Four full years…Four years in which Tianhan melted into the cave like a spear planted in stone—motionless on the surface, but its sharpness never stopped growing.
The cave walls were scarred by the heavy breaths he drew during the early nights, marked by the impressions of his fists when he forced his body to endure the burning agony in his bones, and stained by the traces of blood that spilled as he forced himself to adapt to the Spirit Foxes Art he inherited from his master.
Years passed slowly, yet they became the mold in which his body and soul were reforged—through silence, pain, endurance, and transformation.
The First Day of the Fifth Year
Tianhan opened his eyes.
It wasn't an awakening…It was a birth.
He sat cross-legged atop a jagged stone, the faint white light from a cracked spiritual tree in the corner of the cave reflecting off his body—revealing a transformation that could only be described as non-human.
His crimson hair had deepened, as if each strand was soaked in blood.His eyes—two steady embers—carried a calm that did not belong to mortals.Dark lines marked his skin, remnants of his Spirit Gathering Realm tribulation—left deliberately, reminders of the road he had walked.
Energy surged within him like a violent sea, yet he remained utterly calm at its center… commanding it like a fox mastering its spirit before the strike.
He exhaled—and the air trembled.
This cave had been the grave of his previous self.Now… it had become the gateway into a new world.
Mastery of the Spirit Foxes Art
He rose slowly and opened his palm. A pale-gray wisp of air formed—the manifestation of the Spirit Foxes Art.
After years of solitude, he had merged three layers into the art:
Refining spiritual energy
Refining the body with spiritual energy
Refining mental spiritual energy
Each heartbeat carried three powers:the power of the body,the spirit,and the mind.
His steps now flowed like shadows, his strikes were as sharp as disappearing time. His master had not exaggerated when he called him the greatest cultivator he had ever seen.
This technique wasn't just cultivation.It had become an identity.
One step—dust lifted.Second step—he nearly vanished.The third—activated his movement art: a faint trail of spiritual fox tails shimmered behind him like red mist.
A strange feeling stirred inside him… a blend of freedom and fear.
Is this what a beast feels when it understands its own power for the first time?
Restraint
He sat again and placed the Soul-Devouring Tool before him.
Seven uses had become six.
Though eager to learn more, he set it aside.
Power without restraint devours its wielder.
His master's memories still lived within him—the swift steps, the killing mark, focus of the mind, the fox spirit…and the unfinished past.
Half his master's memories were missing.This troubled him more than anything.
Leaving the Cave
He stood and walked toward the exit. The stones shattered during his breakthrough still littered the ground.
Stepping outside, the cold mountain wind struck him.
Four years without seeing the sky.
Now, the sky stretched above him like a flawless mirror, clouds drifting slowly.
He closed his eyes, letting the air wash his spirit.
His face remained calm, but inside…
Everything has changed. Nothing will ever be the same.
First Battle as a New Being
He walked through the trees, retracing the path he once took.
The forest had changed too.Beasts of the first and second realm were fewer, keeping their distance—as if sensing a new predator had awakened.
But the quiet didn't last.
The ground trembled.
A pack of spiritual wolves—at least ten—emerged, eyes glowing blue.
Second-rank beasts.
Four years ago, he would have fled.Today?
He looked at them with cold indifference…as if they were just stones on the road.
The wolves howled and charged.
He raised his right hand, bent slightly—
and vanished.
Fox Step.
He appeared above the first wolf, placing two fingers atop its skull.
"Demon Claws."
His fingers pierced through effortlessly.
Before the others reacted, three more wolves dropped dead.A fourth collapsed after a single finger strike to the chest.
Moments later, silence.
Tianhan stood among the bodies, barely out of breath, expression unchanged.
"This wasn't a fight… only a simple test."
But he felt something else…
The blood within him—the blood from his breakthrough, which had given him the Spirit-Shattering Palm—was silent.
It hadn't interfered.Hadn't pushed him.Hadn't tempted him.
He fought entirely with his power.
For the first time since the blood awakened…he felt in control of his destiny.
The Path Ahead
He continued walking, remembering the spiritual pill his first elder ever gave him—the one that helped him break through.
"Go, fight, earn contribution points… and carve your own path."
Now, the moment had come.
He took out the small black device.Its surface reflected a faint metallic shine.
Sitting on a rock, he dripped a single drop of blood onto the silver circle.
He whispered:
"Tianhan."
The device glowed red and vibrated.
Light… shapes… maps… words…
Then the results appeared:
Spiritual Root: Crimson – ExcellentSpiritual Body: NoneSpiritual Bones: NoneSpirit Eyes: NoneMental Talent: Blue – Able to master three major professions
His eyebrows rose slightly.
"A crimson root…"
The highest tier before mythical heaven roots—meaning he could one day reach the Heaven Realm if he gathered enough treasures and endured enough trials.
"No spiritual body…""No spiritual bones…""No spirit eyes…"
Expected.
Yet a small ache tugged at his chest.
"I will change that. I will gather everything I lack with my own hands."
Then the world map unfolded—
Human Territories
Demon Territories
Ghost Territories
The Great Savage Forest
The Furious Sea
The Frozen North
The Ruined Zone
Open Secret Realms
And glowing markers:
Warfront Lines
Major Trade Cities
The Ten Great Sects
The Five Supreme Clans
Cultivation Resources
A vast world lay before him—a long road, endless enemies, and wars not yet started.
He lifted his hand and looked at the sky.
The mountain winds lifted his crimson hair.
He smiled—a small, rare smile.
"Alright…"he whispered.
"Let's begin."
He stepped forward.
A step whose echo rolled through the mountain's depths—like the birth cry of a new demon.
Thus Tianhan descended the mountain—not as a wanderer…not as a lost boy…
But as the seed of a clan that would one day shake the continent.