Sect Leader's Rise to the top!

Kai peered through the darkness as his eyes adjusted to the sudden changes. The air was hot and dusty, making breathing difficult. As Kai looked around, he noticed that they were now within a massive cave. Some people tried to summon various forms of light, but they were quickly reprimanded.

"No lights!", yelled the young woman from the Twin Lions Sect. "We don't want to attract any beasts to the extraction point. Just follow us quietly and don't do anything unless you're told to!", she said, clearly annoyed by their actions.

The four led the group down one of the massive tunnels quietly. Kai followed them diligently, but as they moved forward, Kai started to slowly decrease his speed until he was at the back of the pack. He followed the group for a while longer, until the tunnel split into two. They were led through the left-most tunnel, but Kai quietly slipped away then ran towards the rightmost tunnel.

He sprinted for a while until he felt that he had put enough distance between himself and the group. "I have a little under 71 hours left...", Kai thought while pulling out a bottle of green liquid from his bag. He poured it on himself then pulled out his map to check for the correct path.

After a few moments, Kai heard footsteps from the direction he had come from. He turned around and observed the darkness. At that moment, Hou Zhou slowly appear from the dark corridor with a relieved look on his face.

"Ah, there you are!", Hou Zhou said, seemingly relieved. "I noticed that you were missing and figured that you must have gotten separated from the group. If we hurry back, we can still catch up to everyone else!...", He said while starring at Kai with an innocent look.

Kai didn't know what to say. Did Hou Zhou follow him with bad intentions? or was he just too curious for his own good?. Kai didn't want to waste time thinking about it and decided to just get rid of him.

As Kai was about to attack, he noticed another person approaching from the same direction. Hou Zhou seemed to have noticed it as well and turned around curiously.A few moments later, Song Wei appeared from the shadows. When she noticed Hou Zhou, she happily ran towards him and tried to hug his arm, but was thoroughly rejected.

"Handsome Mr, I came looking for you after I noticed you weren't in the group. Are you lost?", she said in an innocent-sounding tone to Hou Zhou, while completely ignoring Kai.

"..."

Kai felt a headache coming on as he wondered what their motives were, but time was of the essence so he simply turned around and ran into the darkness, leaving the two new arrivals shocked and confused.

Kai had been confident in finishing Hou Zhou with one sneak attack, but he did not know the woman's skill level. If their battle got dragged out or made too much noise, then he would have wasted time and also put himself in unnecessary danger.

Kai ran deeper into the tunnel, completely ignoring the two who were now sprinting after him. Hou Zhou was shocked but after some thought, decided to quickly follow after Kai.

.

"Wait!, Mr. Handsome!", yelled Song Wei as she ran after Hou Zhou.

Kai looked around while remembering the details from old man Song's map. He ran along the wall looking for something, then immediately stopped as his eyes lit up. "This must be the place!...", Kai thought while turning towards a relatively small opening on the giant wall.

"Hello!", Kai yelled into the opening. A few moments later, Kai heard the roar of a beast and immediately put his back against the wall and waited quietly. Kai listened as the creature's roars became louder until he finally saw it barrelling in his general direction. When it was close enough, Kai used Qi detection.

[Ardent-Mole(Adult)] [Grade-2] [Qi 653]

Kai watched as the large 5-meter tall mole-like creature rushed through the tunnel with its razor-sharp claws. It used its giant snout to sniff the ground as it moved forward. Its skin was a smooth pink texture and its eyes were nonexistent. Every few seconds, it would roar as if calling for something. The creature came face to face with Kai and lightly sniffed around him but made no moves to attack him.

When Hou Zhou finally caught up, he noticed Kai with his back against the wall and a massive creature sniffing around him. He had heard the roars which made him anxious, but he continued looking for Kai. Yet to his surprise, the man was just standing there in the face of danger. Closely behind him, Song Wei arrived but moved back when she saw the creature.

"What is that disgusting thing?...", Song Wei whispered as she took more steps backward. The creature seemed to have caught a scent as it roared again and moved in the direction of the new arrivals.

Kai on the other hand remained motionless and simply watched the creature's movements. To their surprise, it had completely ignored Kai as if he didn't even exist. Kai was happy to find that old man Song's elixir was working as intended.

Song Wei pulled out a sword while taking more steps back. "Why is it coming this way, what did he do?!", she yelled while channeling her Qi.

Kai smiled while giving the two a wave, then ran into the corridor, instantly disappearing from their sight.

"He seems to be moving with a goal in mind, what does he know...", Hou Zhou said while he also backed away and prepared for battle. He didn't trust the Twin Lions Sect and was now more curious about Kai's goals.

Kai on the other hand kept moving.

Hours passed as he ran at full speed. He would occasionally run into beasts, but he easily avoided them by simply moving quietly. The elixir hid his scent which meant Kai could move with relative safety since the creatures in these caves had limited eyesight.

Kai quietly walked past a large worm-like creature and entered a new cave leading to an even larger area. This area was a seemingly endless basin, illuminated by a massive flowing river of magma.

Running along the banks of the magma river was a sea of odd-looking vegetation. There were thin, leafless trees that looked like charcoal, as well as odd-looking red flowers that seemed completely unbothered by the searing hot magma flowing nearby.

"Looks like this is the place", Kai smiled as he made a careful descent into the basin, completely unaware of the presence that was quietly observing him from above.