Time flows like water—once gone, it never returns. It slips by incredibly fast. Like sand through your fingers, the tighter you grip it, the faster it escapes.
And yet, time is also a paradox.
The more you ignore it, the quicker it flies. But the more you pay attention to it, the slower it seems to move.You can't win.
Cultivation, above all else, is the most vulnerable to the passing of time.
When one's mind is fully immersed in training, the outside world fades away, and time seems to blur. Days pass like moments.
Day after day, Hun Xiu repeated the same routine: cultivating, sleeping, and cultivating again.
Time passed silently. He didn't even realize how much had gone by.
By the time he did, his injuries were already healed.
Back Mountains
Once healed, Hun Xiu returned to his usual training spot in the back mountains. He had grown used to cultivating there.
Staying holed up in a room for the past few days felt suffocating and strange. The back mountains were better—refreshing, tranquil, and invigorating.
He sat cross-legged atop the mountain peak. Heaven and earth's Dou Qi surged continuously toward him like a torrent—it was overwhelming.
Violent gusts of Qi howled like a storm. The roaring wind could be heard across the entire back mountain.
The sound was thunderous, like the roar of a dragon or the howl of a tiger. Even the heavens above seemed to tremble. If Hun Xiu opened his eyes now, he would see the sky itself warping under the pressure of the converging energies.
As his hand seals changed, countless streams of powerful Dou Qi flooded into his body.
A crimson aura ignited on his skin, and a searing heat began to rise from within him.
The red glow lit up the sky above the back mountain, painting it a blazing crimson—like a boundless sea of fire churning violently in the heavens, burning without end.
Such a dramatic transformation drew the attention of many of the clan's powerhouses. They all turned to look toward the back mountain.
But no one made a move to investigate.
They all knew the back mountain was Hun Xiu's personal training ground. Other than Hun Xiu himself and his guardian Hun San, no one was permitted to set foot there.
This was a direct order from the clan leader, Hun Tiandi.
Hun Tiandi stood in the courtyard, hands clasped behind his back, gazing off into the distance. As he watched the crimson sky over the back mountain, he muttered:
"Is that brat already healed? He's even starting a breakthrough."
At the same time, Gu Yuan—who was playing with Gu Xun'er—paused, his gaze drifting to the back mountain as well. He whispered to himself:
"For a mere breakthrough to 2-star Dou Huang to cause such a commotion… some Dou Zong breakthroughs don't even stir the heavens like this. That boy Hun Xiu is far from ordinary."
Throughout the Hun Clan, many were drawn by the unusual phenomenon over the back mountain. The entire clan buzzed with noise and speculation.
As for Hun Xiu, the one at the center of all this—he remained completely unaware.
Still seated cross-legged atop the mountain, his essence, energy, and spirit had all reached a critical threshold.
He was on the verge of breaking through to 2-Star Dou Huang. At this stage, maintaining peak condition in all aspects was essential.
Only then could he ensure a successful breakthrough.
Heaven and earth's energy continued flooding into him, fierce and overwhelming. The crimson fire enveloping him only grew stronger, burning more and more intensely.
BOOM—
A deafening roar echoed through the back mountain, shaking the void itself as if the world were ending.
The seals in Hun Xiu's hands ceased. The crimson flames around him disappeared, along with the restless energy surging through the heavens.
The strange phenomenon above the mountain also faded.
"Huuuh…"
Hun Xiu slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he said softly:
"It's done. 2-Star Dou Huang."
Then, he called out gently, "Third Uncle."
"Young Master."
Like a shadow, Hun San appeared in front of him, kneeling on one knee with great respect.
Hun Xiu nodded slightly. "Third Uncle, has anything major happened in the clan lately? And how long until the clan competition?"
Hun Xiu had no sense of time. Immersed in cultivation, time always felt distant and meaningless.
For true experts, seclusion could last years—even decades or centuries.
To Hun Xiu, this recent session of healing and cultivation had felt brief. But how short exactly?
He hadn't bothered to count. All he knew was—it wasn't long.
Hun San answered, "Young Master, your cultivation session lasted ten days in total. The clan competition is in three days."
"As for major events—yes, there is one."
"Oh?"
Hun Xiu chuckled quietly. "So it's been ten days. And only three left until the clan competition."
Then, raising his voice with curiosity, he asked, "Third Uncle, what major event happened in the clan?"
Hun San replied respectfully, "It's related to the prize for this year's clan competition. It's caused quite a stir among the younger generation."
"The competition's reward?"
Hun Xiu repeated the words, interest piqued. "What kind of reward could cause such a stir across the clan?"
Hun San answered reverently, "It's Lord Nihility's Child Flame."
"The Child Flame of Nihility Devouring Flame?!"
Hun Xiu's pupils widened in shock. His heart trembled violently.
As one of the most likely contenders for the position of clan heir, Hun Xiu was well aware of the towering status Nihility Devouring Flame held within the clan.
Its standing was on par with his 'cheap old man' Hun Tiandi. In fact, in the eyes of some of the older generation, Nihility's value surpassed even that of the clan leader.
The clan could survive without Hun Tiandi. But without Nihility Devouring Flame, the Hun Clan wouldn't be what it was today.
Thanks to it, the clan's bloodline had remained strong and unbroken across generations.
That was why Nihility Devouring Flame could rival Hun Tiandi in prestige. In some ways, it even surpassed him.
Very few in the clan possessed a Child Flame from Nihility. Hun Xiu only knew of one elderly 9th-grade alchemist who had one.
As for anyone else? He hadn't heard of any.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Hun Xiu asked cautiously:
"Only the first place winner will receive Lord Nihility's Child Flame?"
To anyone else, that might seem like a dumb question. If not the first place winner, then who else would be worthy?
But Hun Xiu understood—he had to ask.
Because what if… first place wasn't enough?
For him, acquiring that Child Flame was non-negotiable.
After all, within his Flame Devouring Codex lay the technique known as Fire Forging Art, which could replicate a Child Flame into an independent existence—equal in strength to the original and completely detached from it.