— SHADOWS OF THE PAST, FLAMES OF THE FUTURE
Night had settled over the Hengyuan residence, quiet and heavy like a blanket draped across the world. Lantern light flickered along the wooden corridors, casting long shadows that swayed with each passing breeze.
Lei Wei sat alone in the courtyard, cross-legged beneath an ancient spirit maple tree. Its leaves glimmered faintly—not with light, but with absorbed qi.
A while ago (patriarch of the family: it's getting late u should go and prepare for training,i will send an elder to train u for three months to help u breakthrough seed spirit mid stage ,"sighed").
He pressed his palm against his chest.
Deep inside, hidden beneath layers of bone and meridians… something faint thrummed.
A fragment of him.
The ancient presence that had awakened inside him during the desperate moment at the outer district.
The same fragment that unleashed a terrifying force, then collapsed into silence afterward, drained of all energy.
Now, it slept like a dying ember.
Lei Wei closed his eyes, trying to sense it.
Nothing.
Then… a flicker.
A weak, heartbeat-like pulse.
He exhaled slowly.
"So you're still there."
Memories of that moment flashed through him—the burning golden vision, the voice that wasn't a voice, the overwhelming wave of power that had felt both foreign… and intimately his.
He knew instinctively:
If he reached Veinforge, the fragment might awaken again.
It needed stronger meridians. Stronger body. Stronger qi.
Without breakthrough—no chance.
Without the Meridian Tempering Pill—breakthrough was nearly impossible in three months.
Without defeating Baiye Zhen—no pill.
Without training—no victory.
Everything connected, forming a chain that tightened around him.
He clenched his fists.
"I have to win.
For myself…
and for that sleeping part of me."
---
ELDER YUN'S UNEXPECTED ANNOUNCEMENT
Footsteps approached from behind.
Lei Wei opened his eyes.
Elder Yun stood there, his robe swaying, expression unusually serious.
"You're not sleeping," he said.
"I couldn't."
A moment of silence drifted.
Then Elder Yun spoke quietly, "Lei Wei… I will be leaving for some time."
Lei Wei's eyes widened. "Leaving? Now?"
Elder Yun nodded grimly.
"I've received a message. Something… old. Something that should have stayed buried."
He looked up at the moon.
"It seems my past has finally caught up with me."
Lei Wei frowned.
"Is it dangerous?"
Elder Yun smiled faintly. "For me? Always."
He turned, looking directly at Lei Wei for the first time in a long while.
"Do you remember the scar on my left shoulder? The one I never explained?"
Lei Wei nodded.
"That scar came from a man I once considered a brother. A man I once fought alongside. A man stronger than me even now."
Elder Yun's eyes darkened.
"It's time I finally settle things with him."
"Who is he?" Lei Wei asked.
Elder Yun shook his head.
"You don't need to know… not yet. When the time is right, you will."
The wind rustled, carrying a faint metallic scent.
Elder Yun reached into his sleeve and handed Lei Wei a small jade tablet.
Light blue. Cold. Pulsing faintly.
"As I leave, I won't give you empty blessings. Instead… I give you a technique I created in my youth."
He placed the jade in Lei Wei's palm.
"Finger of God."
A shiver ran through Lei Wei's body.
"This technique has five stages.
Even the first stage can shatter mountains—
BUT only after you reach Veinforge."
Lei Wei looked up sharply.
"Why?"
"Because your meridians now are far too weak. If you try to use it before Veinforge…"
The old man smirked slightly.
"You might blow your arm off."
"Ah."
"Ah indeed."
Elder Yun clasped Lei Wei's shoulder.
"When you reach Veinforge… the jade will teach you Stage One.
The rest will come only when you're ready."
There was a pause.
Then Elder Yun added softly:
"We will meet again. When fate decides it's time."
He stepped back.
"Until then… live well, boy."
And with a whirl of his cloak, Elder Yun vanished into the night—leaving behind only drifting leaves and a lingering weight of unspoken history.
---
THE TRAINER ARRIVES
Dawn broke.
Lei Wei was midway through practicing his breathing patterns when a powerful presence descended outside the courtyard.
A deep voice boomed:
"Where is the boy who dared to block Baiye Zhen with nothing but his bare hand?"
Lei Wei blinked.
Hengyuan Su appeared from the walkway.
"He's here, Elder Bo."
An elder stepped into view—a tall, stern man with long bronze hair tied behind him, and a cold, disciplined aura that made the air sharpen.
Hengyuan Bo.
Veinforge Early Stage.
Martial Elder of the Hengyuan Clan.
So this was the man tasked to train him.
Bo looked Lei Wei up and down.
"Spirit Seed Early… and yet you repelled Zhen. Interesting."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"You will train under me for three months.
I don't care if you bleed, cry, collapse, or crawl—
you WILL stand back up.
Do you understand?"
Lei Wei nodded. "I do."
"Good. Now follow me."
---
THE TRAINING BEGINS
The training ground lay within a secluded forest area at the back of the Hengyuan compound—dense trees, thick mist, spiritual beasts lurking between shadows.
Lei Wei spent the first day sparring with weighted wooden dummies, each strike sending shocks through his bones.
The second day, Elder Bo dropped him deep inside the forest.
"Fight."
"Fight what?" Lei Wei asked.
Elder Bo simply pointed.
A roar shook the trees.
A massive Crimson-Eyed Bear emerged, fangs gleaming.
"Oh."
"Don't die," Bo added.
Lei Wei barely did.
---
THE FRAGMENT STIRS
Days turned to weeks.
Each battle tempered his bones.
Each meditation strengthened his meridians.
Each injury honed something raw inside him.
By the end of the first month, he reached Spirit Seed Mid Stage.
During one night, as Lei Wei sat cultivating beneath the moon…
A sudden pulse exploded from his core.
The sleeping fragment inside him glowed faintly—like a sun wrapped in fog.
His veins screamed.
His qi surged violently, breaking through the bottleneck in a single breath.
He wasn't ascending to Mid-stage.
He SKIPPED it.
Straight into Spirit Seed Late Stage.
Qi stormed through his body, reforging his meridians with unnatural speed.
Lei Wei gasped, sweat pouring down his brow.
"Wh… what is this…"
The fragment pulsed again—
like a whisper:
Grow. Faster.
Then it faded back into slumber.
Elder Bo, who was watching from afar, nearly dropped his teacup.
"That… that's not normal. Impossible. This kid… what kind of monster is he?"
His eyes narrowed as he stared at Lei Wei.
"No wonder Tian wants him protected.
This boy… he'll shake the earth one day."
He inhaled slowly.
"And perhaps… even rival the Five Rulers of the Earth Realm."
For the first time, Elder Bo bowed his head respectfully toward his student.
"This era… is about to change."