For three weeks, Wang Lin remained in the Sealed Grounds of Wuheng.
He trained by torchlight, meditated beneath falling ash, and burned his blood countless times to forge control over the Crimson Lotus Art. The technique was violent, built for destruction—but Wang Lin sought mastery, not chaos. Each time he activated it, he tempered it with silence, breathing, and willpower.
> Power stolen without control only leads to ruin, he remembered.
I must bend it… or it will consume me.
His body grew stronger—calloused hands, lean muscle, sharper spirit sense. But more importantly, he grew calm.
And then… the mountain shook.
---
It started one dawn.
Low tremors rippled through the sealed chamber. Faintly, from below, came a howl—not beast, not wind. Something ancient. Something angry.
The altar of the Crimson Lotus trembled. Its seal cracked slightly.
> "Something has awakened beneath us," Wang Lin muttered.
The Abduction Path pulsed eagerly in his dantian. It whispered temptations:
> Devour it. Bind it. Make it yours.
But Wang Lin stood. "No. I'll face it head-on."
He descended deeper.
---
🔻 Beneath the Altar
He reached a vast cavern where magma veins lit the walls like glowing rivers. In the center, bound by twelve colossal chains, was a beast—black as shadow, white-eyed, horned like a dragon, and covered in ancient sealing marks.
> "The Void Howler…" Wang Lin whispered, recognizing it from the scrolls.
"A spirit beast sealed here thousands of years ago. Feeding on illusion and flame."
The beast lifted its head slowly. It was intelligent.
> "You carry the Abduction Path…" its voice rumbled in Wang Lin's mind.
"Will you unchain me… or join me in damnation?"
Wang Lin felt sweat on his back. One mistake, and the beast would tear his soul apart. But he didn't draw his sword. He stepped closer.
> "I don't need to control you. I want to understand you."
The Void Howler stared… then laughed.
> "Foolish boy. But rare. You seek mastery… not madness."
---
The beast offered him a test.
A trial of spirit.
Wang Lin was pulled into an illusion—a twisted battlefield of memories, regrets, and false promises. His mother's face. His father calling him weak. His own hand, stealing from corpses.
> "Is this what you are?" the illusion mocked.
But Wang Lin breathed.
He sat in the fire, unmoving, eyes closed.
> "I am what I choose to be. I may walk the Abduction Path… but I will walk it my way."
The illusion shattered.
---
✨ When Wang Lin awoke…
The Void Howler was gone.
But its essence lingered—willingly given.
Now sealed in his palm was a black flame sigil—the first stage of a secret technique:
> Veil of Eclipse – First Mark: The Silent Flame
---
🐉 Chapter End Teaser:
Far away, in the Temple of Eternal Reclamation, Mo Xie stirred in meditation.
> "The boy dares to form pacts… with ancient spirits?"
He smiled coldly.
"Then I'll just have to reclaim what never belonged to him."