The whole ‘second’ wall was separated from the first, specifically to enable this destructive fire tactic. If they weren’t separated, then all of the trees would have been infected with Nightmare Garden. The gap also made a little space for the beasts to pack into and get caught up. This plan would be quite destructive against the beasts coming up against them, but at the same time it was also a measure of last resort. Once the walls protecting them were burnt away they’d be in big trouble. Sage could feel how quickly the flames burnt away the first wall, but he had no idea how much actual damage it caused to their attackers. Thankfully, the Fire Garden poison’s purpose was to extend burning times. It was truly made with this sort of tactic in mind. For cultivators and powerful beasts, a forest fire was not a death sentence, but more of an inconvenience. Most deaths from a fire were caused by smoke inhalation, and strong cultivators could use their Qi to replace their breathing requirements. Still, the burning forest still made for a good fence: while it lasted.

Sage turned around to face the rest of the group and the cage-like wall that was blocking their path. He carefully examined it while the Purple Mist Sect members continued to rotate between attacking and resting, smashing against the four weak points they’d identified. With no more tricks to hold back the beasts, Sage joined in with the effort to break through the barrier. Since the barrier wasn’t a living thing it took away many of Sage’s options. It was also pointless for him to just start attacking it with his fists, as the Purple Mist Sect members were already doing a great job in that department. He was sure he could disable the formations with seals, but that would take hours or days.

He wasn’t sure how to tackle the gate, but that suddenly changed. Sage smiled and a quartet of silver rifles appeared around him. They flew through the air, carried by his Spirit Power to take four very specific positions to aim at four points upon the barrier and fire from very specific angles. Then they lit up, each at a slightly staggered time, releasing their powered crystal shards to smash against the barrier. They fired three times each with a strange pattern before suddenly the barrier shattered apart. Sage collected the rifles while the eight members of the Purple Mist Sect rushed forward and tore off the gate with a single pull. They carried it out of the way and then disappeared into thin air, along with the gate they were still holding.

“Quickly, run!”

Sage had to shake them out of their surprise and the Discipline Keeper took off running into the den area and through the secret door they’d used to enter this area in the first place. This door was still hanging open, taunting them this whole time. The barrier of bars and formations stopping them from reaching this open entrance and escaping. Now that the obstruction was removed they could finally rush out back to the hidden passage they used to get here. Once they were shaken from their surprise they took off running without any further coaxing. Sage brought up the rear, pulling the passage door closed behind them and quickly placing Formation Plates around it.

The reason he’d broken through the barrier was due to a breakthrough on the Inner World. As soon as the battle had started, he analyzed the barriers blocking their way. With the battle going on, a team of researchers were hard at work deciphering the Formations and trying to find their weaknesses. Luckily, they stumbled upon a way to destabilize it. After being smashed up by the Purple Mist Sect members for so long, when Sage returned to take another look, the researchers updated their bio-computer model and found very specific places to apply force for the greatest effect. The Shard Rifles operated by a telekinetic Spirit Power was the most precise method he could find and so he quickly put their plan into action.

After running down a few narrow hallways and climbing a few staircases, the Discipline Keeper stopped in front of something that looked like a doorway and started feeling around. He found a little metal bar and pulled on it. Then the wall swung open and he peeked into the room on the other side. The Discipline Keeper brought out the little club he’d had in the beginning and it lit up with energy. There was a response in the hallways and a barrier blocked off the path to either side. He smiled and the big cleaver disappeared from his hands. As the rest of the group filed out he waved them over to the far side of the hallway they found themselves in, and then he stared at the wall for a moment, his concentration seeming elsewhere.

Sage recognized this look as someone being on the phone or, in this world, someone communicating mentally. It was also apparent that the Discipline Keeper had regained control over the formations in this area, which meant that Beast Keeper was no longer a threat to them. Even so, Sage waited patiently in the doorway to the hidden passageway. He put his hands up against the door, leaning into it like he was there to make sure it didn’t close up. Of course, the real reasoning was that this was his only possible escape route if things turned against him. While he’d fought on the Discipline Keeper’s side earlier, there was no telling whether or not the man would still turn against him. Even if he didn’t, there was still the chance the higher ups in the Academy might want to silence them all. Either to save the Clear Sky Academy’s reputation, or to hide the existence of the secret passageways. Sage was not going to obediently give up such a good escape route until he was given the proper assurances.

After a few moments the Discipline Keeper regained clarity and looked over the group and then back towards where Sage was after realizing he wasn’t with the others. At this time, Sage had moved on to pretending like he was looking for the catch for the hidden door, still standing with his foot to hold it open, but also searching around the doorway for a catch or trigger of some sort. The Discipline Keeper took a few steps closer to try and get Sage’s attention, which Sage ignored. Then he cleared his throat with a cough.

“Ahem. Lang Sheng. Please come over to join the others, we no longer have to worry about anything now.”

“How great! Did you already call for assistance from the Academy? Then we’re saved!”

“That’s right, now come over here and wait with us for help.”

“It’s alright. I don’t need to rest yet. I think it’s more important I find the trigger for this entrance. We have to make sure you can get in later. It’s quite dangerous for the academy to have a set of secret passages they don’t know about. At the very least, shouldn’t the Discipline Keepers know about them? If only a few people know about them, then if they died, the passages would become a secret again.”

Sage paused and looked carefully at the Discipline Keeper for a moment before continuing, “Many many people need to know about the secret passageway in order to make it not dangerous anymore. Only when it's common knowledge will it make everyone safe again. If this path is public, then nobody will be concerned about hiding it anymore, and we won’t have to worry about assassins sneaking around.”

Then he stopped and looked over at the crowd of students and teachers, “We don’t want what happened to that boy, Lu Ju, to happen to anyone else, right? You should gather a large group of Discipline Keepers to search the secret passage. What if Beast Keeper Deng used them to escape? What else might he be hiding in them?”

Sage could only hope this Discipline Keeper had some brains in his head and some compassion for their group. Otherwise, someone higher up in the Academy might just have them all killed off to keep a secret.