Li Ming suddenly remembered that he and five of his friends had planned to venture into the forest today, gathering essentials and other goods to sell at the market. The thought made his heart race. he didn't want to be the one to hold everyone back.
The dreams that haunted him every night felt like invisible hands clutching at his mind, leaving traces of forgetfulness that frustrated him endlessly. Important things slipped away from him too easily, and he feared he might forget something crucial today.
"Wait a sec!" Li Ming called out, hurrying back to the backyard where his parents' graves lay quiet and solemn. Kneeling briefly, he whispered, "I'll be back soon, Mom… Dad." A mix of guilt and determination tightened his chest, but he pushed it down, unwilling to let it slow him down.
Turning back toward the house, he ran to the door where his friends waited, their eager faces urging him onward. He forced a breathless smile, trying to hide the swirl of anxiety and anticipation that surged through him.
"Sorry for the delay. Let's go," Li Ming said, falling into step as the three of them began moving.
"Where are the others?" he asked, noticing the absence of the rest of the group who had planned to join them.
"They're waiting for us at the gate," replied the girl who had come along with Chen Yu, her tone casual but firm.
They walked a little farther, and soon the larger group came into view.
"Oe, look. they're here," someone called, pointing toward Li Ming, Chen Yu, and Qingmei as they approached.
A few voices whispered, sharp and critical. "But why is Li Ming with them?"
"Yeah… didn't we tell Chen Yu and Qingmei not to let him know?"
"What do we do now, Lingfeng?" another voice asked, but Lingfeng remained silent, his expression unreadable.
"Tsk… why do we even have to carry his weight?" someone muttered. "He's so weak."
"It's been two full years, and he hasn't even broken through once," another added, sneer hidden in their tone.
Li Ming froze, his steps faltering slightly as the words reached him. His chest tightened, a mix of embarrassment and frustration bubbling up. He had known people would doubt him, but hearing it so openly, so casually, stung sharper than he expected.
Chen Yu and Qingmei, walking beside him, exchanged a glance. Chen Yu placed a hand lightly on Li Ming's shoulder. "Don't let their words get to you," he said quietly. Qingmei nodded in agreement, her expression gentle but resolute.
Li Ming forced a small, shaky smile, trying to push down the embarrassment and doubt, letting their support steady him as they continued toward the gate.
After reaching the gate, nobody said anything. "Everyone ready?" asked Lingfeng in a loud tone, alerting them to be ready as they all would be going in.
Everyone picked up their bags and said nothing, only glancing toward Li Ming as he had the support of Chen Yu and Qingmei.
Chen Yu and Qingmei had the highest cultivation here, at the 6th stage of the Power Initial Realm, higher than anyone, so what could anyone do but keep their mouths shut? Not even Lingfeng was a match for them, as he was one stage lower, at the 5th stage of the Power Initial Realm.
Aside from them, most of the group were only at the 3rd stage, and there was one at the 4th stage.
However, Li Ming was only at the 2nd stage of the Power Initial Realm, the lowest of them all. He had been cultivating for six years, whereas people in his group had started cultivating later than him, yet their cultivation was already higher than his.
However, what could Li Ming do besides blame himself for not having talent in the field of cultivation?
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Lingfeng and the team reached an area thick with herbs. No monsters were in sight, and everyone immediately began gathering what they needed.
Li Ming was doing the same as the others, quietly gathering herbs and minerals in bulk. As he worked, his head suddenly began to hurt. At first, the pain was bearable, so he continued gathering the herbs. However, as time passed, the pain gradually became unbearable. Not wanting to push himself too much, he rested against a tree.
Time passed, and everyone continued their work, but Li Ming's headache did not stop; instead, it grew even stronger. Suddenly, the pain vanished. While pondering what had happened, he found himself in an empty space. Everything around him was nothing. no matter where he looked, he only saw white space.
"What? Where am I?" he asked, panicking. He started running randomly, but no matter where he went, the scenery remained the same.
As he ran, he saw grasses in the distance. He ran faster, and upon reaching them, he saw the figure of a person continuously swinging a sword. He approached cautiously to get a closer look.
"Senior, can you tell me where I am?" he asked, but the person didn't respond and continued swinging his sword.
"Senior?"
"Senior?"
"Senior!!" he shouted this time, but the man still did not react. Li Ming moved closer to see what was happening. Once he was close enough, he saw the man's face.
"!!" Li Ming became surprised seeing the man face,
The person was none other than the same figure from his dreams. Tall, commanding, holding a sword as if he were a god. His heart quickened as he watched the figure swing the blade, each movement precise and overwhelming.
As he observed, a sword suddenly appeared in front of him. He didn't think too much. Everything that had happened so far was strange, so one more thing would not change anything. He took the sword and focused intently. What had once seemed impossibly complex suddenly made sense, each motion unfolding in his mind as easily as reading a book.
He began copying the sword movements of the figure. As they both swung their swords, Li Ming's body suddenly started releasing a strange energy, covering him entirely. The figure smiled, and Li Ming was taken aback.
***
In the real world.
