Lou Feng cautiously stepped deeper into the cave.
The sound of the waterfall gradually faded behind him, replaced by an almost oppressive silence.
Drip...
Drip...
Only the occasional droplets falling from the cave ceiling disturbed the stillness.
The further he walked, the stranger the surroundings became.
The stone walls were no longer smooth.
Instead, countless murals had been carved directly into them.
Ancient figures stood beneath stars.
Towering mountains floated above clouds.
Unknown beasts battled humanoid silhouettes whose very gestures seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth.
The paintings were faded with age.
Yet even after countless years, they still emitted an indescribable sense of grandeur.
Lou Feng stared blankly.
He couldn't understand any of it.
Below each mural were rows of unfamiliar characters.
Their strokes appeared elegant yet mysterious, unlike any script used within the Great Qian Dynasty.
"...What language is this?"
He softly muttered.
Naturally...
No one answered.
Gathering his courage, Lou Feng continued inward.
Soon...
He noticed something else.
The cave walls weren't merely carved with paintings.
Between them...
Countless tiny patterns had been engraved directly into the stone.
The strange symbols intertwined with one another, forming incomparably complicated structures that spread throughout the entire cave.
At first glance...
They resembled decorations.
Yet looking carefully...
They seemed strangely alive.
Lou Feng frowned slightly.
He instinctively reached out.
The moment his fingertips approached one of the symbols—
Buzz.
The entire cave seemed to tremble ever so slightly.
A cold sensation climbed up his spine.
His body froze.
Someone...
Was watching him.
His breathing immediately became hurried.
Slowly...
Almost mechanically...
He raised his head toward the darkness ahead.
At the deepest part of the cave...
He thought he saw a pair of silver eyes quietly staring back at him.
Those eyes contained neither hostility...
Nor kindness.
Only endless calm.
Lou Feng's pupils contracted violently.
His instincts screamed for him to flee.
Yet...
The instant their gazes met...
His thoughts suddenly became incomparably clear.
Every distracting emotion quietly disappeared.
His mind instinctively opened itself, as though welcoming something into it.
"No..."
His consciousness struggled desperately.
"I..."
"I can't..."
Before the resistance could even begin...
Darkness swallowed everything.
His body quietly collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
...
Silence returned.
Several breaths later...
The figure hidden within the darkness slowly stepped forward.
It was...
Lin Sheng.
His appearance differed greatly from before.
The once pristine black robes had become tattered in several places.
His right hand remained wrapped beneath multiple layers of cloth.
Faint traces of dried blood could still be seen seeping through the bandages.
Numerous scars covered his exposed skin.
Some appeared like ordinary cuts.
Others...
Looked as though invisible claws had literally torn pieces of flesh away.
They were wounds left behind by the Void itself.
After being thrown from the collapsing tunnel...
He had survived.
Barely.
The violent spatial currents had almost shredded his body before he finally emerged on the opposite side.
For several days after arriving...
He had remained unconscious.
Only after his body instinctively recovered enough through Gang Qi circulation had he slowly awakened.
Even then...
His condition had been miserable.
His internal organs had suffered tears of varying severity.
Several muscles had nearly been ripped apart completely.
Worst of all...
His meridians.
The violent consumption of Gang Qi during the escape, combined with the injuries inflicted by the Void, had left nearly every minor meridian completely depleted.
It was as though countless dry riverbeds stretched throughout his body.
Fortunately...
His primary meridians remained intact.
Although external Gang Qi techniques were temporarily impossible...
Internal circulation still functioned.
Given enough time...
Everything could recover.
Lin Sheng calmly flexed the fingers of his uninjured hand.
His expression remained indifferent.
Compared to dying...
Such injuries were insignificant.
More importantly...
The near-death experience had unexpectedly become another opportunity.
Facing certain destruction within the Void had forced his Martial Concept to undergo another transformation.
Concept.
Will.
Mind.
The three had always complemented one another.
Now...
His Martial Concept had finally begun giving birth to its own embryonic will.
Although still incomplete...
The change was undeniable.
Crystal's earlier assessment quietly surfaced within his thoughts.
•[Spirit Platform Realm successfully advanced.
Current Realm: Mid Spirit Platform.
Mental Perception Radius: 89.6 li.
Mental Flame intensity increased.
Martial Will embryonic formation detected.]•
Nearly ninety li.
That level of Mental Perception had already approached the limits normally possessed by late Purple Palace cultivators.
Only Golden Core experts could consistently surpass him now.
Looking down at his bandaged hand, Lin Sheng smiled faintly.
The price...
Had been worthwhile.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the unconscious boy lying several metres away.
Crystal had already completed a basic scan.
•[Subject detected.
Estimated Age: 12.
Cultivation: None.
Physique: Ordinary.
Spirit Root detected.
Metal Spirit Root: Mid Grade.
Fire Spirit Root: Mid Grade.]•
Lin Sheng's silver eyes narrowed slightly.
A spirit root...
Here?
Without saying a word, he crouched beside the unconscious child.
His Mental Perception gently entered the boy's Sea of Consciousness.
Unlike previous memory searches...
There was no resistance whatsoever.
The memories unfolded almost effortlessly.
Scenes of a quiet village.
Two loving parents.
A peaceful childhood.
Then...
Everything changed.
The appearance of the Wind Tiger Gang.
His parents dying beneath a demonic beast attack.
The confiscation of his home and farmland.
The villagers lowering their heads in fear.
Only one elderly neighbour...
Uncle Wang...
Still secretly helping him survive.
Then came today's events.
The beating.
The cliff.
The leap into the abyss.
