Chapter 20: "Echoes of the First Tracing"

When you start writing runes with bone dust and crystal fragments, that moment of truth inevitably arrives: either the universe responds with a gentle hum of acceptance, or it slaps you with a runic explosion that singes your eyebrows off. For Li Wei, that was a good day. He kept his eyebrows. More or less.

After achieving his first functional rune, a minimal but effective shield, Li Wei had spent the following days repeating the process until the Qi flow felt as natural as insulting his superiors (though far less satisfying). But Ignis Eternum, his fireproof mentor with the soul of a tyrannical librarian, wouldn't let him rest on his laurels...

"You can now walk without tripping over your own ideas. It's time to run. Today, you'll learn to combine runes."

"Combine? That sounds suspiciously explosive."

"Only if you do it wrong."

Spoiler: he did it wrong.

The first attempt to merge a reinforcement rune with a detection rune ended in a cloud of smoke and a muffled cry, followed by a series of Qi sneezes that left Li Wei with a red nose and agitated meridians.

But that was how learning worked. Through blows. Through laughter. Through failed calculations and burning looks of disapproval.

"Why couldn't I have a natural talent for wielding swords like everyone else? Why does my path have to involve the constant risk of losing my eyebrows? Oh, right. Because destiny decided I'd be a strategist... with a tendency for self-immolation. Well played, universe."

And yet, between errors and progress, something was changing in him. The fox was growing. He was no longer just a survivor sharpened by strategy, but a cultivator who was beginning to leave his mark on the world's codes. Literally.

One night, as he traced on stone with the sacred dust, Ignis spoke in a different tone.

"Listen, mortal. The rune you draw is not just a seal. It's an ancient word. An echo of the laws of the Dao. Concentrate!"

And Li Wei did. For the first time, the hum didn't just vibrate in the stone. It reverberated in his chest.

"Ignis..." he murmured, his voice strangely serene. "...I feel... the rune responding to me."

"Because you've stopped imposing. And you've started listening. That's the difference between a novice and a true inscriber of destinies."

The training became more complex. Ignis taught him the symmetrical tracing of a cancellation rune, capable of dispersing small energetic attacks. It spoke to him of the possibility of engraving these runes on paper, wood, or even skin. Though Li Wei, for the moment, preferred not to become a walking tattoo.

As he mastered the basic forms, he also learned to feel the affinity of materials. Beast bone burned more with fire-type Qi. The resonance crystal varied its glow according to intent. Moon mist root, if rubbed too hastily, would break and release hallucinogenic vapors. How did he discover this? Well... let's just say it wasn't a productive afternoon.

But Ignis kept guiding him, with a mix of ancient wisdom and incendiary verbal threats.

"When you manage to engrave a rune on rigid stone, without the Qi corrupting or dispersing, I can teach you the Internal Anchoring Seal. A technique to fix power within your own body."

"And what's that for?" Li Wei asked, wiping runic ink from his fingers.

"To survive. To seal wounds. To contain poisons. Or to explode... if you fail."

Ah, classic Ignis. But Li Wei smiled. Because he no longer feared the fire. He had accepted it. And each stroke was a conversation between his will and the world.

And so, between strokes, burns, achievements, and frustrations, he approached a turning point. He didn't know it yet, but very soon he would have to put those runes to the test.

Because something was moving in the nearby forests. Something that smelled of corrupted Qi and ancient secrets.

And Li Wei, with only a handful of shining strokes and a wise fire in his mind, would have to decide whether to hide... or to engrave his first seal on the battlefield.

"The sect tournament is getting closer and closer. And while everyone else is perfecting their strikes and brilliant techniques, I'm here drawing circles. But... I don't care. Because when they're busy hitting air, I'll make the ground explode beneath their feet. This time... I won't run. This time, I'm going to mark the field as mine."