Chapter 1 — The Path of the Three Paths**
The world is no longer simple.
Decades ago, when the first rift tore open the sky above the Earth, everything changed. From that moment on, three paths of power defined human existence.
The first is the **Path of Cultivation**. Originating from an ancient Chinese tradition, cultivators awaken the Qi within their bodies, reforging their bodies and souls into eternal weapons. They are living legends, their skills passed down from Kunlun to the Forbidden City. To outsiders, cultivation is a mystery; in China, it is destiny.
The second is the **Path of the Hunter**. Around the world, from the Americas to Brazil, dungeons overflow with ferocious beasts and terror. Guilds are formed, governments provide funding, and talented individuals hunt for glory, wealth, and survival. Hunter ranks range from E to God-level SSS; they are both protectors and mercenaries, their guild banners flying in every city.
And finally, and most terrifyingly, is the **path of the mutants**. Sudden genetic mutations grant them abilities comparable to an army. Some are hailed as saviors, others hunted as monsters. Rumors even circulate of beings reaching the **Epsilon level**, their names inspiring fear throughout the entire nation.
However, above all three, there is only **one person**.
His name: **Yang Lin**.
Born in Sri Lanka, raised in a military family, Yang Lin is not bound by a single path. He possesses all three—a cultivator capable of shaking mountains and rivers, a hunter surpassing SSS rank, and a mutant whose evolution breaks the limits of his talent. If others seek survival, Yang Lin seeks dominion.
That night, the world held its breath.
Shanghai, neon lights flashing, a cold wind sweeping along the riverbanks. On both sides of the Huangpu River, skyscrapers trembled slightly, and a silver-haired woman descended from the night sky. Nine tails unfurled, each tail shimmering with moonlight.
"Kneel," she whispered, her voice as soft as silk, yet carrying the chill of a blade.
Millions of lives knelt, not by choice, but by coercion. **Bai Xianyao**, the nine-tailed fox demon, arrived. An Epsilon-level, mutated white queen, her illusions blanketed the entire city. With a single thought, she could wipe out an army.
Far away in the Kunlun Mountains, atop a snow-covered peak, a woman in white raised a crystalline blade, reflecting the moonlight. With a gentle breath, the summit froze. **Lan Yuexi**, at the ninth peak of the Opening Heaven Realm, sat in meditation, her disciples trembling.
"The balance of the earth has ended," she breathed, frosty, "a new master will descend."
As if her words transcended borders, Yang Lin opened his eyes in the military estate. His aura surged, shaking the walls and distorting the air. Qi, spirit, and mutation merged, forming an unprecedented power.
He whispered to the silent night sky:
"Let all the three paths bow down."
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### **Chapter 2 — The Fox King's Whisper**
Shanghai slept uneasily. This city, which never truly rests, is now shrouded in a dream. Neon lights flicker along the Huangpu River, while people inside convulse and whisper, trapped in an inescapable illusion.
On a rooftop by the river, a figure in white spreads out like a fiery fan. **Bai Xianyao** raises her hand, the river reflecting the pale moonlight.
Her illusion is not gentle. The entire skyline transforms into a silver pagoda in their minds, and people seem to kneel before a goddess, their will gradually crumbling.
**Iron Fang Guild** hunters, dispatched by the government, have arrived to stop them. Captain **Zhao Max**, an S-rank hunter, dual-wielding plasma guns, leaps onto the roof.
"White Fox Queen!" he shouts, his voice shattering the silence, "This is a violation of the Hunter Guild's treaty! Retreat immediately, or else we—"
Before he finishes speaking, the guns in his hands turn into liquid silver. Looking down, he sees his companions all kneeling, their eyes vacant. Only he stands trembling, Bai Xianyao's golden eyes fixed on him.
"You are nothing but children feeding on the remnants of the world," she said, her voice sweet yet venomous. "You think you can threaten me?"
With a flick of her tail, Zhao Max's body dissolved into dreamlike particles. Bloodless and silent, only nothingness remained, as if he had never existed.
The government monitoring the situation panicked. The White Fox Queen was not demonstrating destruction, but **annihilation**. The world finally understood that Shanghai no longer belonged to humanity.
At dawn, a message spread like wildfire:
**The Fox King has awakened.**
---
### **Chapter 3 — Kunlun Ice Moon**
Far from the chaos of Shanghai, Kunlun Mountain slumbered in endless white snow. Ice crystals shimmered, dazzling like diamonds under the moonlight. At the summit, a person sat silently.
**Lan Yuexi**, an elder of the Bixue Sect, her aura so pure that even the wind dared not touch her. She resided at the ninth peak of the Opening Heaven Realm, only a step away from the Creation Realm. Her cultivation chamber opened to the sky, frost covering every stone.
The disciples knelt in neat rows at the foot of the mountain, bearing the pressure of her aura. Even the strongest, Han Ming, at the eighth level of the Open Heaven Realm, felt his bones bearing the weight of the heavens.
Suddenly, Lan Yuexi opened her eyes. A beam of icy blue light shot into the sky, tearing through the clouds. She rose, her white robes flowing like an icy river, and drew her sword—**Moonfall Frost Blade**, its cold light slicing through the air.
"The balance has been broken," her voice boomed like thunder. "The Fox King is moving, the hunters are restless. Overseas, I sense the birth of something…something greater."
The disciples trembled, exchanging glances but daring not to ask, knowing her words were true. Lan Yuexi had never missed a prophecy.
She swung her sword, and a hundred miles of snow-covered sky froze, rivers stilled, and time seemed to stand still. The **Ice Moon World** appeared—her exclusive domain.
"The heavens whisper that a storm is coming," she murmured. "One will rise, belonging to all paths, yet belonging to none. When he comes... even the heavens will test him."
In distant Sri Lanka, a man named Yang Lin stirred slightly, as if he had heard her call across the world.