Kael Ren was falling.
Thirty meters below him, the mountain waited.
Snow rushed past his face as he tumbled through the air.
His bundle of firewood slipped from his arms.
“Damn it!”
He reached for it.
Too late.
The firewood vanished into the fog.
Kael looked down.
Then he looked back toward the mountain ridge.
A single thought entered his mind.
Master is going to kill me.
The ground rushed toward him.
BOOM!
Pain exploded through his body.
Then everything went black.
Cold.
That was the first thing Kael felt.
Cold snow covered his face.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Gray clouds filled the sky.
For several seconds, Kael simply lay there.
Then he moved his fingers.
They worked.
His legs moved.
His arms moved.
He carefully touched his ribs.
Pain shot through his body.
Kael sucked in a breath.
“Still alive?”
He slowly sat up.
That made no sense.
He had fallen from the northern ridge.
Anyone in the village knew that a fall from that height meant death.
Yet somehow, he was alive.
Bruised.
Sore.
But alive.
Kael looked around.
His firewood was scattered across the snow.
“Great.”
He sighed.
“Forget the fall. Master is definitely going to kill me for losing the firewood.”
He stood.
Then froze.
Something was wrong.
The forest was unusually loud.
He could hear the wind moving through the trees.
He could hear snow falling from branches.
He could hear the faint movement of something beneath the ground.
Then—
Thump.
Kael's eyes widened.
His own heartbeat.
He could hear it clearly.
Thump.
Thump.
“What...?”
He closed his eyes.
The world suddenly became clearer.
A river was flowing somewhere beyond the forest.
A bird was moving through the branches.
Several small animals were hiding beneath the snow.
And underneath all of it...
Kael sensed something else.
A faint warmth.
It was coming from inside his body.
He placed a hand against his chest.
The warmth moved.
Slowly.
It traveled down his arm and gathered inside his palm.
Kael frowned.
“What is this?”
The warmth disappeared.
He opened his hand.
Nothing.
Just his normal palm.
Kael shook his head.
“Maybe hitting my head really did something.”
He turned to collect the firewood.
That's when he noticed the rock.
A large stone had landed beside him during the fall.
Kael crouched.
He placed one hand against it.
The warmth returned.
This time, it was stronger.
Buzz.
A faint vibration passed through his palm.
Kael's eyes widened.
A tiny stream of golden light appeared beneath his skin.
Then—
Crack.
A thin line appeared across the stone.
Kael immediately pulled his hand away.
The golden light disappeared.
He stared at the rock.
Crack.
The stone split in half.
Kael didn't move.
His mouth slowly opened.
“I...”
He looked at his hand.
“I didn't do that.”
A low growl came from behind him.
Kael's body went stiff.
He slowly turned.
Two pale eyes stared at him from between the trees.
A huge white wolf stepped into the clearing.
Its body was nearly twice the size of an ordinary wolf.
Its claws dug into the snow.
Kael's hand moved toward the hatchet at his waist.
“Easy.”
The wolf growled.
Kael took a step backward.
“I really don't want to fight you.”
The wolf lowered its body.
Kael's expression changed.
“Oh, come on.”
The wolf charged.
Kael raised the hatchet.
The wolf leapt.
And suddenly—
Kael knew where it would land.
Not guessed.
Not predicted.
He simply knew.
His body moved before his mind could react.
He stepped to the side.
The wolf passed beside him.
Kael stared in shock.
How did I do that?
The wolf landed.
It immediately turned.
Its eyes locked onto him.
Then it charged again.
Kael clenched his teeth.
The warmth inside his body returned.
This time, he didn't resist it.
He pushed it toward his fist.
Golden light flickered across his skin.
The wolf leapt.
Kael stepped forward.
He punched.
BOOM!
The impact sent the wolf flying.
It crashed into the snow several meters away.
Kael stared at his fist.
His arm trembled.
His breathing became heavy.
The wolf slowly stood.
Blood dripped from the corner of its mouth.
Kael's heart sank.
That attack wasn't enough.
The wolf growled again.
But before it could charge—
Something strange happened.
The golden warmth inside Kael's body suddenly moved toward his chest.
A faint golden stream circulated through his muscles.
His exhausted body recovered slightly.
Kael felt stronger.
Not much.
Just enough to notice.
He remembered something Master Jian had once told him.
“Before you learn martial arts, learn to feel the energy inside your body.”
Kael had always thought those words were meaningless.
Now...
He understood.
Qi.
The energy cultivators spent years learning to sense.
The energy that could temper the body.
The energy that could eventually allow a martial artist to step beyond ordinary humans.
Kael looked at his hand.
“Did I just... gather Qi?”
The wolf charged again.
Kael barely had time to react.
He raised his fist.
The golden warmth surged through his arm.
BOOM!
This time, the wolf was thrown even farther.
It landed hard.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then the wolf slowly stood.
It looked at Kael.
Not with anger anymore.
With fear.
The beast turned and disappeared into the forest.
Kael remained frozen.
His fist was shaking.
His breathing was ragged.
He had never practiced cultivation.
He had never successfully sensed Qi.
Yet today...
After falling from a mountain...
He had done it.
A strange sensation suddenly appeared in his palm.
Kael looked down.
A tiny golden mark had appeared on his skin.
It resembled a burning mountain.
His expression changed.
The instant he touched it—
BOOM!
A violent headache exploded inside his skull.
Kael stumbled backward.
A scene flashed before his eyes.
A battlefield.
Thousands of bodies covered the ground.
A black sky.
A burning city.
And a young man standing in the middle of the destruction.
Kael couldn't see his face.
But he knew one thing.
That man was him.
The man raised a sword.
Someone screamed.
Then—
The sword pierced his chest.
Kael felt the pain.
Real pain.
He gasped.
His vision disappeared.
Kael fell to his knees.
“What... was that?”
He stared at the snow.
His hands were trembling.
He had never been to that battlefield.
He had never held that sword.
He had never seen that city.
Yet somewhere deep inside his mind...
He remembered dying there.
The golden mark disappeared.
Silence returned to the forest.
Kael slowly stood.
He looked toward the mountain path.
Home was several hours away.
His master would be waiting.
Kael gathered the remaining firewood.
He didn't know what had happened to his body.
He didn't know why he could suddenly sense Qi.
And he certainly didn't know why he had just remembered a death that had never happened.
He started walking.
Behind him, high above the valley, a figure stood on a rocky cliff.
A woman wearing a dark cloak watched him leave.
Her eyes remained fixed on the place where the golden mark had appeared.
For the first time in many years...
Her expression showed fear.
She whispered,
“It's him.”
Her fingers tightened around the sword at her waist.
“The eighth awakening has begun.”
She turned toward the distant village.
“If the others discover him...”
Her expression became cold.
“His eighth life will end just like the others.”
Then she disappeared into the snow.
Far below, Kael continued walking home.
Completely unaware that his peaceful life had just ended.
And that somewhere in the world...
people who had been waiting seventeen years had finally felt his awakening.