— THE QUIET BEFORE THE STORM
The night winds had barely settled when Elder Bo stormed into the main hall, expression heavy with disbelief. Patriarch Hengyuan Tian looked up from the scrolls in front of him.
"What happened?" he asked calmly.
Elder Bo took a breath.
"He… broke through."
Tian frowned. "Mid-stage already?"
Bo shook his head.
"Late stage."
The room fell silent.
The patriarch slowly placed the scroll down. His eyebrow twitched.
"…Late?"
Bo nodded stiffly, as if still questioning his own reality.
"He was cultivating… and suddenly his qi burst like a cyclone. It wasn't forced, it wasn't unstable. It was as if his body was prepared for it long before. I've never seen anything like it."
Patriarch Tian stood.
His aura—refined, vast, belonging to someone at the Veinforge Late Stage—flickered with surprise.
"A Spirit Seed cultivator skipping a whole substage…?" he muttered. "Even prodigies of the Five Great Sects cannot achieve this without heaven-grade resources…"
His eyes sharpened.
"That boy—Lei Wei—he hides too many secrets."
But then Tian smiled faintly.
"And I like that."
---
A MONTH OF TEMPERING
For the next few weeks, the Hengyuan compound grew used to the sound of thunderous roars, clashing qi, and Elder Bo shouting:
"AGAIN!"
Every day, Lei Wei ran through forests, fought beasts, sparred with puppets, and meditated atop cold stone peaks until dawn.
And every night, he felt the fragment inside him… breathing.
Not awake.
Not active.
But watching.
Almost as if guiding him silently.
---
NEW TECHNIQUES, NEW FOUNDATIONS
One afternoon, Elder Bo summoned him to a secluded courtyard.
"You've built enough strength," Bo said. "Now it's time to learn something more… refined."
Bo raised his hand.
Qi rippled, forming a swirling barrier around his palm.
"This is Absolute Counter."
The barrier suddenly folded inward, condensed, then burst outward in the opposite direction with twice the force.
Boom!
The ground cracked.
Lei Wei's eyes widened. "This…!? It reverses attacks?"
"As long as you have enough qi to match the incoming force," Bo said. "If the opponent attacks with ten units of power, you use ten. The technique will convert theirs into a rebound."
"It sounds simple," Lei Wei said.
Bo smirked. "And that is why it's hard. You must feel the attack. Measure it instantly. There is no error allowed. One miscalculation… and your bones will turn to powder."
Lei Wei inhaled deeply.
"Let's start."
Bo grinned.
"Good. Try not to die."
---
BONDS WITHIN THE CLAN
Between training sessions, Lei Wei often encountered the siblings—Hengyuan Su and her brother Hengyuan Ren.
Su brought him food, scolding him gently when he looked half-dead from training.
"You need more rest," she said, placing a hot bowl in his hands.
"I'll rest if I survive Bo's training," he muttered.
She laughed softly, her eyes bright. "You will."
Ren, the boy whose life Lei Wei saved, treated him like a brother from that day on.
"Come on, I'll show you the hidden orchard! The fruits help recovery!"
Lei Wei smiled. "Lead the way."
Gradually, the distance between them faded.
The girl's shyness melted.
The boy's admiration grew.
They talked.
They trained.
They laughed.
And for the first time since entering the sect, Lei Wei felt something unfamiliar.
Belonging.
---
TIME SLIPS AWAY
One evening, as Lei Wei practiced Absolute Counter with a stone puppet firing energy blasts—
Boom!
Crack!
Smash!
—he wiped sweat from his brow.
"How much time?" he asked.
Elder Bo looked at the sky.
"3 months has passed."
Lei Wei froze.
That meant
Bo added. "Your duel against Baiye Zhen is in… three days."
Lei Wei tightened his fists.
Three days.
Everything he had done—
Every wound—
Every drop of blood—
Every night he spent pushing his limits—
All leading to this.
The future of a girl.
The honor of a clan.
The fragment inside him.
His own path forward into Veinforge.
Elder Bo stepped closer.
"Boy."
Lei Wei turned.
Bo looked at him with an expression he rarely used.
Respect.
"You have grown faster than anyone I've ever taught. But your opponent is not weak. Zhen is the Baiye heir for a reason."
Lei Wei nodded. "I know."
"Good." Bo exhaled. "Your foundation is in place. Your qi is stable. Your mind is steady. The only thing left is—"
He pointed at Lei Wei's chest.
"—your will."
Lei Wei lowered his head.
"My will is already decided."
Bo smirked.
"Then go rest. And prepare. In three days… your name will either rise—
or be forgotten."
Lei Wei turned.
"No," he said quietly.
Bo raised a brow.
"I will not rise."
Lei Wei's eyes blazed with determination.
"I will dominate."