The stars hung motionless above the canopy of Star Dou Forest, cold and eternal. A thin mist crept across the forest floor, clinging to the roots and curling around the moss-covered stones. The fire burned low, crackling softly in the center of the small camp, its fading warmth casting flickering shadows on the trees.
Li Wei stood up slowly, careful not to disturb the others as they slept. The watch was changing—his turn had ended, and Meng Shu now stood across from him, eyes calm yet alert.
"You've done well," Meng Shu said quietly, adjusting his staff as he stepped away from the fire taking the a position where he monitor the surrounding.
Li Wei offered a small nod. "Thank you, Senior."
They exchanged no more words. This kind of quiet was sacred between cultivators—particularly in the depths of the forest, where every sound might invite unwanted attention. Li Wei stepped away from the clearing and moved toward a flat stone under the trees, not far from the fire and far away from the outer area. A spot where the moonlight gently pooled like silver water.
He sat cross-legged, his breathing steady.
Though the system had long vanished—disappearing the moment he awakened his martial spirit—it had left something behind. Not a tool, not a manual, not a treasure. It left knowledge. A cultivation method, deeply etched into his soul and mind. Something only he could use.
He closed his eyes and recalled the first page of that phantom manual, the one that had no paper, no ink—just memory.
"Begin by centering the breath. Let the flow of heaven and earth enter with calm, and leave with peace. Cycle the soul power in the lower dantian. Guide it, do not force it."
Li Wei inhaled. Trying to remember back the manual the system left him.
His soul power, partially depleted after today's fights, was scattered—distant and sluggish, like mud in water. Especially after his battle with the Man-Faced Demon Spider, his body still carried the shadow of that pressure, the residual echoes of its killing intent. But it was precisely that figh. The pressure. The killing intent of that deadly dance at the edge of survival… that had left cracks in the bottleneck he'd sensed.
His body felt heavy, but his will remained sharp.
He began to cycle the soul power within him.
Each breath drew in the surrounding ambient spirit energy—threads of invisible light seeping from the trees, from the mist, from the very soil. He let it fill his lungs, then spiral inward to his dantian, where his soul power swirled like a sleeping storm.
One cycle.
Two cycles.
Three…
It began to stir.
His breathing deepened, his pulse slowing as he entered a meditative state. The world faded. The chill of the night, the sounds of nocturnal beasts in the distance—all dulled. He was floating in his own inner sea, guided by the flow left behind by the system.
Then—suddenly—it surged.
His soul power, like a tide breaking free, began to roar through his meridians. The invisible storm awakened, condensing, sharpening.
Level 43.
Li Wei gasped quietly. His body trembled from the sudden intensity, but he remained still. His soul power had broken through without fanfare, and yet—
Hum.
The sound was low, almost inaudible, but Meng Shu heard it from the camp. He turned toward Li Wei's direction instinctively. His aged eyes narrowed.
And then he saw it.
From Li Wei's seated figure, four rings of light slowly manifested.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Their colors shimmered in the mist: purple, purple… black, and black.
Time froze.
Meng Shu took a step forward, his hand tightening around his staff. He had thought—no, known—that Li Wei was a rare genius. A young man with vast potential, unusually mature for his age, with fighting instincts far beyond his peers. But this—this was something else entirely.
"This is…" he murmured, eyes wide.
No normal genius could reach four rings at such a young age.
And with that kind of configuration?
Two thousand-year purple rings and two ten-thousand-year black rings. A balance of raw foundation and overwhelming might. Not a prodigy. Not even a rare genius.
A monster.
A soul master from the stories of old, the kind that appeared once in an era.
Then he remember that Li Wei has been teaching Yiran, it can be said that the manual that Yiran show him is the kind that only a secret family that lives in hiding should have. He wonder about Li Wei background and thankful for the help that Li Wei gave Yiran.
Meanwhile, Li Wei opened his eyes, feeling the pulse of power stabilize within his body. The four soul rings spun around him slowly, as though resonating with the night itself.
He looked up, sensing Meng Shu's presence.
"Senior," he said softly.
Meng Shu remained silent for a long moment. The moonlight outlined his weathered face, his gaze unreadable.
"You've truly… stepped beyond ordinary talent," the old man finally said, voice quiet but intense. "With this kind of ring configuration, and such early breakthroughs… even Spirit Hall would be astonished."
Li Wei didn't smile. He didn't boast. He simply bowed his head slightly. "I didn't plan for this breakthrough. It just… happened. And I hope that senior can keep my spirit configuration a secret from others. There also the pressure from the spider, the fighting… it pushed something in my body to loosen."
Meng Shu nodded, stroking his beard with one hand. "Like I told you before, we are like a family if it harm you— I will make sure to prevent that. About the loosen of the barrier it can be said that it makes sense. The Man-Faced Demon Spider's killing intent is like a blade. You walked along its edge and came back stronger."
But even as he spoke, Li Wei's eyes closed again.
The surging soul power hadn't stopped. The bottleneck that had held him at the edge of the forty-third level had shattered—but the tide hadn't slowed.
It was still rising.
Could it be…?
Li Wei clenched his fists. His dantian pulsed like a second heartbeat. The broken dam of power now rushed through his meridians with renewed ferocity. The fighting, the killing pressure, the surge of recovery—they had stirred something even deeper.
More cracks appeared.
And then—
Boom.
A soft pulse of energy radiated outward from his body, barely strong enough to rustle leaves. But Meng Shu felt it. A tremor. A second awakening.
Li Wei's aura expanded again.
Level 44.
Silence.
Even the forest seemed to hold its breath.
Li Wei opened his eyes, exhaling slowly. His face was pale with exertion, a faint sheen of sweat along his brow—but his gaze was clear, steady. The energy within him had stabilized, and a new layer of control settled over his soul rings.
He didn't need to look to know he had advanced again.
Two levels in a single night.
Unprecedented.
"Unreal," Meng Shu whispered. "Even among the top-tier sects… only one in a hundred thousand might achieve such growth under pressure. And yet…"
He looked at Li Wei as if seeing him for the first time.
"…you're still calm."
Li Wei stood slowly, the four rings fading into invisibility as he suppressed their glow. "This is only a beginning," he said. "I can't afford to be proud yet."
Meng Shu gave a rare smile—quiet, approving. "You remind me of someone I once knew. But even he didn't have this kind of monstrous cultivation speed."
Li Wei returned to the fire, sitting across from him. "What should I do now?" he asked. Not out of uncertainty—but caution.
Meng Shu looked into the flames. "Hide your strength, for now. When your foundation is this deep, it invites envy as much as admiration. Even your allies may one day fear you."
Li Wei nodded.
The two sat there in the gentle glow of the firelight, the mist curling between them. One old and wise, the other young and rising.
In the distance, the stars slowly began to fade as the eastern horizon brightened.
And in that moment, under the waning moon, Li Wei clenched his fist—not in pride, but in quiet resolve.
This power would not rule him. It would be his tool—to protect, to fight, and to shape the path ahead.
Tomorrow would bring more trials. But for now, he had taken a great step forward.
And it had begun in silence, beneath the silver light of the stars.