Chapter 44: A New Shadow Over Lei
Wu Yuan knelt in the shifting green shadows, sticky with the sweat and blood of survival, hidden from the predators of the sacred forest. The ancient tree's thick trunk held him upright as exhaustion clawed at mind and muscle, but for now, he was transfixed by something else—a spectacle only he could see:
The system's store.
A single flip of his mental will opened windows within windows, hovering in translucent layers before his eyes. They flickered with such abundance he nearly forgot the sting in his battered fists.
He frowned as he scrolled. The new Space Ring section had not only unlocked, but flourished with dizzying options—each more extravagant than the last.
"Space Rings: Basic—1,000 SP."
He squinted, jaw flexing. "A thousand just for a glorified storage box. And that's only the beginning."
More expensive ones glittered with promises Wu Yuan found hard to believe, even with his own experience of this world's absurdity. Some claimed to hold whole tower complexes, battlefields, or hidden moonlit lakes sealed in timeless stasis. The cost for those spiraled into the hundreds of thousands, millions, and beyond, with names hinting at fabled powers: Seal of the Void Emperor, Star-Swallowing Treasury, Dreamworld Shell.
He didn't dare click further.
"I barely crossed 1,000 SP, and you're showing me rings worth more than a kingdom…" Wu Yuan shook his head and laughed bitterly. "No wonder it was hidden all this time."
Still, his expression didn't stay bitter for long. He looked at his current total—1,254 SP—and smiled.
"I really thought I was rich," he chuckled hoarsely, shaking his head. "But the system just spat on my pride. That's how it is, huh? There's always another mountain."
For a long moment, he slumped against the ancient tree's bark, letting harsh reality settle. The feeling of sudden poverty was strangely grounding—a rude reminder that for every step he had taken, a thousand more stretched ahead.
He re-centered himself. "Stay humble. Never forget what it took to crawl here."
After the surreal store menu faded, a sharper sense of survival took hold. Wu Yuan fumbled at his belt, pulling forth another treasure—a simple jade ring, streaked with old blood: Lei Hanwu's ring.
He traced his thumb along the jade, remembering the man's sneer, the raw lightning he'd channelled—a memory as much pain as triumph.
"You were so certain you would win. Now all that's left is this."
This one is more than enough for now. I hadn't even finished exploring its contents.
He tried, with cautious optimism, to probe the ring, with all the methods he can think of. But the jade was unyielding. No matter how gently, how fiercely, he tried, he was locked out.
"No need to get greedy just yet."
A sigh escaped him. "More secrets for another day." He pocketed the ring, letting it rest—a challenge waiting for later, when he was smarter and stronger. For now, it was just a memento. Or a promise.
Wu Yuan's gaze drifted to the store's Clothing tab—his curiosity piqued. Why not? He already looked like a beggar; comfort, even at a cost, felt necessary.
Seeing the options, Wu Yuan was truly shocked.
It wasn't just Wu Clan clothing—every type was available, from servant-level uniforms to the Clan Head's ceremonial robes. But that wasn't all. Clothes from other clans he had seen so far were also listed. And even more absurdly, the store had outfits that matched the designs from his previous life—everything he had seen or worn back then.
"…This system really knows how to adjust itself based on my experiences."
In the end, he bought a set of clothes identical to what he was currently wearing, just to test the waters. It cost him 50 SP.
"A money-burning system," he muttered.
But once he tried them on, his eyes narrowed in surprise. The fabric was much smoother than the standard Wu Clan cloth, more comfortable against his skin, and subtly reinforced—it had a faint defensive strength, not enough to compare with armor, but easily surpassing typical mortal garments. It reminded him of the protective gear used by mortal guards in his past life.
A wry smile softened the lines on his young but battered face.
Wu Yuan finally allowed his body to truly settle under the tree's thickest shadow, counting his blessings as the Jadeflesh Pill's healing radiance worked its silent wonder. Pain ebbed and retreated from the deep gashes across his ribs and arm. Swelling subsided. The sensation was delicious—a cool tide that dulled the echo of claws and fangs.
He didn't sleep—he couldn't afford to. Instead, he kept a silent watch on his surroundings, alert and cautious despite his exhaustion.
Only after five hours did his body feel whole again. The pain had faded, the strain was gone—he was finally fully recovered.
Once his wounds had healed, Wu Yuan was immediately struck by a sharp wave of hunger.
He hadn't eaten since yesterday—and while cultivation strengthened the body, even Body Tempering cultivators needed food. His body had endured too much without rest or nourishment. Without delay, he jumped down and began searching for something edible. Time to find food.
After wandering for a while through the sparse forest, he finally spotted a few fruit-bearing trees. The fruits weren't anything special—just wild mountain produce—but they were fresh and enough to fill his belly.
With that, Wu Yuan satisfied his hunger and wiped his mouth, feeling more alive than he had in hours.
"Better than any banquet in the clan's dining hall," he chuckled softly, licking a sticky finger before setting off deeper into the forest.
Now, his true adventure in Greenveil Grove had begun.
