On the dirt path leading toward the dreaded Coastal Forest, a desperate chase was unfolding.
A young girl ran with all her might, her long hair whipping in the wind. She possessed a stunningly beautiful face with piercing blue eyes, and though her elegant, royal clothes were torn and stained with dust, it was obvious she came from a powerful, wealthy clan. Clutched tightly in her hand was a small wooden box containing two precious Tier 2 Pills.
Despite her noble background, she was currently only at the 1-Star Qi Profunding Stage. And hot on her heels was a ruthless gang of bandits.
Most of the thieves were at the 1-Star Qi Profunding Stage, but their leader was a ruthless man radiating the oppressive aura of the Mid-Stage of 2-Star Qi Profunding.
"Hand over the pills, little girl!" the bandit boss roared, a sadistic grin on his face. "Do it, and we might just spare your pathetic life!"
The girl suddenly skidded to a halt. Her breath hitched. Ahead of her, the trees grew unnaturally twisted, and a dark, suffocating fog rolled between the roots. She had reached the absolute border of the Coastal Forest—a notorious death zone that no sane cultivator dared to enter. There was nowhere left to run.
"Nowhere left to go, brat," the bandits sneered, surrounding her in a tight semi-circle. "What will you do now?"
Biting her lip, the girl's blue eyes flared with defiance. She drew her slender blade. "Don't underestimate me!"
She leaped forward, her movements graceful. Against the ordinary 1-Star bandits, her refined martial arts gave her an easy advantage. She parried their sloppy strikes and slashed through their armor with ease. But just as she gained momentum, the bandit boss intercepted her.
Clang
His heavy broadsword collided with her blade. The sheer difference in Qi forced her back. She was launched through the air, crashing violently into a jagged rock.
"Ah!" She coughed up a speck of blood, her body aching, but she forced herself back onto her feet. She channeled her remaining Qi into her weapon. "[Sword Slaying Technique: Ten Slices]!"
A flurry of silver light burst from her sword, forcing the bandits to jump back to defend themselves. Seizing the brief distraction, she turned and sprinted away. But the exhaustion was setting in; her attack hadn't done any real damage, and the bandits quickly recovered, howling in rage as they closed the distance again.
Right then, a massive shadow fell over the path.
The girl looked up, gasping. Soaring beneath the clouds was a majestic, crimson Phoenix with blazing golden wings. But what shocked her even more was the figure sitting casually on its back—a young boy, looking toward the Coastal Forest.
It was Feng Kail. He looked down, his cold eyes sweeping over the girl and the bandits surrounding her. He expression didn't change. None of my business, he thought, preparing to fly right past them.
Seeing his intention to leave, the girl panicked and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Senior! Please, help me! If you save me, I will give you these Tier 2 Pills!"
Tier 2 Pills?
Kail's eyes narrowed. He needed resources to grow stronger. "Igneel, drop down," he commanded.
The majestic Phoenix let out a soft rumble, diving sharply toward the earth. The moment they landed, Kail slid off his back. He looked at the giant bird and said softly, "You should rest for now."
With a flash of light, the massive, terrifying beast shrank down, transforming into a chubby, harmless-looking little bird that hopped onto Kail's shoulder.
Kail turned his gaze to the stunned girl, his voice devoid of emotion. "Show me the pills."
Nervously, she opened the small box, revealing two perfectly formed, fragrant Tier 2 pills. Kail nodded inwardly. It was a fair trade.
"Hey, brat!" one of the bandits stepped forward, brandishing his weapon aggressively. "You better not involve yourself in our business if you don't want to die! Get lost!" Flash.
The air didn't even ripple.
Before the bandit could finish his sentence, a clean, horizontal silver line appeared across his throat. A split second later, his head slid clean off his shoulders, hitting the dirt with a heavy thud. As his head rolled, his lips trembled, whispering a final, terrified thought: What... just happened?
Then, his eyes closed forever.
The entire clearing fell into a dead, suffocating silence. The girl's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and the remaining bandits froze, their breath catching in their throats.
Kail slowly lowered his pitch-black sword, a cold, satisfied smirk playing on his lips. "This sword is really sharp... Today, I'll use your blood to test its edge."
The bandit boss was the first to snap out of his shock. His face twisted with absolute fury. "You arrogant little bastard! You dare kill my brother?! I'll chop you into a thousand pieces!"
The boss charged, his sword coated in a heavy, earth-colored Qi. Kail moved to meet him.
The clash was instantaneous, but it wasn't the even match the bandits expected. Kail was dominating completely. His movements were a blur of absolute precision. He didn't just block; he deflected, slipped past the boss's guard, and delivered lightning-fast counter-attacks.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
In a matter of seconds, the bandit boss was covered in deep, bleeding lacerations. The remaining lackeys watched in absolute horror, trembling. "How... how is the boss getting pushed back by a kid?!"
The noble girl was equally stunned, her mind reeling. He is clearly only at the Early Stage of the 2-Star Qi Profunding realm... yet he is completely overwhelming a Mid-Stage cultivator! His combat experience is terrifying!
"You... you're only at the Early Stage!" the bandit boss wheezed, backing away as blood soaked his clothes. "How can a mere brat injure me like this?!"
Kail paused, his black blade dripping with blood. He looked at the man with utter disdain. "Because you are weak."
Those three words shattered the boss's sanity. "I will kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!" he screamed, entirely consumed by rage. He lost all form, all control, blindly swinging his sword as he charged forward like a madman.
Kail's lips curved into a faint, dark smile. Yes... this is exactly what I wanted.
