A day passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Time flowed by like a quiet stream.
Before he knew it, three months had passed in the blink of an eye.
During those three months, Nian Lin spent nearly every waking moment cultivating according to the instructions recorded in the scroll. Whenever he grew tired, he would study the sword art and memorize its stances before returning to cultivation.
Again and again, he practiced the strange breathing technique.
One long breath.
Three short breaths.
One long breath.
Three short breaths.
Day after day.
Night after night.
Sometimes he became so short of breath that he nearly fainted. On several occasions, blood even trickled from the corners of his mouth.
Yet he still sensed no spiritual energy.
As the days passed, his eyes grew increasingly bloodshot.
Frustration slowly crept into his heart.
He began to wonder whether cultivation was real at all.
Or perhaps he simply lacked the aptitude to cultivate.
"If I truly possess no aptitude... does Heaven really hate me that much?"
His voice echoed softly within the silent cave.
However, he refused to give up.
on a quiet afternoon
Nian Lin sat cross-legged within the cave as usual, following the breathing rhythm recorded in the scroll.
One long breath.
Three short breaths.
Suddenly—
His body trembled.
A strange numbness spread through his limbs.
Nian Lin's eyes nearly snapped open.
The sensation was faint, yet unmistakable.
It felt as though countless tiny strands of energy had entered his flesh and blood.
The feeling was similar to countless tiny insects crawling beneath his skin.
The invisible strands moved through his body for only a brief moment before dissipating.
Then everything returned to normal.
The sensation vanished completely.
Nian Lin remained motionless.
Even his breathing seemed to stop.
According to the scroll, this was the sign of spiritual energy entering the body.
Although the feeling had lasted for only an instant, he knew he had not imagined it.
He had finally sensed spiritual energy.
A faint excitement appeared deep within his eyes, yet his expression remained calm as ever.
For the first time in months, the frustration in his heart disappeared.
The progress was small.
Almost insignificant.
Yet it was still progress.
"One day of progress is better than ten years of excuses," he muttered softly.
After calming himself down, Nian Lin rose to his feet and picked up the sword art he had obtained from the Nian Clan Mansion.
Although he had yet to become a true cultivator, he had no intention of wasting time.
The outside world was filled with danger.
Mutated beasts roamed about
At any moment, he could encounter a life-and-death situation.
If that happened, cultivation alone would not be enough.
He needed the strength to fight.
After all, no elder remained to teach him.
No clansmen remained to protect him.
If he wished to survive beneath this ruined sky, then he could only rely on himself.
Drawing his stone dagger, Nian Lin began practicing the first stance of the sword art.
__________________
After months of training, Nian Lin had finally made some progress with the sword art.
Although he could not perfectly replicate the movements recorded in the manual, he could already imitate many of the stances. The force and momentum described in the illustrations were still beyond him, but at the very least, he now possessed any ability to defend himself.
During these months, he had never forgotten the three eggs hidden within his secondary cave.
However, he had not dared return.
From time to time, he could still hear the distant cries of the two-headed bird echoing throughout the wilderness. Every cry sent a chill down his spine.
As a result, he rarely ventured far from his hideout.
Unfortunately, another problem had appeared.
His supplys had completely run dry. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Sooner or later, he would have to leave the cave.
Before departing, his gaze fell upon the strange statue he had brought back from the Nian Clan Mansion.
For months, he had felt that something was hidden within it.
The feeling never disappeared.
It was as though the statue concealed a secret.
Today, he finally decided to investigate it.
Walking to the corner of the cave, he picked up the statue and carefully examined it.
The figure depicted on it remained as mysterious as ever.
After observing it for a while, he drew his stone dagger and stabbed toward its surface.
Nothing happened.
Frowning, Nian Lin increased his strength and sliced across it.
The blade cut into the statue.
The material was strange.
It resembled mud, yet it was not mud.
It resembled wood, yet it was not wood.
The dagger sank into it with surprising ease.
However, the next moment, Nian Lin's expression changed.
The cut he had just created began to close.
Before his eyes, the damaged area stitched itself together.
Within moments, the surface was completely restored.
No trace of the cut remained.
It was as though the statue had never been damaged at all.
Nian Lin immediately jumped backward.
His heart pounded wildly.
He stared at the statue with undisguised shock.
Over the years, he had witnessed countless strange creatures.
