Xiao Lin walked through the ashes of Qingfeng Village without looking back. The night wind carried the smell of smoke and blood, but he felt nothing. Not grief, not fear—only the faint hum of the void inside his dantian, satisfied for now.
He was six years old, yet his steps were steady, deliberate. The black vortex in his abdomen had already refined the cultivation bases of thirty bandits. Their meager Body Tempering energy circulated through his meridians like dirty water being purified. It wasn't much, but it was enough to push his frail body past mortal limits.
By dawn he reached the edge of the Azure Cloud Forest—a dense, mist-shrouded woodland said to hide spirit beasts and wandering cultivators. Most villagers never dared enter. Xiao Lin stepped inside without hesitation.
The forest was alive with faint spiritual energy. Trees towered hundreds of meters, their leaves blocking the sun. Strange flowers glowed faintly. Somewhere in the distance, a low beast roar echoed.
He walked for three hours without stopping. Hunger didn't bother him; the void seemed to suppress such mortal needs. Thirst didn't exist. Only purpose.
Then he heard it—soft footsteps, too light for a beast, too careful for a careless wanderer.
A girl appeared between two ancient trees.
She looked about eight or nine years old. Long silver hair cascaded down her back like moonlight. Her eyes were pale violet, almost luminous. She wore a simple white dress torn at the hem, stained with dirt and dried blood. In her right hand she clutched a broken jade pendant that pulsed with faint spatial fluctuations.
She saw Xiao Lin and froze.
For a moment neither moved.
The girl's gaze swept over him—small, ragged clothes, no visible weapon, yet an aura that made the surrounding spiritual energy tremble slightly.
"You… killed them?" she asked quietly. Her voice was calm, but there was a tremor beneath it.
Xiao Lin tilted his head. "Who?"
"The Black Wolf bandits. I felt their lifelines vanish all at once. Like they were swallowed."
He didn't answer. Instead he took one step forward.
The girl instinctively raised her left hand. A thin barrier of violet light shimmered into existence between them—Spatial Shield, a rare innate ability.
"You don't need to be afraid," Xiao Lin said. His voice was flat, childlike, yet carried an ancient weight. "I don't kill without reason."
The girl's eyes narrowed. "Everyone has a reason when they kill."
"Then mine is simple." He met her gaze without blinking. "If you stand in my way, you die. If you don't, you live."
Silence stretched.
The girl slowly lowered her hand. The violet shield dissolved.
"My name is Yue Ning," she said. "I escaped from the Silver Moon Sect. They wanted to use me as a cauldron because of my Spatial Void Physique."
Xiao Lin's black pupils flickered.
Spatial Void Physique.
The ancient voice in his mind spoke again, clearer than before.
«Destined Wife Number One detected. Spatial Void Physique is the key to the First Layer of the Void—Spatial Devouring. Dual cultivation required to awaken. Refusal will result in soul erasure of the candidate within three years.»
Xiao Lin stared at the silver-haired girl.
Yue Ning felt something shift in the air—like the world itself was watching her.
"You're… strange," she whispered. "Your eyes are like the abyss."
Xiao Lin took another step. This time she didn't retreat.
"I need you," he said simply.
Yue Ning blinked. "What?"
"To live. To grow stronger. To reach the end."
She laughed once—short, bitter. "I've been running for months. Everyone who tried to help me died. The sect elders are still hunting me. If you take me, you'll die too."
Xiao Lin shook his head. "No. They will die."
Yue Ning studied him for a long time.
Then, slowly, she extended her small hand.
The broken jade pendant in her palm glowed brighter for a moment, then dimmed.
"If you can keep me alive," she said, "then I'll follow you. But if you betray me… I'll drag you into the void with me."
Xiao Lin looked at her outstretched hand.
He didn't smile. He didn't hesitate.
He took it.
The moment their palms met, a black thread shot out from his dantian and wrapped around her wrist like a tattoo—faint, almost invisible.
Yue Ning gasped. A surge of cold energy flowed into her body, then flowed back, carrying traces of his aura.
She felt it instantly.
Connection.
Fate.
Void.
Xiao Lin released her hand.
"From now on," he said, "you are mine."
Yue Ning touched her wrist where the black thread had vanished. Her pale violet eyes gleamed with something new—acceptance, perhaps even relief.
"Then let's go," she whispered. "The Silver Moon Sect's pursuers will arrive soon. They're at the peak of Qi Condensation."
Xiao Lin turned toward the deeper forest.
"Good."
He started walking.
Yue Ning fell into step beside him.
Behind them, the mist thickened.
Ahead, the first true hunt of the Ruthless Void Sovereign had begun.
End of Chapter 2