By deliberately mocking him, Kail had completely destroyed his enemy's focus. As the clumsy, rage-fueled strike came down, Kail simply stepped inside the boss's blind spot. With a fluid, effortless flick of his wrist, his black sword flashed upward.
"Puchi!"
The pitch-black blade pierced directly through the front of the boss's neck, the tip extending out the back.
Blood spurted across the dirt. The bandit boss choked, his eyes staring into Kail's cold pupils with sudden, horrifying realization. "You... you planned this... from the very beginning..."
Kail pulled the sword out with a wet tear, and the boss collapsed into the grass, lifeless.
"Run! The kid is a monster! Run!"
Seeing their leader dead, the remaining bandits threw down their weapons, turning to flee in absolute terror.
But Kail's eyes turned ice-cold. "Now that you've seen my face, do you really think any of you are leaving this place alive?"
Like a specter of death, Kail moved through the trees. Within minutes, the desperate screams of the fleeing bandits echoed through the forest before abruptly cutting short. Kail walked back into the clearing, casually wiping his blade with a piece of cloth, a stack of stolen storage bags slung over his shoulder.
He began rummaging through the bags, searching for anything useful, when his fingers brushed against a pile of strange, glowing crystalline tokens. "What are these?"
The girl cautiously stepped forward, her voice filled with deep respect and fear. "Those are Qi Tokens. They are forged by consolidating massive amounts of natural spiritual energy. Cultivators use them to rapidly boost their cultivation. Those bandits must have looted them from countless travelers. There are so many here... with this amount, you could easily break through to the Peak of the 3-Star Qi Profunding Stage!"
Kail nodded, tossing the tokens into his own bag. He then turned to her, extending his hand. "Now that you're safe, give me the pills."
"Yes! Of course!" The girl hurriedly handed over the two Tier 2 pills. She looked at him curiously as he turned toward the dark, twisted trees. "Earlier... I saw you flying in this direction. Are you really planning to enter the Coastal Forest?"
Kail stopped. He turned his head slightly, his fierce, bloodshot glare pinning her to the spot. "That is none of your business."
A shiver ran down her spine. She quickly bowed her head. "I-I am sorry, Senior. I won't ask again."
Without another word, Kail stepped past the boundary, entering the gloomy territory of the Coastal Forest. He looked at the little bird on his shoulder. "Igneel, stay in this form for now. This place is packed with hidden dangers. If you fly around as a giant phoenix, we'll become a target for every ancient beast in this forest."
Igneel chirped understandingly, settling comfortably on Kail's shoulder.
Behind them, the noble girl watched his retreating figure disappear into the dark fog. She shuddered. "Is he insane? Entering the Coastal Forest alone... he must be completely out of his mind. I need to get back to my clan immediately."
An hour later, deep within the damp, suffocating interior of the forest, a violent battle was raging.
A massive wild bear, easily three times the size of an ordinary beast, roared as its heavy paws crashed down toward Kail. Kail leaped backward, using his black sword to block the strike. The impact sent a vibration rattling up his arms, and the bear immediately countered, swinging a massive, razor-sharp claw toward his chest.
Kail twisted his body mid-air, narrowly evading the claw. Using the bear's own arm as a stepping stone, he vaulted high above its head. Descending like a falling star, he channeled his Qi into a single, devastating downward strike.
Slash!
The massive head of the wild bear rolled onto the forest floor, its colossal body crashing down into the dirt.
Kail landed heavily, panting as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "We've been traveling for over an hour, and there's no sign of a pond or an alchemist's treasure. Nothing but endless mutated beasts."
Suddenly, a strange, sweet scent filled the air. Kail turned around and his eyes widened. Rolling toward them from the thickets was a dense, sickly green wall of poisonous gas, dissolving the very leaves on the trees it touched.
"What is this now?! A poisonous fog?" Kail gasped, coughing as the acrid air hit his lungs. "Igneel, we have to run! This gas is lethal!"
For the next half-hour, Kail sprinted blindly through the uneven terrain, his lungs burning as the toxic green fog pursued them like a living monster.
Finally, they burst through the treeline, stumbling into a clear area. Kail collapsed to his knees, panting heavily, his chest heaving as he gulped down fresh air. On his shoulder, Igneel was also slumped over, panting dramatically with his little tongue sticking out.
Kail looked at the bird, amused despite the danger. "What are you panting for? I'm the one who just ran for thirty minutes straight while carrying you!"
Igneel let out a weak, indignant chirp, as if saying: Do you have any idea how tiring it is just watching you run for your life?!
"Whatever," Kail wheezed, looking back. "At least we got rid of that gas. Let's rest here for a—"
Crack
Before he could finish his sentence, the ground beneath him groaned. Kail froze. He looked down and realized they weren't on solid ground—they were standing on a fragile, protruding cliff edge. And right below them was a bottomless, pitch-black Abyss.
The rocks began to crumble rapidly, shattering into tiny pieces that plunged into the dark void below.
"Damn it!" Kail tried to sprint back toward the forest, but the ground completely gave way beneath his feet. The cliff was sliding downward into the canyon. "Igneel! Quickly, transform! We need to fly out of here!"
Kail reached for his shoulder, but to his horror, he saw that the little Dragon-Phoenix had completely fainted, his little eyes turned into whirlpools, totally knocked out by sheer fear of the heights and the sudden drop.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Kail yelled.
With no other choice, Kail tightly tucked the unconscious Igneel into his chest, bracing himself as he plunged into the roaring wind of the black abyss. As he tumbled through the darkness, a massive, falling boulder dislodged from the cliff side struck him squarely on the side of the head.
Crack.
Kail's vision instantly shattered into darkness, his grip tightening instinctively around Igneel as his unconscious body plummeted into the depths of the unknown abyss...