[ Qi Condensation (Late Stage) upgraded into Qi Condensation (Peak) ]

“Phooo…” The System served as a signal to open his eyes. His inner energy was within his control, his meridians widened and flowing at full capacity. The air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth as the sounds of rustling leaves and distant bird calls surrounded him. The moment he shifted, the tiny birds on his shoulders flew off.

Wu Ti was regarded as a genius. The best of the Unorthodox Sect’s new generation, sitting right beside Hu Yanli. A Core Disciple under the Founder. But unlike the mercenary, Wu Ti was told to stay behind. Putting all their baskets into one raid wasn’t unwise, the Founder said.

Thus, Wu Ti sat crossed legged on a rock in the Forest in Kishkindha. Mother nature was everywhere. According to the Founder, the best way to understand one’s strength was to siphon it. Do not become one it but take whatever the mind and body deems to be worthy.

The world felt oh-so wonderful as wisps of blue Qi left his lips. “I’ve been here for how long? Almost a week?”

His body was starving. If it weren’t for the elixir the Founder had gifted him, his hunger would have killed him. However, all things could be solved with the power of alchemy.

“Open inventory.” He took out a box of spring rolls. He ate and rebuilt his strength, his mind wandered.

‘In the deepest parts of meditation, I swear I sensed something.’ He ate one spring roll and began eating a second. Something was nagging at him. Something was there in the back of his head, but what?

Above, he heard a crackle. It was then he noticed the dark clouds that had accumulated. Not throughout the sky but towards an area a distance away. All the clouds in the surrounding regions were coming together in a swirl of darkness.

“What the hell…? A thunderstorm?”

In all the days he had been meditating, the weather hadn’t changed once. It was like the world was stagnant and incapable of advanced change.

‘So what gives? What’s up with this thunderstorm?’

His hands started shaking.

‘And what is this feeling? Am I…afraid?’ Wu Ti shook his head and clenched his fist. ‘I must be jittery from meditation.’

After eating, he decided to investigate the swirl of clouds. Crackle! Rumble! The world of Gate 1 seemed to be shifting towards a singular point. Wu Ti ran faster.

‘What’s with the trees?’ The leaves were dead and the actual bark was on the verge of snapping. ‘Not just the trees, the grass too. It’s all gone. Withered away.’

At long last, Wu Ti arrived at his destination. A glaze within the forest that the slimes avoided like the plague. Even glancing at another player caused the creatures to run.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Run, run, run!

Don’t come here.

Wu Ti did and at last he understood his mistake. What should have been greenery was a blackness. The trees were lifeless and withered while slimes melted into a puddle of green. Slime Jacks struggled to move away.

Crackle! Rumble! Lightning struck the dark ground one by one, creating crater after crater. All the destruction and loss of life was caused by one thing—a masked player meditating in the lotus-position, eyes closed, cape billowing in the wind, and his arms surging in a thick blue-darkness.

Wu Ti was Level 20 and an Intermediate Martial Artist. He was a genius! He was!

So how? How in the world was there a man with the same advanced class as him on top of an unknown level? Why was he feeling fear towards a player, when for all intents and purposes he was supposed to be the peak of current player strength?

Wu Ti didn’t understand. He would never understand.

‘Dasha…Pang?’

That was his name.

Ten days.

It should have taken ten days, but Dasha Pang processed the S-class pill a day earlier. Dasha Pang, the genius that reverse engineered the concept of Foundation Establishment and built it into his body without a mentor. The twenty-eight year old man that had mastered the martial arts of his own Earth and was turning his gaze to the realm beyond. His instinct for violence and perfection was rivaled by none.

His training had been maximized by Xuanwu's Ascension Pill. For those nine days, everything around him decayed as he swallowed their energies whole. Monsters, wildlife, and mother nature itself was incapable of defying him.

Already, Wu Ti was activating the peak of Qi Condensation. He didn’t rely on the system, his very instincts remembered to maintain the thick flow of his widened meridians. Indeed, he was a genius.

So what was this Dasha Pang?

The lightning calmed down yet the dark sky remained. Wu Ti was in a fighting position, contemplating his next move. Run? Or fight? His excellence largely lay in meditation, not martial arts or raw combat. It was the primary reason for his exclusion from the raid. His potential needed to be carefully nurtured.

His legs unfolded. Wu Ti flinched. Due to the mask, he hadn’t been able to tell if he was awake or not.

“Late Foundation Establishment…” Dasha Pang flexed his hands which were crackling with dark blue energy. “Not bad.”

‘What…did he just say? Foundation Establishment? Late? But that…the Founder said that it would take me months to learn!’ Wu Ti shifted back, his arms trembling from its Taekwondo stance.

Dasha stood up, a mystical white cloak attached to his shoulders and over a dark red-purple martial artist gi. His medieval leather boots were white and sparkly, with laces at the side, and pulsated with equal amounts of raw energy despite being hidden by his gi. To Wu Ti, from head to toe, he emitted a ludicrous amount of Qi.

“Dasha Pang…or Jack? I’ve contemplated changing the name,” the masked man said. “I suppose for the raid I should switch to Jack.”

Wu Ti’s blood went cold. This masked man intended to go to the raid this late!? It was a one-way ticket. Once inside, it was impossible to leave until it was over. On pure instinct, Wu Ti understood it would take an army to take Dasha down. He knew living against this amalgamation of perfection and knowledge was impossible for his measly talents.

“Ah, right. You’re here. Sorry, I’m feeling high right now. My brain must be experiencing an exhilarating dopamine rush.” The masked man turned his attention to Wu Ti, whose soul screamed at him to run. “Hm. You’re not bad. How about this? If you can survive one of my attacks, I’ll let you live.”

One attack? One attack? That was plausible. Without thinking, his head moved. The masked man flickered and Wu Ti’s vision turned ever so slightly to the left.

“Hm. I went in too strong. I wanted to get him to sign a contract and get a mole in the Unorthodox Sect. Unfortunate.”

‘Huh?’ He heard retreating footsteps behind him. His head dropped to the ground. Wu Ti didn’t comprehend his death till after he saw the twinkling white boots.