The morning mist drifted through the mountain pass like ghostly silk.
Lin Yuan stood motionless.
Twenty feet away, the captain of the wolf-skin bandits slowly drew his saber. As the blade left its scabbard, pale blue spiritual qi rippled along its edge, causing the surrounding air to hum.
It was not an ordinary weapon.
It was a spirit weapon.
Lin Yuan instinctively tightened his fists.
This was the first time he had faced a genuine cultivator in battle.
The captain's aura pressed down like an invisible mountain.
"So..." the captain said with a cruel smile. "You broke one of my men's arms with a single punch."
His eyes narrowed.
"A mortal can't do that."
"Tell me what treasure you found beneath Black Crow Mountain."
Lin Yuan's expression remained calm.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The captain laughed.
"You don't?"
He pointed toward the mountain.
"That entire mountain shook last night. Every major force within hundreds of miles felt it."
"You walked out alone."
"You expect me to believe it's a coincidence?"
Lin Yuan said nothing.
Inside his mind, however, he recalled the warning of the ancient remnant.
Greedy eyes will descend upon this place.
It had begun already.
The captain's smile disappeared.
"I'll ask one last time."
"What did you obtain?"
Lin Yuan slowly raised his head.
"I obtained..."
The captain leaned forward.
"...nothing you're worthy of knowing."
Silence.
Then—
"Hahaha!"
The captain burst into laughter.
"A brat with courage."
His laughter stopped abruptly.
"Unfortunately..."
"I hate courageous people."
Boom!
His feet exploded against the ground as he shot forward like an arrow.
The saber flashed.
A crescent of blue qi tore through the air toward Lin Yuan's neck.
Lin Yuan immediately retreated.
The blade missed him by inches.
BOOM!
A massive boulder behind him split cleanly in two.
Cold sweat trickled down Lin Yuan's back.
If that attack had landed...
He would already be dead.
"So fast..."
The captain grinned.
"You dodged?"
"Interesting."
The two injured bandits backed away, their expressions turning vicious.
"Captain!"
"Kill him!"
"Tear him apart!"
The captain nodded.
"I intended to."
He attacked again.
This time, the saber came from above.
Lin Yuan rolled to the side.
The blade smashed into the ground, sending rocks flying in every direction.
One sharp fragment sliced across Lin Yuan's cheek.
Blood dripped onto the dirt.
He touched the wound.
His fingers turned crimson.
Blood.
His own blood.
For a brief moment...
The image of his parents' bodies flashed before his eyes.
Something inside him stirred.
Not rage.
Resolve.
He would never kneel before those stronger than him again.
The black mark over his heart grew warm.
Deep within his dantian, the First Chain trembled.
Not because it wanted blood...
But because it recognized its master's will.
The captain noticed the subtle change.
"Hm?"
"What was that?"
Before he could think further, Lin Yuan moved.
Rather than retreating, he rushed forward.
The captain sneered.
"A fool."
The saber descended.
Lin Yuan twisted his body at the last possible moment.
The blade grazed his shoulder, tearing his clothes and drawing another line of blood, but missing the bone.
Ignoring the pain, Lin Yuan stepped inside the captain's guard.
The distance between them vanished.
"What?!"
The captain's eyes widened.
At such close range, his long saber became difficult to wield.
Lin Yuan's fist shot toward his ribs.
The captain reacted quickly, raising his left arm to block.
BOOM!
The impact echoed through the mountain pass.
The captain staggered back three steps.
His arm tingled violently.
"What monstrous strength..."
He stared at Lin Yuan in disbelief.
"This brat..."
"...doesn't cultivate qi like normal people."
Lin Yuan looked at his own fist.
The First Chain had only released a tiny fraction of its power.
Yet it had forced back a cultivator stronger than him.
A thought crossed his mind.
"If I fight intelligently instead of head-on..."
"I can win."
Far above the mountain pass...
Hidden among the branches of an ancient pine tree...
An old man in gray robes silently observed the battle.
His eyes, clouded with age, suddenly sharpened.
He had not been watching the bandits.
He had been watching Lin Yuan.
"A strange cultivation path..."
The old man's fingers tightened around his wine gourd.
"No..."
"It feels older than the heavens themselves."
He continued watching in silence.
For the first time in centuries...
The old man had become interested in a single young cultivator.