The cavern trembled under the dragon's fury, a tempest of spiritual energy that shook the stone beneath my feet. I, Kai, stood defiant, my sword gripped tightly, its blade still warm from the worms' blood. The air was thick with water qi, heavy and suffocating, as if the cave itself breathed malice. Xu Xie's serpentine form loomed above, his snow-white scales glinting like polished ice, his eyes burning with a mix of rage and cunning.
"So, what's wrong with my sword?" I grinned, meeting his gaze with a bravado I barely felt.
His massive form twitched, clearly unprepared for my defiance.
"If you don't know the blade's secret, I certainly won't reveal it," Xu Xie sneered, his voice a low growl that vibrated through the chamber.
"You're a weakling, even by human standards. If I were you, I'd kill myself to spare my legacy the shame."
"You all exhaust me," I grimaced, my voice dripping with scorn.
"At first, you seemed special—the first mystical beast I've met. I thought a wise dragon might follow the righteous laws of the Heavens. But you're just an overgrown lizard, no better than humans. Pathetic."
"You dare compare me to humans?" Xu Xie roared, the cave quaking as his spiritual energy surged wildly.
"Me, a true child of the Heavens, lord of deadly frost, the Great Xu Xie?"
"Yeah, and lizards," I smirked, pushing my luck.
The dragon's bellow shook the walls, stalactites crashing to the floor in a cacophony of destruction. Blood trickled from my nose, the sheer force of his anger wounding me. For a full minute, Xu Xie raged, his power a storm that threatened to crush me despite his ancient pact. I stood my ground, heart pounding, my defiance a fragile shield against his wrath.
"Three days, human," he snarled, his voice a blade of ice.
"I suggest you start studying the technique. Fail to master a Heavenly-rank skill, and I'll show you a dragon's wrath. You'll die slowly, I promise."
His piercing gaze lingered, but I scoffed, turning away. Talking to him was pointless. Vile creature—vile, but powerful. I approached the obelisk, its surface etched with ancient glyphs that pulsed faintly under my touch. My system activated, translating the unreadable script.
Black Blizzard
Rank: Spiritual
Summons a colossal storm of black ice, disrupting spiritual energy flows.
Cost to learn: 10,000 Qi
I grimaced again. The dragon had played me—this was a Spiritual-rank technique, not Heavenly, and it was ice-based, useless to my fire qi. Worse, the cost was astronomical.
"I need Qi. Lots of it," I said, eyeing the obelisk's demand.
"Plenty here, human. Take it," Xu Xie laughed, his voice mocking.
True, the cave brimmed with qi—ice qi, utterly incompatible with my Song of Pure Flame. But a spark of inspiration flickered. Kai Shen, my ancestor, had created my core technique. I'd mastered its flows, understood its essence. Could I reverse its polarity to absorb ice qi? It was a long shot, but nothing was impossible. I wasn't a genius like him, but I had his blood, his mind, and a stubborn streak from my past life. With the system as my cheat, I'd make it work.
I checked my spatial ring, pulling out a handful of spirit stones. I'd never tried absorbing their energy before—could it work? The moment I channeled qi into them, the crystals crumbled to dust, and a trickle of energy flowed into my reserves. I nearly slapped myself. Why hadn't I done this sooner? Half an hour later, my reserves were full, but frustratingly, it didn't push me to the next Qi Condensation rank. Advancing required fire qi, not this neutral energy.
Now for the obelisk. I touched its surface, closing my eyes, and poured my entire reserve into it. The stone drank it greedily, and I felt a jolt as my qi vanished.
"What did you do?" Xu Xie howled, his voice laced with shock.
I didn't answer, laughing like a madman as the system updated:
Black Blizzard
"And the skies shall darken"
Rank: Spiritual
Summons a colossal storm of black ice, disrupting spiritual energy flows.
Cost to learn: 110/10,000 Qi
It worked! I didn't need to pour all 10,000 qi at once. With half a million spirit stones—thank you, Cao Shen's generosity—I had more than enough. The grind began: extract spirit stones, process with Song of Pure Flame, feed the obelisk. Repeat. The cavern's icy air bit at my skin, the water qi pressing against my meridians, but I pushed through, my focus razor-sharp.
Hours passed, my body aching, my mind numb from the repetitive task. The obelisk's surface glowed brighter with each infusion, its glyphs pulsing like a heartbeat. Xu Xie watched, his silence unnerving, his eyes tracking my every move. I ignored him, my world narrowing to the task at hand.
Six hours later, as the final drop of qi left me, the obelisk cracked, a fiery flash erupting. I screamed, collapsing as pure knowledge flooded my mind—patterns, energy flows, an alien concept of qi. The technique was useless to me, clogging a locus like junk in a storage room. Without ice qi, I couldn't activate it. A weapon of mass destruction, but not in my hands.
I recovered, absorbing more spirit stone qi, and tested Black Blizzard. Pain wracked my body, my qi vanishing into nothing as the technique failed to manifest.
