A figure flashed through the wilderness, a three-meter-long beast slung over his shoulder as he sprinted through the jungle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every step struck the soil with enough force to send vibrations through the ground. His untamed presence swept through the forest, carrying the savage aura of a beast and the craftiness of a predator,Weaker beasts sensed him long before they saw him.
They shrank deeper into their hideouts, trembling as his presence passed.
For the past few weeks, they had become familiar with him.
They knew that gaze.
They knew the madness hidden behind it.
And they knew better than to challenge him.
Some had witnessed him tear through beasts during the day. Others had watched from the darkness while he hunted beneath the moon.
To them, he was no longer simply a human wandering through their territory.
He was another predator,One they had learned to fear.
Lican bolted through the forest, sprinting past towering trees until he finally arrived at his usual cleanup spot near the stream bank.
Thud!
He threw the beast onto the ground, then cracked his neck and stretched his body.
Three weeks had already passed.
Ever since Lican discovered that the meat of higher-level beasts could aid his cultivation, he had hunted relentlessly, venturing deeper and deeper into the forest.
He had lost count of how many times he had nearly lost his life.
Those near-death battles, however, had been worth it.
Through relentless hunting and consuming the meat of stronger beasts, Lican had broken through to the late stage of Bone Marrow Cleansing.
The herbs he had encountered along the way had helped as well. Some of them he didn't even know the names of. He had discovered several while hunting beasts that guarded them, and rather than leaving them behind, he had taken every useful resource he could find.
His body had changed noticeably.
He had grown slightly more muscular, though his frame was still far from that of an ordinary thirteen-year-old. His features had sharpened, becoming strangely alluring, almost devilish.
His eyes were dark and deep, like an abyss that concealed something dangerous.
Scars ran across his body, adding to his presence rather than diminishing it.
There was something peculiar about him now.
Brutality had somehow merged with elegance.
Even dressed in his torn, battered clothes, Lican still carried an unmistakable air of distinction.
He squatted beside the beast and brought out the various tools he had fashioned from the strange stones he had discovered throughout the forest,as he e got to work.
The skin was carefully flayed from the body. The claws and fangs were removed and stored inside his universal pouch.
During the past week, Lican had discovered something else about the pouch.Raw meat did not spoil inside it.
The discovery had left him delighted.
It meant he could preserve large quantities of meat without worrying about it rotting.
The only limitation was that the pouch could not store living creatures.
Once he finished preparing the beast, Lican glanced toward the sky.
Darkness would soon descend.
He quickly washed the meat clean of blood, cleaned himself, then stored everything inside the pouch before making his way back to his cave.
At the entrance, he removed the disguise he had created to conceal the cave and closed it behind him once he entered.
Several minutes later, the cave was filled with an intoxicating aroma.
Lican had gradually learned how to combine meat with the spices and herbs he discovered in the forest. He no longer simply roasted everything over a fire.
He experimented.
Sometimes he made broth. Other times he combined different herbs, spices, and cuts of meat into dishes whose actual names he didn't even know.
He simply cooked whatever seemed right.
Tonight was no different.
After eating his fill, Lican took his time before finally sitting down cross-legged.
He closed his eyes and began practicing the ordinary breathing technique his father had taught him.
Slowly, his breathing settled.
The energy contained within the food spread through his body, nourishing his flesh and strengthening his bones. Even the minor injuries he had accumulated throughout the day's hunt began to recover.
"Ah..."
A breath escaped his lips.
Lican opened his eyes.
"Level four beast can't help anymore."
He shook his head.
For the past three weeks, he had relied on continuous battles and the meat of beasts to strengthen himself.
But now, he had reached another bottleneck.
His current cultivation could no longer advance simply by consuming level-four beast meat.
If he wanted to step into the next realm of cultivation, he needed something more,Better resources.
Lican sighed deeply before fishing out the old manual his father had given him.
His fingers brushed across its rough, worn cover.
For a moment, he simply stared at it.
He remembered his father's words—that one day, he would give him something better.
Lican shook his head.
He lifted the manual toward the fire. The flickering flames illuminated the faded words engraved across its cover.
DAO OF HEAVENLY RUNES
Lican's brows furrowed.
"Runes..."
He had heard the word before,But where?
Without dwelling on it for long, he opened the manual and began to read.
The deeper he went, the more intrigued he became.
Runes were not simply strange symbols drawn onto objects. They represented an entirely different path of cultivation, one that could branch into numerous occupations and disciplines.
There were Weapon Inscription Runes, which could be carved onto weapons to strengthen their abilities.
Formation Runes, used to construct formations capable of manipulating the environment, defending territories, trapping enemies, or producing other extraordinary effects.
And Talisman Runes, which could be sealed onto paper or other materials and activated to release their stored power.
Lican's eyes moved rapidly across the pages,But then he encountered something that made him slow down.
Unlike traditional cultivators, who relied heavily on a cultivation core—a Dantian filled with condensed Qi—rune cultivators could use the body, soul, or even weapons as a canvas.
Through runes, they could manipulate the fundamental laws of the universe.
Lican's expression became serious, as he continued reading.
There were different branches.
Inscriptional / Auxiliary Runes.
These involved drawing external runes onto weapons, items, or formations to manifest elemental effects and other abilities.
They were commonly practiced by auxiliary professions such as Blacksmiths and Array Masters, allowing them to greatly amplify their combat power without relying solely on their cultivation.
Lican turned the page.
Then his eyes stopped.
Dao / Law Condensation.
His pupils contracted slightly.
Condensing intangible concepts directly into the soul...
He read the explanation beneath it.
A cultivator could comprehend and condense a fundamental concept of the universe into a rune within their soul.
Rune of Extermination.
Rune of life.
Rune of Space.
The possibilities seemed endless.
According to the manual, this path was not merely an auxiliary technique.
It was an absolute requirement for those seeking to break through into the higher realms of cultivation.
Then Lican saw the words at the bottom of the page.
Immortal Realm.
His eyes widened.
"Immortal..."
He stared at the words for several breaths.
As far as Lican knew, he had never heard of an immortal,Not from the hunters,Not even from his father.
Yet this ancient manual spoke of immortals as though their existence were an established fact.
Lican's fingers tightened around the edge of the page.
His father had given him this manual.
And suddenly, he wondered just how much his father had actually known.