Chi Huang crouched in the bck quiet of the cave, the stillness weighing upon him. The corpses of his fallen comrades, the blood fresh on the rocks, were strewn about him, but Chi Huang no longer smelled death. His senses had changed, attuned to something outside, something so much more powerful. His connection with the bck butterfly, that enigmatic ghost that had become his own, was becoming ever more powerful, its presence an icy hum beneath his skin.

  It had only been a couple of days since he had fallen into the earth hole, starved and broken, but now there was this otherworldly energy flowing through his veins--energy he couldn't expin, yet somehow understood. The magic of the butterfly stirred within him, beating with the rhythm of his heart.

  Taking deep breaths, the world around him began to recede. His mind cleared, and he could feel something awakening inside him, something that had in dormant for too long. The butterfly had granted him something he could never have dared hope for--a chance to survive, to rise above the chasm of despair.

  His ribcage squeezed shut as a rush of power bloomed in the depths of him. The bck butterfly was not only a specter but a gateway to an ability Chi Huang had never known. He could feel the power building within him, building at his core like a whirlpool. It was a scary and exhirating feeling. The power of the butterfly dictated to him, sharpening his thoughts and soothing his fear.

  He had begun to cultivate.

  Chi Huang had little clue about cultivation--he did not even know the exact process existed--but one thing was for certain: this ability was his only hope to survive. That first step had always been hardest, but nothing mattered. There was the butterfly, a thought in the edge of his consciousness, and having it, Chi Huang knew of his Qi--the vital essence all cultivators sought to clean.

  He reached the first grade of Qi Condensation. Even though he was still new to this thing, the matching with the butterfly accelerated the condensation process. His Qi was not decades as it was the case with the other cultivators. With guidance from the butterfly, Chi Huang could feel the energy flowing through his body, compacting and forming in a few days. Something he had never felt before.

  He focused, drawing energy from the air about him. He sensed the mystical nature of the cave--its cold, almost impenetrable quality--change into something inside him. It was at first a diffuse feeling, simir to the flicker of light at a great distance, but then it built, with strength accumuting in his breaths.

  Within a matter of hours, the first stage of Qi Condensation was complete.

  It was not just the butterfly that had guided him thus far--it was the combined strength of his own will, the unexpined connection he felt to the spirit, and the endless hours of stillness in the cave that had allowed his mind and body to align.

  Chi Huang opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He sensed the energy within him, running like a river that had found its course. The first yer of Qi Condensation was not unusual to most cultivators--but to Chi Huang, it was an incredible breakthrough.

  Grasping his breath, he reached out to grasp the Light Blue Sword that y beside him. Its willowy, airy bde appeared to hum in response to his Qi. The sword's compatibility with his energy came so naturally. With his fist closed around its hilt, he could feel the spiritual energy running through the bde, like a conduit between him and the world itself.

  Chi Huang handled the sword, the movement slow and fluid. He was not after power or swiftness; he was after control. The technique Light Blue Sword was elegant, designed to hold and focus power, but at his current level of cultivation, the technique was difficult to control. At first, the power that had been accumuting in the sword wavered weakly, like a candle fme that could not stay alight. But then, focusing, the sword began to glow--a blue sheen surrounding it, increasing in brightness by the second.

  The butterfly inside Chi Huang began to stir, and Chi Huang felt the icy chill nudging him forward. Holding the sword wasn't what it was all about; it was all about bancing the energy of the sword with the energy inside him. The two needed to become one, a heavenly marriage of Qi and Bde.

  With a deep sigh, Chi Huang focused his strength on the bde once more. The radiance intensified and with a sharp, economical motion, he spun the bde around.

  The blow was soft, yet there was an unescapable power behind it. The sword itself seemed to hum with barely held strength, and for the first time, Chi Huang felt a sense of pride in himself. He had begun to master the technique of the sword--a very slight change, but it was a change.

  The butterfly within him was content, its vitality peaceful, as if satisfied with how far he had come. Chi Huang understood that there was still more to understand, more to control. But for now, he had made himself a true cultivator.

  As he practiced with the sword form, he realized something else about his skills: his perception of the world around him changed. His vision, already enhanced by the butterfly, was more sensitive in the dark. The cave, which had been a maze of shadows, now stood revealed to him in exquisite detail. He could see even the smallest movements in the air, the shifting of small creatures in the distance, and even the smallest shifts in the environment.

  It was as if darkness was his friend now. The night was no longer a vulnerability--it was his domain. And with it, the power of the butterfly made him near invisible, his footsteps as silent as the night.

  He smiled cruelly, with the barest hints of a biting gust on his skin. He was no longer that weak and vulnerable man of his previous life. Having the first yer of Qi Condensation completed, and learning from the butterfly, he was as powerful as ever he had been in his previous life. And still growing stronger.

  Chi Huang closed his eyes once more, letting his Qi flow freely. He had already passed the first test, and the second one would be even more challenging. But that did not matter. The butterfly had given him the will to survive. And he would use that will to battle, to grow, and in the end, to escape this cave and the nightmarish creatures waiting outside.

  But for now, the cold stillness of the cave surrounded him like a shell. It was the perfect environment for him to refine his training, to develop his power. So long as the butterfly remained by his side, Chi Huang would never stop striving further.