The scorching sun burned the sand of the Khaazaka Desert. A lawless land known to neighboring villages as "the forgotten land." It was also the place where the poorest tried to survive the tyranny of local gangs.

On the horizon, two figures in dark cloaks with large hoods could be seen walking slowly.

"Baiji, are you sure we're on the right path?"

The larger figure asked, visibly exhausted, while the smaller one looked at a piece of paper.

"We followed almost all the instructions. We must be on the right path, oink."

After another 10 minutes of walking, the two spotted a village.

"Let's stop and rest a bit there. With luck, there might be someone who can help."

Upon arriving at the village, they noticed the dilapidated conditions of the place. The houses had holes in the walls, and some didn't even have roofs.

"It doesn't seem like there's anyone else here besides us, Jian."

"Let's take a look."

They walked from house to house looking for someone until they heard something.

"I told you to stay still!"

"Sorry, dad!"

Jian and Baiji approached.

"Hello? We just want to-"

Jian was interrupted by someone who attacked him by surprise with a kind of hoe.

"Die, you idiot!"

Baiji tried to stop the attack, but Jian had already grabbed the man's tool.

"Calm down, sir. We just want to ask for directions and a bit of water."

The man didn't listen and attacked again.

The attacks were slow and predictable.

Jian took something from his waist and placed it on the man's back, who fell unconscious to the ground a few seconds later.

Seeing this, an old man and a child came out of one of the houses, terrified, heading towards the fallen man.

"Dad, wake up! Dad!"

The child called for his father while the old man picked up the hoe and threatened Jian.

"What did you do to my son? We already said we wouldn't sell our land."

"Sell your land?" Jian seemed confused by the old man's statement.

"We're not here to steal or anything like that. We just want directions, oink." Baiji explained their reason for being there.

"Directions? Looking closer, you don't look like the hyena gang."

"Grandpa, don't believe them. They hurt dad!"

Jian approached the child, knelt down, and removed the object from the man's back.

"He's not hurt. Just resting. He'll wake up by the end of the day." Jian smiled to try to calm the child.

After resolving the misunderstanding, Jian and Baiji were invited to the old man's house.

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

"We came to talk to the gang leade-"

Baiji immediately put a cloth over Jian's mouth.

"We were on our way to the capital, but there was a storm, and we got lost, oink."

"What bad luck. So you need directions to the capital, right?"

The two nodded in perfect synchronization.

"Unfortunately, I can't help you. I used to be a merchant and passed through there many times, but due to the strong ground tremors here, I lost my sense of direction."

"Ground tremors? You mean earthquakes?"

"They're not earthquakes. They're less intense and happen much more frequently. At least once a day, in the late afternoon."

After hearing the old man's testimony, Baiji took the paper from his waist to take another look.

Jian finally removed the cloth from his mouth.

"Sir, what was that talk about selling the land and why did you attack us?"

The old man lowered his head, clenching his fists tightly.

"Three months ago, every two weeks, two members of the hyena gang come to try to convince us to sell this land."

"You mean all these houses are yours?" Jian was surprised.

"Yes. This land was bought by my grandfather a long time ago, before the Celestial War. When this desert still had life. Over time, as the family grew, the houses you saw were built, but during the war, our entire family was decimated, leaving only the three of us."

"And why does this hyena gang want your land?"

"They say they want to build a second base here."

"But are these hyenas really strong? It doesn't seem like there's any law here, so why don't they just use force and expel you?"

"It may not seem like it, but my son was once part of the Tianxin army. Whenever those two come, they're never a match for him, but he contracted a disease four days ago that has left him weak. That's why we're hiding."

"I understand."

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The old man looked closely at the two.

"You don't look like merchants. Those clothes and the gourds at your waist. Who are you?"

"Do you know the Eight Celestial Beasts?"

The old man placed his right hand on his chin, thoughtful.

"Those that hold up the sky, right? That myth was quite popular in the capital. What does it have to do with you?"

"You really have been isolated from the world."

Jian then began to recount the greatest consequence of the Celestial War 50 years ago.

