The morning light filtered through the cracks in the wooden walls, painting thin lines of gold across the dusty floorboards. The air in the hut was still cool, carrying the lingering chill of the night, but under the thin woolen blanket, Lin Kai felt strange.
He felt hot. Not the feverish, sickly heat of an illness, but a low, thrumming warmth that seemed to radiate from the marrow of his bones. It was the feeling of a furnace finally being lit after years of lying cold.
He blinked his eyes open. The first sight that greeted him was a bundle of white fur curled up on his chest. Xiao Bai was sleeping soundly, her rhythmic breathing acting as a soothing anchor to reality.
Lin Kai smiled faintly, careful not to move too abruptly. He sat up slowly, the blanket sliding down to his waist. He stretched his arms, expecting the usual stiffness that came from sleeping on straw, the aches of a malnourished body.
Crack. Pop.
His joints didn't ache. They felt loose, oiled, and ready. The heaviness that usually plagued his limbs—the sluggishness of a Mortal body—was gone. In its place was a vibrating tension, like a bowstring pulled taut.
"What is this?" Lin Kai whispered, frowning.
He placed two fingers on his left wrist, closing his eyes to focus. For years, this habit had only brought disappointment. He would search for the pulse of the Aether, only to find the silent, hollow echo of his Grade Zero blood.
But today...
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
It wasn't just a heartbeat. It was a war drum.
His blood was rushing through his veins with the viscosity of mercury—heavy, potent, and alive. He could feel the heat washing through his arteries, scrubbing away fatigue, cleaning out the "mortal dust" that clogged his pores.
Lin Kai's eyes snapped open, wide with shock.
"No way..."
He checked again. The sensation was undeniable. His blood was no longer inert sludge. It was a conduit.
Blood Awakening Realm - 1st Stage.
The realization hit him like a physical blow. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away fiercely. The realm that every child in the Lin Clan reached at age eight—the realm that had mocked him for seven years—was finally his.
He looked down at his hands. They stopped trembling.
"I did it. I finally broke the curse."
He glanced at Xiao Bai. The fox was still asleep, her nose tucked under her tail. Lin Kai didn't have the heart to wake her. She looked exhausted, her fur lacking its usual luster, though he didn't know why.
Moving with a newfound grace, he gently covered her with the blanket, ensuring she was warm. Then, he slipped out of the hut into the morning sun.
The Southern Quadrant was alive with the sounds of the forest. Lin Kai walked to his usual clearing, the damp grass cool against his bare feet.
He sat down in a lotus position under the Iron-Bark Pine.
"First, stabilize," he murmured.
He closed his eyes and began to meditate. In the Blood Awakening Realm, one still couldn't store Qi in the Dantian. That privilege belonged to the Qi Condensation Realm (Rank 3). However, the Blood Awakening Realm was the engine. It increased the body's metabolism, recovery speed, and physical durability.
For an hour, Lin Kai sat motionless. He visualized his blood flow, guiding the heat to his extremities, reinforcing his muscles. He felt his energy reserves filling up like a well after a rainstorm.
"Good," he breathed, opening his eyes. They shone with a sharp, predatory light. "Now, let's see what the Phantom Strike can do with a real engine behind it."
He stood up and faced the tree.
Yesterday, using the Dark Coating Method—drawing external Qi and holding it with his Dark Affinity—had taken him three hours of preparation for one punch. It was powerful, but impractical.
"Darkness... Draw."
He reached out with his will. The black vortex in his soul spun.
Whoosh.
The Aether Qi in the air was sucked toward his right fist.
Yesterday, his body had screamed in protest. Today, his awakened blood rose to meet the challenge. The heat in his veins acted as a buffer, protecting his skin from the violent vibration of the condensed Qi.
"Two minutes... One minute..."
He held the charge. The coating formed faster. The magnetic pull of his blood combined with the suction of the Darkness created a stable layer of volatile energy around his knuckles.
"Thirty seconds," Lin Kai noted, gritting his teeth as sweat beaded on his forehead. "Much faster. But still too slow for a duel."
He stepped forward and unleashed the strike.
BOOM!
The impact was terrifying.
The bark didn't just crack; it exploded inward. The force traveled through the trunk, shaking the upper branches so violently that pinecones rained down like missiles. Lin Kai pulled his fist back. The crater was deeper than yesterday—nearly five inches of solid wood pulverized.
"Incredible," he panted. "The coating didn't disperse immediately. I managed to retain about one-fifth of the energy."
He looked at his hand. It wasn't bruised.
A grin, wild and feral, spread across his face.
"Again."
For the next four hours, the Southern Quadrant wilderness witnessed a display of lunacy.
Lin Kai struck the tree. He collapsed from exhaustion, vomiting bile onto the grass. He meditated for thirty minutes, letting his awakened blood eagerly devour the ambient energy to refuel his stamina. He stood up. He struck again.
Any normal cultivator would have stopped. The mental strain of manipulating the Dark Affinity was agonizing, like sticking a hand into a fire repeatedly. But Lin Kai was not normal. He was a boy who had been forged in the fires of isolation. His pain tolerance was absolute.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The tree began to look like it had been chewed by a giant beast.
By the time the sun reached its zenith, Lin Kai was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving like a bellows. But his eyes were clear. The casting time for the Phantom Strike had dropped to five seconds.
"Enough for now," he gasped, wiping his forehead.
He stumbled back to the hut, his stomach growling ferociously. The Blood Awakening Realm required fuel.
Inside, Xiao Bai had awakened. She greeted him with a sleepy yip, stretching her body. Lin Kai washed up at the nearby pond, the cold water sizzling against his overheated skin, and then prepared a simple meal of roasted spirit-hare and dried fruit.
They ate together under the shade of the willow tree. It was a peaceful moment. Lin Kai fed Xiao Bai strips of meat, and she licked his fingers in gratitude.
"We need to leave soon, girl," Lin Kai whispered, stroking her head. "I don't know how, but I won't rot here. I promise."
Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of footsteps on dry leaves broke the serenity.
Lin Kai's hand froze mid-stroke. His body tensed. He recognized the heavy, arrogant gait of the intruder.
He turned slowly.
Emerging from the forest path were two figures.