The road leading out of the forest was quiet, the kind of quiet that only came after something violent had passed through it. Valerius walked with slow, measured steps, the heads of the shadow wolves tied together by their tails and hanging from his right hand. They swung lightly, tapping against his leg with each stride. The smell of dried blood rose in faint waves, but he barely noticed it anymore.
His mind was on something else.
A thin line of heat flowed through his meridians—soft but steady, like a candle flame that refused to die out. That warmth had begun after he used the Abyssal Shadow Devouring Art to absorb the little traces of essence left behind by the wolves he killed. It wasn't much, but it did something important.
The Eternal Sovereign System confirmed it minutes ago:
[Cultivation Update]
Realm: Spirit Vein Realm
Stage: Vein Awakening (1st Stage)
Progress: 31% Completion
Energy Stability: Acceptable
Next Threshold: Vein Expansion (2nd Stage)
He had just entered this new realm not long ago, but the difference between his old mortal strength and his new strength was like night and dawn. His veins were still weak, still adjusting, still forming the first roots of spirit energy—but he could feel the power gathering inside him little by little.
He was becoming something more.
Valerius cracked his neck, feeling a comfortable stiffness fade away. "A little more essence," he murmured, "and I'll reach forty percent."
He wasn't rushing. His rise didn't need to be loud or clumsy. He only needed to move forward—step by step, kill by kill, coin by coin. If the road wanted to stop him, it would have to kill him first.
The trees thinned the farther he walked. The air brightened. Sunlight touched his shoulders again. The path ahead seemed calm.
But calm was rarely the truth on untamed roads.
And Valerius already sensed he was being watched.
A Suspicious Greeting
A soft whistle sliced the silence.
Valerius didn't lift his head. He simply sighed.
"Finally."
Four men stepped out from the bushes ahead of him. Another three emerged behind him, blocking the way back. Their clothes were ragged, their hair unwashed, and their smiles wide in the way hungry dogs smile when they see a fresh bone.
Bandits.
The leader—a tall man with a crooked scar down his left cheek—rested his sword on his shoulder and grinned. "Look at that. A lone traveler carrying wolf heads. Big ones. And moving around like he thinks the world can't touch him."
His men chuckled.
Valerius considered them for exactly half a heartbeat.
He saw the worn boots, the cheap blades, the thin armor. He smelled alcohol on their breath, mixed with sweat and bad decisions. He noticed the twitch in their eyes—the twitch of people who had killed before, but never someone stronger than them.
He recognized the pattern.
They weren't here by accident. They probably saw him entering the forest earlier and decided to wait for his return.
He exhaled slowly. "I don't have time for you."
The bandit leader laughed hard. "Time? Brother, you have all the time in the world. You're not going anywhere. Drop the wolf heads and your pouch. Maybe your boots too."
"And the coat!" one of the bandits shouted from behind.
"Yeah, the coat looks expensive!"
Valerius looked down at his coat. It was the same one he'd been wearing since he woke in this world—a little worn, a little dusty, but decent. He shrugged. "You want this coat?"
The leader smirked. "Hand it over nicely, and maybe we won't—"
Valerius tossed the coat into the dirt without looking.
Every bandit blinked in confusion.
The leader raised an eyebrow. "You… you're not going to run? Or beg? Or try to fight?"
"No," Valerius said calmly. "I'm thinking about whether I kill you quickly… or slowly."
A few of the bandits flinched.
The leader tried to bark out a laugh, but it cracked halfway through. "H-hey, look at him pretending to be—"
Valerius smiled.
It wasn't a warm smile.
It was the kind of smile someone gives when they already know how the fight ends.
And suddenly the bandits understood they had made a mistake.
The First Exchange
The leader shoved aside his fear and raised his sword. "Kill him!"
The nearest bandit charged, swinging a heavy axe at Valerius's head.
Valerius stepped aside with the grace of a man moving away from a falling leaf. The axe cut empty air. Before the bandit could recover, Valerius's hand shot forward, gripping the man's wrist and twisting.
Crack.
The bandit's scream barely left his throat before Valerius pulled him close and smashed his forehead into the bandit's skull.
Thud.
The man dropped like a sack of grain.
Another rushed forward, stabbing with a dagger. Valerius didn't dodge this time. He caught the dagger by its blade, tightened his grip, and pulled the man toward him. Then he elbowed him in the jaw. Something broke. The bandit fell, choking on his own teeth.
The leader's eyes widened.
"What… what realm are you?"
Valerius wiped the blood from his knuckles. "Spirit Vein Realm."
Every bandit stiffened.
Someone swallowed loudly. "H-he's a cultivator…"
A few of them wavered; one even took a step back.
Valerius tilted his head slightly. "I did warn you."
Fear, Desperation, and a Bad Plan
The bandits started whispering nervously among themselves.
"Vein Awakening or higher?" one asked.
"Does it matter? He's not normal!"
"We should retreat—"
The leader slapped the nearest man. "Shut up! He's only one person. Do you want to lose everything we've built by running? Surround him!"
Valerius rolled his shoulders, relaxed and patient. "You're welcome to try."
With a roar, the remaining bandits rushed him from all sides.
And Valerius moved.
He didn't fight wildly. He didn't use big swings or flashy moves. Every motion was clean, controlled, and deliberate. His steps were small but precise. His strikes were simple but brutal.
