Chapter 5: Tiny World Conflict, Real World Effects

The two tiny figures screamed furiously.

"If you do not give us that ring, we benevolent Daoists will perform a soul search on you!"

Their voices echoed across the tiny forest with complete arrogance, as though they already held victory in their hands and were merely deciding how cruel they wished to be before taking what they wanted.

Inside the classroom, Clayne flinched.

"...Benevolent?"

His face twisted slightly.

Even someone like him, who only knew cultivation through online novels and fantasy stories, could tell these two were anything but kind.

The moment they mentioned the ring, Clayne immediately understood.

They were here because of the storage ring Zi Yue had given him earlier.

But before he could think further—

BANG!

The classroom door suddenly rattled violently.

The stacked desks shook hard.

Several metal legs scraped loudly against the floor.

Clayne’s expression changed immediately.

He turned around sharply.

Outside the narrow glass panel on the classroom door, moving shadows pressed closer and closer.

Rotting faces slammed against the small opening while bloodstained hands clawed wildly at the barricade.

The undead had become restless again.

The loud screaming from the miniature world must have drawn their attention.

"Shit..."

Clayne immediately stepped forward.

Then pushed.

The moment his shoulder slammed against the desks and door, something unexpected happened.

CRACK!

The entire barricade lurched violently forward.

The wooden door bent inward slightly under his strength.

One of the hinges let out a painful creak as if it was about to snap apart.

Clayne froze.

His eyes widened.

"...What?"

He quickly pulled his strength back before he accidentally destroyed the barricade himself.

For a moment, he simply stared blankly at the door.

Then slowly...

He looked at his own hands.

Earlier, he had only bent metal.

But now...

Just one push almost broke through a reinforced classroom door.

His heartbeat sped up.

"So this is cultivation..."

The realization struck him harder this time.

In all the novels he used to read, cultivators were always described as beings beyond mortals.

Even the weakest among them could surpass normal humans completely once they stepped onto the path of cultivation.

Back then, those descriptions always felt exaggerated.

Now he finally understood.

The difference truly was insane.

A normal person could train for their entire life, push their body to its limits, and still never reach this level.

But a cultivator...

Even at the beginning stage...

Already stood beyond ordinary people.

Clayne slowly steadied his breathing.

Then he adjusted his posture and pushed against the barricade again, this time with far more control.

The zombies outside continued slamming themselves against the door, but the entrance was narrow.

No matter how many gathered outside, only a few could push at the same time.

And now that he had become far stronger than before, the pressure no longer felt unbearable.

His feet remained planted firmly against the floor.

His arms no longer trembled.

The undead still groaned endlessly outside, but compared to earlier, Clayne felt far calmer.

"As long as I hold out, they’ll eventually stop..."

Then—

"YOU THINK YOU CAN HIDE FOREVER?"

A sharp voice echoed again from the miniature world.

Clayne’s face twitched.

He slowly turned his head.

The two tiny cultivators were still shouting nonstop.

At this rate, the zombies would never calm down.

His eyes narrowed immediately.

"...You little bastards..."

He gritted his teeth.

At the same time, he kept one arm pressed firmly against the desks while carefully moving one foot backward.

The movement was awkward.

He had to maintain pressure against the door while stretching himself little by little toward the miniature forest on the floor nearby.

The zombies outside kept pushing.

The desks vibrated constantly.

Still, Clayne endured.

His foot slowly reached the edge of the miniature.

Then—

He hooked it carefully.

And dragged it closer using his foot.

...

Inside the tiny forest, Zi Yue’s face had already turned pale.

Her breathing was uneven.

Sweat covered her forehead while her spiritual energy fluctuated chaotically.

The moment she escaped earlier, she had immediately returned toward the Valley of Silent RiverHill.

Because she had nowhere else to go.

Every direction outside the valley led to death.

The enemies chasing her were too many.

Too powerful.

And now...

They had finally caught up.

The two men before her wore dark blue robes embroidered with silver symbols.

Their swords floated faintly beside them while spiritual pressure rolled from their bodies without restraint.

Both were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Far above her current exhausted state.

"You truly know how to run," one of them said mockingly.

"We almost admired your persistence," the other added while laughing.

Zi Yue stepped back slowly.

Her heart pounded heavily.

Then suddenly—

She turned toward the empty sky above the valley.

And knelt.

