The Red Mist Forest was restless that afternoon.
Birds scattered violently from the treetops as a massive figure burst through the underbrush, snapping young trees like dry twigs. Its body gleamed beneath filtered sunlight—bristles like silver needles, hide reflecting a cold metallic sheen.
A Silver Hide Boar.
An early Rank 2 beast.
Its hide was renowned for being nearly impervious to Qi Condensation cultivators. Its tusks curved outward like sharpened sabers, and every pound of its hooves shook the ground with brute force.
It was fleeing.
Behind it, Xuanyuan Zhen moved in silence.
His white robes flickered between trees, no longer pristine but marked faintly by days of battle. His black halberd rested in his grip as though it had always belonged there. The once unfamiliar weight now felt natural—heavy, yes, but obedient.
The boar screeched and abruptly pivoted, red eyes locking onto him.
It charged.
The earth ruptured beneath its advance.
Xuanyuan Zhen did not meet it head-on. Instead, he stepped lightly onto a protruding rock at the last possible moment and propelled himself upward.
The beast's tusks tore through the space where he had stood a heartbeat earlier.
Midair, wind whipping through his hair, he rotated his body. Golden holy Qi flared faintly along the halberd's blade. Heavenly purple Qi gathered at its tip, dense, oppressive, like a decree descending from above.
He descended.
The halberd drove downward with terrifying precision.
Crack.
The metallic hide split.
Bone fractured.
The blade pierced cleanly through the boar's skull and into its brain.
The massive beast staggered forward several steps, momentum carrying it blindly before its legs buckled. It collapsed with a thunderous crash that sent dust rising into the air.
Xuanyuan Zhen landed lightly atop its body and withdrew the halberd in one smooth motion.
He did not smile.
He did not celebrate.
He simply observed.
The hunt was becoming easier.
Earlier that morning, he had already slain two peak Rank 1 beasts—a Crimson Fur Wolf whose pelt shimmered faintly like embers, and an Azure Flame Python whose scales radiated residual heat even in death. Both corpses now rested within his spatial ring.
He crouched beside the boar and worked methodically.
The beast core was extracted first—dense, heavy with spiritual energy.
Tusks followed.
Hide segments.
Valuable organs.
Every motion was efficient, almost clinical.
The remaining meat he preserved intact.
Yin Mei would need proper nourishment too.
When everything was secured, he stored the corpse away and glanced deeper into the forest.
For a moment, wind stirred his torn sleeves.
Then he turned toward the city.
—
The marketplace was loud, vibrant, and layered with competing spiritual auras.
Vendors shouted.
Cultivators haggled.
Spirit artifacts glowed faintly from display racks.
Xuanyuan Zhen entered quietly, yet heads still turned.
Even with his Qi restrained, something about him felt… different.
Composed.
Sharp.
As if battle had carved away hesitation from his bones.
He approached his usual buyer—a middle-aged merchant with narrow eyes and calculating fingers.
The merchant's expression changed the moment the beast cores were laid out.
"Early Rank 2… Silver Hide Boar…" he muttered, weighing it in his palm. "And two peak Rank 1 cores."
His eyes flicked up, reassessing the young man before him.
"Your strength grows quickly, young master."
Xuanyuan Zhen merely nodded.
A heavy pouch of spirit stones was passed across the counter.
A fair price.
Perhaps even generous.
He turned to leave—
When the noise shifted.
Servants rushed forward to clear a path, voices loud and eager.
"Make way! Make way for Young Master Lin Yun!"
The crowd parted instinctively.
Lin Yun entered with deliberate steps, embroidered robes of deep blue and gold flowing behind him. His features were handsome in a polished way, but arrogance distorted the elegance. His chin tilted upward slightly too often. His gaze lingered on people not as equals—but as objects to be played with.
Qi Condensation Realm, fourth stage.
His aura was deliberately unrestrained, pressing outward to remind everyone present of his superiority.
He enjoyed this.
The attention.
The subtle bows.
Then his eyes landed on Xuanyuan Zhen.
White robes.
Second stage.
Calm expression.
And no reaction.
Lin Yun's lips curled faintly.
"You," he called, voice sharp enough to silence nearby chatter. "Why do you not kneel when I pass?"
Xuanyuan Zhen turned his head slightly, regarding him with quiet indifference. Then he looked away.
The dismissal struck deeper than insult.
Lin Yun's pride flared. He stepped forward, aura pressing outward aggressively.
"A mere 2nd stage cultivator dares ignore me?"
He reached out to shove Xuanyuan Zhen's shoulder. The movement ended in a blur. A sharp crack echoed through the marketplace.
Gasps erupted from those watching.
Lin Yun's body flew sideways as if struck by a battering ram. He slammed into a stone wall, fracturing it upon impact before collapsing to the ground in a heap of dust and debris.
For a moment, no one dared breathed.
Xuanyuan Zhen stood where he had been, arm slowly lowering.
One clean slap.
Lin Yun staggered upright, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Half his face was swelling visibly. His eyes burned with fury and humiliation.
"Do you know who I am?!" he roared, voice cracking slightly. "I am Lin Yun! Son of the City Lord!"
Xuanyuan Zhen met his gaze evenly.
"And you're this useless?"
The words were calm, deadly in their simplicity. And everyone felt the change in the atmosphere.
Killing Intent.
Cold.
Measured.
The kind that had already tasted blood.
Lin Yun felt it.
His spine stiffened.
For the first time, doubt flickered across his face.
This was not someone to provoke casually.
The marketplace remained silent.
Xuanyuan Zhen turned and walked away without another word.
No one dared stop him.
—
When he returned to the Xuanyuan estate, dusk had begun to settle.
Servants whispered as he passed, stepping aside respectfully.
From a corridor ahead, Xuanyuan Han saw him.
Alive and uninjured.
For the briefest instant, Han's expression shifted.
Shock.
Then frustration.
Then a carefully arranged mask of indifference.
Xuanyuan Zhen noticed.
Their gazes met.
No words were exchanged.
But understanding passed between them like a drawn blade.
So.
It was you.
He did not act.
Not yet.
He walked past as though nothing had happened.
Inside his courtyard, Yin Mei rushed forward the moment she saw him. Relief softened her features, her eyes bright with quiet concern.
"Young master, you're back safely…"
He removed a portion of fresh beast meat from his spatial ring and handed it to her.
"Prepare this."
Her eyes widened at the quality of the meat, but she nodded quickly and hurried away to begin cooking.
Xuanyuan Zhen entered his room.
The space was clean now. Orderly. The scent of incense faint in the air.
He removed his outer robe and changed into fresh white garments.
The mirror reflected a young man transformed.
No longer the neglected cripple.
No longer the forgotten son.
Yet beneath the calm surface—
Rage lingered.
Assassins sent in secret.
Clan schemes hidden behind smiles.
Arrogant fools testing him.
His purple-golden Qi sea churned quietly within.
He sat down cross-legged as the scent of cooking meat drifted faintly through the courtyard.