Chapter 7: Testing the Blade

Ren Tai sat cross-legged as morning mist coiled between the trees. Spirit Qi flowed steadily into his body. A pulse ran through his limbs — steady, refined. Then, in a flash of heat, his meridians surged. Something inside clicked into place.

He opened his eyes.

"1st Stage Qi Condensation," he muttered. The breakthrough had come quietly, but its effect was immediate. His body felt light, controlled, renewed. Power flowed cleanly through his blood, bones, and meridian channels. Steadily he was growing stronger.

What surprised him, though, was the size of his meridian. It was massive — nearly 40mm wide, like a ping-pong ball. Most cultivators would kill for half that. The size of your meridian depended on how high of a talent you had, and his was the size of a ping-pong ball about 40mm in size. And yet, Ren only called it 'quite big.' If anyone else heard that, they'd want to throttle him — most cultivators would never reach 25mm without a rare treasure. The recorded average size of a meridian was about 15mm.

Normally, in the Qi Condensation Realm, a cultivator had to clear each meridian of impurities before slowly filling it with Qi. Only then could the Qi be liquefied — a slow and painful process.

And each meridian cleared corresponded to a stage in Qi Condensation, but with the Cauldron-HeartBeast Method apart from clearing his meridians it would also thoroughly strengthen every bone in his body. And there was more it seemed each realm he broke through unlocked a special "talent" at the peak of each realm.

He stood and drew a deep breath. "Time to test it."

Without delay, he returned to hunting. His instincts led him deeper into the forest, where spiritual energy felt denser. As he moved through the underbrush, he kept his senses open. Qi in the ground hummed with residual beast presence.

It didn't take long to find one.

Up ahead, a peak 2-star beast — a Silverback Wolf — crouched over a freshly killed boar. Its silver fur shimmered faintly with spiritual light, and its fangs gleamed red with blood.

Ren Tai crouched low in the grass, his saber already in hand. He narrowed his eyes as the beast tore into flesh, unaware of his presence.

"Should I ambush it… or test myself properly?" he muttered under his breath, eyes cold.

His instincts screamed caution but not fear... and he wanted clarity.

"No more hesitation," he whispered. "Let's see what I've become.

He stepped forward.

The wolf snapped its head up, growling low, recognizing the challenge. Its aura flared, feral and focused.

Ren Tai held his saber in his right , observing the wolf coldly.

He lunged.

The wolf darted forward in response, faster than most cultivators could react. Its claws slashed toward his chest, but Ren twisted, his saber flashing up to deflect the strike. The clash rang through the trees.

Each breath brought ten cuts.

The air shimmered with the speed of his saber.

He unleashed the first form of his saber art — "A Thousand Cuts, One Breath." A technique designed to overwhelm an opponent in an instant, turning every breath into a flurry of death. The saber danced in sharp arcs, the wolf dodging or absorbing each strike with Qi-reinforced fur. He was fighting with the spine of the saber or he would have ended the fight on the first blow. Even with the flat of the blade, each strike drew snarls of pain, driving the beast into a frenzy.

The wolf howled and retaliated. Its speed increased, claws swiping like wind, forcing Ren back a step — then two. One claw caught his shoulder, drawing blood.

He gritted his teeth. "Not fast enough".

Drawing Qi into his limbs, he pushed his body beyond what it had managed during training. His saber arm blurred. Each movement now sharper, more precise.

He baited the beast into a lunge — and then ducked low, twisting.

The spine of the saber hit cleanly across the wolf's belly. Severely damaging the wolf's internal organs.

It staggered, whimpered, and collapsed with a final, shallow growl.

Ren Tai exhaled. His muscles trembled from the effort, but not from weakness — from restraint.

He wiped the blood from his shoulder after noticing that it was slowly healing he stepped forward.

"Still too slow," he muttered. "But it's a start."

As he prepared to store the beast's body into his ring, a sound caught his attention.

Crunching leaves. Whispered voices. Ren's grip on the saber tightened as he froze, eyes narrowing.

"…told you we'd find a trail out here!"

"Are you sure it was a Silverback wolf? Or just another dumb boar?"

"We're already close to the mid-ring of the forest"

"Don't worry the trails match." "No boar leaves prints like that — look ahead."

Ren Tai stilled. Three figures — all men — emerged between the trees, dressed in hunting leathers. Their weapons were simple, but they carried themselves with confidence.

Hunters.

He stayed still, eyes steady, the saber resting loose but ready in his hand.