Book 1- The Start of Cultivation Chapter 16: Killing Bear-Axe

"Is this how I die?" he wondered, despair creeping in, tears mingling with blood. He didn't want to die; he didn't want to feel this pain. He was scared.

Just as darkness threatened to overtake him, a sudden heat surged through his veins. His blood felt like liquid fire, boiling within. The pain in his chest began to fade, then...

"RAAAHHHHHH!!!" Xue San let out a scream that sounded more beast than human. He didn't know why, but at that moment, his fear was replaced by an overwhelming, untamable rage. Something primal was awakening within him.

His cry echoed across the battleground, a chilling sound that made every soul shudder with primal fear. Even the bear-like man felt a tremor run through him. Realizing something was gravely amiss, he tightened his grip on his axe and charged toward Xue San, determined to finish the job this time.

With both hands, Blood-Axe swung his massive weapon at Xue San with all his might, the aura around him so intense it was nearly blinding. This attack, he was certain, would crush Xue San into a mere smear of flesh.

Meng Xi watched in horror; such overwhelming power was something she had witnessed only from the strongest inner sect disciples during competitions. How could a mere bandit possess such might?

The axe descended upon Xue San with terrifying force. But at that moment, Xue San opened his eyes—they blazed with an intense golden light, resembling a serpent's eyes more than a human's. Yet only Blood-Axe bore witness to this transformation.

Summoning the Hundred Phantom Hands, Xue San parried the axe. A thunderous boom resounded as Blood-Axe stumbled back a few steps, his hands trembling from the impact.

Horror etched itself across Blood-Axe's face—not because his attack had been parried, but because he saw Xue San's wound, which should have been fatal, regenerate before his eyes. And then, as if nothing had happened, Xue San stood upright once more.

In all his years as a bandit, Blood-Axe had faced countless dangers; he always knew when it was time to retreat.

"Something is wrong." Though he appeared a simple brute, Blood-Axe was anything but; he was cunning, always choosing his battles wisely. Now, he sensed that something was profoundly wrong with the youth before him. Retreat was the wisest course.

Meanwhile, Xue San rose to his feet, the golden glow in his eyes fading. He just stood there, he seemed to be both present and absent, as if another version of himself had taken his place—a state that was hard description.

All fear vanished, and his hesitation to kill was erased. He locked eyes with Blood-Axe, who was preparing to flee and dashed toward him. At that moment, Xue San exuded the aura of an ancient beast hunting its prey.

Seeing this transformation, Blood-Axe snorted and decided to unleash one final attack before escaping. He rapidly channeled his Qi into the axe, which began to emit an intense, blinding green light.

With all his might, Blood-Axe hurled the axe at the advancing Xue San and bolted into the forest. He was certain that this attack would buy him the distance he needed to escape.

As the axe hurtled toward him, Xue San invoked the Hundred Phantom Hands once more. He summoned one hand, then another, and then a third phantom hand materialized. He parried the incoming axe—a deafening explosion erupted as the axe shattered into countless fragments.

Those witnessing the exchange heard a colossal bang that nearly burst their eardrums.

Ignoring everyone else, Xue San sprinted after Blood-Axe.

"No!" Meng Xi shouted, trying in vain to stop him.

Seeing their leader flee, some of the bandits panicked and began to scatter—a fortunate decision, as the pressure on the Jin brothers and Ren Xiang had reached a critical point.

Ren Xiang had already lost an arm, and Jin Daiyu's body was riddled with wounds; it was a miracle he could still stand. Only Jin Xiang fared slightly better, his injuries less severe than those of his comrades.

Meng Xi hesitated for a moment but then rushed to aid the others instead of pursuing Xue San. "Let's finish off these scum as quickly as possible!" she shouted, dashing toward her fellow disciples. "Please be safe," she prayed silently, her voice tinged with a hint of guilt.

Meanwhile, Blood-Axe fled at his utmost speed. "Damn it, damn it, who is that little wretch? There wasn't any mention of him in the briefing. I swear, when I get the chance, I'll make him pay. I've lost two of my best men and won't even get the rest of the rewards. Hmph, I'll find out everything about that little bastard and make sure everyone dear to him suffers until they beg for death, and then I'll make him watch as I take his mo—"

But before he could finish, a voice—cold and emotionless yet seething with intense madness, rage, and ruthlessness—sounded behind him. "Ending your meaningless and filthy life would mean even less to me than crushing a bug."

All the blood drained from Blood-Axe's face upon hearing that voice; he felt an overwhelming sense of impending doom.

"AHHHHHHH!" he screamed, his body once again enveloped by the green light. Then—BOOM. From both sides, two giant phantom hands closed in to crush him.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Hmph, do you think this is enough to kill me, you—"

But before he could finish, a third hand struck him from the front, yet even this wasn't enough to penetrate his defenses.

"Hahaha, just give up. I can see you're almost spent," Blood-Axe shouted with a twisted grin, already envisioning the horrible things he would do to Xue San.

It was true; even though Xue San's core was larger than normal and the energy within it denser, he was still at the second stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.

But in the next moment, Blood-Axe's expression froze; a powerful force struck him from behind—it was a fourth hand. In that brief instant, Xue San had managed to conjure yet another phantom hand.

Pressed from all sides, Blood-Axe felt like a turtle trapped in a jar. His only hope was that Xue San would exhaust his Qi before he did.

Xue San began walking toward the immobilized man, his face pale, blood leaking from his eyes, ears, and mouth. His dark eyes were devoid of emotion—save perhaps for flickers of rage and madness lurking deep within.

"I told you," he said coldly. He lifted his open palm, then clenched it into a fist. "Easier than crushing a bug." Then—bang. Blood-Axe was obliterated like an insect, his bones, blood, and flesh scattering in all directions.

