Morning light had barely touched the rooftops of Heaven Dou City when Luo Tian stepped into the carriage.
Today, he would kill for the first time.
He kept his hands folded in his sleeves so no one would notice the slight tremor in his fingers, not sure if it is because of excitement or fear of first kill.
A Favor Between Powers
Inside a private hall, the atmosphere was calm, almost leisurely.
Xue Qinghe inclined his head respectfully.
"Thank you, Teacher, for asking His Highness Bone Douluo to assist with my little brother's first spirit ring."
Across from him, refined and composed, sat Ning Fengzhi.
Beside him stood two presences like mountains wrapped in silence—
Gu Rong and Chen Xin.
Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly.
"No problem, Qinghe. Besides, you located a spatial beast within a single day for the child. That is no small feat."
Xue Qinghe replied modestly, "It was fortunate. A low-level soul master reported a spatial anomaly near Sunset Forest at dusk yesterday."
Ning Fengzhi nodded.
"It was wise to contact Uncle Gu. Spatial beasts, even low-level ones, are extremely difficult to capture."
Gu Rong huffed.
"Hard to capture ? Hah. They don't move like normal creatures. They slip."
"Let's see if the boy dares to hold onto one."
Sunset Forest
The forest air was thick and heavy.
Leaves rustled softly overhead. The golden light filtering through the canopy made everything feel dreamlike.
Luo Tian walked beside Gu Rong and Uncle Xuan.
Uncle Xuan's presence was steady and warm, like contained fire beneath stone. Level 73 Soul Douluo — Blazing Tiger martial soul. Reliable. Protective.
Gu Rong walked casually ahead.
Yet space around him felt subtly distorted.
Even without summoning his martial soul, he bent reality by merely existing.
Then—
Luo Tian felt it.
A ripple.
Like silk being brushed against the wind.
His pupils contracted.
"There."
Gu Rong stopped immediately.
"You sensed it?"
Luo Tian nodded.
Gu Rong's lips curved faintly.
"Not bad."
The Void Ripple Fox
They stepped into a clearing.
At first, nothing was there.
Then the air twisted—
And something stepped out of folded space.
Void Ripple Fox — 405 Years
Small. Fox-like. Translucent silver fur.
Its body seemed half-present, edges blurring in and out of reality.
Indigo eyes shimmered like distant stars.
It flickered—
Vanished—
Reappeared three meters away.
Slipped again.Not fast.Just… untouchable.
Gu Rong stepped forward.Space solidified.
The fox shrieked as invisible pressure locked its body mid-flicker.
Gu Rong glanced at Luo Tian.
"Boy."
His tone was calm, but probing.
"This beast is above four hundred old."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Do you have the courage to accept it?"
The Decision
Luo Tian stared at the struggling fox.
It wasn't ugly.
It wasn't monstrous.
It looked small.
Alive.
Afraid.
'Four hundred years…'
'That's risky.'
'I don't have a beast-type martial soul.'
'No physique enhancement.'
'No bloodline bonus.'
His heart thudded louder.
Then another thought surfaced.
'I've never killed anything before.'
Not in this world.
Not in the previous one.
He remembered he had lived quietly.
Harmlessly.And now—He would take a life.
The fox's eyes met his. It struggled.Not viciously.Just desperately.For freedom.For survival.His throat tightened.
'This world… runs on this law.'
No spirit rings.
No cultivation.
No power.
Without power—
He would be crushed eventually.
He inhaled slowly.
Luck had led him here.
Opportunity stood before him.
If he retreated now—
He would always retreat.
He bowed slightly.
"Your Highness."
His voice was steady.
"I will take it as my first ring."
Gu Rong studied him for a long moment.
Then nodded once.
"Good."
Gu Rong did not drag it out.
He raised his hand.
Space compressed.
The Void Ripple Fox let out a sharp, thin cry—
Then silence.
Its body dissolved into drifting light.Lou tian kept his dagger in his bracelet and watched as
a deep yellow spirit ring slowly rose.
Luo Tian stared at the fading particles.
His chest felt heavy.
That sound…
It would stay with him.
He clenched his fist slightly.
'So this is what it means.'
This world was beautiful.
But it was not gentle. Xiao Xuan stepped closer, placing a firm hand on Luo Tian's shoulder.
"Focus," he said quietly.
His voice was calm.
Not dismissive.
Not cold.
Just grounding.
Luo Tian nodded.
Then sat cross-legged beneath the rising ring.
Absorption — The Void Cube Awakens
The moment the ring descended—
Pain.
Not external.
Internal.
As if something was stitching itself into his soul.
The Void Cube within his spirit sea began rotating violently.
Unlike before—
It was no longer fractured.
It was whole.
Dark.
Endless.
Like compressed night.
Spatial energy flooded inward chaotically.
The fox's instinct—
To flicker.
To slip away.
To never be caught—
Clashed violently with Luo Tian's consciousness.
His body trembled.
Blood seeped faintly from his lips.
The pressure was immense.
Too much for a six-year-old child.
Darkness crept at the edge of his vision.
And that absurd thought returned.
'What if this isn't real?'
'What if I'm still lying in a hospital bed?'
'What if I never left?'
The forest blurred.
Voices felt distant.
His mind wavered.
Then—
He felt it.
The wind—
Before it touched him.
The tension in Uncle Xuan's palm—
Before it tightened.
The compression in space beneath Gu Rong's stance .Before it shifted.Everything,Layered,Structured,
Interconnected.Pain was real.Breath was real.This was real.The Void Cube slowed.
Not by force—
But by alignment.Luo Tian stopped resisting the spatial instinct.Instead—He observed it.Mapped it.Understood the rhythm of its flicker.The chaotic ripples smoothed.
Gradually.Slowly.The tearing sensation faded.The yellow ring stabilized.
And settled around him.
Complete.
Spatial Sense
Luo Tian exhaled.
The world felt different.
He expanded his perception.
Ten meters.
Twenty.
Thirty.
He could feel distortions like threads in woven silk.A bird adjusting its wings.An ant crawling beneath bark.The faint thinning of space near a tree root.He opened his eyes.Clear Steady.
Gu Rong crossed his arms.
"Well?"
Luo Tian turned his head slightly.
"Uncle Xuan shifted his weight two breaths ago."
Uncle Xuan blinked.
He had.
Gu Rong's eyes flashed with interest.
"And?"
"There's a hollow pocket of unstable space three meters to your right," Luo Tian continued softly. "It's thin… like fabric stretched too tight."
Gu Rong laughed deeply.
"Good!"
He nodded once.
"Very good."
Uncle Xuan squeezed Luo Tian's shoulder gently.
"You did well."
Luo Tian rose slowly.
His legs trembled.
But his spine remained straight.
He glanced once toward where the fox had vanished.
"I'm sorry," he whispered inwardly.
Then his gaze hardened.
This was not cruelty.
This was survival.
Perception first.
Control later.
And someday—
He would command space itself.
As golden sunlight filtered through the canopy of Sunset Forest—
A child who had never taken a life before today
Took his first step
Into the unforgiving law of this world.