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Chapter 10
1,568 words · 10 days ago
The first light of dawn spilled over the stone rooftops of the Li estate, golden and soft, casting long shadows that stretched across the training courtyard. Inside his room, Li Chen moved with quiet purpose. A small pouch of dried meat and berries, a single spiritual replenishment pill wrapped in silk, a finely honed dagger forged from star-iron, and a polished jade bottle, all packed neatly into a leather satchel.
The jade bottle shimmered faintly with a preservation rune, specially refined to store beast blood without loss of vitality. It had taken him months of clan duties to earn it.
He paused by the table and placed a folded note beside a tea tray. Its message was simple:
DEAR Father and Mother, Heading to the outer forest to train and temper my body. I’ll return soon. Li Chen
But he wasn’t merely going to train. He was going to hunt.
Just as he reached the courtyard steps, a familiar voice called out.
“Leaving already?”
His father stood beneath the tiled awning, arms crossed, hair still damp from morning meditation. There was no accusation in his voice, only quiet curiosity.
Li Chen bowed slightly. “Yes, Father. I plan to train in the outer forest. The ambient energy is purer than here. I want to temper my foundation through experience.”
Li Huo studied him for a long breath, then raised an eyebrow. “You’ve already reached the first level of Body Tempering... that quickly?”
Li Chen met his father’s gaze with steady eyes. “The ThunderFire technique resonates with me. And I’ve... come to understand things more clearly.”
A rare smile tugged at the corner of Li Huo’s mouth. “Good. Just don’t die trying to be clever.”
Before either could speak further, the rustle of robes preceded the arrival of Wei Lin. She stepped into the courtyard with her usual calm grace, eyes lingering on her son with knowing warmth.
“You’re not just going to train,” she said softly.
Li Chen offered no denial. “I’ll be careful.”
She nodded and extended a slender hand. In her palm rested a silver ring embedded with a faintly glowing crystal.
“This is a spatial ring,” she said. “Its internal space is the size of a small room. It can also hide your cultivation below Core Formation realm.”
Li Chen blinked in astonishment. “I thought those were myths in cities like ours...”
Li Huo stepped forward, voice gruff. “Most clan leaders in Jinling would fight over a ring with space the size of a crate. What you hold now would be considered an artifact even in mid-tier cities.”
Li Chen accepted the ring reverently. “Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
Spatial Ring
An inner space the size of a small room. Hides its wearer’s cultivation below the Core Formation realm.
He pricked his thumb with the edge of his dagger and let a drop of blood fall onto the ring. The crystal pulsed faintly in response, and in the next moment, he felt it, a bond. A new mental thread connected to the storage space within.
He focused.
A dark chamber appeared in his mind’s eye, well-lit with floating orbs, lined with shelves. The space was wide enough to walk, with ample room for supplies, weapons, and even large items. With a thought, he transferred his satchel inside, then reached in and withdrew a crisp apple. It appeared instantly in his hand, cool and unbruised.
His lips curved into a grin.
Even the City Lord’s ring only holds a crate. Mine... an entire room. Just what did Mother give me?
Wei Lin’s expression grew serious. “You must never reveal this ring, Li Chen. Even in Jinling, this would draw predators.”
Li Huo’s gaze darkened. “People have killed for less.”
Li Chen nodded firmly. “I understand.”
Wei Lin stepped closer, resting a hand on his shoulder. “The world won’t see your kindness. It will only see your strength. Hide it until you can protect it.”
He bowed once more.
With the dark traveling cloak drawn over his tunic and his hood shadowing his face, he slipped quietly out of the estate and into the waking city.
By midmorning, Li Chen reached the forest’s edge. The trees before him were ancient, tall as towers, their bark wrapped in moss and roots like coiled serpents. Mist clung to the underbrush. The deeper he walked, the more the noise of the city faded into silence.
This was the outer forest.
The outer ring, as he knew, held mostly 1st-level beasts, suitable for early-stage cultivators. Beyond that lay the middle zone, where 2nd-level beasts prowled, beasts as strong as cultivators in the Qi Condensation realm. And at the deepest center...
A myth.
A beast said to be of the 4th level.
