A young man with handsome features and clear eyes, which revealed no trace of malice, sat cross-legged on a patch of earth, his head resting against a tree. In his hands, he held a ring with a grayish metallic surface, upon which two symbols were engraved: a dragon and a phoenix.
Above him, the night sky was dark, the only light coming from the full moon and the stars, scattered like a beautiful constellation. Mysteriously, faint particles drifted down from the celestial bodies, descending toward Yu Jing.
As they reached him, the mysterious power was absorbed through the pores of his body and directed into his dantian, where it was refined into a small stream of blue energy that flowed toward his arms.
With this current of energy coursing through his veins, Yu Jing nourished the mysterious ring, which proved to be quite greedy, devouring the power from his hands with great haste.
"When will you be satisfied? It's been two years already!"
Yu Jing exclaimed, a little irritated. Ever since he had found the ring two years ago while exploring the shrouds, he had been nourishing it night after night.
He was exhausted. By day, he had to continue his normal cultivation, and at night, he fed the ring. To avoid dying from mental exhaustion, he was forced to buy spiritual pills that repaired the mind, warding off sleep.
These pills cost ten contribution points each. To earn them, Yu Jing worked like a beast of burden, completing missions and hunting monsters.
Even more draining than the loss of sleep, the only reason he bore this burden was the hope that the ring was truly the treasure of a Martial Dao expert. Otherwise, he would have discarded it long ago.
"Ring, don't disappoint me."
He prayed silently in his heart and continued the nightly routine, which lasted until dawn.
As the stars faded and the sky began to turn gray, Yu Jing sighed.
He had lost yet another night in vain, leaving him downcast for a moment, though he quickly recovered.
He was used to such failures.
"Tonight I'll try again. If it isn't enough, I'll try tomorrow. If it still doesn't work, I'll try the day after that, and so on. Failure will not shake my Dao Heart, nor the hope I carry within."
With an unshakable mind, Yu Jing stopped cultivating and was about to put the mysterious ring away. But before he could, his hands grew hot. The metallic surface of the ring suddenly warmed on its own.
He was stunned. Startled, he let go of the ring, yet it did not fall to the ground as expected. Instead, it floated in the air and ignited with living flames. Soon, its metallic surface was replaced by a blazing ring of fire.
The sight before Yu Jing left him even more astonished, his eyes trembling.
He remained frozen for ten seconds—something unprecedented for someone who usually recovered quickly from any event in his life.
"The ring has opened! I did it!"
After disbelief came elation. Yu Jing's trembling eyes brimmed with joy.
Only he knew the hardships he had endured over the past two years. For him, this moment was a reward for his persistence in never giving up.
"Could it be that my journey on the Martial Dao is finally about to begin?"
At the thought, Yu Jing grew even more excited.
Ever since he embarked on martial cultivation, he had harbored a single goal: to reach the summit.
Not for fame, power, or status, but purely out of curiosity.
What lies at the end of the Martial Dao?
Is it possible for a human to truly reach the pinnacle?
These were the questions that had followed him since the very beginning of his path.
But, because of his mediocre talent, finding the answers was impossible. Talent was a barrier imposed by the Martial Dao. Without the opportunity to enhance it, no one could go far. Many persistent cultivators had spent their entire lives trying to break this limitation, yet none succeeded.
Yu Jing, who believed himself destined to mediocrity, had instead stumbled upon the chance to obtain the mysterious ring.
Now, whether he could go far in his pursuit of discovery depended entirely on this fateful encounter.
With destiny at stake, Yu Jing could not take his eyes off the ring, which radiated such intense heat that it was difficult to endure, even for one who had already begun cultivation.
Retreat?
He did not. Even as sweat poured from his body and the fabric of his robe began to melt, he stood firm, resisting with nothing but his physical body.
Minutes later, the flames intensified further, scattering sparks into the air.
Amid his resistance, Yu Jing stood over a pool of his own sweat, his torso bare, his tongue lolling, revealing his immense exhaustion and struggle to breathe.
"Stand tall!"
With a cry resounding from his very consciousness, he refused to yield. His once-clear eyes now shone with surreal determination as they locked onto the ring, which continued to blaze ever hotter.
Until, finally, it erupted into two flames: one crimson, forming the figure of a dragon, and the other orange, taking the shape of a phoenix.
"Majestic…"
It was the only thought Yu Jing could muster, finding the figures utterly divine—existences from which he could not avert his gaze.
Before his awestruck eyes, the figures began to move. Their speed was so great that in an instant they crossed the space between them and, like twin bolts of lightning, crashed directly into Yu Jing's forehead.
He did not react. He only blinked, and the next moment, a piercing pain seared through his skull as blood trickled down before his eyes.
Terror flooded his being.
He tried to scream, but could not—his voice was blocked by some force.
He tried to move, but failed—his body was paralyzed, as though struck by a brain seizure.
The only thing he could do was think.
"What is happening?"
He could not comprehend a thing. When he tried to reason, the pain in his head worsened, making thought nearly impossible.
Soon, Yu Jing was plunged into torture, suffering in agony, unable to do anything but endure in silence.
Even with his strong mentality, it was far too much for his young body. Unable to bear it, he fainted.
…
"I'm alive?"
Yu Jing, his head heavy, opened his eyes with difficulty. Above him stretched a blue sky filled with clouds, the sun shining brightly over the land.
"I'm not dead…"
He let out a sigh of relief and forced himself to rise. But as he stood, dizziness overwhelmed him, the world spinning.
"My eyes…"
Quickly, Yu Jing shut them and staggered blindly. Luckily, he was still in the same place, and soon managed to lean against the same tree that had supported him the night before. He waited patiently for the torment to subside.
Feeling better, he tried standing again. This time, it wasn't as hard. After a few steps, he returned to where he had been and leaned his head against the trunk.
"What happened last night? Where is the ring? And what were those beings that entered my skull?"
At the last thought, he touched his forehead. Finding no wound there, he felt some relief, though the doubts remained.
Moving to the second question, he was shocked when, at the mere thought of the ring, it appeared in his hand.
"Did it fuse with me? Has it recognized me as its master?"
With that idea, Yu Jing felt that his suffering had been worthwhile.
"No… not really. I'm no masochist."
He shook his head, brushing away the intrusive thought.
"It's time to see what secrets this mysterious ring holds."
Clearing his mind, he prepared to finally uncover the mystery that had tormented him for so long.
To be continued…
📖 New book. If you enjoyed it, add it to your library.