Adrian reached Lina's house just before noon.
It was a small wooden home near the edge of the village, half hidden by old trees and overgrown grass. The door opened almost immediately after he knocked, as if she had been waiting behind it.
Lina froze when she saw him.
"Adrian?" Her voice shook. "What happened to you?"
She looked exactly as he remembered.
Tall for a village woman, with long dark hair tied loosely behind her back. Her face was clean and symmetrical, eyes bright but worried. Even wearing plain clothes, her figure was hard to ignore—full and mature, the kind that drew attention no matter how much she tried to hide it.
Adrian understood then why trouble followed her.
Anyone with bad intentions would notice her.
"I'm fine," he said quickly. "I just need a quiet place for a few hours."
Lina hesitated. Her eyes moved to the bruises on his neck, the torn clothes, the dried blood. She clearly didn't believe him.
"…Come inside," she said softly.
She led him through the house and stopped in front of a closed door. Her face reddened slightly before she spoke again.
"You can use my room. No one comes here."
Adrian nodded. "Thank you."
She didn't ask more questions.
That alone told him she trusted him.
As the door closed behind him, the small room fell silent. It was clean and simple. A bed. A small table. A single window letting in soft light.
Adrian sat down and took a slow breath.
This is it.
He focused inward.
The grey spiritual energy inside him stirred again, thin but real. It was not pure like normal cultivators' qi. It felt heavy, mixed, unstable—yet strangely complete.
At the same time, he felt another presence.
The water-element snake appeared beside him.
It was already larger than before, its pale blue body coiled quietly on the floor. As Adrian began circulating his qi, the snake lifted its head and opened its mouth slightly.
Spiritual energy flowed into both of them.
Adrian felt it clearly—energy entering the snake, being refined, then flowing back into him. The process was slow, but steady. Every cycle made his body ache less.
Inside him, something cracked.
One of the nine main meridians opened.
Pain rushed through his body, sharp and overwhelming, but it didn't last long. The moment it ended, warmth flooded his limbs. His breathing steadied. His injuries closed slowly, bruises fading as his body repaired itself.
Qi Refining — Level 1.
Adrian opened his eyes.
For a moment, his vision felt strange.
The world looked sharper. Clearer. When he glanced at the mirror beside the bed, he paused.
His eyes were no longer normal.
They were grey, deep and cold.
And the pupils were thin and vertical, like a snake's.
The water snake beside him hissed softly.
It had changed as well.
Its body was thicker. Stronger. Its movements were smooth and controlled. Though still far from a true spiritual beast, it was no longer something a mortal could handle.
With a sneak attack, it could even kill a Qi Refining cultivator.
Adrian stood up.
His body felt light. Whole.
He clenched his fist slowly.
Now…
His thoughts turned cold.
The men who beat him.
The ones who threw him away.
And the man behind them.
The gang leader's name surfaced in his memory.
Rolf Kane.
Adrian exhaled.
"It's time."