"After the fight between Wukong and Nezha reached its peak, the balance between the human and spiritual worlds was broken. Eight of the ten strongest evil spirits escaped from the prison of souls into our world and corrupted the Eight Celestial Beasts. Baiji and I are on a journey to become stronger and recruit allies to expel the eight evil spirits from the Beasts and return them to the spiritual world. Thus, the Beasts will once again hold up the sky, and the balance between the worlds will be restored."

"That seems like too heavy a burden for a teenager."

During the conversation, Baiji let out a cry of excitement.

"I found it!"

Jian and the old man were surprised, looking at each other.

However, the moment of euphoria was interrupted by a voice from outside.

"Hey old man! We're back again!"

The old man and the child panicked.

"Grandpa, it's them!"

"Help me take your father to the room, quickly!"

Their efforts to move the unconscious man were in vain. Both were exhausted and out of strength.

"Baiji, help them. I'll deal with those bandits."

"Got it."

Jian left the house to confront the gang members.

They were two humanoids with hyena-like features. They wore short black clothes and each carried two daggers at their waists.

"You guys just don't give up."

"Well, well. The old man has another grandson?"

The other hyena added,

"Where's your grandpa? We have unfinished business with him."

"I heard you always get beaten by the old man's son and still don't give up." Jian smiled provocatively.

"That's none of your business! Call the old man, or we'll use force."

"Let's see if you really have it."

With incredible speed, Jian moved behind the two and tried to knock them out simultaneously with both hands, but it only tickled them.

"What?"

The hyenas then turned and both kicked Jian in the stomach, throwing him against one of the houses.

"We have strength, don't we? Hehehehe."

Jian was confused for a moment but soon realized he didn't have enough vital energy, or Qi.

"Jazgo, go find the old man while I deal with this nuisance."

"Always giving orders. You're not my boss, Gumo."

Despite his retort, Jazgo followed the orders and went to find the old man.

Jian got up, wiped the blood from his lips, and drew the sword from his waist. It was an entirely black sword with Taoist symbols and the words 'Tao, Qi, Yin and Yang, Feng Shui, and Tai Chi.'

"I don't need Qi to defeat you."

He charged at the hyena, who quickly drew the daggers from his waist. The fight had begun. They were evenly matched, neither giving in. The blades clashed, echoing with each strike. Jian began to tire quickly, slowing down. The hyena took advantage and swept Jian's legs. He almost fell but managed to support himself with his left hand and, with an acrobatic trick, kicked the hyena's face, sending him violently against the wall.

Meanwhile, Jazgo entered the old man's house, calling for him.

"Where are you? After our training, your son is no match for us! Hehehehe."

The old man's voice called out to the hyena from the opposite side.

"I'm here."

The hyena quickly went to the voice.

"Looks like you gave up-"

Jazgo was interrupted by a stick to the head.

It was Baiji.

"I can't believe you fell for such a cheap trick." Said Baiji, noticing he was low on Qi.

The impact wasn't strong enough to defeat the hyena.

He got up and attacked Baiji.

"That appearance... You must be a Kamigami too."

"Seems like it." Baiji confirmed Jazgo's statement.

"During the explosion 50 years ago, humans with weak Qi who were caught in it took on half the genes and characteristics of the animal they were in contact with. Bad luck for you to have touched a pig during the explosion. Hehehehe."

Baiji was being pressured by the hyena, being thrown against the walls multiple times.

The outcome of the fight seemed almost certain until the child emerged from Baiji's illusion barrier to attack Jazgo. The hyena's head was hit by several stones.

"Damned child!"

Enraged, Jazgo, who had been fighting with his claws, drew one of the daggers from his waist and threw it at the child.

The child closed his eyes, terrified by the situation.

The dagger was about to hit the child's chest.

He opened his eyes and saw his grandfather in front, blocking the dagger with his back.

Seeing the situation, Baiji immediately ran towards the hyena, trying to defeat him.

Despite his efforts, he couldn't and was once again thrown against the wall.

The grandfather knelt, already out of strength, holding his grandson's face.

"You were very brave, Kano."

Kano was perplexed to see his grandfather stabbed. He couldn't say a word.