Few believed it truly existed. But those who had entered the innermost woods and returned spoke of twisted paths, distorted time, and a presence so suffocating even the wind refused to stir.
Li Chen touched the ring on his finger, mentally verifying the presence of his supplies. Everything he needed, food, weapons, jade bottle, and pill, was safely stored within the spacious internal chamber.
With a breath of focus, he stepped forward, his cloak brushing past ferns as he moved cautiously through the foliage. The dense forest around him was alive with subtle tension, every sound sharper, every shadow deeper. This was no longer the safety of the clan walls. This was the wild.
As he walked, he activated Perception Pulse, letting the crimson glow of his eye flare faintly. The forest lit with invisible trails, residual energy, disturbed air, the paths of past creatures.
He saw broken branches to his left, too clean for wind damage. Claw marks on bark. Scorch marks in a sweeping arc through the grass.
He followed the heat trail until the trees opened into a sunlit clearing of jagged stones.
There it waited, a Fire-Tailed Lizard.
Waist-high, plated in ember-colored scales, with a long tail glowing red at the tip. Its head lifted slowly as Li Chen stepped forward. Its eyes locked on his, unblinking.
The beast hissed.
A low-tier 1st-level beast, but by clan standards, its strength matched a 2nd to 3rd stage body refining cultivator.
Li Chen didn’t hesitate.
The beast lunged, tail first, flames lashing.
He dodged, letting the heat graze his cloak, and closed in. The lizard hissed, circled, and struck again. Its tail slammed into his shoulder. Pain shot through his arm, but he remained upright.
His skin steamed. The heat left a burn, but Accelerated Recovery pulsed, already dulling the ache.
He gritted his teeth and pushed forward.
The lizard twisted to bite, but Li Chen ducked low, grabbed its side, and slammed it into a rock. It thrashed violently, tail flailing, claws scraping.
Another burst of flame singed his thigh.
He roared, demonic strength awakening, and grabbed the beast’s head.
With a final surge, he drove his fist down, shattering the creature’s skull against the stones. Its body stilled.
He crouched, breath ragged.
“Not bad...” he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Drawing his dagger, he pierced the beast’s chest, guiding the blade with care until it struck the heart. The blood that flowed was thick, hot, and crimson. He collected it in the jade bottle, sealing it quickly with a rune.
Fire-Tailed Lizard Heart Blood
Fire-aligned heart blood. One of the five beast bloods the Stone Body demands.
Then, with a mental nudge, he summoned his spatial ring and stored the corpse inside.
The meat alone is worth a handful of spirit stones, he mused. And the scales, bones... everything can be used. Even the organs.
He recalled a line from the family library.
“The gall of a Green-Striped Viper can neutralize most toxins below the second realm.”
Every part of a beast had value, for those with the skill and the stomach.
Later that afternoon, he found a grove near a stream and sat beneath a leaning pine. He ate from his stash, meditated, and let the fire-aligned energy of the forest flow around him.
His burns had already faded. His stamina, too, was returning.
One beast down. Four more to go. And the Blood Fruit...
He opened his eyes, thoughtful.
If I return without them, I’ll return as a boy, not a cultivator.
This would be his trial.
Night fell slowly, the forest growing quiet except for the occasional rustle of unseen movement. Li Chen nestled himself in the hollow of a tree, wrapped in his cloak.
He activated Perception Pulse again, eyes flashing faintly red.
And then he saw it.
Something large. Watching.
It didn’t hide, but it didn’t approach.
There was no malice. No killing intent.
Only... a gaze. Calm. Measured. Silent.
Then it turned, stepping deeper into the mist, and vanished.
Li Chen held still for several minutes longer.
He didn’t feel fear.
Only curiosity.
Whatever it was... it wasn’t hunting me.
As he rested beneath the canopy of stars, body gently drawing in Qi, he allowed a small smile to touch his lips.
He was stronger now.
But the path ahead was long.
“I’ve only just begun, and already, the forest tests me.”
His hand curled into a fist, muscles warm with promise.
“Before I temper stone...” he whispered, voice low and steady, “I must first endure fire.”
And the flames had only just begun to rise.