The growl rumbled deeper, shaking Lin Xuan to his core. From the darkness of the trees, a massive shape emerged—a wolf the size of an ox, its fur bristling like black steel, its fangs gleaming under the moonlight.
A Shadowfang Wolf.
Lin Xuan's blood ran cold. Even ordinary hunters avoided this predator. Its claws could rend stone, and it was said that lesser cultivators had fallen to its bite.
And now it stalked him.
The beast circled slowly, saliva dripping from its jaws. Its eyes glowed with hunger, but not just for flesh. Lin Xuan could feel it—the wolf's gaze locked onto the faint Qi pulsing within his body.
"It can… sense the Eternal Veins," he realized, heart pounding.
He grabbed the broken haft of his axe, the only weapon left to him. His palms were slick, his breath ragged. The thin thread of Qi inside him stirred, answering his fear with heat, but it was far too little.
The wolf lunged.
Lin Xuan rolled aside just as its claws gouged deep scars into the stone where he had stood. He stumbled to his feet, swinging wildly with the axe haft. The blow cracked harmlessly against the wolf's shoulder, doing little more than irritate it.
The beast snarled and snapped at him. Lin Xuan barely managed to dodge, but its teeth grazed his side, tearing flesh. Pain flared white-hot, and he gasped.
I'm going to die here.
But then, something inside him hardened. He had clawed his way this far. He would not die like prey.
He forced the golden Qi through his arms, gripping the haft with all his strength. As the wolf lunged again, he drove the jagged wood into its eye.
The beast roared, rearing back, blood streaming down its face. For a heartbeat, Lin Xuan's chest surged with triumph—
But then the wolf slammed its paw into him.
CRACK.
He flew across the clearing, crashing against the shrine wall. His vision blurred, blood spilling from his mouth. Bones screamed in agony. The haft of his weapon fell uselessly beside him.
The wolf advanced, limping slightly, one eye ruined, but rage burning hotter.
Lin Xuan tried to rise, but his legs failed him. His body was broken. He could only watch as the beast's shadow loomed, jaws opening wide.
So this is it, he thought bitterly. I finally touched Qi… and it ends here.
The wolf leapt.
And then—
SHHHING!
A flash of silver light cut through the mist. The wolf's body twisted midair, its roar turning into a strangled yelp. A streak of blood arced across the moonlight as the beast crashed to the ground, its chest split open.
Lin Xuan blinked through the haze.
A figure landed lightly between him and the beast. She wore flowing azure robes embroidered with cloud patterns, her long hair bound by a jade pin. In her hand, a slender sword shimmered faintly with spiritual energy, its blade clean despite the blood.
Her presence was calm, steady, yet sharp as the blade she held.
The wolf snarled weakly, struggling to rise. She raised her sword with one hand, her expression cool, and with a single strike, ended it. The beast slumped lifeless to the earth.
Silence returned, broken only by Lin Xuan's ragged breathing.
The young woman turned to him. Her eyes—bright, clear, and strangely distant—studied him with the faintest trace of surprise.
"You're alive," she said softly.
Lin Xuan struggled to speak, coughing blood. "Who… are you?"
"Yu Ling," she replied simply, lowering her sword. "Inner disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect."
Lin Xuan's breath caught. The Misty Cloud Sect—one of the great sects of the region, whose disciples were said to ride clouds and command storms. For someone like him, who had grown up hearing tales of their glory, meeting one here felt unreal.
"Why… why are you here?" he rasped.
Yu Ling's gaze lingered on him. "I sensed a disturbance. A surge of Qi where no cultivators should be. And then… a wolf drawn to it." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "That disturbance was you."
Lin Xuan froze.
She sheathed her sword in one smooth motion, the sound crisp in the night air. "You're not a cultivator. Your body is weak, fragile. And yet… you drew Qi strong enough to lure a Shadowfang Wolf."
Her tone was not accusing, but probing. Searching.
Lin Xuan clenched his fists weakly. If she discovered the Eternal Veins within him, what then? Would she protect him—or take it, as the stranger had tried?
"I don't… know what you're talking about," he lied, voice hoarse.
Yu Ling tilted her head, studying him for a long moment. Then, to his relief, she did not press. Instead, she knelt beside him, placing her palm near his chest. A faint warmth spread through him as her spiritual energy entered his body, steadying his erratic pulse and easing the pain.
"Your bones are fractured. You shouldn't be alive," she murmured. "But something inside you is holding you together. Interesting."
Lin Xuan swallowed hard, saying nothing.
She rose gracefully, looking down at him with an expression he could not read. "Rest, boy. Fate has not abandoned you tonight. Perhaps it has plans for you yet."
Before he could reply, she stepped lightly into the mist, her figure fading like a dream. Within moments, she was gone.
Lin Xuan lay against the shrine wall, chest heaving, eyes wide. Relief and awe warred within him. A real sect disciple had saved his life. Someone who wielded true power, beyond anything he had imagined.
But beneath the relief, unease lingered.
Yu Ling had not asked too many questions—but she had noticed something. She had seen the strangeness in his body.
And if she had, others might as well.
Lin Xuan clenched his trembling fists. The Eternal Veins were no blessing to flaunt. They were a secret heavy enough to draw wolves and strangers in the night—and perhaps even the attention of great sects.
As the moonlight washed over the ruined shrine, Lin Xuan whispered to himself:
"I need to grow stronger. Strong enough that no beast, no stranger, no sect can decide my fate."
But far above, unseen by him, Yu Ling paused on a cliff edge, gazing back toward the shrine.
Her lips curved faintly.
"That boy… What exactly are you hiding?"
And with that, she vanished into the mist.