Night fell thick and dark, like ink poured across the sky. Inside a secluded outer-disciples' courtyard of the Qingyun Sect, Zhao Hu's screams nearly tore the roof apart. A medicine attendant had just finished setting his broken wrist and applying a hemostatic salve when Zhao Hu violently knocked the man aside, hatred in his eyes so dense it seemed almost tangible.
"Lin Yue! If I don't grind your bones to dust, I swear I'm no man!" Zhao Hu snarled, clenching his fist. The agony in his shattered wrist was nothing compared to the humiliation burning in his chest. He was the nephew of Outer Sect Steward Wang Kun, a Qi Refining cultivator who enjoyed a certain status among the outer disciples—yet he had been publicly slapped and crippled by a half-dead Body Tempering trash. If word spread, he would never hold his head up again.
Ignoring his injuries, Zhao Hu staggered out of the room and rushed straight to Wang Kun's residence. Wang Kun was reclining on a soft couch, attendants kneading his shoulders. When he heard Zhao Hu's tearful account, the laziness drained from his eyes at once. The flesh on his face trembled with anger.
"A mere Body Tempering whelp dares touch the Wang family?" he said coldly. "Looks like the outer sect's had things too easy these past years. They've forgotten their place."
"Uncle, Lin Yue definitely encountered some kind of fortuitous chance!" Zhao Hu added urgently, sweat and blood sliding down his forehead. "He cast a fireball instantly, and his movements were unnaturally fast. I suspect he obtained a heretical technique that lets him fight across realms. If you kill him, that technique—and whatever treasures he has—will all be yours!"
"Heretical technique?" Wang Kun's eyes lit up. He had been stuck at late-stage Qi Refining for years, unable to step into Foundation Establishment. This was exactly the opportunity he needed. "Bring two capable men. We're going to the Spirit Herb Garden. Since that trash dared stir trouble, he'll vanish tonight."
The Spirit Herb Garden lay bathed in moonlight, vegetation stretching lazily in the night. Low-grade spirit herbs leaked faint spiritual energy, weaving a pale green haze through the air. Lin Yue sat cross-legged beside a cluster of Dew凝 Grass, spiritual energy circulating steadily through his body as he tempered his Body Tempering realm to perfection.
[Host Realm: Body Tempering Perfection (Spiritual Compression 92%). High-grade spiritual energy detected. Breakthrough possible. Recommendation: devour Qi Refining cultivators or mid-grade spirit stones.]
Lin Yue slowly opened his eyes. Spiritual energy had already condensed visibly around his fingertips.
He had anticipated Zhao Hu seeking revenge. Remaining in the Spirit Herb Garden served two purposes: stabilizing his realm, and exploiting the terrain. Dense vegetation and abandoned cultivation sheds made it the perfect ground for ambush and counter-kill.
Just as he concealed his aura, three footsteps heavy with killing intent approached along the garden path. One presence was notably dense and refined—a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
Lin Yue slipped behind a derelict cultivation shed, torn canvas masking his form. Wang Kun entered with Zhao Hu and two early Qi Refining followers. Wang Kun's divine sense spread like a tide, instantly locking onto Lin Yue's position.
"Cowering rat—come out and die!" Wang Kun snorted, swinging his arm. A half-zhang-long wave of spiritual energy tore through the air toward the shed.
Lin Yue kicked off the ground and darted sideways. The attack slammed into the shed with a thunderous crash, splintering wood and scattering debris.
"Late-stage Qi Refining… impressive," Lin Yue thought grimly. He turned and fled deeper into the garden.
The vegetation thickened, paths twisting among tall potted spirit plants. Zhao Hu, blinded by hatred, charged ahead despite his injury.
"Lin Yue! Stop right there! I'll hack you into mince today!"
Lin Yue suddenly halted, spun, and hurled a fireball straight at Zhao Hu's face. Startled, Zhao Hu barely twisted aside. The fireball grazed past, scorching his scalp and singeing his hair.
"Useless tricks," Wang Kun scoffed, launching another spiritual lash.
Using a tall Greenleaf Bamboo as cover, Lin Yue dodged again, his gaze flicking behind him. The two followers lagged far behind—separated by over two zhang.
Perfect.
He abruptly changed direction and charged the leftmost follower. The man panicked and threw a punch. Lin Yue slipped aside, clamped onto his wrist, and drove his elbow viciously into the man's dantian.
A shrill scream rang out as the follower's spiritual energy collapsed. Black mist flickered over Lin Yue's palm.
[Early Qi Refining energy detected. Devouring… Conversion complete. Realm breakthrough achieved.]
Spiritual energy roared through his meridians like floodwater. His strength, speed, and spellcasting surged dramatically.
"Breaking through in battle? Devouring cultivation?" Wang Kun's face darkened, greed blazing brighter than fear. "That technique is mine!"
The clash intensified.
Lin Yue lured them into a narrow stone passage, barely wide enough for one person. Zhao Hu attempted a sneak attack—only for Lin Yue to deliberately expose his back, then pivot and stab straight through Zhao Hu's freshly healed wrist.
Bone cracked. Blood sprayed.
Moments later, Zhao Hu begged on his knees.
Lin Yue answered with a blade through the heart.
[Devour complete. Fire Affinity increased. Basic Blade Mastery improved.]
Wang Kun finally fell moments later, stabbed beneath the navel and devoured alive, his cultivation drained to nothing.
Silence returned to the garden.
Lin Yue gathered the spoils—spirit stones, a fragmented blade manual, a steward token—and then the system chimed again:
[Hidden quest updated. Parental relic detected. Origin: Forbidden Back Mountain.]
Before he could react, a quiet voice drifted from the shadows.
"Devouring power seeks the Dao… fortune and calamity walk together. The back mountain holds truth—and disaster."
The sweeping monk, Mo Chenzi, vanished like mist.
Later, within Wang Kun's storage pouch, Lin Yue found a broken jade pendant engraved with the character Lin.
[Parental relic confirmed. Resonates with Forbidden Back Mountain formation.]
Lin Yue closed his fist around the jade.
No matter the danger ahead, he would uncover the truth.
And unseen by him, elsewhere in the sect, an elder whispered into a transmission talisman:
"Wang Kun is dead. Lin Yue has the jade. Blood Shadow Cult will move soon… The thing in the back mountain must be relocated."
The night remained silent—but the storm had already begun.