Lin Sheng quietly observed every fragment.
Several moments later...
A strange expression slowly appeared on his face.
Not because of the boy's tragic life.
But because...
Something within those memories immediately caught Crystal's attention.
Several hours later...
Lou Feng's fingers twitched.
His brows furrowed tightly as countless fragmented memories surfaced within his dreams.
The deaths of his parents.
The villagers lowering their heads in silence.
The Wind Tiger Gang.
Uncle Wang's crippled legs.
The cliff.
The endless darkness.
"No..."
"...don't..."
He suddenly sat upright.
"Haa... haa..."
His chest rose and fell violently as cold sweat soaked his back.
Only after several breaths did he realize...
He was still alive.
His trembling hands slowly covered his face.
The emotions he had suppressed throughout the day finally erupted.
Tears quietly streamed down his cheeks.
"So..."
"I'm really alone now..."
His voice was barely audible.
The cave remained silent, allowing the lonely sobs of a twelve-year-old boy to echo softly through the spacious cavern.
Only after a long while did Lou Feng finally wipe away his tears.
He forced himself to calm down.
Then...
A metallic sound entered his ears.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
It was rhythmic.
Heavy.
Powerful.
Lou Feng instinctively followed the sound deeper into the cave.
Soon...
The source revealed itself.
Near the center of the cavern stood a crude forging platform.
A blazing furnace illuminated the surrounding darkness with a warm crimson glow.
Beside it...
A burly middle-aged man continuously hammered a glowing metal rod upon an anvil.
Every strike was steady.
Every movement appeared natural.
The glowing iron repeatedly changed shape beneath the heavy hammer before being returned to the blazing furnace.
The entire process flowed like water.
Only then did the man slowly raise his head.
His calm silver eyes met Lou Feng's.
"So..."
"You're finally awake."
Lou Feng immediately straightened his posture.
He hurriedly cupped both fists before bowing deeply.
"This junior greets Senior."
Only now did he carefully observe the man before him.
The man's physique was extraordinarily sturdy.
Even beneath the loose robes, the outlines of powerful muscles remained obvious.
A massive forging hammer rested casually against one shoulder.
His thick beard gave him an imposing appearance.
Yet...
The most unforgettable feature remained those silver eyes.
They seemed calm enough to reflect the stars themselves.
The man merely nodded before placing the hammer aside.
Without another word...
He casually tossed over a fruit.
Lou Feng instinctively caught it.
His pupils immediately widened.
It was the same strange fruit growing upon the enormous tree outside.
The man spoke only one word.
"Eat."
Lou Feng hesitated for only a brief moment before immediately obeying.
Crunch.
The familiar warm current once again flowed throughout his body.
Only after swallowing the fruit did he notice something he had overlooked earlier.
The cave ceiling.
Countless intricate runes silently emitted a faint golden radiance.
They intertwined throughout the cavern like countless stars decorating the night sky.
Even without understanding them...
Lou Feng instinctively felt their mystery.
Before he could continue observing—
The silver-eyed man suddenly spoke again.
"You entered my place of secluded cultivation."
"So..."
"How do you intend to compensate me?"
Lou Feng immediately stiffened.
Only now did he realize the seriousness of the situation.
This wasn't an abandoned cave.
It belonged to someone.
Someone unimaginably powerful.
His expression gradually turned bitter.
After several breaths of silence...
He slowly knelt.
Bang.
Both knees struck the stone floor.
He lowered his head deeply.
"This junior possesses nothing of value."
"My parents are dead."
"My home has already been taken."
"I possess neither wealth..."
"...nor martial talent."
He paused before speaking once more.
"The only thing I still own..."
"...is my life."
"If Senior has any use for it..."
"This junior is willing."
His forehead touched the ground.
There wasn't the slightest trace of hesitation.
To him...
The person before him had not only refrained from killing him after he intruded into this cave...
He had even saved his life with those miraculous fruits.
Compared to that kindness...
Offering his life no longer seemed excessive.
The cave became quiet.
Several breaths later...
The silver-eyed man slowly stroked his beard.
"Your life..."
"I do happen to have some use for it."
Lou Feng's body trembled slightly.
The man calmly continued.
"I have wandered alone for many years."
"I possess several skills."
"Unfortunately..."
"I lack someone worthy of inheriting them."
His gaze quietly settled upon the kneeling boy.
"If you're truly willing to offer your life..."
"Then from today onward..."
"You shall become my disciple."
Lou Feng slowly raised his head.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
"...Disciple?"
The man nodded.
"Since you've already decided your life belongs to me..."
"Then naturally..."
"I'll have to ensure it becomes valuable."
With a flick of his sleeve...
A single candle quietly ignited before the forging platform.
The warm flame gently illuminated the cavern.
"Come."
"Kneel before the ancestral flame."
"Perform the disciple ceremony."
Lou Feng stared blankly at the flickering candle.
His lips trembled slightly.
In Great Qian...
To accept someone as a direct disciple...
Was no different from accepting them as family.
A master was a teacher.
A master was also a parent.
Realizing what this meant, his eyes immediately reddened once more.
Without another word...
He respectfully knelt before the candle.
Three bows.
Nine kowtows.
Each one sincere.
Each one carried every remaining hope within his heart.
"Disciple..."
"Lou Feng..."
"...greets Master."
Only after the ceremony ended did Lin Sheng quietly nod inwardly.
Everything...
Had unfolded exactly according to the plan he had envisioned.
From this moment onward...
The child favored by fate no longer wandered alone.
His destiny...
Had quietly become intertwined with Lin Sheng's own.