The silence that had settled over the cave after a night of pain and transformation was tinged with cold anticipation. Wei Shen awoke with the first gray threads of dawn that barely penetrated the darkness of the distant cave entrance. It wasn't a comfortable awakening; hunger still gnawed at him, the wound in his arm throbbed with a dull ache, and the aftermath of the internal battle he had fought to tame the first "Blood Qi" was still evident on his exhausted body.
But there was something different.
When he moved his limbs, he felt them to be slightly lighter, more responsive. And when he focused his consciousness on his Dantian, he felt that thin thread of cold, aggressive energy quivering within him like a small, sleeping beast. It was a minuscule power, barely worth mentioning, but it was there. It was *his own power*.
"The first level of Qi Condensation…" Wei Shen muttered, his voice hoarse. "Even if this Qi is tainted with the blood of beasts, it's better than nothing. It's better than the useless body of the original 'Wei Shen'."
He rose slowly, trying to gauge the changes in his body. His movements still bore traces of exhaustion, but there was a slight flexibility that hadn't been there before. When he looked at his hands, he noticed no obvious physical change, but he felt his grip had become slightly stronger.
He decided to test it. He went to the cave wall and picked up a sharp piece of rock – not the one he used as a weapon, just an ordinary stone. Previously, he could barely scratch its surface. Now, he mustered that thin thread of Blood Qi in his right arm, feeling it flow slowly, like a current of cold water, towards his fist. It wasn't a smooth flow; it was somewhat intermittent and painful, as if the Qi pathways in his body still resisted this foreign energy.
But he directed it towards the rock and struck it with the edge of the stone in his hand.
The result wasn't astonishing. The rock didn't shatter, and there was no explosion of energy. But the scratch he made was slightly deeper than before, and the edge of his stone seemed to have penetrated the rock's surface with greater ease.
"A slight difference, but it exists," Wei Shen thought coldly, examining the scratch. "This Qi directly enhances physical strength, albeit limitedly at this level."
This was enough. Any advantage, however small, was precious in this harsh world.
Now, he had to deal with two pressing matters: his wound, and his hunger.
He treated his wound first, using what remained of the "Dewmoon Leaf" sap he had gathered earlier. The pain had subsided a little, but the inflammation was still evident. "I must find better herbs, or a way to accelerate healing. This body cannot withstand much damage."
Then came hunger. The Blood-Devouring Stone was silent in the wall, as if awaiting its next offering. But Wei Shen knew he needed energy for himself first. "One cannot feed the beast while starving oneself," he whispered to himself with biting sarcasm.
He prepared to venture into the forest again. This time, there was a slight difference in his gait, in his gaze. He was no longer just a desperate boy fleeing death, but a novice hunter, now possessing – barely – what could be considered claws.
The "Forest of Lost Souls" still looked desolate and dangerous, but Wei Shen felt his senses had become slightly sharper. He could hear the rustling of leaves more clearly, distinguish between the calls of different birds with greater accuracy. Even his sight seemed to be able to penetrate the shadows under the trees a little better.
"The effect of 'Blood Qi' on the senses," he deduced. "Useful."
He didn't stray far from the cave. His objective was clear: a small animal, relatively easy prey, enough to sate his hunger for a day or two.
After a patient and cautious search lasting nearly an hour, he spotted his quarry. It was a small deer with spotted brown fur, calmly nibbling the leaves of a bush. Previously, such an agile creature would have fled before the original Wei Shen could even get close.
But the current Wei Shen was different.
He began to approach with extreme slowness, utilizing every natural cover. He moved with a lightness he hadn't possessed before, as if his body had become more attuned to his will. When he was at a suitable distance, he launched himself.
His speed was still far from astonishing, but it was noticeably faster than before. The startled deer leaped, trying to escape, but Wei Shen, thanks to his slightly improved reflexes and a better ability to anticipate the prey's movement, managed to cut off its path.
It was a short but violent chase. The deer, despite its small size, fought for its life, kicking with its small hooves and trying to butt with its not-yet-fully-grown antlers. But Wei Shen, driven by hunger and that cold glint in his eyes, was more ruthless.
At a crucial moment, as the deer tried to leap over a fallen tree trunk, Wei Shen managed to grab its hind leg. The animal fell to the ground, letting out a sharp cry of fear. Before it could rise, Wei Shen was upon it, his sharpened stone edge descending on its neck.
It wasn't clean, and it wasn't quick enough. But it was effective.
Wei Shen stood panting, the warm blood of the deer staining his hands and face. He felt no guilt, but a kind of savage satisfaction. He had succeeded. This new power, however meager and tainted, had proven its usefulness.
"Faster… stronger… more lethal," he muttered, examining his hands. "This is the path."
He carried the deer's carcass, which was much heavier than his previous kills, and began the journey back to the cave. He felt exhausted, but there was also a new sense of strength, a feeling that he was beginning to impose his will on this world, even if only in a very small way.
When he reached the cave, he wasted no time. Part of the deer's meat would be his food; the larger part, and its precious blood, would be an offering for the "Blood-Devouring Stone."
The scent of fresh blood filled the small cave. Wei Shen looked at the silent stone in the wall, then at the deer's carcass.