"Grandpa and dad are very proud of you. Please, be strong and survive." The old man smiled.

Jazgo approached the two.

"What a beautiful scene."

He kicked the old man's head, throwing him into the yard.

The hyena grabbed Kano by the collar. He then extended his huge claws to pierce the child's body.

Jian arrived just in time and threw one of Gumo's daggers at Jazgo.

He dropped the child and dodged the attack.

"That's Gumo's dagger. Where is he?"

Jian smiled.

"That weakling? He's probably with the Gods now."

The hyena was enraged, knowing his companion had been defeated. He charged at Jian but was intercepted by Baiji.

"Your fight is with me."

Jian smiled once more.

"I'll leave him to you, partner."

"Count on it." Baiji smiled.

Jian went towards Kano, who was still motionless.

"This is all the Qi I have left. Rest."

He fused his Qi into the same object he had used on Kano's father. It was a talisman that, depending on the type of Qi, had various functions.

He placed the talisman on Kano's back to make him sleep, but to his surprise, it had no effect.

"Huh? It didn't work? That was all the Qi I had left, and it still wasn't enough."

Suddenly, Kano stood up.

His eyes were red from not blinking for so long.

"I. Must. Kill."

Jian was surprised and quickly used his vision to see Kano's inner Qi.

"It's... It's incredible!"

Kano moved at an incredibly high speed towards Jazgo, who was once again pressuring Baiji.

Kano hit the hyena with such force that all its ribs were broken.

Jazgo, not understanding anything, tried to get up, but Kano grabbed the hyena by the neck and, with abnormal strength, crushed it.

"He... killed him," declared Baiji, who was just a few meters away from both.

Kano turned to Jian.

"I. Must. Kill."

Jian was apprehensive and, even without Qi and without the strength to hold the sword, adopted a defensive stance.

Baiji noticed that Jazgo had a pouch at his waist.

It was food.

"Jian, catch!"

Baiji threw a piece of food to Jian, but it didn't reach him.

"Damn! I don't even have the strength to throw a piece of food."

Kano then charged at Jian.

"I only have one chance to dodge."

He managed to dodge the blow and picked up the food from the ground.

"This should be enough to restore some of my Qi."

Kano quickly changed direction and charged at Jian once again.

Jian managed to dodge again, picked up his sword, and with two fingers pointed at the word 'Feng Shui,' a green aura covered the blade.

"I. Must. Kill."

Jian ducked under Kano's attack, raising the blade. He made a cut across Kano's body, who fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Looks like it's over." Jian fell to his knees, exhausted.

Baiji went to Kano.

"What strength was that? You were incredible, kid. Now rest."

Baiji placed Kano next to his father.

"Jian, why didn't you use Feng Shui in the form of a talisman like you did with Kano's father? It was a bit traumatizing to cut a child's body, even if it wasn't harmful."

"I didn't have any more. And even if I did, I wouldn't have been able to place it on his back. What incredible speed. I don't even know how I had the reflexes to cut with the blade."

"Anyway, he's safe. Let's clean up the mess and leave before they wake up."

Jian and Baiji cleaned up the debris and the hyenas' bodies.

They found the old man's body and buried it in the yard.

"I'm sorry for not being able to save you. Don't worry about your grandson, he has proven to be very strong. He will grow up well."

"Please, rest in peace."

The sun was no longer as scorching as before. The moon was beginning to rise on the opposite side.

The two then said goodbye to the old man's soul and left.

Baiji recounted that during the conversation with the old man and with the recurring ground tremors, he discovered that the wave-shaped lines meant the tremors themselves and that they just needed to find the exact point.

As they walked, still weakened, they spotted an old trunk with a kind of bell next to it.

"Let's rest a bit," said Jian.

The two then sat down.

Suddenly, they felt a tremor.

"It's the tremor the old man mentioned, oink."

"But what does the tremor have to do with Bana's gang's hideout?"

The tremor intensified more and more.

The bell next to them began to ring.

"Could the bell-"

Suddenly, a huge creature emerged from the ground and swallowed Jian and Baiji.