After dispatching Blood-Axe, Xue San felt as empty as a dry well. He tried to remain standing but eventually collapsed beside the mangled remains of what once was Blood-Axe.

He couldn't keep his eyes open; his mind was already slipping into unconsciousness. Then, a golden light emerged from his body. Within that golden light was a blurry figure. It enveloped Blood-Axe's corpse for a moment and then returned to Xue San's body.

But Xue San was unaware of this.

Xue San opened his eyes to the sight of the carriage ceiling looming above him. His entire body felt as though it had been trampled; there wasn't a single part that didn't ache.

"You're finally awake?" Meng Xi sat opposite him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"After you went to chase Bear-Axe, I helped the others finish off the remaining bandits, and then I followed after you." She hesitated before continuing. "I found you unconscious next to what I assume were the remains of Bear-Axe."

"I see." Xue San didn't quite know how to react. He had taken a life—even if it was that of a villain who probably deserved it, he had still killed someone. Strangely, he felt no guilt, shame, or disgust. It was odd that he didn't experience any of those feelings after killing someone. He didn't understand what was happening to him, and he had no one to turn to for advice. And what was that strange sensation he felt—that rage, that madness...?

"...e San."

Meng Xi's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"I need to tell you something."

Xue San sat up and lifted his head, his dark eyes fixated on Meng Xi.

"Have you heard the recent news about how the new core disciple, Long Huo, fighting an outer sect elder?"

"Yes."

"The elder in question is my grandfather."

Her words stunned him momentarily.

Meng Xi continued. "Actually, for me, this mission wasn't about escorting Ma Wei, but about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I come from a small clan within the Soaring Sword Sect. There are many clans like mine—usually formed when descendants split from main branches or when clans fail to produce powerful heirs over time and their clans tend to decline. My Meng clan is the latter; we couldn't produce strong descendants and gradually lost our power and influence. Then came my grandfather; he was quite talented and managed to rise through the ranks to become an outer sect elder."

"What does any of this have to do with me?" Xue San interrupted.

"I'm getting there. In order to raise our clan once again, my grandfather aligned himself with a core disciple from a powerful and influential family within the sect—the Fang clan. His name is Fang Wei."

Xue San was surprised to hear about the Fang clan again. "Is that the same clan as Senior Brother Fang Ma?" he asked.

"Yes. Before the mission, I was allowed to see my grandfather. He told me that he was ordered by Fang Ma to attack and kill Long Huo, even at the cost of his own life, and if he succeeded, Fang Ma promised to take care of our clan. But he failed, so Fang Ma cut all ties with us."

"I understand what you're going through, but you still haven't told me what any of this has to do with me," Xue San said again, though he had a vague feeling about what she was implying.

"Having been abandoned by Fang Ma and having offended Long Huo, our clan was finished. But then a member of the Long clan contacted me and said that as long as I did them a favor, Long Huo wouldn't pursue the matter. The favor was to kill you."

Xue San wasn't surprised by her words; in fact, now all the strange things about this mission made sense.

, why they didn't care that his cultivation was lower than theirs and that he had no combat experience whatsoever.

"So why didn't you do it?" he asked, his voice cold. He didn't care why someone as high-ranking as Long Huo wanted him dead; now, he only wanted to know why Meng Xi hadn't finished him off when she had the chance.

"Because of this."

She tossed a jade to him.

"What is it?"

"When you engaged Bear-Axe, some fabric from his robes tore and this fell out—it's a message jade."

Xue San just looked at her.

"There was just a single sentence" said Meng Xi with a bitter smile "Kill Meng Xi!"

He looked up, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I'm not entirely sure who sent it, but it was either Long Huo or Fang Ma. In any case, if it weren't for you, I'd be dead already. I still have some pride," she said, her voice tainted with shame.

"What about the others?" seeing her like this, he decided to change the subject.

Meng Xi face fell. "Li Shi and Jin Daiyu both died, and Ren Xiang is now a cripple. Only Jin Xiang managed to make it out with minor injuries."

"So what now?" Xue San asked.

Meng Xi was momentarily at a loss for words. Then she said, "We'll finish our mission and go our separate ways." She stood up and was about to leave the carriage but turned back. "I know it's not my place to say anything after what I was going to do, but you should be careful. If Long Huo wants you dead, there are many people who would be happy to have a core disciple owe them a favor." then she left.

Left alone in the carriage, Xue San tried to piece together what had happened. Suddenly, a splitting pain shot through his head, nearly causing him to lose consciousness again. He gritted his teeth and endured it, and then, just as abruptly, the pain vanished as if it had never been there.

"What the hell was that?" he wondered. He felt as though his mind was lighter, his thoughts clearer and faster than before. "What is this strange feeling?"

Closing his eyes, he tried to sense what was different. To his amazement, everything within a hundred feet became visible to him. He saw people still being treated, guards going about their duties, and even Meng Xi as she left the carriage.

Engrossed in this astonishing sensation, he forgot about everything else. But after a while, he started to feel his mind growing tired as if he hadn't slept for an entire day.

But that wasn't all; there was also a fragment of memory in his mind that he was certain didn't belong to him: a cave near Darkwood City, and inside that cave was something extremely precious. But when he tried to "remember" what it was, he couldn't.

Xue San was astonished by this sudden development, but with no one to turn to for answers, he decided to figure it out latter

"I can't keep going like this. I need to get strong enough to protect myself. And that feeling... that rage..." Xue San's thoughts drifted to the book he had read about how people like him lost control and became more beast than human. But he couldn't do anything about it now, so, like any youth his age, he pushed it to the back of his mind, deciding to ignore it for now.