By dark-kingxu
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The cave was cold and damp, carved into the cliffside like a wound left behind by the heavens. Xu Ming's footsteps echoed faintly as he ventured deeper, guided only by the glowing threads dancing faintly in his vision.
He had stumbled upon the entrance after chasing a wounded beast through the underbrush, but the moment he crossed the threshold, something… shifted.
The air was heavy with silence. A different silence—one that pressed against his skin like a second atmosphere.
And at the center of the cave, nestled between jagged stones and ancient symbols etched into the walls, stood a lone altar.
He didn't know how he knew, but something inside him remembered this place.
The imprint.
The moment he stepped within a dozen paces of the altar, the air trembled. The invisible thread that had shot into his forehead days ago suddenly burned with life, as if stirred by the cave's presence.
> Boom!
His body seized.
Threads exploded in his sight—dozens, hundreds—too many to track. His mind reeled. His knees hit the ground.
And then the vision returned.
Not a dream this time. Not a whisper.
But power.
Xu Ming saw a figure, wrapped in robes blacker than void, standing atop a mountain of broken beasts and shattered stars. In his hand, a sword—not made of metal, but of will. Each swing tore apart fate itself.
> "You have seen the threads," the voice rumbled—inside his soul, not his ears.
> "Now hold the blade that severs them."
The sword in the vision descended—not at Xu Ming, but into him.
His chest erupted in pain. He clutched at his heart, gasping. But as the fire surged through him, so too did understanding.
A technique etched itself into his very bones.
Heaven-Shattering Tyrant Technique – First Stage: Tyrant's Grasp.
The image faded, and something else replaced it.
A series of movements, elegant and devastating—meant for a blade of any kind, but perfected when the threads of fate were visible.
Sight-Breaking Sword Style – Form One: Split the Horizon.
Xu Ming fell back against the wall, breath ragged, skin damp with sweat.
> "Sword… techniques?" he whispered. "No… they're more than that."
This wasn't like learning a martial art. The techniques had been implanted—seared into muscle, mind, and spirit. His body remembered how to move before he thought to command it.
He stood slowly.
There, in the stillness of the cave, he drew his dagger—not ideal for a sword style, but enough for the foundation.
He exhaled.
And moved.
His blade sliced through the air, not with speed or force—but precision. The threads trembled. The air split along the arc of his strike.
Dust from the cave wall fluttered and settled across a new scar in the stone.
> "It works."
But he wasn't done.
He closed his eyes and focused inward.
The first stage of the Heaven-Shattering Tyrant Technique burned within him—fierce, primal. Unlike standard cultivation techniques, it didn't just pull Qi—it conquered it, forcefully pulling threads into submission.
He sat cross-legged.
The cave responded.
Energy flowed from the walls, from the floor, from the altar itself. Threads bent toward him, surrendering like soldiers to a king.
Xu Ming's core pulsed. His Qi expanded violently.
But unlike the previous breakthroughs, this wasn't a stage ascension. It was a transformation.
The technique was brutal—demanding strength not just of body, but of will. Each second felt like being ripped apart and reforged.
His bones creaked. His muscles twitched. His skin flushed with heat.
Then—calm.
His breathing steadied. His heart slowed.
The first stage was complete.
Xu Ming opened his eyes.
The Sight was clearer.
His Qi denser.
His movements faster.
And now… he carried something else within him:
A sword meant to sever fate.
> "This isn't just a technique," he said, standing. "It's a path. One only I can walk."
The cave began to tremble.
The altar cracked.
And with a burst of radiant light, it crumbled to dust—just as the ruins had.
He turned, walking back toward the forest's edge.
He wasn't ready to leave just yet. But the end of this trial drew near.
And when he emerged… the world would see a different Xu Ming.
One shaped not just by strength—
—but by purpose.
Author's Note:
In this chapter, Xu Ming finally awakens the power of the Heaven-Shattering Tyrant Technique and unlocks his first sword technique: Sight-Breaking Sword Style – Form One. These will become key parts of his journey and identity as he continues rising. Let me know what you thought, and don't forget to rate the story if you're enjoying it—it helps a ton!