AnnouWE ARE AT 50 CHAPTERS!

  I didn't think it would be so fast when I nning the story, but we already reached it, ihan 3 weeks.

  Thank you to all the readers who have been there so far!

  The story is only starting, with many pnned ard much more progression, world building and development to e!

  The underground cavern, once a pce of fusion and despair, was slowly turning into something else—a camp, a shelter, a temporary home. Though the air still carried the weight of fear and uainty, there was now a growing sense of dire. Feiyin stood in the ter, his mind w through the tless details they o address. The others, exhausted yet wary, turo him with expet gazes.

  With the venomfang sin and their temporary safety secured, the step was to ensure survival in the ing days. Food, water, shelter, training—these were their priorities. The idea of staying idle while waiting for the Saint Spirit Sect to return and evaluate their ‘usefulness’ was unthinkable.

  Feiyin turoward Shen Mu, the apothecary’s son, who was adjusting the cloth around one of the wouhe boy had proven himself valuable, and his knowledge would be crucial in making sure they had something sustaio eat besides beast meat.

  “Shen Mu, do you know if there’s anything we fe down here? Anything edible that we should be looking out for?” Feiyin asked.

  Shen Mu, despite being among the younger children at only ten, had a sharp mind and was quick to respond. “Yes, there are defihings we look for. There are certain mosses that grow in damp areas—they have a bitter taste but are edible. Some fungi too, but we o be careful since many are poisonous. The safest ones are usually the ohat grow near water sources.”

  Feiyin nodded, processing this information. “What about things we should avoid?”

  “Anything with an overly sweet st—those are usually toxic or halluogenic. Also, any pnt that has bck spots ives off a sticky residue is dangerous. Some creatures also secrete poisons onto food sources to trap prey.” Shen Mu looked around at the others. “If we fe, we have to be careful and take things in small amounts first to test.”

  Feiyin absorbed all of this before turning to the rest of the group. “Alright, we’ll divide responsibilities. We ’t have everyone doing the same thing. From now on, we’ll have three main duties—training, fing, and rec.”

  The murmurs around him grew as the group processed this. Most of them had never lived in such a dire situation before. The cept of actively anizing their survival rather than waiting was unfamiliar. But it was necessary.

  Feiyin’s eyes swept over the group, gauging their reas. He then focused on those who had already begun training in the Body Tempering Realm. “Those of us who are in the Body Tempering Realm will be divided by strength so we train properly. Anyone who isn’t training will either rest o out in small groups fing for food and water. Hunting will be left to me and Yue for now.”

  Ren, sitting nearby with his arms crossed, let out a scoff. “You sure you handle all of this?” His voice was skeptical, but there was a hint of amusement there as well.

  Feiyin smirked. “You always take my pce.”

  Ren rolled his eyes. “Not ied. I just think it’s a lot to juggle.”

  “It is,” Feiyin admitted. “But the more anized we are, the better ce we have of sting the full month.”

  Yue, who had been listening quietly, perked up. “Then I’ll make sure to catch as much food as possible!” She ched her fists. “Since my nose is my best ht now, I’ll traything that smells eveely edible.”

  Feiyin nodded. “Good. We’ll need as much as we get.”

  With that settled, he turned back to Ren. “I know you’ve trained before, but you said you only learned by watg, right?”

  Ren raised a brow. “Yeah. Picked up what I could.”

  Feiyin thought for a moment before stepping forward. “The’s go over the basics properly. I’ll show you the correct way to build a foundation.”

  Reated for only a sed before pushing himself to his feet. “Fine.”

  The two of them moved a little further from the group, giving them enough space. Feiyin adjusted his stand gestured for Ren to do the same.

  “Body Tempering isn’t just about getting stronger. It’s about tempering the body effitly. If your foundation isn’t stable, you’ll pteau quickly,” Feiyin expined. “Let’s start with posture and trol.”

  Ren mimicked his stahough there were clear fws in how he carried himself. He was tid, g the fluidity o transfer power through his body smoothly.

  Feiyin stepped closer and adjusted Ren’s footing. “Your bance is off. If you ever o engage in a real fight, you o be able to move freely.”

  Ren frowned but followed the corres without pint.

  They spent the hoing over the fuals—proper breathing tute irength, trolled movements to maximize force output, and how to maintain stamina duriended es. Ree his usual air of disi, was quick to absorb the lessons.

  “You’re a fast learner,” Feiyin ented as Reed a corrected strike.

  Ren smirked slightly, rolling his shoulder. “I had to be.”

  Feiyin studied him for a moment before nodding. “The’s build on that.”

  As they tihe others in the group who had yet to start training gathered nearby, watg curiously. Seeing their i, Feiyin decided it was time to take things a step further.

  “For those of you who haven’t started traini, now’s the time.” He addressed them directly. “I’ll show you the first steps to begin Body Tempering.”

  A few hesitant nods followed, but there was clear i. These children had been thrown into a life-or-death situation. Even the weakest among them had to bee stronger if they wao survive.

  Feiyin walked them through the basic breathing exercises, expining how to guide their irength through their bodies. He demonstrated a few foundational postures, making sure each of them grasped the importance of form.

  Time passed quickly as they focused on training. Though some struggled, Feiyin made sure to correct them when needed, encing them to push forward.

  By the time they finished, everyone looked exhausted but slightly more fident.

  Feiyin exhaled and stretched, feeling satisfied with their progress. The group was beginning to funore like a unit.

  For the first time sihey had been thrown into this nightmare, survival didn’t seem quite as impossible.

