Xiao Wei stood silently, his back half-turned as he regarded the two boys behind him. His sharp eyes glinted with caution, a cold edge gleaming beneath their calm surface. He didn't answer the question—didn't even show a flicker of friendliness.
After everything he had been through, he no longer trusted strangers so easily.
He had died once. Betrayed and killed by his own friends. The memory of that past life burned inside him like a brand. If not for the grace of his constellation—Lord of the Netherworld—and the second chance bestowed upon him, he would already be buried beneath the earth, forgotten.
The two boys behind him looked alike, brothers no doubt. Their presence wasn't unfamiliar. He'd noticed them earlier, lurking near the back of the group, their eyes scanning the surroundings with far too much calculation for simple rogue Cultivators. Their cultivation was at the peak of the Ninth Layer of the Martial Apprentice Realm.
Xiao Wei's silence seemed to irk them.
"Don't be so cold, brother. We just want to make a friend."one of them said with a grin, though his eyes held a glint of menace.
Even before the last word left the boy's mouth, he lunged forward, his smile vanishing into a snarl. He shot toward Xiao Wei like a striking serpent, his palm glowing faintly with condensed qi.
Xiao Wei's muscles had already tensed, anticipating the ambush. With practiced fluidity, he used the Water Flow Steps, his body flickering to the side like ripples slipping across a stream. But even as he dodged the first attack, the second brother came from the opposite direction.
Thud!
A fist smashed into the side of Xiao Wei's face. The impact spun him, and he crashed to the ground with a muffled grunt. Blood dripped from the corner of his lips.
Laughter rang out.
"You think a Seventh Layer Martial Apprentice can escape from us brothers?"one of them mocked, walking toward him with heavy steps.
Xiao Wei lay there for a moment, his hand pressing into the stone floor. Then, slowly, he pushed himself upright, a crimson smear on his chin. But there was no fear in his eyes—only a cold, dangerous glint.
He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and smiled.
"Arise."Xiao Wei said, his voice was low but steady.
From behind Xiao Wei, the shadows twisted. Like smoke given form, they pulled together into a humanoid shape—the Shadow Soldier. The very presence of the Shadow Soldier sent a shiver down the spines of the two boys.
The brothers eyes widened.
"What—what is that?!"one of them said, stepping back.
But Xiao Wei's hand had already raised.
"Attack."
The Shadow Soldier moved.
With terrifying speed, the Shadow Soldier lunged forward, its fist ready to attack. The first brother barely managed to pull his arm up to block, but the strike sent him stumbling back. Before he could recover, Xiao Wei followed in, as he used his Mountain Fist technique.
Boom!
Xiao Wei's punch crashed into the second brother's abdomen, sending him sliding across the stone floor, gasping.
The brothers tried to regroup, coordinating their movements, but the Shadow Soldier was relentless. Its each punches more deadly than the last. The older brother tried to counterattack with a blast of Spiritual Energy, but the soldier twisted unnaturally and avoided it.
Xiao Wei moved like water—his Water Flow Steps letting him evade and weave between the brothers, always one step ahead.
In mere moments, the battle turned.
"What kind of monster is this?! That thing—it's not human!"the younger brother screamed, blood streaming from his mouth.
Xiao Wei didn't answer. His eyes were calm, emotionless. He was no longer the kind youth from his past life. He had seen betrayal, felt the pain of death, and walked back from the abyss.
And now, with this Shadow Monarch power gifted by the Lord of the Netherworld, he would not show mercy to others.
The Shadow Soldier moved with unrelenting precision, his each strikes were meant to kill the opponent.
The Shadow Soldier was a Martial Master Realm Cultivator so it didn't take much time to kill the opponent. One of the brothers barely managed to cry out before he died in the hand of the Shadow Soldier, his body slumped to the ground with a heavy thud, eyes still wide with shock.
On the other hand, Xiao Wei who was fighting with the other opponent don't allow any interference from the Shadow Soldier.
"Don't interfere"Xiao Wei said quietly to the Shadow Soldier.
Obeying without question, the Shadow Soldier stepped back, its dark presence looming silently inside the cave.
The remaining brother, trembling but still standing, clenched his fists and snarled.
"I will kill you both for killing my brother!"he growled.
