Akash looked at the floating system message in his vision, the golden letters flickering with an eerie light.
[DO YOU WISH TO ABSORB HIS QI? Y/N]
The leader of the Blood-Moon group was trembling, his forehead touching the cold dirt. "Please... Great Immortal... I was blind! I didn't recognize your strength. Spare my life, and I will tell you everything!"
Akash looked at his own hands. If he chose 'Y', he would drain the man's cultivation, reaching Level 3 instantly, but it would turn the leader into a crippled man for life. Akash was still a student from a small village; he wasn't a cold-blooded killer—at least not yet.
"I don't want your life," Akash said, his voice cold and steady. "But I want the truth. Who sent you? This forest is far from your Sect's territory."
The leader gulped, sweat pouring down his face. "It... it was a tip! A messenger from the Stone Village contacted us. He said a boy with a 'Heavenly Treasure' was escaping through the Whispering Forest. We thought... we thought you were just a lucky peasant."
Akash's eyes narrowed into slits. Rohan. Even after being defeated at the testing stone, Rohan hadn't stopped. He had sent rogue cultivators to kill Akash and steal his power.
"Get out of here," Akash commanded, his golden Qi flaring for a second, blowing back the red mist. "If I see you or your men again, I won't be so kind. Tell your Sect that the Whispering Forest is now off-limits."
"Thank you! Thank you!" The leader didn't wait for a second invitation. He grabbed his two unconscious disciples and dragged them into the thickets as fast as his legs could carry him.
[WARNING: HOST HAS CHOSEN 'N']
[KARMA SYSTEM INITIALIZED: PATH OF THE SOVEREIGN LIGHT]
[BONUS REWARD: MEDICINAL KNOWLEDGE BASE (LEVEL 1) UNLOCKED]
Akash sat down cross-legged near the carcass of the Iron-Hide Boar. He needed to recover. Even though he had won, the Sovereign Shield had drained a significant portion of his energy.
As he closed his eyes to meditate, he realized something strange. The forest had gone dead silent. The birds had stopped chirping, and even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Sniff... Sniff...
A sweet, intoxicating aroma suddenly filled the air. It smelled like a mixture of fresh lotus and ancient honey.
[ALERT: RARE SPIRITUAL HERB DETECTED]
[ITEM: 1000-YEAR-OLD BLOOD-SOUL LILY]
Akash opened his eyes. Just ten meters away, near a hidden stream under a glowing willow tree, a flower was blooming with a deep purple light. But it wasn't alone.
Coiled around the flower was a snake—its scales were as white as snow, but its head had two small, black horns. A Twin-Horned Frost Serpent, a Level 6 Beast.
"If I can get that flower," Akash whispered, his heart racing, "I won't need to absorb anyone's Qi. That lily alone can push me to the peak of the Qi Gathering realm."
But before he could move, a cold, feminine voice rang out from the trees above.
"The flower belongs to the Cloud-Sword Sect. Step away, boy, or lose your hand."
A girl in flowing white robes floated down from the canopy, her feet landing gracefully on a single leaf. She held a long, slender sword, and her eyes were as sharp as ice.
Akash didn't move. He stood his ground, his eyes moving from the glowing purple lily to the girl in white. She looked like a goddess of ice, her aura so cold that the grass beneath her feet began to frost over.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: TARGET DETECTED]
[NAME: MEERA]
[LEVEL: QI GATHERING LEVEL 7]
[SECT: CLOUD-SWORD SECT - INNER DISCIPLE]
"Level 7..." Akash thought, his muscles tensing. She was far stronger than anyone he had met in the village.
"I found this place first," Akash said, keeping his voice calm despite the pressure. "And that serpent is already guarding it. Does the Cloud-Sword Sect always claim things they haven't won yet?"
Meera's eyes narrowed, a flash of surprise crossing her face. Most people would have run away hearing the Sect's name. "A peasant boy with a sharp tongue? This forest is dangerous. That Twin-Horned Frost Serpent can freeze your blood in seconds. You are lucky I arrived before it woke up."
