Chapter 3 — First Blood
The roar came again.
Closer.
Concrete trembled beneath Kai's feet as dust rose from the street below. People scattered, screaming, abandoning cars and bags and each other.
Then he saw it.
A shape moved through the smoke — too large, too wrong. Its body was twisted muscle and darkened hide, veins glowing faintly with unstable Qi. Once, perhaps, it had been human.
Now it was something else.
The creature slammed into a parked bus, metal folding like paper. Its head snapped upward.
It looked directly at Kai.
For a heartbeat, fear froze him.
Then the Spiritual Qi inside his body surged in response.
The method in his mind activated instinctively. Energy flowed through his limbs, strengthening bone and muscle. The world sharpened.
The creature crouched—
And leapt.
It crashed onto the rooftop.
The building shook violently.
Kai stumbled back as claws tore through concrete where he had been standing seconds earlier. The force of the impact sent cracks racing across the roof.
Too fast.
He couldn't outrun it.
He had to face it.
The creature roared, breath reeking of blood and ozone. Its eyes were clouded with madness, but beneath that madness—
Pain.
Unstable Qi twisted violently inside its body, tearing it apart from within.
It lunged again.
Kai reacted.
He stepped aside at the last second, feeling wind slice past his face. Instinct guided him. He struck out with his fist, Spiritual Qi gathering around his knuckles.
The impact echoed.
The creature staggered.
Not because he was stronger—
But because his Qi disrupted the chaos inside it.
It howled in fury.
Kai's heart pounded. His body trembled under the strain. He was only at the early stage of Body Tempering. One mistake would mean death.
The creature charged once more.
This time, Kai didn't retreat.
He inhaled sharply.
Gather.
Guide.
Release.
Spiritual Qi surged down his arm like a current of lightning.
He drove his fist forward.
The rooftop exploded beneath the impact.
A shockwave rippled outward.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then the creature collapsed.
Its body twitched once—
Twice—
And went still.
Kai stood frozen, chest heaving.
His first battle.
His first kill.
Below, the city continued to scream.
Above, the crack in the sky shimmered faintly.
And somewhere beyond that silver fracture—
Something had been watching.
And it had just seen him fight.
Chapter 3 End