Chapter 7 — Silver Baptism
The silver crystal trembled in Kai's palm.
It did not feel like the others.
The gray crystals had been raw—unstable fragments of mutated Qi, violent and heavy. This one was different. Its surface was smooth, translucent, faint lines of light moving inside it like liquid threads.
And above—
The crack in the sky pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
In rhythm with the crystal.
Kai felt it clearly.
This was not ordinary condensed energy.
This was connected.
The ruined intersection around him had gone strangely quiet. Soldiers kept their distance, weapons lowered, unsure whether he was ally or threat. Smoke drifted across broken buildings. Sirens wailed faintly somewhere deeper in the city.
But none of that reached him.
All he could feel was the pressure between his fingers.
Calling him.
Testing him.
He closed his hand.
The moment skin sealed over the crystal—
It dissolved.
Silver light surged into his palm and exploded up his arm.
Pain struck instantly.
Not sharp.
Not cutting.
But overwhelming.
Like his veins were being replaced with molten metal.
Kai dropped to one knee, teeth clenched hard enough that blood filled his mouth. Spiritual Qi inside his body reacted violently, circulating on its own as if trying to defend him from invasion.
Too much.
The silver energy did not blend immediately.
It forced its way through.
His meridians—thin channels carved open during Body Tempering—expanded under pressure. Micro-tears spread along them. If he lost control, they would rupture completely.
"Guide it…" he whispered hoarsely.
He forced his breathing into the cultivation rhythm engraved in his mind.
Inhale.
Stabilize.
Circulate.
The wild surge began to spiral rather than explode. Silver threads wrapped around his existing Qi like vines, weaving through it.
The pain intensified.
His vision blurred.
Then—
Something deeper responded.
Not his muscles.
Not his bones.
Something older.
A pulse echoed from his chest, faint but distinct.
The silver energy hesitated.
And then—
It aligned.
The molten sensation cooled slightly as the two forces synchronized. His circulation paths widened under the strain, becoming stronger rather than tearing apart.
Above him, the sky crack shimmered brighter.
Wind surged outward in a circular wave, pushing smoke and debris away from his kneeling form. Loose glass lifted into the air, vibrating from the energy pressure.
Soldiers staggered backward.
"What is happening?" one muttered.
Kai didn't hear them.
Inside him—
A barrier formed of invisible pressure stood in his path. The boundary of the Sixth Minor Stage.
He could feel it clearly now.
A wall.
The silver energy gathered at that wall and pressed forward.
The barrier resisted.
For a moment, everything froze.
Then—
Crack.
The sound echoed not in the air, but inside his bones.
The barrier shattered.
A surge of clarity flooded him.
His senses exploded outward.
He could hear the frantic heartbeat of a man two streets away. He could feel the trembling of spiritual veins beneath the asphalt. He could sense the unstable Qi within mutated creatures several blocks distant.
Body Tempering…
Sixth Minor Stage.
But that wasn't all.
His Qi was no longer purely translucent.
Thin lines of silver shimmered within it.
Not dominant.
But present.
Different.
Higher quality.
He exhaled slowly, steam rising faintly from his skin.
The pain faded into a dull ache.
When he opened his eyes, the world looked sharper than before. Colors felt deeper. Energy currents were more distinct, less chaotic.
And beneath it all—
He felt something else.
A faint awareness brushing against him from above.
Not as oppressive as before.
Curious.
He looked up.
The crack in the sky seemed closer somehow. The silver light spilling from it felt heavier, more concentrated. For a split second, he thought he saw movement behind it—
Not shadow.
Structure.
Like distant architecture made of light.
His heartbeat quickened.
The silver energy inside him pulsed in response.
A connection.
Thin.
Fragile.
But undeniable.
Suddenly, a scream echoed from the adjacent street.
Kai's focus snapped back to Earth.
A new mutated beast—smaller than the previous giant but faster—was tearing through fleeing civilians. Its movements were more coordinated than the early mutations.
The world was adapting quickly.
Kai stood.
The air around him felt lighter, responding to his presence. Qi flowed toward him naturally now, feeding into his circulation without conscious effort.
This wasn't just an increase in strength.
It was efficiency.
He stepped forward and vanished from his original position, crossing the street in a blur.
The creature lunged toward a fallen child.
Kai intercepted midair.
His fist struck its skull with precise, condensed force.
The sound was sharp.
Clean.
The beast flew sideways, slamming into a storefront.
It tried to rise.
Kai didn't give it time.
He stepped in and delivered a second strike, channeling both earthly Qi and a thread of silver energy together.
The impact split its armor completely.
The creature collapsed instantly.
No drawn-out struggle.
No desperate defense.
Just superiority.
Kai stared down at his hands.
The difference was obvious.
The silver thread enhanced penetration and stability. It didn't add brute force—it refined it.
That made it far more dangerous.
A new crystal began forming within the fallen beast.
This one faintly tinted.
Not fully silver.
But influenced.
Kai felt a realization settle in his chest.
The more he absorbed—
The more his Qi would change.
And if it continued evolving—
Would it still be compatible with Earth?
Or would he become something else entirely?
He closed his eyes briefly.
That question could wait.
Because across the city—
A new disturbance erupted.
Stronger than before.
Colder.
Structured.
Kai's eyes snapped open.
This wasn't a mutation.
This was organized energy.
From above.
The crack flickered.
And to its right—
A thin vertical tear began forming in the sky.
Smaller.
Sharper.
Unnatural.
Kai's jaw tightened.
The silver energy within him stirred violently.
Like prey sensing a predator.
Or like a key recognizing a lock.
The tear widened by inches.
Wind spiraled upward toward it.
And for the first time since Spiritual Recovery began—
Kai felt something unmistakable.
This wasn't the world awakening.
This was someone knocking on the door.
And now—
Because of him—
The door had answered.
Chapter 7 End