By Dark-kingxu
Xu Ming sat cross-legged on a patch of stone, deep in meditation. The Golden heart fruit he had retrieved earlier—a golden-hued orb with shimmering blood-red veins—was now fully refined. Unlike the Emberberry he'd consumed days ago, this fruit worked differently. Its energy didn't flood his core with blazing heat, but instead pulsed like a steady heart, gradually reinforcing the walls of his meridians and solidifying his foundation at early-stage Qi Spark – Stage Five.
Every pulse refined his Qi, like hammering steel in a forge. Dregs of impurities oozed from his pores and evaporated. His body exhaled a dull, gray mist—a residue of weakness cast off by the power of the fruit.
When the final thread of energy merged into his dantian, a soft click echoed within him.
> "Stabilized," he whispered, eyes opening. "This stage feels… different."
His perception had deepened, senses expanding like ripples on a still lake. The Sight—his ability to read threads—had sharpened further. Even the minute fluctuations of energy in the forest felt clearer, like ripples in glass.
Then came a sudden heat across his chest. Xu Ming's eyes narrowed.
His skin glowed faintly along the sternum—just where the Heaven-Shattering imprint had marked him after the vision in the ruins. Now, it pulsed again.
> "The imprint?" he muttered.
A searing pain bloomed in his core. Xu Ming grunted, collapsing onto one knee as the world spun. Glowing glyphs spun behind his eyes, symbols he didn't recognize but instinctively understood. It wasn't a vision this time.
It was a transfer.
His mind surged with memories not his own. Sword forms etched into stars. A stance that split the earth. Muscles coiling, exploding like thunder. Then, a voice—stern and cold, echoing across lifetimes:
> "Sight-Breaking Sword Style – Form Two: Sever the Cosmos. Locked."
> "Insufficient cultivation. Access denied."
The flow shifted. The glyphs rearranged, and the imprint delivered something else—a different scroll, layered with ink that burned.
Xu Ming's body shook.
> "Body… tempering?" he gasped.
Yes. A technique.
"Tyrant's Bone Scripture – Foundation Layer."
As the knowledge engraved itself into his meridians, Xu Ming's breathing steadied. This wasn't merely a manual—it was a profound art designed to shape the cultivator's physique alongside their Qi, reinforcing bone, muscle, and tendon through grueling refinement.
He exhaled long and slow.
> "Sword. Qi. Body… Sight… all of them are coming together."
With no time to waste, he stepped outside the small cave where he'd cultivated. The sun hung low, casting orange hues through the canopy. A soft wind whispered through the trees.
He drew his sword.
> "Let's test this on something real."
He didn't have to search long. A Boulderback Bear—massive, armored with stone-like hide—was chewing the remains of a smaller beast in a clearing. Its cultivation? Peak Stage Four. A formidable test.
Xu Ming's gaze flickered.
Threads of movement emerged, spiraling around the bear's limbs, neck, and spine. He took a breath, lowered his stance, and surged forward.
> "Split the Horizon!"
His blade gleamed as it carved the air, tracing the first form of the Sight-Breaking Sword Style. The attack moved like flowing light—fast, clean, and devastating.
It collided with the beast's flank.
A screech of torn flesh and cracking hide echoed across the trees.
The Boulderback roared in fury, slamming a paw the size of Xu Ming's chest toward him. But he was gone before it landed, threads predicting the exact arc of the blow. With a step and pivot, Xu Ming drew blood once more.
Five slashes later, the beast crashed to the ground in defeat.
> "Still not good enough," he muttered. "My movements aren't fluid enough."
Just as he turned to leave the clearing—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A slow applause.
Xu Ming froze.
From the treeline emerged a man clad in midnight robes, his aura thick with death. A curved saber gleamed at his waist, dripping with dark energy.
> "So this is the boy causing waves in the outer forest," the man said. "Not bad for a Stage Five brat."
Xu Ming's grip tightened.
He couldn't fully sense this man's cultivation, but the threads told him enough.
Qi Spark – Stage Seven.
> "I don't suppose you're here to spar for fun?" Xu Ming asked flatly.
The man chuckled.
> "Hardly. Orders were clear. Kill anyone wearing the Silver Fang crest."
Xu Ming's eyes widened for a fraction of a second.
> "They sent an assassin after me?"
No time for questions.
The man moved like lightning.
Xu Ming barely blocked the first blow—his arms quaking under the impact. The assassin was fast, ruthless, and accurate. Each swing came for a vital point.
Xu Ming bled almost immediately.
But even as his vision blurred, something inside him stirred.
A subtle shift.
The Heaven-Shattering imprint glowed faintly beneath his skin—but no breakthrough came. Instead, his Sight expanded again. Threads he had never noticed emerged—the threads of intent. Faint tremors of hesitation. The moment before the assassin committed to a full slash.
> "I see it…"
Xu Ming whispered as he moved. His body flowed like water, slipping through gaps he couldn't have recognized a day ago.
Then came the opening.
He stepped into it—just as he had done before—and unleashed Split the Horizon once more.
The blade cleaved through the assassin's defense, drawing a deep line across his torso.
> "You… damn…" the assassin choked.
Xu Ming twisted, reversing the blade with a sharp cry. The second strike took the man's head clean off.
He staggered back, drenched in blood, panting.
His Qi stirred violently… but it did not break through.
Instead, a new talent awakened.
A quiet seed planted deep in his dantian began to glow—the Heaven-Shattering Catalyst. A dormant mark granting him the ability to leap one entire stage when triggered.
He felt it hum in his core.
> "Not now," he muttered. "But when I need it… I'll ascend."
He turned toward the corpse and retrieved what remained: a storage ring, and the man's dark saber—a curved blade etched with eerie symbols.
He held onto it.
Then, he felt it.
A presence.
Somewhere far above. Watching.
He spun around, peering into the trees. But there was nothing.
Just wind.
Unseen, on a high branch overlooking the clearing, a cloaked figure stood in silence. Their aura masked so deeply that even the wind bowed away from them. Their eyes softened as they looked down at Xu Ming.
> "He's growing faster than expected," the voice whispered. "Just like his father."
Then the shadow vanished into the breeze.
Xu Ming sheathed his blade, feeling the weight of new strength and deeper mysteries pressing in from every side.
> "The forest is behind me," he said. "Now the real world begins."
And with steady steps, he walked away from the trees—into the unknown.
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Author's Note:
> Xu Ming's path continues to deepen. With new techniques, deadly enemies, hidden allies, and ancient power slowly awakening within, what lies ahead may either forge a tyrant… or break him. Stay tuned for Chapter 16!