My Name Is ....
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The boy—no, Shen Guang—lifted his gaze from the crackling fire, his golden eyes reflecting the flames like twin suns.
"My name is Shen Guang," he said, the words heavy with memory. "Of the Shen Clan—not some grand dynasty, but a lineage of scholars and wanderers.
" He traced a finger through the dirt, sketching the jagged peaks of the Azure Mountain Range, where his ancestors had once dwelled between the Ice River Valley and Heavenly Flame Ranges."
"Six thousand years ago, our founder, Shen Mu—a one-star Dou Sheng—built our home there. But my grandfather…" His voice tightened.
"He was different. A seven-star Dou Sheng, the strongest we ever produced. He carved out a realm of his own, a hidden paradise in the void, and moved our entire clan there. No more borders, no more wars. Just… knowledge."
A bitter smile touched his lips. "We were neutral. Peaceful. While others slaughtered each other for dou qi techniqus , pills , treasures , my clansmen scoured the continent for scrolls, artifacts, forgotten tongues. We wrote more than we fought.
Maybe we knew more than anyone else in this damned world." He clenched his fists, the ghostfire poison in his veins flickering.
Lady Yin studied him, her usual mockery absent. "A clan of scholars hiding in the void,"she mused.
Lady Yin's crimson lips curled into a smirk as she flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder, her obsidian eyes glinting with cruel amusement. "Let's revisit your pathetic state when I found you, little scholar," she purred, tapping one sharp nail against her cheek.
"Charred like overcooked meat, bones singing like shattered glass, and those golden eyes of yours dimmer than a guttering candle. Tell me—how does a bookworm from a hidden realm end up half-dead on a cliff, bleeding out like common prey?" She leaned in, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "Did your clan's precious knowledge not teach you how to survive?"
Shen Guang's fingers tightened around the edge of his sleeve, his golden eyes flickering with a mix of reluctance and simmering rage.
"180 years ago," he began, his voice low and measured, as if each word carried the weight of betrayal, "my father—a Dou Zong who cared more for battle than books—left our clan's realm to seek worthy opponents.
He found one at a martial arts contest hosted by the Ice River Valley… Huang Xun Ji." A bitter scoff escaped him. "They fought, they bonded, and my foolish father called him brother.
" His jaw clenched. "They traveled together, and during their journeys, my father met my mother—a core disciple of the Flower Sect. Against tradition, he brought her back to our hidden realm… and Huang Xun Ji with her."
A dark laugh, devoid of humor, rumbled in his chest. "That bastard saw our library—six millennia of gathered knowledge, techniques, pill recipes, artifacts—things even top-tier sects would slaughter for. He itched to take it, but he couldn't. Not while my grandfather, a 7-star Dou Sheng, still drew breath."Shen Guang's voice dropped to a whisper, venom lacing every syllable. "So he waited. Bided his time. Played the loyal friend… until the day my grandfather passed 20 years ago" .
Shen Guang's voice grew colder, his golden eyes glinting with a fury that seemed to darken the very air around them. "Huang Xun Ji was nothing but a high-level Two-Star Dou Sheng" he spat, the words dripping with venom.
"And even that, he owed to my father. My father, a Three-Star Dou Sheng, gave him a Heaven-tier low-rank technique and combat skills—gifts he didn't deserve. But that bastard wasn't satisfied. He wanted *everything*."
A bitter laugh escaped him, hollow and sharp. "Of course, he couldn't take on our clan alone. My mother was a high-level Two-Star Dou Sheng, and within our walls, there were eight Dou Shengs in total.
We were scholars, not warriors, but centuries of knowledge had honed our instincts. We weren't defenseless , we had countless arrays arranged in the clan realm ." His fists clenched, knuckles white.
"But Huang Xun Ji had lied about being an orphan. He was from the *Huang Clan*—a pack of bloodsucking leeches who refined living cultivators into pills.
They had three Dou Shengs of their own, led by a high-level Four-Star elder. Still, even they weren't enough to breach our defenses."
His breath hitched, the memory like a blade twisting in his gut. "So Huang Xun Ji made a deal with the *Hall of Souls*."
The name alone sent a ripple of revulsion through him. "Their chief, a monster who feasts on powerful souls, was *very* interested in the legacy of a Seven-Star Dou Sheng. And so, they came together—like vultures descending on carrion—to slaughter my clan and plunder our knowledge, our *souls*."
Shen Guang's voice dropped to a whisper, raw with grief and rage. "They didn't just kill us. They consumed us. And Huang Xun Ji? He stood there, smiling, as the Hall of Souls ripped my clan member' souls from their bodies."
