’t stop her spell, though it took her a while before she spoke again. “You know the difference between mana and Qi, don’t you?”

  “They’re both types of energy. Mana accumulates in our bodies through our mana veins, but how Qi users accumulate Qi is still somewhat of a mystery,” Cilian answered, frowning. “We know she’s a Qi user and probably a rare, powerful one—since most don’t make it very high in levels.”

  “That’s the point, Cilian. She’s not high level at all.” Lilian blurted it out, and both of them stayed silent for a moment. “Her body has started healing itself at a remarkable speed. I haven’t seen Qi do this in anyone before.”

  She slowly moved her left hand aside and began casting another spell while maintaining her regeneration spell.

  Moments later, a panel—very similar to the system panel—appeared before them. On it was Ling Xulian’s status panel.

  [Status]

  Name: Ling Xulian

  Race: Human

  Level: 10 (peque Stage) — Qi Condensation

  Main Class: Cultivator

  Sub Class: Swordsman

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  Title: Immortal Sword Cultivator

  Health: 2 / 200

  Stamina: 5 / 200

  Spiritual Energy: 200 / 51200

  Attributes:

  Body: 20

  Dexterity: 19

  Comprehension: 20

  Luck: 20

  Cultivation Attributes

  ????

  Skills:

  Void Flower Steps (Unique)

  Nine-Lotus Sword Art (Unique)

  Minor Spiritual Energy Sense (Rare)

  Minor Identify (Common)

  Palace of the Mind (Rare)

  1000 Rivers Palm Technique (Unique)

  “She has almost twice the amount of Qi as Master Luim!” Sunette shouted, eyes wide as she stared at the screen. “And she’s only level 10!”

  Lilian nodded, then pointed at Xulian’s attributes. “That’s the problem. Her attribute panel is different from most I’ve seen, but if my assumptions are correct, those stats are way too low for the amount of Qi she pushed through her skills.”

  Cilian looked between the panel and Xulian, her expression slowly relaxing. His chest tightened with confusion and strange interest. “She has way too few skills on her panel… but look at the ones she does have.”

  Agitha nearly stumbled as she reached them, assisting Vel, who had just regained consciousness. Vel, however, stood frozen, mouth agape like a fish out of water. “Unique skills… three of them.”

  Lilian nodded but was more interested in the “Cultivation Attributes” tab—something she had never seen before. Nothing like it existed in the temple archives.

  “None of her skills explains the self-healing, so the secret lies in this Cultivation Attribute tab,” Lilian said, dispelling the status panel and returning fully to healing. “I’ll stabilise her, but it will take some time before she can be moved again. I suggest you gather everyone and make sure they’re safe.”

  The others nodded and began organising the rest. Vel and Sunette gathered the remnants of the dungeon core while Agitha assisted Luim. The rest of the knights searched the area in pairs as they woke.

  “A level fucking 10 did all this?” Vel blurted out to Sunette as they scanned the core fragments.

  Sunette looked up at her in surprise, then smiled. “Correction—a level 10 Qi user did this, Lady Vel.”

  Vel stared at her for a second, then both burst out laughing at the absurdity.

  “When Luim wakes up, he’ll probably be over the moon knowing a strong Qi user like her exists in this world,” Vel said, looking toward the still figure lying in the distance.

  Hours passed as they scouted the area. They informed the camp on the 18th floor, and several adventurer groups were sent down to assist the exploration. Cilian, Lilian, and Sunette stayed on the 19th floor, while Vel, Agitha, and Luim went down to the 20th with a mix of knights and adventurers. Luim was still in pain when he woke up, but his eyes sparkled once Vel told him about the situation.

  Later, they found the stone cottage and the makeshift grave before returning.

  “She must’ve stayed there,” Luim said as they walked back.

  “I doubt it. The place looks too worn down for that,” Vel replied. “She must have found it and buried whoever lived there. The living space looked completely abandoned… but the grave looked recent.”

  “This is the final floor. We should probably hurry back and start preparing to leave,” Agitha said as she scanned the cave walls ahead.

  Vel nodded, still contemplating how the girl ended up here—and why. A shudder ran down her spine as she remembered the girl’s expressionless face and sharp green eyes before she was knocked out.

  Luim exhaled slowly. “Yes… we should hurry back,” he agreed, rubbing his ribs with a wince. “I want to inform my master about that girl. She’ll want to know a Qi user like her exists—especially one this strong.”

  Agitha snorted loud enough for her voice to echo off the stone. “Inform your master? Please. That old drunk will probably choke on her wine when she hears a girl half your age, and less than half your levels outperformed you with one hand tied behind her back.”

  Vel burst out laughing. “Agitha!”

  But Agitha only grinned wider, eyes glinting with mischief. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll finally replace you with someone competent. Might do you some good, Luim—humility builds character.”

  Luim nearly tripped. “H-Hey! My master doesn’t just pick new disciples like fruit off a cart!”

  “Oh?” Agitha raised an eyebrow. “Then you'd better hope she doesn’t see her panel. With that much Qi, she might adopt her on the spot.”

  Vel choked on a laugh, struggling not to fall over as Luim sputtered behind them.

  “Can we please focus on getting back?” he muttered, cheeks red.

  Agitha patted his shoulder as they moved. “Relax, Luim. I’m sure she’ll still keep you around. Someone has to pour her drinks.”

  They made their way back up to the 19th floor. The hall was calmer now. Torches flickered softly. The worst of the chaos had passed long ago. Lilian sat slumped beside Xulian, sweat matting a strand of golden hair that escaped her hood, her breathing slow and heavy. Her hands still trembling slightly—stabilisation complete.

  Cilian stood watch like a silent statue, not having moved from his spot since they left.

  Lilian finally lifted her head as the group approached, voice hoarse. “She’s… stable enough to move. I’ve assisted the worst injuries, but her body is still strained everywhere. We need to get her to the camp on the 18th floor for proper rest. I can’t do much more here.”

  Sunette let out a relieved sigh. Vel mirrored her, shoulders loosening.

  “Good,” Agitha said, scanning Xulian. “Let’s carry her together. She shouldn’t be—”

  Cilian didn’t wait.

  He stepped forward, arms sliding under Xulian with surprising gentleness for a man usually so sharp-edged. He lifted her as though she weighed nothing, holding her securely against his chest.

  Everyone froze.

  Vel blinked. Sunette’s jaw dropped. Even Agitha stared for a full second before recovering.

  Lilian’s eyebrows rose in a tired arch. “Cilian…? You don’t have to carry her the entire way. One of us can—”

  “No,” Cilian said quietly, adjusting his grip as though shielding Xulian from even the air. “I’ve got her.”

  His tone left no room for argument.

  For a long heartbeat, no one spoke.

  Then Vel grinned, slow and wolfish. “Well then. Lead the way, hero.”

  Cilian ignored her completely and stepped forward, Xulian nestled carefully in his arms as the party gathered around him—stunned, curious, and more than a little suspicious—as they began the climb back toward the 18th-floor camp.