He elbowed one man in the ribs, spun, and kicked another in the knee. The man's leg bent in the wrong direction, and he collapsed screaming. Valerius grabbed a third by the throat and used him as a shield against two swinging blades.
Blood splattered.
The two bandits froze for a moment when their swords sank into their own ally. Valerius didn't waste the moment. He knocked one out with a punch and swept the other's legs.
Three of them were now completely out of the fight.
Only the leader remained—and his two trembling companions.
Valerius turned toward them, not even breathing hard.
The leader took a shaky step backward. "Stay away!"
"You attacked me," Valerius reminded him.
"T-there's no need for this! We can talk!"
"No," Valerius said gently. "We can't."
The Leader's Last Attempt
The leader tried to keep his voice steady, but it cracked again. "W-wait! I'm the son of Iron Hawk—one of the strongest bandit captains in the region! If you kill me, he'll hunt you! He'll—"
Valerius blinked once.
"Good," he said.
The bandit swallowed hard. "Huh?"
"If he comes," Valerius continued calmly, "I'll kill him too."
The leader stared at him in horror. "You… you're insane!"
"Possibly," Valerius replied. "But today, you die first."
The leader lunged in panic, swinging wildly.
Valerius stepped forward, grabbed the man's wrist, and pulled him close. Their faces were inches apart. The bandit leader trembled like a trapped rabbit.
Valerius whispered, "It's nothing personal."
Then he snapped the man's neck cleanly.
The body fell at his feet.
Abyssal Shadow Devouring Art — A Dark Meal
Silence took over the path.
A cold wind brushed the leaves.
Valerius looked at the unconscious and dying bandits scattered around him. Seven bodies. A beautiful number for cultivation—a number with weight. Bandits were not beasts, but low-level cultivators and mortals still had essence inside them.
His new technique—the Abyssal Shadow Devouring Art—was hungry for substance. And these men provided more than enough.
He knelt beside the first body and placed his hand on the man's chest.
A dark tendril of shadow curled from Valerius's fingers and sank into the corpse.
The body shriveled slowly, like air draining from a drying fruit.
Warm energy rushed into Valerius's veins.
The System chimed softly:
[Cultivation Increase Detected]
Vein Awakening Stage: 31% → 36%
He moved to the next.
Then the next.
Five bodies later, he felt a warm, steady glow spreading across his meridians. Shadow essence flowed gently like warm water washing through his spirit veins.
By the seventh body, his entire torso felt hot.
[Cultivation Increase]
Spirit Vein Realm — Vein Awakening Stage
Progress: 36% → 48% (Stable)
[Comment: Host essence absorption efficiency is high. Continue acquiring suitable targets.]
Valerius opened his eyes.
The world around him looked a little sharper. The wind felt lighter. His limbs felt stronger. His breath flowed smooth and clean through his chest.
He was close.
Just two percent more essence and he would reach the halfway mark of the first stage.
He exhaled slowly, letting the last traces of stolen essence settle.
The bodies around him were pale and dried, like husks. Their faces were frozen in terror or pain or emptiness.
He rose to his feet and brushed the dust from his hands. "Thank you," he said simply. "You were more useful than you expected."
A small joke—but true.
He picked up his coat from the dirt, brushed it off, and slung it over his shoulder.
A Strange Kind of Humor
As he walked away from the scene, Valerius found himself smiling—not a cruel smile, not a warm one, but something in between.
"This world really is efficient," he murmured.
He walked a little farther, then chuckled quietly.
"Bandits on the road. Wolves in the forest. What next? A blind merchant selling fake maps?"
The System pulsed once.
[Prediction: 63% chance host encounters scammers within next two days.]
Valerius blinked.
"…I was joking."
[System: Host humor detected. Acknowledged.]
He rubbed his forehead. "You're learning the wrong things."
The System stayed silent, but he could almost feel it listening carefully.
The day brightened seriously now. The trees thinned completely. Far ahead, Valerius saw the outline of another small settlement—smaller than the last one, more like a trading stop than a town.
It sat near a crossroad with a few houses, a small inn, and a fenced area with livestock.
He looked toward it thoughtfully.
Coin. Supplies. Information.
He needed all three.
"Maybe," he muttered, "I'll find a proper place to rest tonight."
Even though he didn't need much rest anymore, a soft bed would still feel better than a tree trunk.
He had taken ten steps toward the settlement when the System pulsed again.
**[Passive Notice]
Nearby Aura: Unknown cultivation signatures detected ahead.
Strength Estimate: Low-to-medium.
Host readiness: Sufficient.]
Valerius sighed. "Already?"
He had only just cleaned the bandit corpses from his hands.
Still, a small spark of excitement flickered inside him. The feeling wasn't joy. It wasn't bloodlust.
It was recognition.
The world was offering him another step upward.
And he intended to take it.
He adjusted the wolf heads on his left hand, tightened the knot slightly, and continued walking.
His heart was calm.
His steps were steady.
His path was set.
Survive. Grow. Dominate.
The rhythm of his new life beat in every vein.
And with each encounter—wolf or man, beast or bandit—that rhythm only grew louder.
Valerius smiled again.
He didn't mind the noise.
He was learning to enjoy it.