Lin Yaochen rested his head on his hand and let out a long sigh.
"Alright… I'll keep training."
He sat cross-legged, hands resting on his knees. Less than ten seconds after closing his eyes, his brow suddenly furrowed.
"Hmm… Why does the air feel… kind of stuffy?"
Mozi's ears twitched. His gaze sharpened instantly. He sniffed the air, his voice dropping low.
"There's a foreign presence—no, traces of Yao energy…"
Before the words even finished, a faint footstep sounded outside the shed, light as a falling leaf. The next instant, a streak of eerie blue Yao light slipped through the crack in the window.
Mozi sprang to his feet.
"Get back!"
"Huh?" Yaochen blinked in confusion. Just as he was about to stand, the wooden door split open in complete silence, and a black shadow darted inside like lightning.
The intruder wore a dark gray robe and a mask that hid his face, leaving only a pair of cold, merciless eyes. In his palm, liquid-like Yao energy rapidly condensed into a short blade, radiating chilling intent as it aimed straight at Yaochen.
"Yao Raider!" Mozi roared.
In an instant, Mozi transformed. The small dog vanished, replaced by—
A magnificent spirit beast.
It had the agility of a wolf and the latent power of a panther, with a long, powerful body and a mane that burned like black flames. Ancient-patterned silver horns rose from its brow, and a pair of pale silver wings unfurled behind it. Yao light glimmered in its eyes, and energy surged around its muzzle like a star-devouring demon.
With a gust of wind, its claws slashed toward the intruder.
The raider dodged swiftly. His Yao blade swept across the wall, carving a scorched gash through the wooden planks.
Yaochen fell hard onto the floor, staring wide-eyed at Mozi and the raider locked in combat. His mouth hung open, unable to form a single word.
He had never imagined that the little dog who teased him every day could turn into such a terrifying spirit beast.
And it was fighting for him.
He hugged his backpack tightly, as if it were the only thing keeping him sane.
"Why are you still sitting there? Run!" Mozi shouted during a brief opening.
"I—I want to, but my legs won't move!"
Seeing that they could still talk, the raider snorted coldly.
"You won't escape."
His gaze locked onto Yaochen.
Yao energy surged in his palm, his predatory stare filled with greedy madness. A crushing pressure bore down on Yaochen, stealing his breath.
Just as his vision darkened and he was about to lose consciousness—
The Yao Disc inside his backpack began to hum.
Like a heartbeat. Like an ancient call.
Bzzzz—!
Yaochen's eyes flew open as a torrent of power exploded out of him like molten lava bursting through a dam.
"AAAAAAAH—!!"
He screamed as his arms swung forward uncontrollably—
Boom!
The ground erupted. A jagged pillar of rock shot up from beneath his feet, forcing the raider back several steps and even tearing through his protective Yao barrier.
The raider cried out in shock.
"You can use Earth Spikes?!"
Another surge of earth-aligned Yao blasted from Yaochen's palm, forming a muddy stone wall that slammed straight into the raider with the force of a landslide.
The raider's expression changed. He was sent flying before he could dodge.
Yaochen staggered back, trembling. Steam rose from his limbs as wild currents of energy surged through his body like a thousand serpents writhing in his veins.
"I—I feel like I'm about to explode!" he wailed.
Mozi leapt over and pressed a paw firmly against his back.
"Don't move! Your Yao veins aren't stable—if the energy goes berserk, it'll backlash! Close your eyes. Follow my lead. Inhale—exhale!"
"I can't even breathe right now!"
"Inhale!"
"Ugh…" Yaochen forced himself to obey.
Slowly, the raging Yao energy settled. The burning pain remained, but it was no longer uncontrollable.
Realizing he could gain nothing more from them, the raider vanished into the night.
Yaochen collapsed among the debris, gasping for air.
"I… I really used Yao power just now, didn't I? Should I… be happy about that?"
Mozi looked at him, his cold voice tinged with rare approval.
"The Yao Disc sensed your danger and forced Yao energy into you. It was unstable, but your talent is exceptional. You've entered the first stage of a Yao Walker. Consider yourself lucky—if the Disc hadn't guided the energy, it would've detonated inside you."
Before they could recover, shouts and chaos echoed from afar.