  —

  The cavern had bee their world, the damp, unyielding stoheir home, the eternal darkheir sky, dotted only with the dim light of deadly mushrooms. Days passed in a steady rhythm—training, fing, resting—each of them falling into roles that made the crushing uainty of their fate slightly more bearable.

  Feiyin and Yue spent their days hunting whatever they could find, their senses sharpeo the eerie quiet of the underground. Rats, bats, and even the occasional rge lizard became their meals. The first time they ate the cave creatures, the taste was nearly unbearable, but Shen Mu had given them clear instrus on how to prepare them. Roasting the flesh on hot stones helped rid it of the worst odors, and usiain mosses and fungi added some fvor. Though it was nothing like home-cooked meals, it was safe and filled their bellies.

  Ree his usual nont demeanor, turned out to be an excellent sger. His sharp senses allowed him to detect dangers in their surroundings, preventing them from wandering into the territory of stronger beasts. Yue, with her keen nose, made sure they didn’t mistake anything poisonous. Shen Mu was invaluable with his knowledge of underground pnts and what little medial supplies they could make from their limited resources.

  Feiyin, meanwhile, banced everything—leading, hunting, training, and, when no one was watg, cultivating.

  He had taken to finding secluded spots deep within the cave system, pces where he could sit in silend focus entirely on himself. The process of opening his seeridian ainstaking but successful. Uhe first, where he had struggled against the blockage, he now had a method—using the osciltions of the five elements to grind away at the resistance, carefully aligning his energy with the natural vibrations of his body.

  It was slow.

  It was exhausting.

  But by the end of the week, he had do.

  His seeridian was clear, and the sed blessing of the world’s essence had started to subtly refine his body. Yet, Feiyihis achievement to himself. He didn’t trust their captors, and he certainly didn’t trust the circumstahey were in. If the Saint Spirit Sect forced them to reveal their progress, then every strength he dispyed could be turned against him.

  That, he would not allow.

  As the days passed, the group grew closer. The initial panic had long faded, and in its pce was a relut camaraderie. Their numbers had dwindled in the first few days—some had been killed by beasts, others had succumbed to wounds or poison—but those who remained had started to uand the unspoken truth:

  Only those ted would survive.

  versations became more frequent, small gestures of kindness more on. Ree his previous ess, had softened slightly, especially toward Yue, who had tched onto him as a partner in mischief. Shen Mu and a small group of former vilge kids had taken up the task of fing, anizing a schedule for who would search for food and when.

  It wasn’t fortable.

  It wasn’t safe.

  But it was stable.

  And then—it happened.

  —

  It started with a faint tremor beh Feiyin’s feet.

  At first, he thought it was his imagination. The cave system was riddled with strange sounds—dripping water, shifting stohe distant echoes of creatures moving through the tunnels. But this was different.

  A deep, rhythmic vibration pulsed through the ground.

  He turned sharply, eyes narrowing as he focused his inner sense. Osciltions traveled through the stone, a strange, rippling effect moving outward from a single source.

  Something was ing.

  Feiyin’s head soward Ren and Yue, who were just finishing up skinning one of the rge bats they had caught earlier.

  “Something’s wrong,” he said immediately.

  Ren wiped his knife on his sleeve and frowned. “You sure? Could just be the grouling.”

  Feiyin shook his head. “No. It’s moving.”

  Yue’s ears twitched as she she air, her expression quickly shifting into arm. “Something’s ing. Something big.”

  Feiyin was already moving.

  He rushed toward the group that had gathered he stream, most of them preparing to eat, unaware of the growing tension. Shen Mu eaking with another boy about which fungi were safest when Feiyin’s voice cut through the cavern.

  “Everyone, up! We o move—now!”

  Some turoward him in fusion, while others hesitated, uain.

  Then the ground shook again, harder this time.

  The sound that followed made Feiyin’s blood run cold.

  A low, guttural growl, like the rumbling of ahquake, reverberated through the tunnels.

  Yue’s eyes widened in fear. “That’s not a rat.”

  Ren muttered a curse. “No. It’s something much worse.”

  The others finally reacted, scrambling to their feet. Some instinctively reached for ons they didn’t have. Feiyin motioned for everyoo move back, sing the darkeunnels for the source of the noise.

  Then, from the deepest part of the cavern, a shadow moved.

  It was massive.

  A grotesque form slithered into view—its long, segmented body unduting as it moved, its pale, eyeless face twisting toward them. Jagged mandibles clicked together, and thick, venomous saliva dripped onto the cavern floor, sizzling as it touched stone.

  A tipede.

  No, not just a tipede.

  A Css 1 Beast.

  The moment its full form came into view, an instinctual fear gripped the group. Its segmented legs, sharp and bded, cttered against the rock as it advanced, its movements unnervingly smooth.

  It had no eyes.

  But it could hear them.

  And it could seheir fear.

  Feiyin inhaled sharply. ‘A middle grade Css 1 Beast…’

  This wasn’t like the venomfang.

  This was something on airely different level, equivalent to an opening meridian realm cultivator who is in the middle tier.

  The tipede let out another screeg noise before lunging forward.

  Paed.

  Some ran.

  Others screamed.

  Feiyin ched his jaw, heart pounding. They had o run. The tunnels were too narrow, too winding—if they tried to scatter, they would only be hunted down one by one.

  They had to fight.

  “Get behind me!” he shouted, stepping forward, his muscles tensing.

  Ren’s expression twisted into somethiween frustration aermination. “You’re crazy.”

  Yue growled, baring her fangs. “We don’t have a choice.”

  Feiyin focused, drawing orength he had cultivated. His irength surged as he adjusted his stance, preparing for the battle ahead.

  They were outmatched.

  They were unarmed.

  And their enemy was relentless.

  But they had no other option.

  They had to survive.