The forest was silent except for the rustling leaves and the occasional chirp of a spirit beast in the distance. In a moss-covered clearing beneath the canopy, two figures stood—one tall and calm, the other small and tense.
Fei Yu gritted his teeth, holding the wooden sword Li Xuan had reforged with spiritual wood and reinforced qi threads. His stance was shaky, his breath ragged, but his eyes refused to look away.
> "Again," Li Xuan said flatly.
Fei Yu lunged forward, feet sloppy, his swing too wide. Li Xuan stepped aside with barely a twitch of his robes and flicked his finger—knocking the boy over with a tap of force.
The boy landed hard, wincing but refusing to cry out.
> "Your foundation is flawed," Li Xuan said, kneeling beside him. "You carry anger like a torch, but a true cultivator forges it into a blade."
He tapped the boy's chest directly over his spiritual core.
> "Close your eyes. Breathe slowly. I will guide you."
The process was gruelling. Fei Yu lacked a spiritual root of great value, but he possessed an unusually stable foundation—a rare trait for someone untrained. With careful guidance, Li Xuan helped him sense the faintest stirrings of qi, introducing him to Breath Meditation, the first true technique of the Nine Heavens Moon Sect.
---
Meanwhile…
High above, circling crows spiralled near a ruined cliff. Li Xuan's gaze lingered on them. Something was drawing beasts lately. He had sensed it in the flow of spiritual energy—a shift. Somewhere nearby, something ancient was awakening.
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Later That Night
Fei Yu sat by the fire, bruised and exhausted. Li Xuan handed him roasted meat and sat silently beside him. After a while, the boy asked:
> "Master... do you think I'll ever be strong enough to protect someone?"
Li Xuan looked into the fire.
> "Strength isn't measured in victories. It's measured in resolve. The first step is knowing why you fight."
Fei Yu nodded slowly. After finishing the food, the master and his disciple went to sleep. The body needs to rest.
Just before dawn, a tremor rippled through the earth. Birds scattered, and a distant, unnatural howl echoed across the trees. Li Xuan's eyes snapped open. The Starling Phoenix, perched high above, let out a low cry and spread its wings defensively.
Fei Yu stirred from sleep, startled.
> "What was that?"
Li Xuan stood, eyes scanning the horizon. He could feel it now—a pull. A slow, deliberate pulse of spiritual energy... tainted and old.
> "Something buried is waking," he murmured.
They moved quickly. With Fei Yu at his side, Li Xuan advanced deeper into the ancient forest, where the trees grew twisted and the ground was littered with broken spirit bones. Hours passed, and then—they found it.
A clearing, strangely barren, at its center a collapsed stone gate covered in moss and sigils faded by time. Surrounding it were the shattered remains of talismans and burnt incense. The spiritual air was thick, stifling. A forbidden place, sealed long ago.
Li Xuan approached cautiously, his formation senses sharp.
> "A sealing array... broken. Whatever was trapped here has either escaped—or is trying to."
Suddenly, the air shimmered. A flicker of light—a wraith-like figure formed from corrupted spiritual energy—lunged from the gate ruins. It wasn't powerful, but fast and venomous, clearly a guardian remnant.
Li Xuan moved swiftly. A wave of qi sliced through the spirit's core, scattering it into mist.
> "That wasn't the real threat," he said. "That was a warning.
As the mist cleared, Fei Yu spotted something beneath the rubble—a stone tablet with cracked script. Li Xuan lifted it and brushed away dust. Though most of the text was worn, a few phrases remained readable:
> "...beneath the jade roots, it sleeps... only the blood of the sect may awaken it..."
"Moon-Sealed Tomb... Ninth Heaven Forbidden Technique..."
Li Xuan's expression darkened.
> "This place... it was once tied to the Nine Heavens Moon Sect."
He turned toward Fei Yu, eyes thoughtful.
> "We can't remain here long. But we'll return—better prepared."
As the two backed away, Li Xuan sealed the area with a temporary binding formation, masking the spiritual signature once more.
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