Hiss...
As if on cue, the white snake uncoiled its body. It was nearly five meters long, its scales shimmering like diamonds. The two black horns on its head began to glow with a pale blue light. The temperature in the clearing dropped instantly.
"It's too late for talk," Meera said, her slender sword humming. "The serpent has marked us. If you want to live, stay back and don't get in my way."
She vanished in a blur of white.
CLANG!
Her sword struck the serpent's scales, but instead of cutting through, it sparks flew as if she had hit solid steel. The serpent lunged, a blast of icy breath freezing the stream behind Akash.
Akash watched the fight, his Sovereign Core pulsing rapidly. He could see Meera was faster, but the serpent's defense was too high.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: NEW OPTION]
[USE MEDICINAL KNOWLEDGE TO FIND WEAKNESS? COST: 10 QI POINTS]
"Do it," Akash whispered.
[WEAKNESS FOUND: THE SPACE BETWEEN THE HORNS. STRIKE WITH CONCENTRATED HEAT.]
Akash looked at Meera. She was starting to tire, her movements slowing as the frost grew thicker on her robes. The serpent reared back, its horns glowing brighter—it was preparing a fatal ice blast.
"Hey! Ice Girl!" Akash shouted, running forward. "Strike the space between the horns! Now!"
Meera glanced back, her face filled with disbelief. "Are you crazy? Get back!"
"Trust me!" Akash roared, his feet catching fire with golden Qi. He wasn't just running; he was using Sovereign Step to distract the beast.Meera hesitated for a split second. As an Inner Disciple, she wasn't used to taking orders from a commoner, especially not a Level 2 boy. But as the Twin-Horned Frost Serpent opened its maw, a sphere of pure blue ice began to form, threatening to turn the entire clearing into a graveyard.
"Fine! If I die, I'm haunting you first!" Meera yelled.
She twisted her body mid-air, her white robes fluttering like the wings of a swan. Instead of aiming for the serpent's thick scales, she channeled all her remaining Qi into the tip of her blade.
"Cloud-Sword Style: Piercing Sun!"
Meanwhile, Akash knew he couldn't just stand there. He had to create the opening. Using Sovereign Step, he zig-zagged across the muddy ground, appearing like a golden ghost in the serpent's peripheral vision.
"Over here, you overgrown worm!" Akash roared, punching a nearby tree. The impact sent a vibration through the ground, drawing the serpent's attention for just a fraction of a second.
The serpent turned its massive head toward Akash, its icy blast ready to fire. But that movement exposed the small, soft patch of skin between its two black horns.
Meera didn't miss.
Her sword, glowing with a sudden burst of heat from her technique, drove straight into the gap.
Screeeeee!
The serpent let out a high-pitched wail that shattered the frozen stream nearby. The ice sphere in its mouth exploded prematurely, covering the beast in its own freezing energy.
Meera was thrown back by the force, her body sliding across the grass. Akash rushed forward, catching her before she hit a jagged rock.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: FATAL BLOW DELIVERED]
[BEAST LEVEL 6 DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE POINTS DIVIDED...]
The serpent's body twitched one last time before going still, its diamond-like scales losing their luster. The purple Blood-Soul Lily, however, remained untouched, glowing even brighter in the aftermath.
Meera leaned against Akash's shoulder, her breathing heavy. She looked at him, her icy exterior finally cracking. "How... how did you know its weakness? Even my Sect's manuals don't mention that specific spot."
Akash looked at the lily, then back at her. "Let's just say I have a good eye for detail. Now, about that flower..."
[WARNING: HOST IS EXHAUSTED]
[INTERNAL QI LEVEL: 5%]
Before they could even reach for the herb, a dark laughter echoed from the deeper part of the forest.
"A marvelous performance! Truly. An Inner Disciple and a talented brat killing a Level 6 beast... you've saved me a lot of trouble."
Out of the shadows stepped an old man with a long, wispy beard and eyes that looked like yellow glass. He wore the robes of an Elder, but the aura around him felt decayed and rotten.