The Art of Running Away

As the night quietly slipped away, the first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the dense forest canopy. Chu… chu… cu! The birds chirped like a miniature orchestra, their sweet notes echoing through the trees, gently stirring awake the sleeping forest creatures.

Even the tense atmosphere that had loomed over the forest seemed to relax for a moment.

Su Chen, too, opened his eyes, looking strangely refreshed.

He hadn't bathed. Not because water wasn't available—okay, maybe it wasn't—but mainly because he was too lazy to go find any. Instead, he had conveniently used Qi to freshen himself up.

"Ahhh… Alright, time to start cultivating again." He stretched and plopped down in a lotus position inside his little cave.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and get serious, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

"System, show me my status."

Ding!

A blue system screen appeared in front of him.

[Status Panel]

[Name]: Su Chen

[Realm]: Qi Refining Realm - 9th Level

[Species]: Cultivator

[Physique]: Innate Sacred Dao Fetus

[Techniques]: None

[Scriptures]: Wood Sovereign Script

[Special Talents]: Outsider Aura, Poison Immunity

[Supernatural Power]: Wood Sensing

[System Storage]: Five Elements Escape Technique

Su Chen's eyes lit up like lanterns when he saw the "System Storage" section.

"Oh right! That Five Elements Escape Technique!" he exclaimed. Without hesitation, he clicked on the technique to view its description.

[Five Elements Escape Technique]:

A powerful stealth and escape ability that allows the user to hide within and travel through the five elements. Range and control depend on the cultivator's realm. Requires Foundation Building Realm or higher to cultivate.

Su Chen blinked.

Then blinked again.

"…WHAT?!"

His jaw dropped. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You're telling me that once I reach Foundation Building, I can just vanish into fire, water, earth, wood, or metal whenever I want?! That's basically cheating!"

A wild grin spread across his face.

"That means if anyone tries to capture me… whoosh—I'm gone! They'll be left talking to the wind! Add that to my Outsider Aura and the Wood Sovereign Script… pfft, I'll be a ghost! No one will ever find me!"

He clenched his fist dramatically.

"This isn't running away. It's called—strategic retreat!"

With sparkling eyes full of excitement and delusions of invincibility, Su Chen closed the system screen, chuckling to himself.

"Alright, enough daydreaming. Time to hit Foundation Building and cultivate this cultivation technique!"

With renewed motivation, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began cultivating. Wood-element Qi in the surroundings stirred faintly, slowly gathering toward him like moths to a flame.

Meanwhile…

On a thick, sturdy tree branch, Da Huang—the oversized black crow with an ego the size of a mountain—was snoring softly, wings tucked like a cozy blanket around him.

"Mmm… don't leave me, fairies… my fairies…" he murmured in his sleep, voice filled with longing. Suddenly, he let out a pitiful little cry, flapped his wings in a half-dreamy panic, and—plop!—fell off the branch.

But just before he could faceplant into the ground, Da Huang snapped awake mid-air.

"Wha—! Damn fairies again!"

With a few strong flaps, he shot back up and landed gracefully on the same branch, pretending nothing happened. Puffing up his feathers proudly, he muttered to himself with a shameless grin, "Ahem, even though I've reached the Foundation Realm and can fly with Qi, I choose to use my wings. Why? Because it shows my noble heritage. I am a bird, after all. Birds fly. Peasants walk."

He glanced toward the distant range of volcanic mountains—once a terrifying death zone, now a quiet, slumbering beast of land.

"Hmm, five more days… that lotus should fully bloom by then," he said with a glint of cunning in his beady eyes. "But first—this great one needs a bath."

With a whoosh of his wings, he took to the skies. He flew low, skimming above the treetops at high speed. Despite being capable of soaring through the clouds, Da Huang knew better.

"This forest is filled with lunatics. If I fly too high, some idiot might decide to use me for target practice," he muttered. "Better safe than roasted."

Flapping furiously, he zoomed off toward a water spring he'd spotted a few days ago, ready to clean off both the dust and his pride.

Back at the cave…

Su Chen sat cross-legged in the middle of his cave, his eyes shut tight as he cultivated with intense focus. Suddenly—

Crack!

A crisp sound echoed inside his body as he broke through the barrier to the 10th level of the Qi Refining Realm.

A faint green glow bloomed on his forehead, and a small, four-petaled lotus appeared right between his eyebrows. Though not very obvious from afar, up close it shimmered gently, like a delicate tattoo etched by the heavens.

Su Chen smiled faintly. "Finally."

But instead of relaxing, he ramped things up. He began running the Wood Sovereign Script even faster, pushing his body and meridians to the limit. Ancient ruins engraved across his body—normally dormant—started to emit a faint green light, glowing brighter and brighter.

The surrounding wood-element Qi stirred like a storm and began to whirl around him. Within moments, a small wood-attribute tornado formed in the cave, howling softly but fiercely.

A short distance away, a Foundation Realm leopard, who had been napping peacefully in a sun-warmed bush, snapped awake.

Sniff. Sniff.

His feline eyes narrowed. Something… unusual was happening nearby.

Driven by curiosity (and the eternal greed of beasts for treasure), the leopard bolted through the jungle with astounding speed. In less than two minutes, he reached the edge of Su Chen's cave.

There, he stopped.

The Qi suction from the cave was intense. Leaves and dust were being pulled inward like there was a black hole inside. The leopard crouched low, eyes gleaming. Something valuable is in there, it thought. A treasure? Or a breakthrough?

But it didn't rush in. Smart beast. Instead, it decided to wait and observe.

Half an hour passed.

Still nothing.

Tired of waiting, the leopard finally lost patience and sprinted toward the cave. Su Chen, who had sensed the leopard's presence long ago thanks to his Wood Sensing ability, didn't panic—at least on the outside. On the inside?

"System product, please don't fail me now…"

But just as the leopard's paw stepped into the 100-meter radius around the cave, it suddenly… froze.

Its eyes glazed over, confusion replacing aggression.

Wait… what was I doing again? Wasn't I just napping? Why am I here? Did I sleepwalk?

Though the beast didn't speak, its face made everything clear—it looked like a student who'd walked into the wrong classroom during finals.

Then, without another thought, the leopard turned around and casually jogged back the way it came, completely forgetting the whole encounter.

Su Chen, still in cultivation, let out a small breath of relief.

"Looks like… this Outsider Aura really works. Even on Foundation Realm beasts."

A smile curled on his lips. He didn't open his eyes, but in his heart, he added, System, I forgive you for making me suffer early on.

He sat there, surrounded by swirling wood Qi, glowing runes, and rising confidence, preparing himself for the next big leap—toward the Foundation Realm.