The young man rummaged through the bundle, pulling out two pouches of broken silver. His face split into a greedy grin. "Look, Father!"
The older man puffed on his pipe and chuckled, "Xiao Man's done well—twenty taels in half a year! You've earned yourself a ride today."
They dragged Xiao Man up onto a rickety ox cart—but instead of an ox, it was the father and son who strained at the harness, pulling it themselves.
The younger man asked, "Father, with this silver, can I finally take a wife?"
The old man stopped, wheezing, then smacked him lightly on the head with his pipe. "You fool. Is that all you think about? You should worry about your sister."
The son pouted. "Why should I? She's living the good life up there—fine food, soft beds, and pay on top of it. If you hadn't stopped me, I'd have joined that sect too."
The father's face darkened. "You think that place is a blessing? Plenty walk in standing, and come out lying flat."
The young man snorted. "Then how come Xiao Man walks out fine every time? If she dies, the Immortal Mistress will pay us even more silver."
The old man said nothing. But in truth, he'd thought the same. If she died, it would save them time. She'd earned enough already.
Listening to the two of them talk so casually about her death, Xiao Man sat still, her expression blank. She'd long grown used to it. Powerless to resist, she had no choice—each half-year, they waited outside the gate to collect her. When her leave was done, they dragged her back to Azure Mountain.
She had tried to escape once.
That very night, the paper talisman tied around her waist had twisted into the form of a child and tortured her near to death.
But this time… things were different.
While the men weren't looking, Xiao Man quietly cut her finger. In a whisper, she said, "Eat. Feed, and when you're full—kill them for me."
Time passed. The young man suddenly asked, "Father, she only brought home six taels before, but this time she's got more than twenty. You think she's been hiding some?"
The old man stopped again, frowning in thought. Then he turned and stalked toward Xiao Man.
Smack!
The slap came hard and fast, sending her tumbling off the cart. She hit the ground face-first, the stone tearing open her cheek. Blood streamed down her face.
The old man seized her by the hair. "Where's the rest of the silver?"
Xiao Man lifted her head, and a strange smile curled her bloodied lips. The crimson trickled into the black marks etched beneath her skin.
Another slap. "You're laughing? So you did hide some! Hand it over!"
He struck again and again until her face swelled grotesquely, unrecognizable.
Her laughter turned feral, eyes glinting with hatred. "Father…" she hissed, voice thick with venom, "go to hell."
His face flushed with rage. "You ungrateful wretch! I'll beat you to death myself—"
But before he could move, a shiver ran through him. Something cold slipped beneath his clothes.
A heartbeat later, the pain hit.
He tore at his shirt, screaming. A black sigil of a ghostly face burned into his chest, its mouth wide in silent laughter. His eyes bulged, veins bursting under the skin as blood seeped through his pores. He convulsed, gurgled—and collapsed, dead.
The young man's scream split the air. "You… you killed him! I'm telling the constable!"
He turned to run.
A shadow streaked past him.
His cry turned to a shriek of pure terror. "Please, don't—sister, please! I'm your brother—"
Then silence.
Back at Azure Mountain, Gao Yang sat in meditation when his eyes snapped open. A pulse of energy rippled through his body. His expression tightened in shock.
The Seven Fiends marks beneath his skin had begun to move on their own. A surge of rich blood-essence flooded into him, swelling through his veins until his face flushed red and beads of blood pushed from his pores.
"What—what's happening?"
The power coursed wildly inside him. The flood of qi and blood didn't just strengthen his body—it widened his meridians, burning and mending them in the same breath.
The pain was excruciating, yet intoxicating. The world's energy gathered toward him, pouring into his core. His meridians trembled, stretched, tore—and then healed stronger, tougher, more alive.
Within his Dantian, the gathering qi condensed, spinning into dense, shimmering droplets.
Then—drip.
The first drop of liquid fell within his core, followed by another, and another, until his Dantian held a small shimmering pool.
Within half an hour, Gao Yang's cultivation leapt forward—from the Qi Refining Stage to the Sea of Qi Stage.
He clenched his fists. Energy roared beneath his skin, fierce and unstoppable.
He threw a punch.
Wind exploded from his fist, shattering the table in front of him. The book Detailed Explanation of Foundation Building tore into shreds, pages swirling like dying leaves.
Gao Yang blinked. "…Is that… really my strength?"
He rose, still trembling with adrenaline. Blood clung to his skin like paint. "I should wash up."
But before he could move, footsteps thundered toward his door.
With his heightened senses, he could feel them—several auras closing in fast.
The first to arrive was Twelve. She kicked the door open with a crash, eyes blazing with worry. "Thirteen!"
She froze at the sight—Gao Yang, drenched in blood, sitting calmly amid the wreckage.
Her pupils shrank. For an instant, she thought someone had attacked him. Her hand went to the massive blade strapped to her back; the weapon spun once and slammed into the floor with a resounding clang. "Come out," she snarled.
Gao Yang quickly raised his hands. "Sister, it's alright. I'm fine. The blood's mine."
The others arrived seconds later.
The Fifth Senior Sister rushed forward like the wind, forcing a pill between his lips before he could protest. "Swallow," she ordered, then checked his pulse and chest. "Are you hurt? Where?"
Yuan Qing frowned. "Little Wu, careful!"
The First Senior Brother entered next, his voice steady but sharp. "Thirteen, what happened? I felt an enormous qi fluctuation from your room. Were you attacked?" His gaze flicked briefly toward the dwarf.
Gao Yang exhaled slowly. "No, Senior Brother, no one attacked me. I… advanced."
He explained in brief—the sudden rush of blood energy, the uncontrolled surge, the breakthrough.
When he finished, he looked around apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause a commotion."
The Seventh Senior Sister, a wiry woman covered in coarse black hair, squeaked in disbelief. "You—you advanced to the Sea of Qi Stage?"
Gao Yang nodded. "I think so."
The words fell like thunder. Shock rippled through the room.
Even Twelve, famed for her speed, had taken nearly three months to reach that stage after Foundation Building.
Gao Yang had done it in one.