Chapter 2: The Fox’s Gamble
The Verdant Cloud Sect's bell tower chimed midnight.
Shadows clung to the walls of Luo Feng's hut like starving wraiths.
A lone candle flickered, its wax pooling like molten gold on the warped wooden table.
Outside, the Blackroot Forest groaned—branches snapping, demonic beasts snarling at the sect's shimmering barrier.
The stench of rotting pine sap seeped through the cracks in the wall.
Golden text burned in his vision, unseen by all but him:
*Cultivation: Qi Condensation Layer 4.
Ascension Points: 72 (+2/hour).
Skills: Basic Combat Technique (Beginner).*
A knock—soft, mocking, claws scraping wood.
"Human. Open up."
Luo Feng's calloused hand brushed his father's rusted sword.
The blade's edge gleamed dully, nicked from years of neglect.
The door creaked open on its own, hinges screaming like tortured spirits.
Moonlight spilled in, cold and silver, illuminating a girl with nine tails that shimmered like liquid mercury.
Her crimson eyes glowed like forge embers, pupils slit like a cat's.
"Xiao Bai," she purred, leaning against the doorframe.
Her voice dripped with amusement, sharp as a honed dagger.
"You owe me a favor."
Luo Feng stood, muscles coiled like springs.
The straw mat beneath his feet crackled.
"I didn't agree to anything."
She floated into the room, tails swirling like smoke.
Her bare feet left no imprint on the dusty floor.
"You stole my boar's core. Now steal something bigger."
A clawed finger tapped the jade pendant on his belt—the relic from the ruin.
"The Celestial Jade Mirror. It's in the sect vault."
"Guarded by Soul Foundation elders. Suicide."
Xiao Bai tossed him a blood-red pill.
It hummed with dark energy, cold as grave soil against his palm.
"Swallow this. It'll hide your stench."
She vanished in a crimson haze, her laughter echoing like wind through hollow bones.
---
Dawn painted the alchemy pavilion in pale gold.
The clatter of bronze mortars and hissing cauldrons filled the air.
Su Ling waved from her workstation, lavender sleeves rolled up to her elbows.
Her arms glittered with iridescent pollen from midnight-blooming soulflowers.
"Brother Luo! Over here!"
He navigated the chaos—ducking under a disciple carrying a bubbling vial of emerald liquid, sidestepping a spilled pile of powdered dragonbone.
Su Ling's workstation was a disaster: cracked clay pots, half-burned scrolls, and a cauldron leaking acrid purple smoke.
She held up a vial of azure liquid, its surface shimmering like trapped moonlight.
"Qi-replenishing tonic. For your bruises."
He pocketed it, nodding.
The glass was warm against his thigh.
"Thank you."
A sneer cut through the humid air.
Lin Yao swaggered in, fingers stained black from refining Nightshade Venom.
His inner disciple robes—emerald silk threaded with gold—rippled as he moved.
"Outer rats shouldn't play with alchemy."
He snatched the vial from Luo Feng's hand.
Su Ling stepped forward, fists clenched.
"That's mine! I spent three nights refining it!"
Lin Yao's aura flared—a sickly green mist oozing from his pores.
The stench of rotting flesh filled the air.
"Complain, and I'll tell Elder Hu you're hoarding resources."
He leaned closer, venomous Qi curling around Su Ling's throat.
"Or maybe I'll just break his legs. Your choice."
Luo Feng's knuckles whitened.
*Upgrade Body? Cost: 15 points.*
**Yes.**
Muscles writhed beneath his skin, tendons snapping like bowstrings.
He gripped Lin Yao's wrist. Bones creaked.
"Return it."
Lin Yao hissed, black veins pulsing across his forearm.
Venom dripped from his fingertips, sizzling on the stone floor.
"Let go, trash!"
Luo Feng released him.
"Touch her again, and I'll break more than your wrist."
Lin Yao stumbled back, clutching his hand.
"You'll regret this, outer rat."
He fled, cursing, his cronies scrambling after him.
Su Ling stared, her amber eyes wide.
"How did you…?"
"Luck."
---
Midday sun glared over the training yard.
Disciples sparred with wooden swords, their shouts echoing off the mossy stone walls.
A shadow fell across the courtyard.
A sword of glacial ice split the clouds.
Li Xue descended, her white silk robes fluttering like ghostly wings.
Her aura spread—frost crawling across the ground, icicles forming on nearby pillars.
Disciples shivered, their breath fogging in the sudden winter.
"The Azure Heaven Tournament begins in one month."
Her voice cut through the cold, sharp as a honed blade.
"The winner receives a Heavenly Spirit Pill and the Sect Master's guidance."
Murmurs erupted.
The pill was legendary—a single dose could shatter the bottleneck between Qi Condensation and Soul Foundation.
Li Xue's gaze pinned Luo Feng to the ground.
Her ice-blue eyes bored into him, unblinking.
