Deep within the damp redwood hollow, Ren curled her tail around her small body. She had officially dropped the temporary tag on her profile, fully embracing her new identity. A soft purr rumbled in her chest as the blue light of the System illuminated the dark bark around her.
[ Ding! 'The Crimson Hunt' Rewards Distributed! ]
* +300 System Points (Current Balance: 360 SP) [1]
* 1x Mid-Grade Qi Condensation Pill (Stored in Inventory) [1]
* Function Unlocked: Martial Skill Copy [1]
"Three hundred and sixty points," Ren murmured, her golden-blue eyes reflecting the glowing text. Her past life as an analyst made her immediately evaluate the cost-to-benefit ratio. She was only four levels away from Level 10, the milestone required to finally unlock her first major Evolution. According to the shop, those cost roughly 500 SP.
"I need to save," she decided, fighting the urge to splurge on the flashier active skills. "But this new function..."
She tapped the freshly unlocked Martial Skill Copy tab.
[ Martial Skill Copy (Passive) ]
* Description: When a human cultivator executes a martial technique or movement art within your line of sight, the System analyzes the Qi circulation path. You can instantly replicate and master the skill by spending a reduced amount of System Points, bypassing all physical human requirements.
Ren’s sharp teeth showed in a silent grin. This completely neutralized her biggest disadvantage. She didn't have human meridians, but the System could translate human martial arts directly into her spirit beast biology. When Zhao had executed that Earthen Wave Strike, she hadn't just dodged it—she had observed it.
[ Ding! Compatible Technique Detected in Memory Log: 'Earthen Wave Strike' (Mortal-Grade Earth Attribute Technique). ]
* Cost to Copy: 100 SP.
"Save it for later," Ren thought, closing the menu. She reached into her inventory, pulling out the Mid-Grade Qi Condensation Pill. It was twice the size of the previous one, radiating a thick, visible emerald mist.
She swallowed it whole.
A tidal wave of pure energy slammed into her skeletal structure. Her bones, already undergoing Stage 2: Bone Tempering, absorbed the high-density energy like a sponge. She could feel the density of her skeleton doubling, her joints reinforcing themselves until they were as hard as spiritual steel.
[ Ding! Cultivation Progress: Stage 2: Bone Tempering [Complete 100%] ]
[ Cultivation Breakthrough! Host has entered Stage 3: Organ/Viscera Fortification! ] [4]
[ Experience Gained! Level Up! Host has reached Level 7! ] [2]
Ren gasped as the energy expanded into her lungs, heart, and liver, flushing out microscopic cellular waste and fortifying her internal biology. She was growing stronger, faster, and far more durable by the minute. But while she celebrated her optimization, the consequences of her generosity were already playing out miles away.
## Part II: The Hall of the White Crane
In the Inner Council Hall of the Clear Water Sect, the air was thick with tension. Heavy incense burned in bronze burners, but it couldn't mask the smell of burnt flesh radiating from the stretcher in the center of the room. Liu lay unconscious, his back a horrific mass of blackened, melted tissue.
Senior Brother Zhao knelt on the cold marble floor, his iron broadsword resting beside him. His head was pressed flat against the stone. Beside him, the two surviving outer disciples trembled so violently their teeth chattered.
Elder Mo stood over them, his face an unreadable mask of cold stone. "You are telling me," Mo began, his voice dangerously low, echoing off the high pillars, "that a squad of five elite outer disciples was routed by a single fox cub?" [1]
"Elder! It is the truth!" Zhao cried, not daring to lift his head. "Sun was turned to ash in a single breath! Not even his bones remained! [1] The beast is not a mortal monster. She wrote to us in the dirt! [1] She carries the decrees of the Primordial Kitsune and the Vermilion Phoenix! [1] To force a contract upon her is to court absolute annihilation!" [1]
"Silence!"
The roar tore through the hall. Elder Mo released a fraction of his Qi Condensation pressure, slamming into the three kneeling disciples like a physical hammer. Zhao choked, pressed even harder against the floor.
"Primordial Goddesses? Writing in the dirt?" Elder Mo sneered, stepping closer. "You describe a myth from the upper realms to cover up your pathetic cowardice! A beast is a beast. If it wields a flame that destroys cultivation, it merely means it has consumed a rare, heaven-defying treasure or possesses a mutated core!"
"But Elder—"
"Enough!" Mo barked. "Zhao, for your failure and for spreading heretical fabrications that threaten the morale of the outer sect, your core resources are stripped for the next six months. Get out of my sight."
The three disciples scrambled backward, dragging Liu's stretcher with them, eager to escape the Elder's wrath.
Once the doors slammed shut, a shadow detached itself from behind a massive silk screen at the back of the hall. A tall woman clad in the pure white robes of an Inner Sect Core Disciple stepped forward. Her eyes were sharp, cold, and calculated, and a slender, silver rapier hummed with a piercing wind attribute at her waist.
"Do you believe them, Elder Mo?" she asked, her voice like cracking ice.
"Zhao is a coward, but he values his life too much to invent something so specific," Elder Mo muttered, his eyes gleaming with dark avarice. "There is an anomaly in that forest, Senior Sister Vanguard. A beast that can melt meridians and defeat a Stage 6 cultivator at such a young age... If our Clear Water Sect can secure its core, we could ascend to a Major Sect overnight."
The woman, known as Vanguard Lin, touched the hilt of her silver sword. "A Stage 6 refiner is nothing but a mortal with heavy muscles. They do not understand the true nature of Qi. I am at the 7th Stage of Body Refinement: Sense Awakening. My reflexes can slice a drop of rain in half. Let me go. If it is a god, my sword will test its divinity. If it is a beast, it will become my mount."
Elder Mo smiled darkly. "Go. But be careful, Lin. If the tales of the flame are even fractionally true, do not use a talisman. Pierce its heart from a distance."