The sun was sinking.
From his perch high among the branches, David remained utterly motionless, his body pressed against the rough bark as the final light of day filtered through the forest canopy.
The valley below was drenched in burning amber and deep crimson, the dying sunlight stretching shadows long and thin across the clearing like grasping claws.
Below him, the battlefield no longer looked like a battlefield.
The remaining bulk of the Stonehide Boar was being devoured.
A pack of Bonechitters had claimed it.
They emerged from the tree line in hunched, skulking forms—hyena-like beasts with coarse gray-brown fur, sloped backs, and thick necks built to endure crushing force. Their eyes gleamed faintly in the dusk as they fed, jaws working with relentless efficiency.
Crrrk—crrk—crrk.
The sound was unmistakable.
Bone grinding against bone.
Bonechitters were classified as Tier 1 beasts, the lowest classification of monster existence. Within any realm, stages one to three were considered low-level, stages four to six mid-level, and stages seven to nine high-level.
Bonechitters hovered between Stage 1 and Stage 3—weak individually, barely worthy of a hunter's attention.
But in numbers?
They were nightmares to corpses.
They devoured everything.
Flesh vanished first—wet tearing sounds mixing with snarls as they fought over scraps. Tendons snapped. Ribs cracked. Tusks shattered with sharp snaps that echoed through the valley. Even skull fragments were chewed apart, their powerful jaws reducing the remains of the mighty Stonehide Boar into nothing but churned soil and dark stains.
No bone wasted. No scrap spared.
Their feeding frenzy further destroyed the ground, smearing blood deep into the soil, trampling footprints, breaking branches, and erasing any sign of human presence.
Within minutes, the clearing no longer looked like a place where a cultivator had fought.
It looked like nature.
David's gaze remained sharp as he observed everything—the rhythm of the Bonechitters' movements, the wind direction, the distant forest sounds adjusting to nightfall.
No sudden silence. No unnatural disturbance. No approaching presence.
Good.
Low-tier scavengers like these were perfect for erasing evidence. By dawn, even experienced trackers would only see signs of beasts killing beasts.
As the sun dipped further, the forest changed.
Insects grew quieter, replaced by faint nocturnal clicks. Shadows thickened. Colors dulled into layered greens and blacks. The temperature dropped slightly, cool air brushing against David's skin.
Then—
He felt it.
A controlled pressure, familiar and steady.
Anna.
She didn't return directly.
She circled wide, approaching from an oblique angle, her steps light yet deliberate. Her senses—honed by cultivation and sharpened by decades of survival—extended far beyond ordinary qi perception. She read disturbed leaves, broken twigs, scent trails, even subtle changes in airflow.
As she moved, Anna intentionally released a restrained cultivation aura.
It wasn't aggressive. It wasn't flashy.
But to low-level beasts, it was absolute.
A warning.
Tier 1 creatures froze, then scattered. A lurking predator deeper in the forest paused, instincts screaming danger, before retreating without hesitation.
David felt the aura brush past him and nodded inwardly.
She's pushing them away without causing a stampede… damn, that's experience.
Anna's gaze lifted.
She found him instantly.
With a smooth leap, she landed beside him on the branch. Leaves barely rustled. The branch didn't creak.
David turned to her.
"Mom," he asked quietly, voice low in the fading light, "did you find anything? Is it safe to camp?"
Anna scanned the surroundings once more—qi fluctuations, sound patterns, scent layers overlapping in her mind.
"No one is following us."
She paused briefly.
"lets Move Seven miles from here is Dense forest and Tall trees."
David nodded.
They left at once.
Anna led the way, her expression cold and focused. She avoided animal trails, altered their route subtly to break tracking logic, and adjusted paths based on wind direction and terrain softness.
By the time the last ember of sunset vanished behind distant peaks, the forest had grown deep and oppressive.
Ancient trees rose like pillars, their interlocked crowns blocking moonlight. Thick roots twisted through the ground like coiled beasts. Moss and damp earth muffled sound.
Anna stopped.
"This one."
A massive tree with wide roots and a natural hollow nearby—excellent cover, limited approach routes, clear sightlines.
"Set camp."
David moved efficiently.
He unfolded the camouflage tent, securing it between trunk and roots so it blended seamlessly into shadow and bark. He tightened the cords, ensuring no loose fabric could catch wind or moonlight.
Next came deterrents.
From a pouch, he removed steank-root powder processed from plants that grew in decomposing beast remains. He rubbed it onto branches and bark, then scattered the rest in a loose perimeter.
To humans, it was odorless. To Tier 1 beasts, it screamed decay and danger.
Worth ten coins. Worth every damn coin.
Only then did they enter the tent.
David lay down immediately.
Sleep took him fast.
As always.
Whenever camp was set, Anna ensured David rested first. Only after his breathing steadied did she allow herself to relax slightly, her senses still stretched outward, listening to the forest's rhythm.
Anna's fingers lightly pressed against David's abdomen for a few breaths longer.
She wasn't probing aggressively.
Just sensing.
The steady circulation of qi beneath her touch made her eyes narrow slightly.
