The night of Feng Xieyun's fifth birthday was one his soul would never forget.
Incense curled in thin white smoke across his chamber, carrying the scent of sandalwood and phoenix grass. Outside, the old pine tree swayed against a silvered sky. Inside, the air thickened until it seemed the heavens themselves pressed down upon the boy's body.
Then the voice came.
> [Quest Complete: Qi Sense Awakened.]
[Reward Issued: Heavenly Demon Scripture, First Seal.]
Crimson light flared within his chest. His tiny frame arched, his fingers clawing into the bed sheets as if lightning had struck him from within. Veins burned red, glowing faintly beneath his skin. Symbols—dark, jagged runes—etched themselves across the canvas of his mind, each one searing like molten iron.
Pain and revelation twined together. His lungs heaved; his soul screamed. Yet he endured.
When the torrent calmed, fragments of knowledge crystallized in his consciousness:
Demon Qi Absorption — the forbidden art of devouring impurities, refining what others cast aside.
Soul Memory Lock — the power to seal memories, to keep his Earthly past sharp and untainted.
Karmic Echo — the faintest ripple, a warning whenever killing intent brushed against his life-thread.
He collapsed, drenched in sweat, chest rising and falling like a smith's bellows. He was still only a child—frail, breakable. But within his soul, a furnace now burned.
"In my past life," he whispered hoarsely, "kindness chained me. In this life, I will carve a path no one dares block."
Unseen, the pine branches outside shivered though no wind blew. And somewhere far beyond mortal skies, the Demon Sovereign stirred from meditation, his eyes narrowing toward the lower realms.
---
The following days blurred with strange turns of fate.
The emissary from the Lin Clan had departed, but his shadow lingered. The very next morning, the Azure Heaven Pavilion sent envoys, seeking to recruit promising children from noble families. The Pavilion was respected—one of the continent's great sects, known for nurturing mortal-born geniuses.
Lin Fei saw opportunity. "Within their halls, he may be safer. Even the Lin Clan would hesitate to reach into the Pavilion's inner sanctum."
Feng Li hesitated but relented. "If it gives him protection… then so be it."
Thus, at five years old, Feng Xieyun was pledged to the Pavilion.
---
The Pavilion's training grounds lay across the Greencloud Plains, a vast expanse of jade-green grassland and crystal rivers. Its entrance was marked by twin statues of qilin, their horns inlaid with runes that pulsed faintly at passing disciples.
Xieyun arrived with other children, most ranging between six and eight, some already demonstrating the raw vigor of awakened Qi. He appeared the youngest, his frame delicate, his face pale and calm. Many dismissed him at a glance.
"Too small," one boy snickered. "He'll be eaten alive before the first trial."
Another girl smirked. "Best he learns to pour tea instead of hold a sword."
Xieyun lowered his eyes, his lips curling into a faint, practiced smile. Inside, the System whispered:
> [Daily Task: Conceal cultivation progress completely during inspection.]
[Reward: Shadow Veil Technique.]
The Pavilion elders tested each child. One by one, boys and girls placed their palms against a jade pillar that glowed in response to their Qi. Shouts of "Third Stage Qi Condensation!" or "Innate Spirit Root!" filled the air. Parents boasted, children preened.
When Xieyun's turn came, whispers spread. "He's only five…"
He placed his hand upon the pillar. For a heartbeat, it trembled. His Dao Bone surged like a storm. Crimson light nearly cracked through the veil.
Then the System tightened chains around his aura.
The pillar flickered once, then dimmed to nothing.
The elder frowned. "Hm. No reaction. A mortal child?"
Disappointment rippled through the crowd. Snickers followed.
Lin Fei's hands clenched, but Xieyun only lowered his head, his expression meek. Inside, his thoughts burned. Let them laugh. Masks are sharper than swords.
That night, the System rewarded him.
> [Quest Complete: Concealment Successful.]
[Reward: Shadow Veil Technique Acquired.]
---
Years trickled onward within the Pavilion.
By day, Xieyun played the role of a slow, ordinary boy. He struggled with sword drills, feigned clumsiness during Qi circulation lessons, endured the mockery of peers with quiet smiles.
By night, he devoured the Heavenly Demon Scripture. While others refined Qi in drops, he absorbed torrents, purifying them with the Dao Bone's hunger. When others stumbled at bottlenecks, he advanced silently, his cultivation surging unseen.
At seven, he mastered the Shadow Veil, his aura indistinguishable from mortals. At eight, he refined the first Demon Art—Blood Thread Bind, a technique that could coil from his fingertips like silk to snare prey. At nine, his Karmic Echo sharpened, warning him of malice with whispers of crimson.
He lived two lives: one of masks, one of truth.
---
Yet the Pavilion was no haven of peace. Rivalries bloomed like weeds.
A boy named Xu Liang became his most persistent tormentor—tall, broad-shouldered, already at the Fourth Stage Qi Condensation by nine years old. Xu Liang mocked him openly, called him "stone-faced mouse," pushed him to the ground during sparring.
One evening, Xu Liang cornered him near the training fields, laughter spilling from his lips. "Useless trash! You don't belong in the Pavilion."
Xieyun looked up, his eyes calm, his smile faint. Inside, his Karmic Echo shivered—a warning. Xu Liang's malice was no longer childish teasing.
He wants to cripple me, Xieyun realized.
But he did not strike back. Not yet. The mask must hold.
"Perhaps you are right," he said softly, bowing his head. His tone was humble, submissive. Xu Liang sneered and walked away, triumphant.
Only when alone did Xieyun's smile change—curving into something sharp. Patience. The longer the prey struts, the easier the fall.
The System whispered:
> [Special Task: First Kill Opportunity Detected.]
[Condition: Eliminate threat without revealing cultivation.]
[Reward: Heavenly Demon Scripture, Second Seal Fragment.]
His eyes darkened. At ten years old, the mask of harmlessness was still intact. But behind it, the path of blood was already opening.
---