Her knees struck the ground hard.

She lowered her head deeply until her forehead touched the dirt.

"Senior Deity..."

Her voice trembled badly.

"This junior apologizes for disturbing Senior again..."

Her fingers tightened against the earth.

"I... I truly have nowhere else to go..."

Her chest rose unevenly.

"I know this place belongs to Senior.

I know returning here without permission is disrespectful.

But this junior is being hunted relentlessly, and outside this valley, there is no path left for me to survive..."

Her eyes slowly reddened.

"The Silent Sword Sect has already fallen.

My fellow disciples are dead.

My elders are dead.

Everyone who once protected me is gone..."

Her voice weakened more and more as she spoke.

"This junior does not ask Senior to interfere.

I only ask... if possible... allow this junior to remain here for a short time..."

She lowered her head further.

"If Senior wishes, I am willing to offer my life, my service, my cultivation, anything..."

Her body trembled.

"Please... please let me stay..."

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators stared at her for a second.

Then both burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

"A deity?"

"You still believe those ridiculous stories?"

One of them nearly bent over laughing.

"This valley has been searched countless times over thousands of years!"

The other sneered coldly.

"If there truly was a deity here, why would this place remain abandoned until now?"

Their mocking voices echoed loudly across the valley.

"Do you know how many idiots came searching this place before us?"

"Peak Nascent Soul experts!"

"Old monsters who dominated entire regions!"

"And what did they find?"

"Nothing!"

The second man smirked cruelly.

"No treasures. No inheritances. No deity."

"Only worthless Gu Spirit Beasts and empty legends made to scare cowards."

The first cultivator crossed his arms while looking down at Zi Yue with contempt.

"You are truly pathetic.

Cornered to the point where you kneel before empty air and beg imaginary gods for help."

His smile became colder.

"Unfortunately for you, nobody is going to save you."

The spiritual pressure around both men suddenly exploded outward.

Boom!

The ground cracked slightly beneath their feet.

Zi Yue’s eyes widened immediately.

Fear flashed across her face.

Without hesitation, she jumped backward.

But she was too slow.

One of the men moved instantly.

A sword flashed.

Pain exploded across Zi Yue’s arm.

Blood sprayed into the air.

Her sleeve tore apart completely as a deep slash opened across her skin.

Before she could recover—

Another flash appeared.

Her leg was cut next.

The force sent her stumbling hard onto the ground.

"Ah!"

A cry escaped her lips.

Parts of her clothes ripped apart from the sword energy, exposing pale skin beneath the damaged fabric.

Zi Yue’s face immediately lost all color.

But that was not the worst part.

A burning pain suddenly spread from the wounds.

It crawled through her meridians like fire.

Her spiritual energy became unstable instantly.

"...Poison..."

Her voice trembled.

The two men smiled proudly.

"Correct." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

One of them slowly walked forward while holding his sword casually.

"Even if you somehow escape now, you will still die without the antidote."

Zi Yue’s body shook violently.

Her spiritual energy weakened further with every passing moment.

Tears slowly gathered in her eyes.

The two cultivators laughed loudly upon seeing her expression.

"That ring truly matters that much to you?"

"Enough to throw away your life for it?"

The second man grinned maliciously.

"Fine. Then hand it over."

His eyes slowly wandered across her injured body.

"Otherwise..."

A dangerous light appeared in his gaze.

"You will lose far more than your life."

Zi Yue’s face turned deathly pale.

She immediately understood what they meant.

Fear unlike anything before rose inside her chest.

Her body instinctively moved backward across the dirt.

But the two men only laughed harder.

One of them pointed his sword toward her while speaking calmly.

"You should feel honored."

"There are many women more beautiful than you in this world, yet we still find you pleasing enough to keep alive for a while."

The other cultivator smirked.

"After all, you are still a genius disciple from the Silent Sword Sect."

Zi Yue’s tears finally fell.

Her injured arms trembled badly as she struggled to crawl backward.

"Please..."

Her voice cracked.

"Please don’t..."

The two men slowly approached her.

Neither hurried.

Neither worried.

To them, she was already trapped prey.

The poisoned wounds ensured she could not escape far even if she tried.

Their footsteps drew closer and closer.

Zi Yue’s breathing became ragged.

Despair slowly filled her eyes.

Then—

The ground suddenly moved.

Both cultivators froze instantly.