Too steady.
David noticed the probe immediately woke up.
…She knows.
Anna withdrew her hand and sat back against the inner wall of the tent, crossing her arms. The dim light filtering through the camouflage fabric painted her sharp features in muted orange and gray.
"Your dantian is stable," she said slowly. "More than stable."
David scratched the back of his neck, a habit he had since childhood whenever he felt cornered.
"I didn't break through," he said. "I was careful."
"I know." Anna's voice was calm, but her gaze didn't soften. "That's exactly why I'm looking at you like this."
She let out a slow breath.
"You're at Qi Refining Stage Three," she continued. "Low-level of the realm. Stage One to Three is considered low. Four to Six is mid. Seven to Nine is high."
David nodded. He already knew this, but he listened anyway.
"You could step into Stage Four right now," Anna said. "Yet you didn't."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Why?"
David hesitated.
Not because he didn't have an answer.
But because the answer felt… heavy.
"If I rush," he said finally, voice quieter, "my foundation will be hollow. Power without control won't help me protect you."
Anna didn't respond immediately.
Inside, something stirred.
…He's thinking further ahead than he should at this age.
She looked at him again—really looked.
David wasn't tall yet, but his posture was straight. His eyes weren't those of a child who had grown too fast—they were those of someone who had learned, painfully, what being powerless meant.
Anna closed her eyes briefly.
When she opened them, her tone had softened.
"That instinct," she said, "is correct."
David relaxed a fraction.
"But," she added, eyes sharp again, "that doesn't explain where this qi came from."
David's fingers tightened slightly on his knee.
"The Stonehide Boar's core is untouched," Anna continued. "I checked your pack.
A Stage Four core cannot supply this amount of energy.
She leaned closer.
"So tell me," she said quietly, "what did you touch?"
David swallowed.
Inner thoughts churned.
If I lie… she'll know.
If I tell everything… she'll worry.
He chose a third path.
"I didn't absorb anything," he said. "Not directly. It's… part of the inheritance."
Anna's pupils contracted slightly.
"Inheritance," she repeated.
David nodded.
He paused, then added honestly, "Most of it is still sealed."
The tent went quiet.
Outside, a night insect chirped once, then stopped.
Anna studied him for a long moment.
Her mind raced.
A inheritance…
You told me that you didn't know anything.
Now you are telling me that you got a inheritance.
Yet David sat there breathing steadily, not arrogant, not panicked.
Just… controlled.
"You're growing," Anna said at last. "Faster than I expected."
David let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"But," she continued, squinting slightly, "you're also hiding things."
David gave a wry smile. "You always told me survival requires secrets."
A corner of Anna's mouth twitched despite herself.
"That advice wasn't meant for your mother," she said dryly.
Then her expression turned serious again.
"When you were sleeping," she said, "I examined you thoroughly. Every meridian. Every internal channel."
David stiffened slightly.
"And?" he asked.
"And I found nothing wrong," Anna said. "No hidden damage. No backlash. Your qi circulation is smoother than most mid-stage cultivators."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"That worries me."
David frowned. "Why?"
"Because power that comes too easily can rot the will," she said bluntly.
Then she raised a hand before he could respond.
"But you," she continued, "are different."
David blinked.
"You didn't heal recklessly," Anna said. "You left superficial wounds deliberately. You held your cultivation at Stage Three deliberately."
She shook her head slowly.
"That tells me you're not drunk on strength."
David felt warmth spread in his chest.
"Mom…" he began.
Anna interrupted.
"Now," she said, "about that movement technique."
David straightened instantly.
"The Void Step," he said, eyes lighting up despite himself.
Anna noticed.
"When you used it," she said, "your aura vanished for a fraction of a breath. That's not ordinary speed."
David nodded eagerly. "It feels like the space between points folds. But only for an instant. Any longer and my qi collapses."
Anna leaned back, thinking.
"Then listen carefully to my observation," she said.
David leaned forward unconsciously.
"Void Step is not for distance, not at your level," Anna said. "If you try to use it to run, you'll die exhausted."
She tapped the ground lightly.
"It's for angles. Blind spots. Moments where the enemy believes you cannot be."
David's mind raced, visualizing.
"So… not forward," he murmured, "but sideways. Or behind."
"Or half a step off," Anna confirmed. "Enough to dodge. Enough to strike. Enough to change fate."
She looked at him seriously.
"And never," she added, "use it twice in succession at your current level."
David grimaced. "I figured."
"You figured after nearly emptying your reserves," Anna said dryly.
David laughed quietly. "Yeah… that part sucked."
Anna reached out and flicked his forehead lightly.
"Idiot."
But there was relief in her eyes.
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Anna spoke again.
"For now," she said, "we will stay here a week. You stabilize your cultivation while training. No breakthroughs."
David nodded firmly.
She continued evenly,
"As for those pursuing us I'm certain they've already realized the tracks were fake."
David allowed a faint smile.
"They'll be stuck waiting in Beast Core Valley."
"Yes," Anna replied. "And this place is more than a hundred miles away."
She relaxed slightly.
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