Chapter 17 – A Fractured Path

Xu Tianyin did not sleep.

The night passed in silence, but the silence was not empty. It was filled with his own thoughts, the weight of what he had done pressing against him like an unseen force. His body still ached from the transformation, his dantian now an empty void where qi should have been. But it was not emptiness. It was something else—something deeper.

Bai Yeming had not spoken much after witnessing the change. She had simply observed, her gaze unreadable, before turning away to meditate.

Now, as dawn broke through the mist-covered trees, she finally spoke.

"You have severed yourself from the natural flow of energy."

Tianyin looked up. "Then why am I still alive?"

Yeming's lips curved slightly. "Because you are no longer bound by it."

He did not understand. Not yet. But there was no time for reflection.

The world had not stopped moving simply because his had changed.

The sound of footsteps—deliberate, heavy—echoed through the forest. Yeming was already standing, her gaze fixed on the trees ahead. Tianyin felt nothing, no disturbance in qi, no warning. His senses, once keen from years of survival, were dulled by this unfamiliar state.

Then they emerged.

A group of six men, clad in dark robes embroidered with the emblem of the Xu Clan. His clan. The very people who had cast him aside.

Tianyin's hands curled into fists. He recognized the one at the front—Xu Haoran, his older brother.

"How unfortunate," Haoran said, voice laced with mockery. "We assumed you had died. But here you are, still clinging to existence."

Tianyin met his brother's gaze without flinching. "Why are you here?"

Haoran smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "To correct an old mistake."

The other men spread out, surrounding them. Their presence was suffocating, the weight of their cultivated qi pressing against the air. If Tianyin had still been attuned to qi, he might have felt intimidated.

But now, he felt nothing.

Yeming did not move. She did not unsheathe her blade, nor did she summon any energy. Instead, she looked at Tianyin, as if waiting.

A test.

Tianyin exhaled slowly. He could not use qi to enhance his strength, could not form techniques the way they did. But he was not powerless.

He stepped forward.

Haoran scoffed. "Still arrogant, I see." He raised a hand, signaling the others. "Kill him."

They moved at once.

Tianyin dodged the first strike, shifting his body at the last possible moment. The second came in quick succession, a blade flashing toward his throat. He ducked, his instincts sharper than ever. Without the interference of qi, his body felt different—lighter, more responsive. His movements did not follow the rigid techniques of cultivation. They were raw, unpredictable.

And that was his advantage.

He grabbed the arm of one attacker, twisting sharply. A sickening crack followed, the man crying out as his wrist snapped. Another lunged with a spear, but Tianyin sidestepped, letting the momentum carry the man past him before delivering a crushing blow to his ribs.

Haoran's smile faded.

"You—" His words were cut off as Tianyin's fist slammed into his chest.

Haoran staggered back, disbelief flickering across his face. "Impossible…"

Tianyin stood over him, breath steady. "You rely too much on qi."

Haoran coughed, fury twisting his features. "You… you're just a mistake! A failed existence!"

Tianyin knelt beside him, his voice calm. "Then why are you afraid?"

Haoran opened his mouth to retort, but he had no words.

Yeming finally stepped forward. "You understand now, don't you?"

Tianyin rose to his feet. "Yes."

He did not need qi to fight. He did not need the approval of the world to exist.

His path was his own.

And he would carve it with his own hands.