"Bad news—the raiders have entered the village!" Mozi's ears shot up as he bolted outside.
Yaochen barely had time to react before Mozi dragged him along. They reached the center of the village, and the sight made Yaochen's scalp go numb.
Fires blazed. Vine walls lay shattered. Under the village chief's command, villagers wielding crude Yao tools—knives, forks, short bows, and iron hammers—fought desperately against several black-clad raiders.
Yao energy surged around the raiders, overwhelming the villagers. With just a few strikes, people were sent flying, crying out in pain.
"Back to the houses!" the chief shouted, swinging his staff.
"Women and children to the granary!"
Yaochen's heart pounded as cold sweat poured down his back.
"They're… they're really fighting to the death…"
Mozi said grimly, "Yao raiders show no mercy. If I hadn't stopped that one earlier, you'd be dead already."
Suddenly, a raider broke through the line and lunged toward a young girl.
"Stop!" the chief roared—but he was too far away.
Yaochen tried to rush forward, but his legs gave out.
—Boom!
Mozi flew like lightning. His claws tore through the air, releasing a violent shockwave.
The raider was hurled back, smashing through three old trees before crashing to the ground, blood spraying from his mouth.
"A… a spirit beast?!" he gasped in terror as he tried to flee.
"You hurt my people—you won't leave alive!"
Mozi's eyes turned icy. Yao energy gathered at his claws as he unleashed Rending Yao Slash.
The remaining raiders, seeing the situation turn, grabbed their wounded and fled in panic.
After the battle, the village lay in ruins. Villagers stood amid the wreckage, panting.
Some clutched bleeding shoulders. Some held fallen loved ones. Some stared with hollow, shaken eyes.
Yaochen stood frozen, trembling. Never in his life had he seen such a real, brutal battlefield.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help.
He simply couldn't move.
He could only watch as people fell, as blood was spilled—while he himself was just a half-trained novice who couldn't even control his own power.
The village chief came over, wiping blood from his lips, and patted Yaochen on the shoulder.
"Kid, thank you. If not for you and your companion, this village would've been wiped out tonight."
He turned away to direct the young men to start clearing the wreckage.
Yaochen lowered his head, his throat clogged like it was filled with ash.
"I… didn't do anything," he whispered hoarsely.
Dawn had not yet come. The ashes had not settled.
Yaochen stood silently at the shattered entrance of the village, staring at the blackened ruins.
Villagers sat in small clusters—some coughing blood, some holding the bodies of loved ones, children crying softly.
He didn't move. He was afraid that if he did, the tears would fall.
"What are you thinking?"
Mozi appeared beside him, no longer playful, but calm and solemn. He was back in his black dog form.
"Who… were those raiders?"
Mozi shook the blood from his fur.
"They're not part of anything honorable. Certain shadowy forces in the Yao Realm have developed forbidden techniques that extract Yao energy from others and refine it for transfer."
"So… they steal other people's power?"
"Not just their power," Mozi said quietly. "Their lives. Yao veins are a gift of birth. If they're forcibly ripped away, they collapse. Most victims die—or become crippled."
Yaochen's throat tightened as he looked at the wounded villagers.
"So… these people… were just prey?"
"Yes," Mozi said heavily.
"The more remote and poorly defended a village is, the more attractive it becomes to raiders. Places like this are not rare in the Yao Realm—they're becoming more and more common."
This was not the world he knew.
His world was movie nights with friends, gaming, afternoon tea in a garden—not burned villages, blood-soaked ruins, and a life where survival itself was a gamble.
Yaochen clenched his fists until they hurt.
"Doesn't anyone stop this? Isn't this illegal?!"
He thought of the Realm Emperor—his grandfather.
"Doesn't my grandpa know? Doesn't he do anything?"
Mozi looked at him, his gaze complicated, as though holding back a long-buried truth.
"You think… the Realm Emperor doesn't know?"
"The Yao Realm is vast. Three continents, countless factions. They bow to the Emperor in name, but every clan, every city has its own agenda. Even the Emperor has limits."
"Your grandfather's position has never been as simple as you imagine. He is the Realm Emperor—but he is not all-powerful."
Yaochen stood stunned.
For the first time, he realized that the distant, almost mythical figure of his grandfather was not a supreme ruler above all—
But a king trapped in the mud of a broken world.