His eyes glowed red. Slowly, the same energy radiated from his body, leaking out in tiny, almost imperceptible pulses. Yet Li Ming remained unaware of the effect it was having on the world around him.
RUMBLE!
The ground shivered beneath them. Everyone nearby felt a cold, sharp sensation crawling down their spines, as if a blade had been pressed against their necks.
"W-What was that?" someone stammered.
Instincts screamed. Chen Yu, Qingmei, and even Lingfeng froze, realizing something was wrong. Without hesitation, the group turned and fled. In a world where power meant everything, ignoring such a warning could be deadly.
"Li Ming?" Qingmei's voice pulled him from his daze. He looked around, confused. Nobody suspected that he, the boy with the lowest cultivation in the group, was the source of the fear that had shaken everyone.
He watched as the group hurriedly escaped through the jungle, his own heart racing with confusion. "W-What is happening?" he whispered to himself, completely unaware that it was his own power causing the panic.
Qingmei grabbed his arm, urging him forward. With her help, Li Ming began running with the others. They ran without stopping until the forest finally gave way to an open clearing.
There was nothing there. No trees, no grass, not even the faintest sign of life. The ground was dry and bare, stretching out in every direction like a patch of land long abandoned.
"Haaf… Haaf…"
Everyone bent forward, gasping for breath after running for nearly half an hour without pause. Their chests rose and fell rapidly, exhaustion evident on every face. One by one, they dropped to the ground, too tired to remain standing. Water bottles were pulled out, and the sound of hurried drinking broke the heavy silence.
Li Ming sat down as well, his legs still trembling slightly from the run. His heart had yet to settle, and the lingering unease from earlier still weighed on him. After taking a few long sips from his bottle, he extended it toward Qingmei.
"Here."
"Thanks." she replied softly. She drank, her breathing gradually steadying before handing it back to him.
It was then that her expression shifted. Something in the distance caught her attention. Her gaze fixed beyond the clearing, toward the line of trees at its edge. For a brief moment, she remained still, her eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to confirm what she had seen.
Then, the bushes moved.
"Something's there. Stay alert." she warned. Others also turned to look where she was staring.
Without saying anything more, she slowly rose to her feet. A subtle tension crept into the air. Qingmei reached for her sword and drew it in one smooth motion, her eyes remaining locked on the same spot.
Chen Yu and Lingfeng stood in place, swords in hand, ready for any possibility. Everyone tensed, taking out their weapons and preparing for a fight. Step by step, she began walking toward the trees.
"!!"
As she closed the distance, she noticed not one but twelve creatures that looked like wolves. However, their size was larger than normal, and their bodies seemed to be made of rocks, though not entirely. They had sharp claws and fangs.
"Stonefang Wolves!" she shouted, alerting everyone about the danger.
Hearing her shout, the monsters tensed as well. Six of them jumped at her with their sharp claws, while the other six ran toward the others.
Most of the monsters were at the third stage of the Power Initial Realm, but there were two at the fourth stage, one at the fifth, and one at the sixth stage. Of the six that rushed toward Qingmei, two were third stage, one fourth, one fifth, and one sixth stage.
Qingmei used her sword to stop them, but she was thrown back with a loud thud. What could a single person do against six monsters?
Chen Yu and Lingfeng instantly came to help. The fourth-stage cultivator from their group also joined to hold the monsters back, preventing them from reaching the others.
Most of the group was fighting the monsters that had come toward them, except Li Ming, who was running toward Qingmei to help. He might not have been powerful enough yet to fight on equal terms.
"Qingmei, are you okay?" Li Ming asked, quickly taking out medicine from his bag and feeding it to her.
"Cough… are the others alright? Cough…" she said, still recovering from the blow.
"They are fighting right now." said Li Ming, looking at the three figures battling six monsters, while most of the rest of the group faced the other six, all third stage.
After resting for a few minutes, Qingmei recovered and said to Li Ming, "I'll go help Chen Yu and the others." and immediately jumped into the fight. Li Ming also decided to help, using the same technique he had learned from the mysterious figure.
Others were surprised at how well he fought the monsters, might be better than anyone else there. Li Ming himself was amazed at how smoothly the technique worked in his hands.
Everyone else used simple sword movements, as techniques were expensive and hard to find. Li Ming, having learned this new sword technique, was far ahead in skill. Slowly, everyone who had been fighting third-stage monsters finished their battles.
Li Ming had killed two monsters, both one realm above him. Everyone watched in astonishment and asked,
"Wow! How did you get so good at fighting?"
"Yeah. Right. He fought them so effortlessly. I was really surprised."
They continued talking among themselves in astonishment, not realizing that even Li Ming hadn't expected to defeat two monsters on his own.
He looked at the four remaining figures, each still battling powerful monsters. Chen Yu fought the sixth-stage monster, Qingmei fought the fifth-stage monster, and Lingfeng fought the two fourth-stage monsters with Shan Wu, the fourth-stage cultivator.
None of them had techniques, relying only on simple sword movements.
As all four fought their monsters, Li Ming sensed something terrifying!
A powerful presence quickly approaching them!