Chapter 4: Boundless Veins

The silence of the night was thick, disturbed only by the soft murmur of wind brushing against the stone walls of Elian's small chamber. He lay awake on the straw mat, eyes wide open, staring at the wooden beams above him. Sleep eluded him, not from discomfort, but from the heavy truth pressing down on his soul.

Ancient power. Lost energy. A path beyond the village.

The words of Master Harlin echoed endlessly in his mind. The Azure Flame Temple. He had heard tales of it in hushed voices—stories of elite cultivators, arcane trials, and powerful masters that could bend the very laws of nature. And now, they expected him to go there. Him. The orphan once mocked for being spiritless.

But Elian was no longer the same.

He raised his hand in the dim light. Gold veins pulsed beneath his skin like living rivers, faint but undeniable. When he focused, a warm current stirred within his chest, moving in ways he couldn't explain.

Something inside him had changed. But what exactly had awakened?

He sat up slowly and crossed his legs in a meditative stance, drawing a deep breath. The elders had told him he needed to begin spiritual training immediately to stabilize the energy within. But when Elian closed his eyes and tried to follow the standard breathing techniques, the power inside him didn't follow the usual flow.

It didn't move through the meridians the way it was supposed to. Instead, it carved its own path—faster, deeper, and infinitely more complex. Like it was bypassing the normal rules of cultivation entirely.

Confused, Elian pressed a finger to his chest, right above his heart. That's where the crystal had embedded itself. A golden glow flickered beneath his skin, pulsing like a heartbeat. When he focused on it, he felt... something else. Not just power. Intelligence. Memory. Echoes.

Then a voice returned—faint, almost imperceptible.

"Yours is the path unmarked. The Boundless Veins awaken only once in an age."

Elian's eyes snapped open, heart pounding. He looked around the room, but there was no one. The voice wasn't external. It had come from within.

"Boundless... veins?"

He had never heard of such a thing. Everyone in the village spoke of the Three Vein Types: Basic, Refined, and Heaven-Aligned. Each one had a limit—a ceiling that defined how fast someone could cultivate. The strongest among them could draw spiritual energy twice as fast as a normal person. But Elian… he had already surpassed that without even training.

His veins didn't align with any known type.

They were something else.

He stood abruptly and exited his hut, slipping into the cool night. Stars glittered overhead like silver dust across the velvet sky. The village was quiet—lamps extinguished, houses closed, everyone asleep.

Everyone except one.

A faint glow flickered near the training fields at the village edge. Elian moved toward it quietly, boots crunching over the dew-laced grass. As he approached, he saw a figure—tall, lean, and graceful—wielding a wooden staff with precision. Mira.

She moved with fluid grace, her staff cutting through the air in perfect arcs. Her hair was tied back, face focused, body glistening with sweat despite the chill. It wasn't just practice—it was discipline, purpose. And she was strong. Elian watched her in awe, amazed by the calm fire in her movements.

She noticed him before he could speak.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she asked, twirling the staff and planting it firmly in the ground.

Elian shook his head. "Too much on my mind."

Mira walked over, handing him a cloth to dry his face even though he wasn't sweating. "You feel it, don't you? That pull? Like everything you knew was just the surface?"

He nodded. "I think… there's something different in me. The elders said it's ancient. But there's more. I heard a voice. It said I had… Boundless Veins."

Mira's eyes widened slightly. "Boundless Veins? That's not a term I've heard before."

"I haven't either," Elian admitted. "But it feels real. My energy doesn't move like others. It doesn't flow through normal meridians. It makes its own path. Faster. Stronger."

She stepped back, studying him more closely now. "That would explain why your power seems to surge instead of build gradually."

They stood in silence for a moment, the wind whispering between them. Mira suddenly grabbed her staff again and pointed it at him.

"Show me."

Elian blinked. "What?"

"Fight me," she said with a grin. "Let me feel it. I've fought a dozen cultivators in training, but none have made my instincts flare like you did earlier."

Elian hesitated. "I don't even know how to control it."

"All the better," she challenged. "If it's truly that different, then let it speak through your body."

He looked at her, uncertain. But something in her gaze was reassuring. She wasn't here to hurt him. She wanted to understand.

Elian exhaled slowly and took a stance. "Alright. But don't say I didn't warn you."

The first clash was subtle. Mira moved quickly, her staff whistling through the air. Elian ducked, his reflexes sharper than usual. He sidestepped and countered instinctively with a palm strike—nothing fancy, just momentum.

But the moment his hand met her staff, there was a flash of golden light, and Mira was pushed back ten steps, skidding across the grass.

She stared at him, stunned. "That wasn't cultivation. That was raw force."

Elian blinked. "I didn't even push that hard."

Mira charged again, faster this time. She struck low, then high, a feint that would fool most. But Elian read her movement before she even finished it. He ducked, slid under the strike, and twisted behind her. His palm touched her back—but he held the power this time. Only a faint pulse went through.

She froze. "You… you moved like a Seeker-ranked cultivator just now."

"I'm not even ranked."

"Exactly." Mira lowered her staff, breath uneven. "Your veins… they must be amplifying more than just energy. They're enhancing your perception, your reactions, your instincts."

Elian wiped his brow. "It's like I can see the energy. Not just feel it. It tells me where to move."

Mira exhaled slowly. "You don't need to fear your power, Elian. But you do need to master it. And quickly. If the temple senses what you have, you'll attract more than just guidance. You'll attract envy. Danger."

Elian nodded, a chill crawling down his spine. "That's why I need to grow stronger. I don't want to rely on others to protect me."

Mira looked at him seriously. "Then we start tomorrow. Every dawn, we train. And when you're ready, we leave for the temple."

The next week passed like a storm.

Every morning, Elian and Mira trained under the old tree behind the village fields. Mira taught him how to control his breathing, how to move his body in harmony with the spiritual flow. But it quickly became clear that Elian didn't need the standard techniques.

His cultivation didn't follow the known laws.

Instead of absorbing energy from the air like most beginners, the crystal in his chest seemed to pull energy toward him—refining it faster than any known technique. While Mira spent hours gathering enough spiritual qi to fill one meridian, Elian filled three in minutes.

His strength increased exponentially. His body became harder, faster, lighter. And his senses sharpened—he could hear leaves rustle from dozens of meters away, smell distant herbs, and sense movement like ripples in a pond.

And yet… he kept it hidden.

Even Mira, as close as she was becoming, didn't know the full extent of his power. Deep inside, Elian knew that if people found out what he truly was… they wouldn't see a hero. They'd see a threat.

On the eighth day, the village bell rang—a sign that a traveler had arrived.

The gates opened, and a cloaked figure entered. He was tall, draped in dark blue robes with the mark of the Azure Flame Temple stitched on his shoulder.

"Elian of Arlin," the man said, voice calm yet commanding. "By order of the Temple, you are to be tested for admission. Your awakening has drawn interest beyond this land."

Mira looked at Elian, her jaw tense. "It's starting."

Elian stood tall, the light of his hidden veins pulsing softly beneath his skin. "Then let them test me."

Let them see the path I walk. The Unseen Path of Boundless Veins.