The morning mist had barely lifted when the courtyard echoed with steel.
Ren Wei stood alone, bare-footed on the dew-kissed stone. His breathing was steady, but the air around him trembled. With Echo Fang gripped in his right hand, he moved.
**Crimson Void Severance** — the third form of Ash Vein Fang.
His saber carved through space in a wide arc, leaving faint distortions in its wake. The slash wasn't loud, nor chaotic — it was focused, silent, as if the world itself was holding its breath while he split it open.
And still, he moved again.
And again.
And again.
---
By the time the sun reached its peak, Ren Wei lowered his saber. Sweat glistened on his brow, his chest rising and falling with quiet rhythm.
He stood still for a moment, waiting.
> No sound.
> No system notification.
"Hmph." He let out a small breath, not disappointment — but clarity.
"There's no improvement."
Then, like a blade clicking into its sheath, the realization returned.
"…Right. From now on, I need real battle to refine this form."
He glanced at his palm, veins glowing faintly from circulating energy. The saber returned to his inventory with a shimmer of black light.
His gaze turned inward. For a second, he almost called up the System's window.
"Let's wait," he muttered, brushing the thought away. "Foundation Establishment Level 9 will be a better checkpoint."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned back toward the villa.
"It's good to move again. I can't just sit and cultivate forever…"
He paused at the door.
Then, with a smirk and low voice:
*"Ren Wei, what happened to your Dao Heart? In your past life… you could sit and cultivate for centuries. Thousands of years, even."*
He stepped inside the chamber and sat in lotus position once more.
The small wooden chest opened with a soft creak. One of his crafted pills rose to his hand, and without another word, he closed his eyes and began drawing in its Qi.
The silence returned.
---
The fifth day's dawn broke over the villa, casting faint golden rays through the courtyard's silken drapes. Inside the cultivation chamber, Ren Wei's eyes opened calmly — just as the familiar sound chimed in his mind.
> **Ding!**
> *Foundation Establishment Realm Level 9 achieved.*
> *[Perfect Grandmaster]*
Ren Wei didn't move at first. He simply exhaled, feeling the coursing Qi throughout his meridians — steady, dense, obedient.
"One step away…" he murmured. "From Golden Core."
His gaze dropped slightly, thoughtful.
"But wanting to reach it means converting all this Qi to **Golden Qi**… and guiding it to condense into a single unified core. Simple on paper… but time-consuming. Tedious."
He brought up his hand and whispered, "System."
A translucent blue screen appeared before him, gleaming faintly in the dim light.
---
**SYSTEM INTERFACE**
Name: Ren Wei
Race: Human (Mortal)
Bloodline: Immortal Emperor Bloodline
Age: 17
Cultivation Realm: Foundation Establishment Realm Level 9 (Perfect Grandmaster)
Dao: ??? (2/10 fragments gathered – gather all 10 to unlock Dao)
Techniques:
• Heaven-Flaying Vein Scripture
• Iron Blood Meditation
• Ash Vein Fang – Saber Technique
↳ Form 1: Ember Slash
↳ Form 2: Hollow Cinder Spiral
↳ Form 3: Crimson Void Severance
• Boundless Swordsman (Passive)
↳ Resistance to sword-based attacks
↳ Learn all sword techniques 30% faster
Physique:
• Immortal Emperor Psychic
↳ Guarantees eventual breakthrough to Immortal Emperor Realm
↳ Resistance to all elements, including Light and Dark
↳ Cannot be harmed by anyone less than one realm above
Weapon:
• Echo Fang – High Earth Grade Saber
↳ Devours elemental Qi, evolves in battle
"Perfect Grandmaster…" Ren Wei murmured. "Now let's see what the Quest Panel has to say."
He tapped the glowing [QUEST] icon. Two entries blinked in gold.
---
> **Side Quest 1: Break the Pride Before the Battle** *(Completed)*
> **Reward:** *Soulsteel Talisman* — A defensive artifact capable of shielding you against attacks up to the **Nascent Soul Realm**.
> **Side Quest 2: Break the Wall Before It's Built – Stage 2** *(Completed)*
> **Objective:** Defeat a Golden Core Realm opponent before reaching it yourself.
> **Reward:** *Heaven's Core Pill* — A pill that grants a **60% success rate** for breakthrough from Perfect Grandmaster to Golden Core.
> *Best consumed within 24 hours of reaching Level 9.*
---
Ren Wei's brows lifted slightly. "So this quest... it was triggered during my fight with Li Muqing."
He chuckled under his breath.
"So the system doesn't care how I win. It just wants the job done."
He opened his inventory and pulled out the two rewards.
The first was the **Soulsteel Talisman** — a jagged, silver-black shard shaped like a flame, faintly humming with ancient defensive runes.
> *"Forged from soul-hardened ore; it shields against even the will of Nascent Soul cultivators."*
Ren Wei tied the talisman to his inner belt, just beneath his robes.
Then he took out the second item: the **Heaven's Core Pill** — a glistening white sphere with golden cracks running across its surface, pulsing faintly like a beating heart.
> *"Condenses hope into form. A dangerous shortcut across a mountain's peak."*
He held the pill in his hand for a moment.
Not yet.
First, he needed to inform Su Yao.