The morning sun filtered through the paper windows, casting soft golden patterns on the wooden floor of Bai Tianlong's courtyard.
On the low table before him lay the Bai Clan Spellbook, Volume One — an ancient tome bound in beast-hide, its surface faintly warm to the touch. The thick, timeworn pages gave off the scent of ink and old parchment, carrying with them the weight of centuries.
This was no ordinary book.
It was a heritage of the Bai Clan — a compilation of the most refined and battle-tested elemental spells for cultivators in the Qi Condensation realm. It contained offensive arts, defensive techniques, and life-saving spells crafted by countless ancestors through trial, war, and blood.
Some of these techniques were so practical that even Foundation Establishment cultivators still kept them as trump cards. For wandering rogue cultivators without a solid heritage, owning a copy of this spellbook was worth risking one's life.
Bai Tianlong's fingers traced the inked characters. Each page radiated an orderly yet profound flow of qi, as though the spells themselves were breathing.
He had spent two days studying the contents, carefully weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each art.
Now, he had made his choice — five elemental spells to form the foundation of his path.
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The First Spell — Fire Element: Fireball
There was no hesitation in this choice. Fireball was a classic, one of the most direct and efficient offensive techniques. It was easy to learn yet infinitely scalable with power and control.
> "In the hands of a mage, simplicity becomes deadliness," Bai Tianlong murmured.
His plan was to refine it until it became more than just a ball of flame — a burning spear that could pierce through armor and bone alike.
The Second Spell — Water Element: Water Riding
There had been no competition for this slot. The Water Riding spell was unique — it allowed its user to walk, even run, across the surface of rivers and seas. While its speed wasn't extraordinary, the utility was unmatched. Crossing lakes, avoiding drowning, escaping over water — it could save a life a hundred times over.
The Third Spell — Earth Element: Earth Shield
A shield of condensed earth qi that could form instantly before the caster. It wasn't the strongest defensive art, but it was quick, reliable, and could be summoned in any terrain. In a duel, even a fraction of a second of protection could turn defeat into victory.
The Fourth Spell — Metal Element: Metal Enchantment
This was not a flashy spell. It was a technique that infused weapons with a metallic qi edge, sharpening blades to terrifying sharpness. In Bai Tianlong's hands, it could create temporary qi-forged swords of condensed metal energy. These could be used both at range and in close combat, a versatile option for a beast tamer who needed both reach and precision.
The Fifth Spell — Wood Element: Entanglement
Vines, roots, and branches bursting from the ground to trap an opponent. The spell's power depended heavily on the surrounding environment, and it was far less useful in barren terrain. But Bai Tianlong already had a plan for that — in the future, he would learn techniques to rapidly grow plants and seeds, creating his own battlefield wherever he went.
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Bai Tianlong leaned back and closed the tome. The five spells formed a perfect balance — offense, defense, mobility, and control. It wasn't the most powerful set, but it was practical for survival, especially in the unpredictable mortal realm.
He placed the spellbook beside him, took a deep breath, and began channeling qi into his meridians, preparing to inscribe the first patterns of Fireball into his soul-sea.
This was the first step. From here, the five elements would become five paths — and he would walk them all.
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Bai Tianlong sat cross-legged beneath the shade of an old pine, circulating his qi and refining the basic patterns of the Fireball spell into his meridians.
Far away from the Bai Clan's island sanctuary, beneath the glittering waters of the surrounding sea, a pair of eyes glowed faintly in the dim light.
White Fang had entered the hunt again.
The young beast swam effortlessly through the water, scales gleaming faintly with a silver-white luster. Its sharp eyes caught every flicker of movement, every shift in the current. At this moment, it was facing its chosen prey — a serpent-type demon beast at the Peak of Early Qi Condensation, equivalent to the 3rd stage of Qi Condensation in human cultivation.
The two circled each other in the water, coils tightening, tails flicking. The opponent was longer and heavier, its dark-green scales reflecting the filtered sunlight above, but White Fang's movements were sharper, almost cutting through the water like a blade.
With a sudden snap of its tail, White Fang lunged forward.
Its Water Surge skill activated, a burst of speed that made its body blur in the deep. The enemy serpent struck back with a head-on collision, fangs glinting.
At the last moment, White Fang twisted, avoiding the bite and countering with Piercing Fang, its teeth sinking into the softer flesh behind the enemy's head. The opponent thrashed violently, but White Fang's grip only tightened.
The larger serpent coiled around it in desperation, attempting to crush White Fang's body — but with a pulse of qi, Tail Whip struck, shattering the hold and creating an opening.
White Fang dove under its prey, circling once, and then struck upward, its fangs laced with a faint electric spark. The Thunder Fang technique hit true. The enemy convulsed, shuddered… and finally went limp.
White Fang released its bite and watched the serpent sink.
A faint golden shimmer appeared before its eyes — the hunt had been successful.
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[Evolution Points Gained: +3]
Current Evolution Points: 53 / 1000
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Bai Tianlong's system interface showed the update. He had already studied the point-gain pattern, and it was straightforward — though frustrating.
For hunting beasts of the same realm and same minor stage, the gain was 1 point.
Each minor stage above the prey's current level increased the base points by +1.
A difference in minor stages (Early → Mid → Late → Peak) granted a ×2 multiplier.
A difference in realm tiers granted an even greater ×2 multiplier per realm gap.
This meant the current hunt — a 3rd stage Early Qi Condensation beast — gave a flat 3 points with no multiplier, since it was of the same realm and only a slightly higher stage.
But if White Fang had hunted a 4th stage Mid Qi Condensation beast, it would have been 4 base points ×2 minor-stage multiplier = 8 points.
And if it had been a 7th stage Late Qi Condensation beast, the gain would explode — 7 ×2 minor-stage ×2 realm gap = 28 points from a single battle.
White Fang didn't care for numbers, but Bai Tianlong understood the math — and it was clear that the road to the next evolution was going to be brutal.
From 53 points, he still needed 947 more.
The challenge was only beginning.
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