It was frustrating, no, sad, that I could only hold qi for such a short amount of time. If I wanted to win this battle, I would have to draw qi at the precise moment I launched an attack or defended myself. I couldn't even maintain mana long enough to use a proper skill. As I readied myself, sparks crackled across the rabbit's back and then it hit me. This wasn't just any wild creature. It was a fire-spitting red rabbit. It hadn't yet reached the initial level of Mana Vein Opening, but even at its Initial Mana Awakening Stage, it was a formidable opponent. So was I, technically. I had reached the same stage... but I'd been stuck there since I began cultivating at ten. All because of these pathetic, low-level veins I was born with. There was no time to curse the heavens or wallow in self-pity. I tightened my grip, steeled my nerves, and charged at the rabbit with everything I had. The terrain around us was thick with trees and shrubs. A narrow, worn path cut through the undergrowth, a path clearly used by other cultivators entering the Dark Forest. The wild was alive around me: distant howls of beasts echoed through the trees, birds chirped high above, and insects buzzed relentlessly in the heavy air. I was truly in the wild now. I had to be ready for battle at any moment. I was no longer just surviving, I was living on for my grandpa. One day, I would avenge him. I would train until these veins worked. Until they could accept mana. Until qi would finally stay in my body. The rabbit struck first, launching what looked like a fireball straight at me. I darted to the side, barely dodging the blazing projectile. Its speed was almost equal to mine. I kept moving, circling to its side, and using the momentum from my dodge, I drove a solid fist into its abdomen. The rabbit let out a muffled grunt. Without hesitating, I followed up with a swift kick to its head. It staggered backward, clearly dizzy. While I was happy, I was having the upper hand the rabbit immediately spat out flames from its mouth that was so fast I couldn't dodge and it hit me square on my chest. My chest was a bit burnt and I felt that stinging sensation. The stinging burn on my chest throbbed with every breath, but I gritted my teeth and glared at the rabbit. Its fur bristled, sparks danced along its spine, and its eyes glowed with defiance. I'd hit it hard, but this thing was tougher than I expected. My legs trembled, not just from pain but from the weight of everything, Grandpa's scream, the blood-soaked courtyard, the clan I'd never see again. I couldn't die here. Not yet. Not until I made those monsters pay. I took a shaky breath, recalling Grandpa's lessons. "Even broken veins can channel qi if your will is strong enough," he'd said, his voice steady as stone. I'd never managed it before, but I had to try. Planting my feet, I mimicked the stance he'd drilled into me. A basic Qi Gathering Form. My veins burned, rejecting the energy, but I forced my mind to focus. A faint trickle of qi sparked in my core, unstable but there. The rabbit lunged, flames curling from its jaws. I sidestepped, channeling that flicker of qi into my fist. It wasn't much, but when my punch connected with its flank, the rabbit squealed and staggered. I collapsed, gasping, the qi slipping away like water through cracked clay. I'd won. Barely. But as I lay there, the forest's whispers grew louder, something else was coming. I had to get up, maybe it was the smell of blood or maybe it was the noise from the battle but I could sense that something was heading in my direction and I had to move fast. I tried standing up but my whole body felt stiff and tired, I felt sore all over because I forced my body to hold qi for too long. This was the backlash, but I was not going to die here not now, not when I had already come this far, It was my duty to live on for my grandpa because I was sure he wasn't going to make it I was sure that red haired lady was going to kill him and I will make sure to make her regret it with someday when I have strength enough to wage war against them all. With all these words in my head all these thoughts I gritted my teeth and forced myself up kneeling with one knee, I could feel the pain spread increasingly at all parts of my body especially that splitting headache in my head. I forced myself up and staggered into the forest away from the major road that I was going on since that place was too open. As I walked my body ached all over and that gut feeling that something was following me never stopped. I tried channeling qi to at least deal with the pain ever so slightly but I couldn't. I couldn't scream too. As I looked on I began to feel fear. Was this the end of me. My life was already too pathetic, It was already too useless, I knew the universe wouldn't care if I died so it was pointless thinking about weather my looming death was good or bad. I decided that I needed to hide somewhere to see if I could rest a little before continuing my journey for survival.
