Ji Ren’s Warning

The fire crackled softly, its amber glow glint against the jagged rock formations that lined the clearing. The night air was thick with the scent of damp soil, pine, and lingering blood, the remnants of a battle barely hours old. Xiao Lian sat near the fire, her body aching from the trials of the day, yet her mind was sharper than ever. The thrill of survival, of outmaneuvering her enemies, still thrummed in her veins.

She had been cornered, trapped by rival disciples who thought they could break her. But she had turned their own greed against them, forcing them to destroy each other while she walked away unscathed. That alone should have been satisfying.

Yet, as she gazed into the flames, she felt the density of someone's presence.

Ji Ren stood nearby, his golden eyes reflecting the firelight, watching her with the intensity of a predator assessing prey. He hadn't spoken yet, but his mere presence carried meaning.

"You're staring," Xiao Lian finally said, her voice light, teasing.

Ji Ren didn't flinch. He stepped closer, his movements controlled, deliberate. He was always like that, never wasting motion, never showing anything unnecessary.

"You're clever," he said at last. "But intelligence alone won't always save you."

Xiao Lian smirked, leaning back on her palms. "Then I'll just have to be smarter than everyone else."

Ji Ren's lips curved slightly, but there was no humor in his expression. Instead, there was something else, something unreadable. "That kind of thinking will get you killed."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you warning me? Or testing me?"

Ji Ren crouched in front of her, resting his arms on his knees. "Maybe both."

The fire popped, sending embers into the air. Silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant rustling of the forest. Xiao Lian held his gaze, unflinching, waiting for him to elaborate.

After a long pause, Ji Ren spoke again, his voice lower this time. "I've seen people like you before."

Xiao Lian tilted her head slightly. "People like me?"

He nodded. "People who think they can win every battle with their minds alone. Who believe that just because they can outthink their enemies, they're untouchable."

Xiao Lian crossed her arms, her amusement fading. "And what happened to them?"

Ji Ren's gaze darkened. "They learned that not everything can be solved with logic. That in the end, strength still decides who lives and who dies."

She understood what he was saying. She had spent her whole life being told she was powerless, that her lack of cultivation talent made her weak. And for a long time, she had believed it. Or is it his male side? They called him weak, they bullied him, they killed him, he was just a university student, an orphan but they made fun of him and this thoughts lead to his accident. And now, he was reincarnated/ transmigrated to another world. But she wasn't that girl anymore.

She had changed. She had proven herself time and time again. Still, Ji Ren's words lingered in her mind, digging deeper than she cared to admit.

After a moment, she chose her next words carefully. "I know strength matters. But I also know that brute force alone doesn't win wars. Strategy, adaptability, knowing when to strike and when to retreat, those things matter too."

Ji Ren exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You're not wrong."

Xiao Lian smirked. "I rarely am."

That earned her another chuckle, this time with a trace of genuine amusement.

"Arrogant, aren't you?" Ji Ren mused.

She shrugged. "Confident."

Ji Ren studied her for a long moment before standing, dusting off his robes. "Just don't get too confident," he said. "Because if you make the wrong enemy, not even your intelligence will save you."

Xiao Lian watched him, her smirk fading just slightly. "Noted."

Ji Ren turned to leave, but then hesitated. He glanced over his shoulder, his golden eyes flickering with something unreadable. "Get some rest. You'll need it."

And then, just like that, he was gone.

The pressure of His Words. Xiao Lian stared at the fire, Ji Ren's words swirling in her mind. She had never been one to dwell on warnings. People had been warning her all her life, her family, the sect elders, even the disciples who mocked her. She had survived despite them all. But Ji Ren was different.

His warning wasn't meant to belittle her. It wasn't spoken from arrogance or an attempt to undermine her achievements. He had spoken from experience, from something that felt personal. And that unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

She lay back on the cool earth, staring up at the sky. The stars were dim compared to the firelight, their glow distant and indifferent. Would intelligence alone be enough?

She had always thought so. But Ji Ren's words echoed in her mind, planting the first seed of doubt. For the first time in a long while, Xiao Lian wasn't certain of the answer.

Sleep didn't come easily. Her mind refused to quiet, playing out scenario after scenario. What if Ji Ren was right? What if one day, no matter how many strategies she devised, she simply couldn't outthink an enemy?

What then? Doubt was a dangerous thing. It could creep into the heart, slow the mind, make a person hesitate when they needed to act.

Xiao Lian had spent years carving out her own way, proving that she wasn't just some talentless girl who would be discarded by fate. She refused to let doubt take root.

And yet…A memory surfaced. A child, small and frail, standing in the rain as her elder sister sneered at her.

"You're useless, Xiao Lian. You'll never amount to anything."

She had believed them once. She had believed she would never be strong enough, never be good enough. But not anymore.

Ji Ren's warning wasn't an insult. It was a challenge. And Xiao Lian never backed down from a challenge.

.

.

.

When the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, Xiao Lian was already awake. The fire had burned down to embers, and the forest was stirring with life. Birds called to one another, and somewhere in the distance, the howl of a spirit beast echoed through the trees.

She pushed herself to her feet, rolling her shoulders. The aches from yesterday's battles were still there, but they were a welcome reminder, proof that she was still standing.

Ji Ren's warning lingered in her mind, but it didn't weigh her down. If anything, it strengthened her resolve. She would be smarter. She would be stronger. And the next time Ji Ren decided to test her, she would make sure he walked away with no doubts about what she was capable of.

Xiao Lian smirked to herself as she started walking. The trial wasn't over yet. And she still had much to prove.