The wind howled through the jagged peaks of Cloudpiercer Mountains, carrying the faint scent of blood and burning wood. Lin Kairu stumbled through the thick underbrush, his clothes torn his chest heaving. He could hear the cries of the bandits echoing behind him, and he knew they wouldn't let him escape easily.
His hands grasped the hilt of his short sword, but he was too weak to wield it properly. A shallow breath escaped him. I can't die here not like this
A searing pain shot through his chest as one of the banditsbblades nicked him. Blood blossomed across his tunic, and he fell to one knee. The world blurred around him.
Then a voice.
Kairu awaken.
It wasn't a human voice. Cold deep and echoing inside his very soul. Lin Kairu's heart skipped. He fell backward, gasping, as a faint glow erupted from his chest.
At first, it was nothing more than a flicker. But then the flicker became a flame violet burning like liquid starlight, spinning inside his chest as if alive. His injuries closed, his strength returned, and a surge of power flowed through every vein and nerve.
The bandits froze eyes wide. One of them, bolder than the rest, laughed. What the this is just a kid! Nothing but a weakling
But the moment he took a step forward, the air around him distorted. Lin Kairu's shadow stretched unnaturally, twisting into jagged spikes that shot forward like tendrils of darkness.
Shadow Reversal he whispered instinctively following the sudden surge of energy.
The shadow lashed out. It struck the bandit square in the chest before he could even scream. His body crumpled to the ground, twisted and unmoving. The others froze, terror flashing in their eyes.
Lin Kairu felt the Soul Flame burning brighter. Heat, energy, and a strange clarity flooded his mind. He could see the flow of Qi in the trees, the rocks, even in the bandits themselves. Every movement, every heartbeat, every weakness became painfully clear.
This this is cultivation he muttered. The realization struck him like lightning. I have power real power.
The bandits hesitated. They had never seen anyone move like this. And in that hesitation, Lin Kairu's shadows surged again. With a flick of his wrist, all four remaining bandits were thrown against the trees, unconscious before they even realized they were attacked.
Breathing heavily, Lin Kairu sank to the ground. His eyes still glowed faintly violet, and the Soul Flame inside him pulsed like a heartbeat.
He had survived. More than that he had awakened.
But as the adrenaline faded, a whisper echoed in the wind, almost mocking him:
This is only the beginning. The path of the Soul Flame will burn you and everything you love.
Lin Kairu clenched his fists. Blood still trickled from minor cuts, but it didn't hurt. The fire inside him was alive now. It called for growth, for strength for survival.
He stood looking at the distant peaks of the Azure Cloud Sect where his life as a cultivator would truly begin.
I don't care what it takes he said teeth gritted. I will become stronger stronger than anyone. I will never be powerless again.
And with that, the young disciple with a newly awakened Soul Flame began his journey into the vast treacherous world of cultivation.