The two disciples want to kill Lin Yuan because he discovered them while doing the sect mission that they are spies from another sect so they wants to silent him with their secrets unraveled.
Steel clashed under the crimson moon.
Lin Yuan dodged the first strike, barely—a wild swing from the larger disciple with a rusted saber. His body was slow, unrefined, still recovering. But his mind, sharp and detached, analyzed everything. Muscle tension. Footwork. Weakness.
The smaller one lunged from behind, dagger glinting with poison.
Too slow.
He twisted awkwardly—not graceful, but just enough. The dagger grazed his ribs instead of piercing his heart. Pain flared, but so did the Orb.
A tendril of invisible force snapped out from his soul-sea. It pierced the dagger-wielding disciple's chest—not physically, but spiritually. The man gasped, eyes wide as something was ripped from within.
Lin Yuan didn't fully understand it, but he felt it: the Origin of the man's Qi path—weak, shallow, yet nourishing—drawn into the Orb.
Absorbed: Low-Tier Martial Qi (Fragmented)
Physical strength +1. Qi Recovery +3%
The pain in Lin Yuan's body dulled. His grip tightened on the broken sword. He moved faster now.
The larger disciple hesitated. "W-What the hell are you?! You were crippled!"
Lin Yuan didn't answer. He surged forward, blade flashing. One clean strike—clumsy, but decisive. The sword sank into the man's throat.
Blood sprayed. Silence fell.
Lin Yuan staggered back, chest heaving. The Orb pulsed with dark light.
Absorbed: Qi Bloodline (Grade: Mortal), Bone Tempering Qi +2%
Information flooded him—snippets of techniques, names of cultivation realms, vague impressions of how Qi flowed through the meridians.
Not enough to make him strong. But enough to start.
The Orb dimmed. For now, it was full.
Lin Yuan dropped the broken sword and looked at his bloodstained hands. He should've been horrified. Two lives taken. Strangers to him. Murder.
But he wasn't.
He had died once. Earth was gone. This world, brutal and cold, demanded strength. And strength... he now had a path to.
He looted their robes—two Qi Condensation pills, a basic cultivation manual, and a worn jade slip with the Broken Sky Sect's insignia.
Then he looked to the east. The mountains loomed, and at their peak: the outer gate of the sect.
"Let's see what this world has to offer," he muttered.
And with the blood of his enemies still drying on his skin, Lin Yuan began to walk toward destiny.