Many possessed astonishing regenerative abilities.
Yet he had never seen anything like this.
The statue had repaired itself almost instantly.
For several minutes, Nian Lin remained where he was, watching carefully.
Nothing happened.
The statue simply lay there quietly.
Eventually, he approached once more and picked it up.
He considered cutting it again.
However, after some hesitation, he changed his mind.
Perhaps his dagger was not sharp enough.
Perhaps there was another method to uncover its secret.
For now, he would wait.
Putting the statue away, Nian Lin gathered his belongings.
He took his stone dagger, leather water pouch, and several strips of dried meat.
Then he left the cave.
His destination was the hidden shelter where he had buried the eggs.
The journey was uneventful.
Nian Lin moved cautiously through the ruins, avoiding areas where monsters frequently appeared.
Several hours later, he arrived near the cave.
Instead of entering immediately, he concealed himself nearby and carefully observed the surroundings.
His cold eyes scanned every corner.
Although he spotted several mutated beasts wandering in the distance, none appeared particularly powerful.
More importantly, there were no signs of the two-headed bird.
The area was relatively undisturbed.
There were no signs of battle.
No signs that anything abnormal.
Nian Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did he approach the cave.
Inside, everything remained exactly as he had left it.
Quickly making his way to the buried location, he began digging.
At first, his movements were fast.
However, as he approached the eggs, he slowed down considerably.
The last thing he wanted was to accidentally damage them.
Soon, three enormous eggs appeared before him once more.
They were dark black in color with traces of gray ash scattered across their surfaces.
Each egg was nearly as thick as his thigh. This story is hosted at g.com.
Despite being buried underground for months, they remained surprisingly warm.
Nian Lin crouched down and placed a hand upon one of them.
A strange warmth flowed into his palm.
Curious, he pressed his ear against the shell.
A moment later, he could not help but smile.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
A faint heartbeat echoed from within.
Something was alive inside.
The creature had not yet hatched, but life already existed within the egg.
After thinking for a moment, Nian Lin decided to take one egg with him.
The remaining two were carefully reburied.
After concealing them once more, he lifted the selected egg and stored it within a carrying sack.
Only then did he leave.
By now, it was nearly evening.
The sky remained bright.
Ever since the catastrophe, the sun had disappeared.
During the day, there was neither sun nor moon.
The world was simply illuminated by the bright blue sky
Only at night did the crimson moon appear overhead.
No one knew where the sun had gone.
No one knew why the moon alone remained.
Theses things doesn't concern him very much.
After leaving the cave, he headed toward a nearby stream.
This was one of the few water sources he knew well.
After carefully checking the surroundings, he filled his leather water pouch and several hollow tubes with fresh water.
After filling his water pouches at the stream, Nian Lin immediately returned to his hideout.
The journey back was uneventful.
The black egg remained warm inside his sack throughout the entire trip.
Once he returned to the cave, he carefully concealed the entrance and resumed his usual routine.
The following days passed quietly.
During the day, he practiced the sword art.
At night, he cultivated according to the breathing method recorded in the scroll.
Whenever his food reserves ran low, he would leave the cave to hunt small creatures in the surrounding wilderness before quickly returning.
Life gradually settled into a familiar rhythm.
Unfortunately, his cultivation showed little progress.
Although he could occasionally sense faint traces of spiritual energy entering his body, he remained unable to retain them.
Every strand of spiritual energy eventually scattered.
It was as though something inside his body prevented him from truly stepping onto the path of cultivation.
Days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
The frustration in Nian Lin's heart continued to grow.
More than once, he questioned whether he possessed any aptitude for cultivation at all.
The scroll had described cultivation as difficult.
Yet it had never mentioned anything like this.
Even after months of effort, he remained unable to reach the First Layer of Qi Condensation.
One night, after another failed attempt, Nian Lin slowly opened his eyes.
His face was pale.
Blood stained the corner of his lips.
The repeated cultivation attempts had begun to take a toll on his body.
The cave was silent.
Only the faint light of the luminous pearl illuminated the darkness.
Nian Lin's gaze gradually shifted toward the black egg resting nearby.
For months, he had kept it beside him.
For months, he had watched over it.
Even now, it remained warm.
A faint heartbeat echoed from within.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The creature inside was still alive.
Nian Lin stared at it for a very long time.
A dangerous thought slowly appeared in his mind.