"Outer disciples may participate… if they dare."
Zhang Wei shoved forward, his bandaged wrist throbbing.
"Even Luo Feng?"
Li Xue's lips curled—a ghost of a smirk.
"Strength respects strength. Let the weak cower."
Her frost Qi brushed his skin, probing.
Needles of ice pricked his meridians, searching.
He clamped down, hiding his Layer 4 cultivation beneath a shell of mediocrity.
She turned, her sword dissolving into mist.
The frost retreated, leaving puddles on the sunbaked stones.
---
Midnight.
The sect vault loomed—a black jade monolith etched with pulsating runes.
The air reeked of ozone and burnt hair.
Two elders guarded the entrance:
Elder Wen, wreathed in acrid smoke that stung the eyes.
Elder Guan, flames dancing on his calloused palms, heat rippling the air.
A demonic roar shook the forest—a sound like mountains splitting.
The elders exchanged a glance.
Elder Guan snarled, fire engulfing his fists.
"That fox-demon again. Let's skin her this time."
They vanished in bursts of light—Elder Wen as a plume of smoke, Elder Guan as a comet of flame.
*Xiao Bai's distraction.*
Luo Feng swallowed the blood-red pill.
His Qi dimmed to a dying ember, his presence fading into the shadows.
He slipped inside, the vault's massive doors groaning shut behind him.
The vault hummed with stolen power.
Jade shelves stretched into darkness, crammed with artifacts:
A sword crackling with captured lightning.
A dagger weeping black blood that hissed where it struck the floor.
A bronze mirror reflecting a starless void.
He followed the pull in his chest—a magnetic ache guiding him deeper.
The Celestial Jade Mirror sat on an obsidian pedestal.
Its surface swirled with constellations, galaxies spinning in its depths.
Alarms screamed—a metallic shriek that vibrated in his teeth.
*Intruder detected.*
He grabbed the mirror.
Ice seared his palm, burning like liquid nitrogen.
He shoved it into his tunic, the cold biting through the fabric.
Elder Guan's roar shook the mountains.
"THIEF!"
Fireballs incinerated the night, reducing ancient pines to ash.
Luo Feng sprinted into the forest, flames licking his heels.
*Upgrade Speed? Cost: 50 points.*
**Yes.**
Energy scorched his veins.
His legs blurred, muscles tearing and reforming with each stride.
Elder Wen's smoke tendrils lashed at his back, snatching strands of his hair.
"You think you can outrun us, maggot?!"
Luo Feng ducked under a falling tree, embers raining around him.
He vaulted over a ravine, the mirror's cold seeping into his ribs.
---
A hidden cave reeked of wet stone and rot.
Xiao Bai lounged on a moss-covered boulder, tails flicking idly.
"Took you long enough."
She snatched the mirror, claws tracing the constellations.
"My clan will sing your name, human."
Golden text flared in his vision:
*Quest Complete: +200 Ascension Points.
System Shop Unlocked.*
*Shop:
1. Heaven's Breath Pill (Temporary cultivation boost) – 100 points.
2. Phantom Step Technique (Advanced movement) – 200 points.
3. Charm of Allure (Increase affinity) – 150 points.*
He selected Phantom Step.
Knowledge flooded his mind—how to melt into shadows, step between raindrops, vanish like morning mist.
Xiao Bai grinned, fangs glinting in the dim light.
"Now, about my next favor—"
"Next?"
She vanished, her whisper lingering like poisoned honey.
"Soon."
---
Dawn stained the mess hall in pale pink.
Li Xue cornered him, frost crawling over his congee, freezing it solid.
"Where were you last night?"
"Sleeping."
"The vault was robbed. The thief was Layer 4."
He shrugged, stirring the icy slush with his chopsticks.
"There are dozens of Layer 4 disciples."
Her frost Qi prickled his skin, needles of cold probing his meridians.
"The tournament doesn't tolerate liars."
She left, ice cracking under her steps, disciples scrambling out of her path.
Su Ling approached, clutching a steaming teapot.
Her hands trembled, jasmine-scented steam curling into the air.
"Be careful. Li Xue's family controls the northern spirit mines."
"Cross her, and you'll vanish like your father."
Luo Feng's throat tightened.
"What do you know about my father?"
She hesitated, pouring tea into his frozen bowl.
The ice melted, swirling with amber liquid.
"Rumors. That he dug too deep… found something he shouldn't."
"They say the Northern Wastes swallowed him whole."
---
That night, the system's voice chimed.
*New Quest: Win the Azure Heaven Tournament.
Reward: 500 Ascension Points. Harem Member Unlocked.*
Luo Feng stared at the ceiling, the thatched roof rustling in the wind.
The tournament meant exposure.
But the rewards—power, answers, maybe even vengeance—beckoned.
A shadow flickered outside his window.
Nine silver tails vanished into the pines, laughter echoing like distant thunder.
The storm was coming.