The Abyss Rift swallowed sound, turning distant shouts into faint echoes. Three figures descended the jagged cliff face with practiced ease—Lin Clan enforcers, all at the peak of Qi Gathering Realm.
Their gray robes fluttered like vultures' wings as they leaped from ledge to ledge, spirit sabers glowing faintly in the purple mist.
"Senior Brother Wang, are you sure the waste is dead?" the youngest one asked, voice trembling slightly. "If he somehow survived..."
"Survived?" The leader, Wang Hu, laughed coldly. "I struck his spine with a full-force Palm of Severance. Even a Foundation cultivator would be crippled. We're just here to harvest his storage ring and confirm the body for Young Master Zhao."
The third enforcer nodded, eyes scanning the darkness. "Quickly, then. This rift reeks of wild beasts."
They landed on a wide outcrop twenty meters above Lin Feng's ledge, peering down.
"There—blood trail ends at that ledge. He's down there."
Wang Hu smirked. "I'll go first. You two—"
A low hiss cut through the mist.
Xiao Huo uncoiled from Lin Feng's arm, his small body igniting with crimson flames that lit the abyss like a torch. The Emberhorn Viper's amber eyes fixed on the intruders with royal disdain.
Insignificant insects, Xiao Huo's telepathic voice rang in Lin Feng's mind, dripping with arrogance. Daring to hunt this king's savior? Allow this king to educate them.
Lin Feng steadied himself against the rock wall, pain still lancing through his half-healed body.
The system's rewards had reconstructed only part of his meridians—enough for basic Qi circulation, but he was far from full strength.
Yet something new burned inside him: not just Qi, but a thread of Flame Essence from Xiao Huo. His palms tingled with heat.
"Wait," Lin Feng murmured. "Let them come closer. We strike together."
Xiao Huo huffed mentally (This king does not 'wait' for prey), but obeyed, dimming his flames to embers.
The enforcers dropped to the ledge.
Wang Hu landed first, saber drawn. His eyes widened at the sight: Lin Feng standing, alive, with a glowing viper coiled protectively.
"Impossible," he spat. "Your meridians—"
The other two landed behind him, forming a triangle.
"The waste... bonded a beast?" the youngest gasped. "An Emberhorn Viper? How? His meridians were crippled!"
Lin Feng smiled coldly. "Concerned? You should be."
Wang Hu recovered quickest. Greed flashed in his eyes. "A juvenile Emberhorn—rare flame core. Kill the boy, capture the viper for Young Master Zhao. He'll reward us handsomely."
They charged.
The youngest enforcer thrust his saber first, Qi condensing into a sharp wind blade. "Die!"
Lin Feng didn't dodge. He couldn't—not yet.
Xiao Huo moved.
The viper shot forward like a crimson arrow, body elongating impossibly. Flames erupted along his scales as he met the wind blade head-on.
Ember Coil Strike!
The attack wasn't in the system's list—it was Xiao Huo's innate skill, born of his ancient bloodline.
Fire met wind in a violent explosion. The wind blade shattered, backlash slamming the youngest enforcer into the rock wall.
He coughed blood, eyes wide in terror.
"What— a juvenile viper shouldn't—"
Wang Hu roared, saber slashing down at Lin Feng. "Brat, your luck ends here!"
Lin Feng raised his hand.
For the first time, he circulated Qi—raw, unrefined, but amplified by the bond.
Flame Essence surged through his palm.
Inferno Palm!
A basic technique every Lin Clan child learned, but Lin Feng had never executed it before.
Now, fueled by Xiao Huo's shared power, his palm ignited with genuine crimson fire—hotter, purer than any novice's.
Palm met saber.
Boom!
Wang Hu's eyes bulged as his weapon heated red-hot, forcing him to drop it with a curse. The impact sent him staggering back, arm numb.
The third enforcer hesitated. "Senior Brother, this viper... its bloodline feels wrong. Too strong for juvenile stage."
Lin Feng pressed the advantage. Pain be damned—he stepped forward, Xiao Huo slithering back to his shoulder like a living scarf.
"Wrong?" Lin Feng's voice was ice. "You three pushed me off a cliff to die. Now you fear a 'juvenile' beast?"
He activated the system's new gift.
[Skill Unlocked: Bond Resonance (Level 1) - Temporarily share beast senses and boost mutual power by 20%.]
Suddenly, the world sharpened. He saw through Xiao Huo's eyes—thermal vision overlaying his own. The enforcers' Qi flows appeared as glowing rivers.
Weak points lit up like beacons.
"Xiao Huo," Lin Feng whispered. "The one on the left—his left knee injury. Strike there."
As this king commands! Xiao Huo shot forward again, faster this time.
The third enforcer swung desperately, but Xiao Huo twisted mid-air, fangs sinking into his calf—not the knee, but close enough to inject venom.
The man screamed as black poison spread, paralyzing his leg.
Wang Hu retrieved his saber, face twisted in rage. "Together! Kill the viper first!"
Both remaining enforcers attacked Xiao Huo.
Lin Feng moved.
He wasn't fast—not yet—but the bond gave him something better: perfect coordination.
As Xiao Huo dodged left, Lin Feng stepped right, palm striking the youngest enforcer's chest.
The boy barely older than Lin Feng flew backward, ribs cracking.
Wang Hu's saber slashed at Xiao Huo, who coiled around it instead of retreating. Scales hardened like steel, flames racing up the blade toward Wang Hu's hand.
"Release!" Wang Hu dropped the weapon again, but too late—flames licked his wrist.
In that moment of distraction, Lin Feng closed in.
"You know," he said conversationally, "I always wondered what the Palm of Severance felt like from the receiving end."
His flaming palm struck Wang Hu's spine.
The enforcer leader's eyes widened in horror as his own technique's Qi signature shattered his meridians. He collapsed, paralyzed from the waist down.
Silence fell, broken only by the youngest enforcer's whimpers.
Xiao Huo returned to Lin Feng's arm, tongue flicking smugly.
Pathetic. This king expected more sport.
Lin Feng knelt beside Wang Hu. "Tell Zhao Tian and Su Mei... I'm not done."
Wang Hu spat blood. "You... monster. The clan will hunt you—"
Lin Feng stood. "Let them come."
He collected their storage rings—spirit stones, pills, weapons. The system dinged softly.
[Side Quest Complete: First Blood.]
[Rewards: Emberhorn Viper Evolution Path Unlocked (Juvenile → Mature Stage conditions met). Skill Point x1. Host Cultivation: Qi Gathering Stage 3.]
Xiao Huo's body glowed faintly, scales shifting from crimson to deeper scarlet with golden edges.
Hmph, the viper transmitted, voice laced with reluctant approval. Not bad for a human who was Bondless yesterday.
Lin Feng looked up the cliff face. Dawn light filtered through the mist far above.
"Time to leave this grave," he said. "The Nine Realms are wide... and I have debts to collect."
With Xiao Huo coiled warmly around his arm, Lin Feng began to climb.
Behind him, the Abyss Rift swallowed the enforcers' faint cries.
A new legend had taken its first breath—and it burned with unquenchable flame.