The Crimson-Striped Shadow Wolf lunged.
Its massive claws tore through the air, scattering leaves and splinters like shrapnel. The ground quaked beneath its paws. Its breath reeked of blood and death.
Yan Rui moved first—his sword flashing like lightning. He struck with precision, his blade guided by disciplined qi. Sparks flew as his weapon clashed against the beast's armored hide, but the wolf barely flinched.
"This one's at least early Spirit Stage! I can't handle it alone!" he shouted.
Li Wei felt the storm of qi churning around him—chaotic, powerful. His body trembled. His meridian was still raw, newly opened, but something within him stirred: a strange clarity, as if his senses had bloomed beyond the ordinary.
The pendant at his neck pulsed again.
This time, it spoke.
Not in words—but in sensation. A gentle push. A pull inward.
Li Wei closed his eyes for half a second and followed its rhythm.
His breath aligned. The Breath of the Verdant Sky flowed naturally now. The energy around him bent, ever so slightly, answering his call. A soft green glow enveloped his skin, and qi surged toward his dantian.
With a yell, he extended his hand—and the surrounding air shimmered.
Whoosh—BOOM!
A whip-like arc of wind qi burst forth, slamming into the beast's side. It howled, stumbling back. Yan Rui turned in shock.
"You can channel qi externally?! After opening just one meridian?!"
"I… think so," Li Wei said, panting.
The wolf's eyes locked on him now—fur bristling, fangs bared.
It charged.
Li Wei focused. Instinct guided him more than training. He dropped low, gathered qi, and thrust his palm forward again. Another burst of force shot out—but it wasn't enough.
The wolf was too fast.
In a blur, Yan Rui intervened, his sword carving a shallow wound across the beast's muzzle. It reeled back with a roar.
"We need to end this now!" Yan Rui barked. "Can you do more?"
Li Wei glanced down. His qi was dwindling fast. The technique consumed more than he had expected.
But then—he remembered something from Master Shen's scroll:
"The Breath is not only wind. It is life. It is growth. When drawn deeply, even one breath may bloom into power."
He sat. Right in the middle of the chaos.
"Are you insane?!" Yan Rui yelled.
Li Wei ignored him. He inhaled.
The wind slowed. The mist curled tighter around him.
One breath.
He focused it into his core.
A bloom of qi—sudden, pure, vibrant—erupted from within.
The wolf leapt.
Li Wei's eyes snapped open.
With a cry, he struck upward—this time not with raw force, but with focused intent. A spiral of wind erupted around his fist, like a coiling dragon.
CRACK!
The spiral hit the wolf square in the chest, blasting it back with devastating force. It crashed into a tree with a bone-snapping crunch… and didn't rise.
The forest fell silent.
Yan Rui lowered his sword slowly, eyes wide. "That… was a beginner technique?"
Li Wei stood shakily, the last of his qi fading. "I guess… it works."
Yan Rui walked over and stared at him. "No sect. No master. One meridian. You should be crawling right now, but instead you just killed a Spirit Beast."
A long pause.
"…You're coming with me."
Li Wei blinked. "What?"
"To the Azure Wind Sect. I'm dragging you there myself if I have to. The elders need to see this."
Li Wei didn't resist.
As they left the battlefield, a soft breeze whispered through the trees. The pendant at his chest dimmed once more… but within it, something ancient and watching had begun to awaken.
⸻
Far away, in a dark hall filled with floating candles and scrolls that wrote themselves, a figure cloaked in shadow smiled faintly.
"The boy has touched the wind. Soon, he will stir the heavens."