"Impossible!" Xu Xie roared, his voice shaking the cavern.
"What are you? What technique is that? I've lived ten thousand years and never seen its like under the Heavens! Answer!"
I'd almost forgotten him. My smirk widened into a hysterical cackle. It worked! I'd done the impossible—almost. The obelisk hadn't crumbled, only its outer layer flaking off, revealing new glyphs.
Devourer
Rank: Heavenly
"And the skies shall tremble"
Cost to learn: 100,000 Qi
One hundred thousand? I calculated quickly. Black Blizzard took seven hours; this would take seventy. I had three days—less than half the time needed. Xu Xie's laughter echoed, mocking my predicament, but I tuned him out.
A memory surfaced, a technique I'd long wanted to test. No time or chance before, but now I had nothing to lose. I resumed the spirit stone grind, this time targeting my core technique.
Song of Pure Flame
Rank: Spiritual
Allows gathering of external Qi.
Controls various fire manifestations.
Flame of Life purifies body and spirit.
Level 1/5 (0/1,000 Qi)
I poured qi into it, and a searing heat enveloped me, pain lancing through my core. I gritted my teeth, refusing to show weakness before the dragon. The system chimed:
Song of Pure Flame has reached Level 2!
All effects enhanced!
I didn't stop. Another hundred spirit stones flew from my ring, their energy surging into me. The pain was excruciating, my insides burning, but the absorption speed increased, qi flowing smoother. I hit the next level faster, my body trembling as heat surged, blood feeling like molten lava.
Song of Pure Flame has reached Level 3!
All effects significantly enhanced!
New effect gained: Flame of Life heals wounds.
Healing from a fire technique? I wasn't surprised anymore. If I survived, this would be a game-changer. Pain shot through my head, new knowledge arriving with a delay. I placed my hand on the obelisk, time ticking away.
Thousands of spirit stones spilled from my ring, crumbling into dust as I skimmed their energy, pain nearly unbearable but effective. The qi counter soared, the obelisk glowing crimson. I pushed through, my vision blurring, my body screaming.
Finally, the obelisk erupted in ash, a qi-filled orb shooting into my forehead. Darkness claimed me, Xu Xie's furious glare the last thing I saw.
I awoke on a mountain plateau, towering peaks cloaked in forests stretching below, their summits lost in clouds. At the edge, an old man sat in lotus position, gazing at the vista. He waited—for me.
"Heavenly rank is the pinnacle mortals can achieve," he said, his voice calm but resonant.
"Even among immortals, such techniques are rare. Especially this one. Hide it while you're weak. It can elevate you to the peak—or destroy you."
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice echoing in the vastness.
"A teacher," he replied.
"A memory of him."
We sat in silence, the sky darkening, clouds rolling in. Thunder rumbled, my calm giving way to unease.
"They're coming," the old man said.
"You have one chance to master the technique. Fail, and you die. I didn't create it for a weakling."
He vanished. My sword materialized, my qi reserves brimming. A chorus of howls echoed, and my enhanced vision spotted thousands of monsters charging—humanoid horrors: a man with a wolf's head, a faceless giant, a creature with six bone-bladed arms.
I met the first with a fire technique, flames erupting, incinerating it without a trace. Song of Pure Flame's enhancements made my power soar, qi regenerating almost instantly. But the horde was endless, snarling, rushing me. The plateau filled with bodies, yet more came. My endurance waned, my techniques weakening, my sword growing heavy.
The battle stretched on, my body pushed to its limits. I dodged a bone-blade's swing, countering with a flame-wreathed slash that burned through a dozen monsters. But their numbers didn't falter, their attacks relentless. I used the plateau's terrain, luring them into narrow paths where I could strike efficiently, but they adapted, climbing over each other, flanking from all sides.
"What kind of trial is this?" I shouted, desperation creeping in.
"System, help!"
No response. I was alone against thousands. The landscape shifted, the pristine mountains replaced by barren black peaks and rivers of sticky blood. A claw grazed my shoulder, blood gushing. I channeled Flame of Life, the wound glowing and sealing, but the pain was agonizing, nearly costing me my focus.
"Enough!" I roared, smashing a monster's head with a flame-wreathed fist. A spark of qi in its body caught my attention—I could absorb it.
Coating my sword in fire, I hacked through the horde, each kill feeding me qi. Devourer. I understood its name. The monsters vanished, the wasteland reverting to pristine mountains. The old man reappeared.
"Congratulations," he nodded.
"You're the forty-second to master this technique. My original is Bai Sai. If you reach the upper realms, find me."
He clapped, and the world crumbled. Pain surged, and I awoke in the cave, my soul aching. Xu Xie's gaze met mine, no longer malicious but wary. Why would a dragon fear me?
"You passed," he said curtly. A passage opened.
"Leave."
"No flower for the road?" I quipped.
"Leave."
I struggled to stand, using my sword as a cane, and shuffled toward the passage. What secrets did this trial hide, and what new dangers awaited beyond?