The night in Azure Mist Village was quiet, the kind of silence broken only by the occasional chirp of a cricket or the hollow call of an owl. Most villagers were asleep, their dreams simple and untroubled—dreams of harvests, of markets, of survival.
But in the shadow of the forest, a single lantern burned.
Lin Xuan knelt on the bare earth beside the broken shrine where his fate had shifted. His body still bore traces of strain—torn muscle, the ache of bruises, the faint throb of half-healed wounds. But his eyes burned with focus.
His breaths were deep and deliberate, drawing in the faint essence of the mist that drifted through the trees. He could feel it—Qi. Not in torrents, not yet, but in fragile streams threading into his meridians, weaving patterns across his veins.
Every session felt like standing on the edge of collapse. His body, unrefined, wanted to reject it. His blood boiled. His bones creaked. Yet he refused to stop.
Because weakness meant death.
He remembered the Shadowfang Wolf's fangs tearing through the air, the stench of its breath, the certainty of death. Without that jade fragment, he would already be ashes. But he wasn't. He was alive. Alive, and grasping the chance the heavens had thrown him.
"I won't go back," he whispered hoarsely, his voice shaking with determination. "Not to being the cursed boy. Not to being helpless."
The night air shivered as if responding to his vow.
Unseen by him, above the treetops, a figure lingered in the mist. Yu Ling stood upon her flying sword, her robe whispering against the breeze. She watched Lin Xuan in silence, her fingers tight against the hilt at her side.
Elder Ji's orders echoed in her mind. Observe. Report. And if he becomes dangerous… end him.
Her heart twisted. Lin Xuan's movements were clumsy, unrefined—hardly the actions of a cultivator. And yet there was something undeniable about the way he pushed himself, as though sheer will could forge him stronger than his broken body should allow.
For a brief moment, Yu Ling's lips curved into something close to admiration.
Then the mist shifted behind her.
"Still watching your little mortal toy, Yu Ling?"
The voice was sharp, mocking.
Yu Ling spun, her sword humming with drawn Qi. Ren Hao emerged from the veil of mist, his arms crossed, a smile tugging cruelly at his mouth. His flying sword glimmered faintly beneath his feet.
"Ren Hao," Yu Ling hissed, lowering her blade only slightly. "What are you doing here?"
"Same as you," he replied lazily. "Elder Ji gave her orders. But unlike you, I don't intend to waste time gazing at mortals like they're some rare treasure." His eyes narrowed, hard glints of greed hidden within. "That boy is dangerous. If he really harbors a hidden vein, we should drag him up the mountain right now—or slit his throat before someone else finds him."
Yu Ling's gaze hardened. "Elder Ji said to observe. Not to act."
Ren Hao chuckled darkly. "Elder Ji speaks with caution. But caution breeds hesitation. And hesitation lets opportunity slip through our fingers. Do you really think the Misty Cloud Sect is the only one who will notice a spark like his?" He leaned forward, his voice dropping. "If the Blood Serpent Sect catches wind of him first, what then? What will you say when he turns his power against us?"
Yu Ling clenched her jaw. She could see the hunger in Ren Hao's eyes—not the loyalty to his sect, but ambition. He wanted the glory of seizing Lin Xuan first.
"You'll stay your hand," she said firmly, stepping between him and the shrine below. "That's an order."
Ren Hao's smile faded. For a heartbeat, silence hung between them. Then his eyes gleamed, cold and dangerous.
"You dare order me?"
Before Yu Ling could respond, his sword flashed. A streak of silver split the mist, cutting straight toward the shrine below.
Yu Ling's heart lurched. "No!"
She darted forward, her own blade leaving a trail of azure light. Metal rang against metal as her strike deflected his blow at the last instant, the force rippling through the air like a clap of thunder.
Below, Lin Xuan jerked upright, his concentration shattered. He stumbled to his feet, staring wide-eyed as streaks of light and Qi clashed in the sky above.