Sunlight cut dazzling lines through the dense canopy as Wu Yuan trekked deeper into Greenveil Grove. Every sense was alert—muscle, spirit, and mind taut and focused not from terror now, but from keen anticipation.
His healing nearly complete and his stomach no longer empty, Wu Yuan was ready to begin a new chapter in his training. No more desperate running from one death's door to another. Now, he would test the full extent of the power he'd forged on the edge of survival.
Beasts haunted Greenveil—he knew that well by now, and the forest quickly proved itself. The first to appear was a barrel-chested, ox-horned gorilla—its silver fur bristling, single eye clouded from some old fighter's wound. It snarled and charged, but Wu Yuan—remembering the patterns of Lei Hanwu's ferocity—stood his ground.
He let the creature strike first, deflecting a wild paw with practiced precision, then pivoted low and struck its exposed neck with the reinforced edge of his palm. The beast crashed down, stunned to unconsciousness in seconds.
Wu Yuan nodded, not savoring the kill, but studying the movements—his own, and that of the fallen beast.
Two more Spirit Initiation Realm creatures, each progressively larger and more cunning, tested him over the next hours—wolf-bears whose howls rattled the pines, a striped panther that slithered from the shadows with greedy eyes.
Wu Yuan dispatched them all, his confidence building with every measured blow, every dodge and feint. He was still careful; he did not waste energy, did not risk injury for pride. Never again, he vowed, after all that pain.
His tally grew—three early-level, two mid-level beasts, their pelts already starting to rot by the time night fell.
The system's chilly logic became clear.
[Early Spirit Initiation Beasts Defeated: +60 SP. Mid Spirit Initiation Beasts: +50 SP. Total: +110 SP.]
He clicked his tongue, neither pleased nor angered. "No more easy handouts. You want suffering, you want risk… fine, I'll show you both if I must."
Wu Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"Huh… the rewards are lower than before. So the system's adjusting based on my current strength now?"
He wasn't too surprised. Back when he'd fought at a disadvantage—injured, exhausted, and desperate—the system had rewarded him generously. But now, with each battle handled smoothly, it seemed the system valued effort and danger, not just results.
As night fell, Wu Yuan carefully searched the forest for a safe resting spot. After some time, he found a narrow, half-hidden cave nestled between thick roots and moss-covered rocks. It was empty and secluded—perfect.
Without wasting time, he entered and began cultivating.
Throughout the night, Wu Yuan consumed five Spark Essence Pills, one after another. Each pill surged through his body like crackling lightning, pushing his body refinement to new limits. By the time dawn approached, the results were undeniable.
[Body Tempering Realm – Level 12 (High-Grade)]
His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
"Just a little more…" he muttered, veins glowing faintly under his skin.
Not even two full days had passed since his breakthrough to Level 12, and now he was at high-grade peak. If any cultivator from Wu City learned of this speed, their jaws would hit the ground. This was beyond monstrous—it defied the norms of cultivation itself.
But while Wu Yuan meditated in peaceful isolation, back in Wu City, restlessness gripped the Lei Clan courtyard.
Two nights had gone by since Lei Hanwu had left, and there had been no word. No messenger. No signal. Nothing.
At first, the elders assumed he was training. But now, unease had settled into their bones like a cold wind.
"This… isn't normal."
"He should've returned last night, at the very least."
Suspicion and tension simmered under the surface. No one dared voice the worst possibility aloud—but everyone felt it.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
With no word from Lei Hanwu and unease mounting, the Lei Clan could no longer sit idle.
"Search. Quietly. If the Wu Clan is involved, they must not learn we suspect anything."
They reached out through hidden channels to the Jiang Clan—their erstwhile puppets in this city. Discreet inquiries went out: clandestine questions at each city gate, in every inn, every caravan and tea shop.
Only the thinnest of rumors returned: a lone young man, tiger-eyed and swift, slipping from the city's north gate in the dawn light—heading east. Nothing more. Even their bribes for more precise information yielded only nervous shrugs.
The atmosphere in the Lei Clan's temporary courtyard turned grim. Their patience had run dry.
They left Wu City.
A group of Lei juniors and two elders fanned out, scouring the outskirts. For an entire day, they combed forests, hills, and every possible path.
Only by nightfall, after a full day of exhausting search, did they finally reach the outer fringes of Greenveil Grove.
There—beneath a jagged rock formation—they found it.
Shredded fabric, torn and bloodstained.
Nearby, a patch of dried blood painted the grass dark. Scattered fragments of bone and flesh, some barely identifiable, were tangled amidst claw marks and what looked like the remnants of beast feeding.
No sign of life.
No corpse intact.
Just pieces.
The searchers froze, their faces first white, then green.
One junior, sturdy but not yet hardened to such horror, doubled over and vomited.
Even the elders—seasoned cultivators hardened by battle—were silent for a long, suffocating moment.
Then, one of them spoke in a voice like cold iron:
"This… was Lei Hanwu's robe."
The implication was clear.
Lei Hanwu was dead.
And whoever—or whatever—had done this had left no clean end.
The Lei Clan's worst fear had become reality… and someone would have to answer for it.
Across the wide world, fate shifted, as one more stone was thrown into the cauldron.