Xiao Wei shook his head slowly.
"Stop barking and fight me"Xiao Wei said.
With that, he dashed forward. The boy tried to fight back, but his strikes lacked the force and refinement of a true Technique. Without a strong Martial Technique to support his blows, he was little more than a child throwing punches.
Xiao Wei's eyes narrowed. He ducked under a wide swing and activated his Tiger Claw Technique. A tiger image appered behind Xiao Wei as he he struck forward with his claw.
The boy screamed as Xiao Wei's claw tore across his chest. With a follow-up strike to the throat, it was over. Blood spilled onto the ground, and the last of the brothers fell.
Xiao Wei exhaled, wiping a smear of blood from his cheek. He crouched down beside their bodies and began inspecting them. He found nothing of value—no Storage Rings,, no Pills. Just cloth pouches filled with the herbs they had gathered. He collected the plants and stored them in his Storage Ring.
Then, he extended his hand and murmured the familiar incantation.
"Arise."
Black mist coiled around the corpse, and the cave grew colder. But moments later, the mist dispersed with a quiet hiss. Xiao Wei frowned and tried again. And again. Dozens of times he invoked the summoning. But nothing worked.
He clenched his fists.
"It's not working. Is it because my Cultivation reaylm is too low... or something else?"Xiao Wei murmured to himself.
Frustrated but not deterred, he finally stopped. There were too many possibilities—perhaps one Martial Master Cultivator was his limit until he advance further in Cultivation.
Setting those thoughts aside, he turned his attention to the cave itself.
He began his search. Every inch of the cave was inspected. He checked behind rocks, tapped the walls for hollows, examined the ceiling with care. Time passed. Dust clung to his clothes and face, yet, he found nothing.
After an hour, he finally stood still.
"After searching this place so many times, I still can't find anything else"Xiao Wei said softly, disheartened.
He turned to leave.
And then—
A voice, deep and rich with age, echoed through the cave.
"Brat, what are you?"
Xiao Wei froze. The voice had no source.
His eyes narrowed as he looked around.
"Who's there?"Xaio Wei said.
"Stop looking around. I'm above you"the voice replied.
Xiao Wei tilted his head up. His breath caught.
A man sat cross-legged on the ceiling, as if gravity held no sway over him. His body was translucent, glowing faintly with a pale white light. Clearly a soul—a remnant of someone long dead. His features were sharp and imposing. Eyes like those of an eagle bore into Xiao Wei. His long hair was tied neatly into a warrior's bun, and despite his ghostly form, he radiated a quiet, terrifying authority.
In the blink of an eye, the figure descended and appeared directly in front of Xiao Wei, not making a sound as his feet touched the stone floor.
"Brat, what are you?"the man asked again.
Xiao Wei met the gaze without fear. He already knew this was not a living being. A soul like this couldn't kill him.
"I don't know what senior means"Xiao Wei replied calmly.
The man's eyes twitched.
He didn't want to admit it or didn't want to reveal the fear that had struck him earlier. An hour ago, when Xiao Wei killed his opponent, the soul had tried to possess him. He had waited for centuries for a suitable body. And when Xiao Wei depleted his Spiritual Energy, he believed it would be an easy matter.
But the moment he reached into Xiao Wei's soul—he saw them.
Two eyes. Cold and ancient. They had glared at him from within Xiao Wei's soul. Eyes that didn't belong to any mortal he had encountered in his 500 years of life.
They had looked at him.
And he had fled.
The soul cleared his throat and spoke slowly.
"I waited here for 300 years for my descendant. After 300 years, he really came. That boy... the one who took the bow. He had blood of my clan. I wanted to take over his body. But when I sensed his potential in archery was even greater than mine, I let him go."the man explained.
The man paused and looked down at his translucent hands.
"Then I thought... perhaps I could use another. Someone who lingered here. Someone... left behind."he continued.
He lifted his gaze back to Xiao Wei.
"And in the end, only you remained. You, after fighting and surviving against those two."he added as he took a step forward, eyes narrowing with deep curiosity.
"I lived for more than 500 years before my death. I faced countless geniuses, slayed monster and enemies. But never, never have I encountered someone like you."the man said as he studied Xiao Wei.