The next morning, Xiao Long stretched and walked out of the hut like he owned the place.
Wei Chen was already awake, already alert, already watching him with those careful eyes. The man missed nothing.
"I'm going beast slaying," Xiao Long announced.
Wei Chen choked on his tea.
"Beast slaying?" He set down his cup, staring. "Do you have any idea what grade of beasts live deeper in the Bloodrock? Imagine you encounter a Nether Realm beast—something that's crossed through a rift. You'd be cooked."
Xiao Long laughed.
It was strange—hearing himself laugh. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done it.
"Don't bother about me. I'll be back soon."
"Young Master—"
Xiao Long vanished.
Void Step.
One moment he was there. The next, the space where he'd stood was empty, and Wei Chen was left talking to nothing.
"...show off," Wei Chen muttered.
---
Xiao Long reappeared on a tree branch half a mile deeper into the Bloodrock.
The wind shifted. The air grew colder. Darker.
He looked around.
No beasts.
Strange. This area should be crawling with them. Yesterday, he couldn't move without tripping over Shadowfang Ravagers. Today—
Nothing.
Like they were running.
Xiao Long moved deeper. Tree to tree. Branch to branch. Void Step flickering when he needed speed, when he needed to cross impossible gaps.
The silence grew heavier.
Then he felt it.
A cliff ahead. Beyond it—a drop into darkness. And from that darkness, rising like smoke from a fire...
Qi.
Dark Qi. Concentrated. Ancient. Delicious.
Xiao Long smiled.
"That's just what I need."
He launched himself off the cliff, flying through the air, crimson eyes fixed on the darkness below. Trees rushed past. Rocks blurred. His hunger roared in anticipation.
Then—movement.
Someone was running through the trees below. Small. Fast. Terrified.
A person.
What the hell was a person doing here?
Xiao Long adjusted mid-air, landed on a branch, and focused.
A girl.
Young—maybe his age, maybe younger. Dressed in tattered clothes that had once been fine. Her hair was a mess, her face covered in dirt and scratches, her eyes wide with primal fear.
She ran like death was behind her.
Because it was.
Xiao Long dropped from the branch, landing directly in her path.
The girl's eyes went huge. She couldn't stop—couldn't change direction fast enough—and slammed directly into him.
Xiao Long didn't move.
The girl bounced off him and hit the ground hard.
"OW!" She scrambled up, fury replacing fear for a split second. "What the HELL is wrong with you? Can't you SEE—"
The beast erupted from the trees behind her.
Xiao Long's eyes went to it.
Massive. Twice the size of the Shadowfang Ravagers. Armored in black scales that seemed to drink light. Eyes like burning coals. Drool that sizzled where it hit the ground.
Nether beasy. Definitely Nether beast.
The girl's face went white.
"RUN!" She grabbed his arm, trying to pull him. "RUN YOU IDIOT!"
Xiao Long didn't move.
"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"
The beast launched itself at them—a blur of scale and fang and pure killing intent.
Xiao Long raised his head.
His crimson eyes blazed.
The beast stopped.
Mid-air. Frozen. Like time itself had hit pause. Its burning eyes met Xiao Long's glowing ones—
And the beast whimpered.
It turned in mid-air—impossible, insane, but it happened—and tried to flee.
Xiao Long's hand moved.
One swing. Casual. Effortless.
A crescent of purple energy sliced through the air.
The beast split in half.
Two pieces hit the ground separately. They didn't twitch. Didn't move. Didn't do anything but leak dark blood into the red soil.
The girl stared.
Xiao Long walked past her, placed his hand on the still-warm corpse, and pulled.
XIAO LONG'S SECOND BREAKTHROUGH: QI REFINING (MID)
The Nether beast was a reservoir of dark Qi—concentrated, corrupted, and absolutely perfect for the Void Physique. Xiao Long's Datian drank it like water in a desert.
The breakthrough came fast. Too fast for normal cultivators. But Xiao Long wasn't normal.
Qi Refining (Mid).
His meridians expanded. His control sharpened. The hunger—that endless, screaming hunger—quieted to a dull roar.
For now.
---
The girl hadn't moved.
She stood frozen, mouth open, staring at the bisected beast, at the boy with glowing eyes, at the impossible scene playing out in front of her.
Xiao Long turned to her.
"You're bleeding."
She looked down. A gash on her arm. She hadn't even noticed.
"I—what—who—"
"Questions later." Xiao Long grabbed her wrist—gently, as gently as he could manage—and started walking. "Come on."
"Where are we going?"
"My hut. It's safe. Well, safer."
She stumbled after him, still clutching a small bag to her chest like it contained her entire life.
"My name is Lian," she whispered. "Lian."
Xiao Long didn't respond.
He just kept walking, pulling her through the Bloodrock, leaving the bisected beast behind.
---
Wei Chen saw them coming from a mile away.
He was waiting at the hut entrance, sword in hand, eyes scanning for threats. When he saw the girl, his eyebrows shot up.
"Young Master. You went beast slaying and came back with a girl?"what a surprise
Xiao Long released her wrist. "She was running from a Nether-touched. I killed it. She needs healing."
Wei Chen's eyes narrowed—not at Xiao Long, but at the girl. Assessing and Calculating.
Then he sighed.
"Fine. Get her inside. I'll heat water."
The girl—Lian—stumbled into the hut, still clutching her bag, still staring at Xiao Long like he was a monster or a god or both.
Xiao Long sat by the fire.
The hunger was quiet.
For now.