Shi Yao looked up, his vision blurring at the edges. The beast—hulking, breath steaming, blood-red eyes glowing with primal hunger—was suddenly gone from its place.
A shadow loomed overhead.
Too fast-
BOOM!
The punch landed squarely in his abdomen.
The force was monstrous.
Shi Yao's body crumpled like paper around the impact, his breath violently torn from his lungs. He flew through the trees, smashing through bark and branches, until he finally skidded to a halt, knees digging into the earth.
He knelt there, trembling.
His stomach… he couldn't even feel it. Just a void of numbing agony.
Blood dripped from his lips, and his fingers clutched at the ground in a futile attempt to stay upright.
Is this it? he thought bitterly. After everything… after just getting a second chance—
The ground trembled again.
The beast reappeared before him, fist raised, ready to finish the job.
Time slowed.
Shi Yao stared up with wide eyes, frozen, helpless.
Then—
CRACK.
Li Wuji burst into view, a flash of steel and desperation, intercepting the strike with his own body. The punch connected with a sickening sound, and both of them were launched into the air.
Wuji grunted, twisting midair, somehow managing to break his fall.
But Shi Yao—
He had no such luxury.
He kept falling.
Down… down… past the trees, past the jagged rocks, until the world gave way to a steep cliff. The wind howled in his ears as the sky turned to stone.
I'm falling…
His eyes fluttered open and closed, vision swimming. His thoughts were faint, like whispers in a storm.
["Is this really how it ends…? I just escaped that rotten world. Just got here. And already, fate wants to erase me. Heh... figures."]
The last thing he heard was Li Wuji's distant, desperate scream echoing from the mountaintop:
["YOUNG MASTER—NOOO!"]
From above, Wuji stood at the cliff's edge, fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. He turned back toward the beast, eyes burning with rage.
And then—nothing but motion.
Both he and the beast vanished, darting across the forest in streaks of light and shadow. The sky shook with their collision, each blow sending shockwaves through the trees. Sword and claw met again and again, until the beast finally landed a devastating strike.
CRACK!
Li Wuji flew across the clearing like a broken arrow, slamming into a boulder. Blood streamed from his mouth as he coughed, his sword clattering beside him.
His fingers curled weakly in the dirt.
["I… tried… my best, young master..."]
Darkness took him.
---
Far below, amidst the jagged cliffs and scattered rocks, Shi Yao's body lay still.
Until—
A spark.
His eyes fluttered weakly… once, twice…
And then opened.
The first thing he saw was fire—soft, flickering torchlight dancing along cave walls. Stone surrounded him. The air was cold and damp, but strangely peaceful.
A deep, gravelly voice cut through the silence.
["You're awake. Good. Come closer, boy."]
Shi Yao blinked and looked ahead.
There, seated against the wall, was an old man. His body was scarred and withered, his chest bare, his breathing shallow but steady. Long white hair fell around his shoulders, and a jagged scar ran across his left eye.
Despite his frailty, there was power in the man's gaze—an ancient, burning strength.
["I'm surprised you're still alive, honestly. You fell hard—lucky I caught you. I was passing through this area, saw you falling from the sky like a comet. Threw up a barrier just in time. Would've been nothing left of you otherwise."]
Shi Yao sat up slowly, still holding his ribs.
["Who are you?"] he asked, wary. ["Why help me? What do you want?"]
The old man chuckled, his voice rough but calm.
["Name's Bai Ling. Doesn't matter much anymore. I've reached the end of my rope. My cultivation's nearly spent, my body's failing. I've been waiting for death in this cave for days. But then you dropped in. A spark of fate, maybe."]
He paused, then fixed Shi Yao with a steady gaze.
["I don't want what I know to die with me. So I'm going to give you something. A technique—dangerous, powerful… and cursed, some might say."]
Before Shi Yao could respond, Bai Ling vanished from his spot.
He reappeared instantly before him, placing two calloused fingers against Shi Yao's forehead.
A burning sensation surged through Shi Yao's mind as strange symbols and ancient chants flooded his consciousness. His body jerked involuntarily, eyes wide with shock.
["This technique…"] Bai Ling intoned, ["...is called the Heaven Devouring Pulse Art. It lets you consume the cultivation and essence of others—take what's theirs, and make it your own. A path of strength… and blood."]
Shi Yao gasped, his breath ragged, sweat pouring down his face as the memory of the technique carved itself into his mind.
["It's not an easy road, boy. Many will hate you for it. Hunt you. But if you survive…"] Bai Ling's voice grew faint, like a whisper carried by the wind, ["…you just might rise above them all."]
The cave fell silent once more.
And Bai Ling slumped back, eyes closing slowly.