Only now did he start processing what had happened.

“Holy shit. I did that? Me? I dodged some invisible formation fuckery and a magical technique?”

The reality of it made him question everything he had ever known. Was this his latent combat sense? Could he have been the next greatest fighter on Earth? The damned digital art degree robbed him of his potential!

He untied the sack and dumped the pile of loot on the floor. His conquest was hundreds of small and large bones, full of delicious essence. He impatiently grabbed a smaller chicken bone and circulated spiritual force through his meridians. Almost immediately, the bone shattered in his teeth, and a warm flow of energy spread throughout his body.

Jun consumed three more chicken bones before his body felt stuffed. With a bulging stomach, he peacefully drifted to sleep, letting out soft snoring sounds. When he woke up, he had a light snack of, you guessed it, more bones.

Three rounds of the Bone Essence Art had made his body into an unstoppable killing machine that it was. But, besides the fleshly power, he sensed a different kind of energy hidden in his flesh and bones. It was incredibly docile, pure, and powerful. This could only be the inner qi Chen Hao had talked about.

‘The boy required a complicated art and a visualisation technique before he could store qi in his dantian. Now, I can do the same thing with a broken technique, treating my entire body as my dantian. Who’s the genius now?’ Jun laughed, once again rejoicing about his Heavenly Dog Body.

The only unfortunate thing was that, while the Bone Essence Art was effective, his body couldn’t handle that much energy. The pile of bones in front of him was like a large water fountain, but he could only use a tiny cup to drink it one sip at a time. Every sip made the cup bigger, but it would take a lot of time and effort to do so.

Still, he was ecstatic about his newfound success. He even forgave Chen Hao for getting scammed. If not for that, how could he have gotten the wonderful idea of theft?

‘Ahem. It’s an involuntary loan.’ He corrected his thoughts.

The next few days passed in peace. The bone supply was steadily decreasing, but it was enough to last him months. Both of them were diligently working on their cultivation, but from time to time, they left their quarters for some fresh air. After all, knowledge was more precious than many things in life.

On a fine, sunny day, Jun was walking alongside Chen Hao as they both headed towards the Hall of Magical Techniques for their free lessons. The busy streets and loud voices could sometimes make one forget that they were in a sect, one that was full of cultivators at that.

“I miss Li Xia,” Chen Hao suddenly said, a sad smile on his face.

“Oops. I forgot to tell you where she lives. After this lesson, let’s get you two reunited. Let the sparks of romance fly!” Jun shouted, walking along the street. To him, Li Xia was a saviour, an angel he had to get closer to.

As they neared the Hall, they were hailed by two cultivators in grey robes. One short, the other tall—both of them sported brown hair, though in vastly different haircuts. Wide smiles were plastered on their faces.

“Excuse me. Are you Chen Hao?” the shorter one spoke, his voice high-pitched and nasally. The taller one held a bamboo slip in his hands, his eyes darting from it to the boy’s face.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

“We’ve been looking for you,” he extended a hand. “Let us start with introductions—both of us are from the White Dove faction,” he said, pulling a small, silver token. Unsurprisingly, on it was the image white dove, spreading its wings and soaring through the sky.

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“You’re new, so you’ve likely not heard of us. We’re a faction that’s made up of the most talented disciples of each new batch. You’ve been recommended to us by another member, so we would like to extend to you an invitation,” the man said, spreading his arms outwards.

Chen Hao scratched his head, considering the situation. Seeing that he was far from convinced, the taller one piped up.

“You don’t have to accept the offer straight away. Still, I believe that once you see the benefits we can provide to you, you’ll come to a swift decision. Better rates for pills, techniques from the upper floors of the Scripture Pavillion, first-pick of newly posted missions—and that’s only a fraction.”

“Right. Why don’t you come and see our headquarters? I think that seeing it would be the best proof. We will also introduce you to the senior that recommended you. It’s someone well-known and dear to your heart,” the shorter one continued.

With no immediate reason to refuse, Chen Hao hesitantly nodded, and the four of them began to weave through the streets.

It might have been their tone, or the way they acted, or his newfound animal instincts, but Jun got a bad feeling about this. Were they about to join a secret cult? He closely observed the two. Compared to the newer disciples, they looked to be battle-scarred and dangerous. One of them was confidently leading the way, while the other’s eyes darted from one spot to another, looking for danger.

“We’re just about there,” the tall one said. The streets were becoming less and less crowded.

Finally, the two turned and entered a nearby alley. Chen Hao followed, but Jun’s mind moved at lightning speeds, considering the situation. Now that there wasn’t a huge crowd of people, Jun could tell that there was a strange smell coming from the tall man—it made him drowsy and unsteady on his feet. Making up his mind, he ran forward and grabbed Chen Hao’s robe, yanking him backwards.

“Let’s fucking run!” he shouted, barking up a storm. The boy leaned down, staring at Jun in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Ah, whatever. This is far enough.”

The tall cultivator closed the distance between him and Chen Hao in an instant. Holding his palm to his lips, he exhaled, blowing red dust into the boy’s face. Chen Hao dropped to the ground, cracking his skull against the stone. A pool of blood appeared in seconds. The short one made his way behind Jun, blocking off his escape. He reached out to grab the dog with his right hand, his left holding the same powder.

Jun yelped, tensing his body. Every type of energy in his body roared to life, giving power to the mighty leap, just barely evading the man’s hands.

“Grab the fucking dog,” he shouted, chasing after the dog.

Jun looked back tearfully at Chen Hao’s limp body, but he had no time for regrets. He ran for his life like he had never run before. A true panic threatened to rob him of his sanity, and only the adrenaline was keeping him from curling up in a ball. Every leap made him soar through the air, carrying him dozens of feet.

“How are you so useless?” the tall cultivator grumbled, grabbing the air around him and tightening his fist.

The earth shifted, and the rumbling of the ages announced the presence of a massive stone wall, blocking off the exit of the alleyway. Jun looked for any cracks between the buildings, but the two had chosen this alley for a reason. His back squeezed against the wall, he looked at the short cultivator, murder in his eyes.

In battle, there was no moment to think. In the blink of an eye, the cultivator was in front of him, scattering the red dust in the air. Jun held his breath. He dashed between the man’s legs. Then, he viciously grabbed the man’s robe and yanked with all of his strength. A moment of uncertainty as the cultivator stumbled. He was falling, a yelp on his lips.

The other cultivator was using a technique, but it didn’t matter. The short one was on his back, concussed from the fall. Jun’s teeth were right next to his throat. One bite and the man would be dead.

‘You can’t. Not with your teeth. Please.” Something whispered in his consciousness, bypassing the layers of adrenaline and panic.

Jun winced, and for a moment, he hesitated. Then, he made up his mind and dragged his claws across the man’s throat. But, before he could finish the action, the wall behind him suddenly bulged, exploding into threads of stone. They wrapped around Jun in a flurry as he watched the cultivator on the floor stand up, clutching his throat. Five lines of blood. Not deep enough.

The wounded man growled in rage, but before Jun could witness his own end, his mind slipped into blissful slumber. Red dust settled on his fur.

‘Dying in my sleep. A final mercy of whichever deity reincarnated me,’ he thought, but even thinking was difficult. Sentences and memories slipped away, fading into oblivion.

Then, there was nothing.