"What—what is that…?" His voice trembled. His gut twisted. Cultivators. Real cultivators. Fighting. And they were here.
Yu Ling's voice rang down, sharp as steel. "Lin Xuan! Run!"
But Ren Hao's laughter cut through the night. "Too late!"
He spun his sword downward, sending a crescent arc of Qi hurtling toward Lin Xuan like a falling moon.
The boy's body froze. The killing intent pressed down like a mountain, suffocating, undeniable. His legs screamed to move, but he was rooted in terror.
The strike would tear him apart.
Yu Ling descended in a blur, her blade intercepting Ren Hao's attack midair. Sparks cascaded like falling stars, scorching the earth as her sword absorbed the brunt of the force. The impact rattled through her arms, but she held her ground, eyes blazing.
"Ren Hao!" she spat. "You would slaughter a mortal child against direct orders?"
Ren Hao's smirk widened. "Child? He's no child. He's a seed of danger. I'll cut him down, and the sect will thank me for saving them the risk."
His blade rose again. This time, Yu Ling didn't hesitate. She lunged, her strikes fierce and unrelenting.
The forest trembled beneath their battle. Trees split, soil tore, sparks of Qi carved through the night. Lin Xuan staggered back, shielding his face from the shockwaves. His heart thundered in his chest—not just from fear, but from something else.
Shame.
He was powerless. Again. Watching someone fight for his life while he cowered.
His nails dug into his palms. No. Not again. Never again.
He staggered toward the shrine, toward the faint remnants of the jade's power still embedded in the stones. His body screamed in protest, but he forced himself down, kneeling, focusing on the thread of Qi within him.
The clash above roared like a storm, but he shut it out. His breath steadied. He dragged the Qi through his veins, forcing it to circulate faster, harder, deeper. His blood burned, his bones cracked—but he didn't stop.
"I won't be useless," he whispered, teeth gritted. "Not again."
A sudden surge tore through him. Pain exploded in every nerve, but alongside it—power. His Qi thread thickened, flowing faster, surging like a river breaking free of a dam.
Above, Yu Ling and Ren Hao locked blades, the force pushing them apart in a shockwave that rattled the heavens.
Ren Hao's sneer twisted. "You'd betray me for a mortal, Yu Ling?"
"I'd betray you," she spat back, "for dishonoring the sect with reckless slaughter."
But before he could retort, a flare of light caught both their eyes.
Below, Lin Xuan stood, his body trembling but upright. Faint golden lines flickered across his skin, glowing like molten veins beneath the surface. His eyes burned, not with terror, but with raw defiance.
Ren Hao's grin faltered. For the first time, he looked at Lin Xuan not with disdain, but with something else. Wariness.
Yu Ling's breath caught. "Impossible…"
The broken shrine behind Lin Xuan pulsed faintly, as though resonating with his surge. The air thickened with raw spiritual pressure, clumsy and unstable but undeniable.
Ren Hao's expression hardened. "Then it's true. He's dangerous."
He lifted his blade high, Qi roaring around him like a storm. "And I'll end him here and now!"
"Not while I stand," Yu Ling snapped, her sword blazing with azure light.
But Lin Xuan's voice rang out, hoarse yet unyielding.
"No."
Both cultivators froze as his words echoed through the clearing.
Lin Xuan's chest heaved, his body on the edge of collapse. But his eyes locked onto Ren Hao with unwavering resolve.
"If you want my life," he rasped, "then I'll fight for it."
His hand tightened on the broken staff he had carried from the village. Qi surged into it clumsily, making the wood glow faintly, cracks splintering under the strain.
Ren Hao barked a laugh. "You? Fight me?" His grin turned sharp, vicious. "Then die screaming, boy!"
He shot downward, blade gleaming like a falling star.
Lin Xuan braced himself, golden veins blazing brighter, the staff trembling with unstable power. His heart screamed in terror, but his will burned hotter.
And in that instant, the heavens seemed to shudder