After witnessing the sheer force of his punch, Li Ming stood silently amidst the shattered remains of the two trees. The morning sun filtered through the dense forest canopy above, casting mottled shadows across the forest floor. A breeze rustled the leaves, and the scent of crushed wood lingered heavily in the air.
He flexed his fingers slowly, watching the last trace of crimson qi fade from his hand.
A faint smile curled on his lips.
"My cultivation should be at least at the Body Refining realm," he murmured to himself, voice calm. "And now, I still have ten days... If I can increase my cultivation even further, my strength will definitely grow with it. Judging by the leap from mortal to Body Refining, it's not impossible that I could reach the peak of Bone Refining or maybe even surpass it."
A strange glint appeared in his eyes,ambition mingled with quiet determination.
But soon, his expression grew serious.
"But this won't be easy… I need to kill two hundred people to advance."
His smile faded, replaced by a somber thought.
Despite the memories of blood and death, despite the brutal path he now walked, a shred of humanity from his previous life still clung to him tenuous, but real. He didn't want to slaughter the innocent. Not when another path existed.
And he found that path.
A small, grim smile returned to his face.
Six Days Later
The city's alleys were colder now, even during the day. The streets of the outer districts, once filled with petty criminals and gangsters, had turned eerily silent.
Two middle-aged men in worn tunics walked cautiously through one of these narrow alleyways. The air was thick with unease, and the scent of blood faint but lingering still hung in the corners where sunlight dared not reach.
One of them, a wiry man with tired eyes, spoke in a hushed tone.
"Did you hear, Bai Gu? Most of the gangs in the city have been wiped out in less than a week… all by a single man."
The man beside him, broader and with a scar across his jaw, nodded slowly.
"Indeed. A lot of blood has been spilled." He paused. "The court's declared him a rebel."
The first man sneered.
"Hmph. They're full of it. Where were those 'noble' officials when the gangs were collecting protection money right under their noses?"
Their voices faded into the distance as they disappeared into the streets, leaving behind only the echoes of truth no one dared speak aloud.
That Night
Two drunken men staggered through the dark streets of the southern slums, the smell of cheap wine clinging to them like sweat.
One of them squinted ahead, hiccuping.
"Hey, Liu Gyuan… look at that. See who's walking toward us?"
The second man, Liu Gyuan, rubbed his bleary eyes and scoffed at the approaching silhouette.
"Hmph. Probably that black-clothed rat everyone's yapping about. If our leader catches him, he'll burn him alive."
He burst into laughter, loud and mocking oblivious to the tide of fate about to swallow him whole.
As they stumbled forward, Liu Gyuan turned to make another joke only to stop cold.
The man who'd been beside him just a moment ago… was now nothing more than a pile of mangled flesh strewn across the street.
Before the scream could rise in his throat, crimson light flashed and he met the same fate.
In the blood-soaked silence that followed, Li Ming stepped forward, his black robe fluttering in the night wind. The wine bottle rolled to his feet, splashing onto the already soaked ground.
He stared at the bodies, expression unreadable.
"Now that I've taken this path, and the court has openly declared me a rebel… there's no going back. We've torn off our masks."
His tone was calm, steady. He wasn't speaking to anyone but himself.
"But I expected this. That's why I only killed gang members. This way, I'll have the support of the common people… and the court will lose their trust. That gives me time."
He glanced around once more. The narrow street was silent, the city watching from the shadows, waiting.
A quiet smile flickered across his lips. Then he raised his hand and summoned the translucent screen only he could see.
He opened his status bar.