Xia Hongyi finally said, "I accept."

Another chance like this would never come again. And if Liu Xing was correct, following his wisdom would surely earn his father's affection.

"All right then, disciple," his uncle replied, nodding. He gestured towards the distance where the sounds of wailing, crackling thunder, and flashing light still echoed. "Watching that fight makes my heart boil. Let's pack. We need to leave as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

Xia Hongyi took a step, thinking this was his first stride toward greatness, the path that would make him the strongest in the Xia clan, garner respect from everyone, and especially his father. But as Xia Hongyi walked with his chest puffed out and eyes shining, his gaze fixed on his uncle's back, he witnessed something impossible—his uncle's head suddenly flew off, severed from his body. Red hair, which had draped below his shoulders, fell to the ground along with the body.

His mind froze, unable to process what he had just seen. He watched in horror as his uncle's head flew through the air, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. When the head landed on the ground in front of him, crimson blood bloomed from the neck, and heart pounded faster and faster. His brain struggled to decipher the impossible scene unfolding before him, and a sharp, painful sensation suddenly gripped his heart, as if something were squeezing it. Xia Hongyi suspected it must be a dream. It had to be. There was no way this could be real. His uncle couldn't have just died like that. Nothing around them seemed capable of such an attack.

Instincts screaming, Xia Hongyi frantically looked around, searching for the cause of his uncle's demise. Then he saw it—the culprit.

Hanging from a branch by a rope around its neck was a grinning man. His smile was unnaturally wide, as if it might tear the upper part of his head off. His face was red, like a drunkard's, with brown eyebrows and purple hair. His ears resembled orange fruits, and his teeth looked like wriggling maggots. He flailed hands and feet that were made of yellow, snake-like appendages, and peeking from the clothing on his torso was a hand with an eye in its palm. The creature swung and smiled, as if Xia Hongyi's uncle's death was the most amusing thing in the world.

Seeing this abomination, Xia Hongyi's heart leapt to his throat. Though the head and torso resembled a man, Xia Hongyi knew it was not human. It felt like a spirit beast, one with unimaginable power. Then he saw the second monster emerge from the ground, right under his uncle's lifeless body. It resembled a giant worm, with a soft, pink, segmented body. But it was massive, and it had a humanoid face, complete with eyes, a mouth, and a big red nose. Faces lined its back, each one twisted in horror, as if many people were trapped inside the worm and pushing their faces from the inside in a desperate attempt to escape.

Seeing these two spirit beasts, Xia Hongyi trembled like a newborn fawn. His teeth chattered as though he were freezing, and every instinct screamed at him to flee.

The hanging man untied the rope from the tree branch, and with his snake-like arms, he dropped to the ground near his uncle's body, whipping his hand around and sending his uncle's arms flying.

"H-hands. D-disgusting," it croaked in a choppy, hoarse voice.

The worm creature opened its mouth wide, then lunged toward his uncle's body, swallowing both it and the ground beneath it.

Seeing this, Xia Hongyi turned and bolted. His feet pounded the ground as fast as they could, his qi surging through his body in a frenzy. He had to escape from these monsters. They had killed his uncle without him even realizing it—there was no hope of survival unless he could get back and ask Liu Xing for help.

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Suddenly, Xia Hongyi felt weightless, as if he were flying in the sky like a bird. But something was wrong, because he knew he couldn't fly. That's when he realized he was indeed flying, but only as a head. Looking down, he saw his body falling to the ground.

His mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened, and the world quickly faded to black.

***

Liu Xing walked through the remains of the inverted pyramid spirit beast, his steps squelching in the mud mixed with yellow blood. He accidentally stepped on a tiny eye, no bigger than a marble, and it popped like stepping on jelly.

Looking around, he found the area almost completely flattened, riddled with holes, and scattered with pieces of the pyramid. There weren't many trees, boulders, or even grass, leaving the landscape devastated and barren.

Not far from where he walked, Liu Xing noticed a large hole. Water from the river flowed into it, and he knew that in the future, a lake would form there. That hole marked the spot where he had finally had enough of his enemy, which had split itself repeatedly, forcing him to unleash attacks from the Thunderstrike Gauntlets.

As he looked around, he hoped the altered landscape wouldn't change the environment too much and that, within a few years, the area would become green again.

"Where's my robe?" Liu Xing muttered, glancing around. Before diving into the water to retrieve the Ethereal Pearl, he had tucked his robe between two large rocks. When Fat Lin's rock had decided to attack, he hadn't cared about his appearance and fought bare-chested. But the battle must have sent his robe flying.

Luckily, he hadn't left his spatial bag behind. The bag, tied securely with a golden rope, was still fastened around his waist, keeping all his precious belongings, including the treasures he had acquired, safe. Still, Liu Xing felt the need to find his robe. It had been incredibly convenient—he rarely had to wash it, and it held a certain nostalgic value for him. So, he searched the area, hoping the robe had caught on a tree or was sticking out from the ground. But after almost half an hour of searching, Liu Xing realized the purple robe was probably gone for good, and he would have to accept it.

"Well, it looks like I need a new robe."

With his money, he could buy a good set of clothes, though Liu Xing doubted they would possess the same self-cleaning properties as his old robe. Summoning his gun, Liu Xing checked the green strips along the side of it. Six stripes glowed softly, confirming that the pyramid creature was truly dead.

"All right, let's find a good place to cultivate," he said to himself.

He was reminded again that he needed a method to cultivate while on the move, but since there was nothing he could do about it now, he set that thought aside and searched for a place to cultivate.

After leaving the area destroyed by his battle with the spirit beast, he arrived at a pleasant clearing with a large boulder, as big as an elephant, in its center. Liu Xing hopped onto the boulder and sat cross-legged, placing his gun in his lap before beginning to absorb the qi from the bullets.

The process was smooth, and the qi flowed into his consciousness without much fanfare, entering his final lock as naturally as a child returning home to their mother. Before long, Liu Xing had finished cultivating.

Standing up, he checked the position of the sun and tried to recall where Fat Lin's rock was. He then reminded himself of the details about a treasure known as the Red Wings of Stability.

The Red Wings of Stability was the next treasure he had chosen to retrieve. This treasure could create small fire wings on the user's back. While the wings didn't grant the ability to fly, they significantly enhanced the user's durability.

He summoned the interface to double-check his information:

Name: Red Wings of Stability

Location: Near Second Gray Cloud City

Description: This treasure was created by the Burning World Sect. It's said that the treasure was made secretly for a noble's son from the Phoenix Empire who had lost control of his bloodline. The main function of this treasure is to enhance the user's durability. When activated, it creates small fire wings on the user's back.

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