"One hundred and fifty miles," Kai whispered, looking back at the distant, dark smudge of the forest line.
In his old life—or even in his life as a 'cripple' in the Lin Clan—walking twenty miles would have exhausted him. Today, he had run six marathons back-to-back, fought a boar, and dodged an eagle.
"The Blood Awakening Realm," Kai murmured, clenching his fist. "It really turns you into a machine."
He pulled out the map from his ring.
"One hundred and fifty down," he traced the line with a dirty finger. "But to reach the Traveller's Road—the safe merchant path that leads to Black-Iron City—I need to cover at least a thousand miles."
A thousand miles of hostile wilderness.
"Eight days," Kai set the goal. "If I keep this pace, I can hit the road in eight days."
But first, he needed to survive the night.
The grasslands were deadly after dark. The Shadow Wolves and Silent Stalkers would soon wake up. Sleeping in the open was suicide.
Kai scanned the area. He needed shelter. A tree was too exposed. A cave was likely occupied by a bear.
His eyes landed on a patch of disturbed earth near a large, jagged rock formation.
It was a burrow. A dug-out hole beneath the ground, the entrance partially hidden by a thorny bush.
Kai approached cautiously, dagger in hand. He sniffed. It smelled of musk and dry fur.
He peeked inside.
Hiss!
Two pairs of beady eyes glowed in the darkness.
It was a den of Rock-Tooth Badgers. They were Rank 1 beasts—small, stout, and incredibly aggressive. They bared their yellow teeth, growling at the intruder.
Kai sighed. He was too tired to fight.
"Get out," Kai said, his voice low and gravelly.
He didn't attack. Instead, he released his Rank 2 pressure.
He pumped his heart. Thump.
The pressure of a Peak Rank 2 predator—mixed with the terrifying Dark Affinity—rolled off him like a wave of cold dread. To the badgers, the boy suddenly didn't look like prey. He looked like a calamity.
Squeak!
The badgers panicked. They scrambled over each other, shooting out of the hole and darting into the tall grass, abandoning their home without a fight.
"Smart rodents," Kai muttered.
He inspected the hole. It was dry, lined with dried grass, and deep enough to hide his scent.
"Perfect."
He moved a large, flat rock over the entrance, leaving just a small crack for air. It wasn't a fortress, but it was a bunker.
Darkness fell rapidly now. The temperature plummeted, the heat of the day replaced by the biting chill of the open plains.
Kai sat on the large rock outside his bunker for a moment, deciding to eat before locking himself in. He couldn't light a fire; the smoke would attract every predator for five miles.
He tapped his ring.
A package of dried spirit-meat jerky and a canteen of water appeared.
"Dinner time, Xiao Bai," he whispered.
He released the fox from the spatial ring.
Pop.
Xiao Bai appeared on the rock next to him. She stretched elegantly, looking annoyed at being cooped up, but her nose twitched at the smell of the high quality jerky.
Kai broke off a piece and gave it to her. She ate delicately, her three tails swaying contentedly in the cool night breeze.
Kai chewed on the tough meat. It was salty and hard, but as soon as he swallowed, a burst of warmth spread through his stomach. It was nutrient-dense, designed for cultivators.
He leaned back, gazing up at the sky.
Without the canopy of the forest to block the view, the heavens were magnificent. A billion stars scattered across the void like diamond dust. The Galactic River—a band of nebulous light—cut through the center, glowing with purple and silver hues.
"It's beautiful," Kai whispered, breaking the silence.
He took a swig of water.
"It's crazy," he said to the fox, who was now licking her paws. "Yesterday, I was a prisoner in a hut. Today, I killed a monster and ran across a country."
He looked at his legs. They were sore, but they weren't broken.
"If this was the old world... impossible," he chuckled. "But here... blood makes you a god."
He felt a strange sense of peace. Yes, he was hunted. Yes, he was in danger. But for the first time in his life, he felt capable. He wasn't waiting for the Lin Clan to feed him or beat him. He was feeding himself.
Xiao Bai finished her meal and crawled onto his lap, curling into a ball of white fluff. Kai absentmindedly petted her soft fur, his fingers scratching behind her ears.
"You're a good travel companion," Kai murmured. "Quiet. Lethal. And warm."
He sat there for another ten minutes, just breathing, letting the starlight wash over him.
Then, a distant howl—sharp and blood-curdling—echoed across the plains.
Kai stiffened. The peace was broken. The night hunters were awake.
"Time to disappear," Kai whispered.
He picked up Xiao Bai and slid into the badger hole. He pulled the flat rock over the entrance, plunging them into absolute darkness.
Inside the cramped bunker, the smell of earth was strong. Kai curled up on the dried grass, clutching his dagger to his chest. Xiao Bai nestled against his side, her steady heartbeat a comforting rhythm in the dark.
"Day one complete," Kai thought, his eyes heavy. "Seven more to the road."
Within seconds, the exhaustion claimed him, and the Dark Sovereign slept beneath the earth, hidden from the world he was destined to conquer.