Lady Yin's expression was unreadable, but her fingers had stilled around the Ghostfire Needles. "A scholar's clan, a traitor's greed, and the Hall of Souls' hunger," she mused, her voice eerily calm. "No wonder you're so eager to die fighting."
Shen Guang's fists were still clenched, his body trembling with the weight of his memories, when Lady Yin suddenly kicked him in the shin—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make him yelp in surprise. "Ow! What the—"
"Enough moping,"she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "If your story's so tragic, what are you doing here, slacking like a kicked puppy? Shouldn't you be out there sharpening your fangs?" She smirked as he rubbed his leg, glaring at her. But despite himself, the tension in his shoulders eased just a fraction.
"Fine," he muttered. "But unless you've got a secret technique to turn me into a Dou Sheng overnight, I don't see how—"
"Who said anything about overnight?"she interrupted, flicking his forehead. "I'm going to train you so hard, you'll be kicking the Huang Clan *here*—"** She gestured wildly to the left. "—and the Hall of Souls *there*—" A dramatic sweep to the right. "—before you even realize you've broken through."
Shen Guang raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Oh? And what makes you qualified? I've already figured you out—you're at least a Dou Zong since you can float like a show-off, but definitely not a Dou Zun. I've felt a Dou Zun's aura before, and you? You're just… mildly terrifying."
Lady Yin's eye twitched. "Mildly?!"
"Yep," he said, grinning now. "And since you're just a Dou Zong, shouldn't you be bowing to real experts? Saints can shatter space with a sneeze, you know."
"You—!" She lunged at him, but he dodged, laughing—the first real sound of amusement he'd made in what felt like years. Their bickering echoed through the cave, the tension momentarily forgotten.
[ After Thier bickering ]
Shen Guang clutched the Violet Lightning Bone-Carving Sutra to his chest like a lifeline, his golden eyes wide with alarm as Lady Yin snatched the scroll from his hands with a flick of her wrist. She unrolled it with exaggerated care, her crimson lips curling into a smirk as her gaze traced the ancient, lightning-etched characters.
"Hmm… not bad," she mused, tapping the parchment. "This technique is clearly a relic from a madman—perfect for you. And lucky for us, this valley is practically drowning in tribulation-grade lightning." She snapped the scroll shut and tossed it back at him. "Get up. We're starting now."
Shen Guang scrambled backward, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Are you *insane*?! If I get struck by lightning in this state, I'll be grilled like a spirit fish! I need to prepare—find a body-tempering formula, maybe some protective talismans—"
"Excuses, excuses!" Lady Yin sang, grabbing him by the collar. "The *Pond of Twin Oblivion* won't let you die. Probably."
"PROBABLY?!"
She ignored his shriek, dragging him toward the cave entrance where storm clouds churned overhead. "Look at it this way—if you die, I'll avenge you extra hard. Now, *fly!". With a gleeful cackle, she hurled him out into the open.
"NO! NO! NO! LADY YIN—*BEAUTIFUL, MERCIFUL, PEACEFUL MASTER*—PLEASE! I'LL POLISH YOUR SHOES! I'LL—"
CRACK! BOOM!
A bolt of violet lightning split the sky and struck him mid-air. His scream turned into a guttural roar as his bones lit up from within, the sutra's runes flaring across his skeleton like molten brands. He crashed into the scorched earth, twitching, his skin smoking.
Lady Yin leaned against the cave entrance, arms crossed. "See? You're not dead. Now quit whining and stand up."
Shen Guang spat out a mouthful of dirt, his hair standing on end. "You threw me! Like a sack of potatoes!"
"Potatoes don't scream this much," she said, inspecting her nails. "Besides, you *needed* the momentum. Otherwise, you'd have dodged."
"I *can't* dodge lightning!"
"Not with that attitude."She flicked a pebble at his forehead. "Now, the sutra's first stage requires *nine* strikes to get started . You've taken one. *Eight to go.*"
His face paled. "You're *enjoying* this!"
"Obviously." Her grin was feral. "But don't worry—if your bones shatter, the pond will put you back together. Mostly."
"*Mostly?!*"
"Relax," she said, waving a hand. "I'll even give you a *reward* if you survive."
"What reward?!"
"I won't throw you into the pond *next time*."
"THAT'S NOT A REWARD, THAT'S BASIC DECENCY—"
CRACK! BOOM!
Another bolt struck. Shen Guang's howl of agony was drowned out by Lady Yin's laughter.
"Now sit up straight and try to guide the lightning bolt energy into your bone " she said.
" You are a demon " he screamed.
"Now shut up and cultivate or you would waste the lightning energy and you will have eat several more thunder bolts to just get started " she spoke in laughter.
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The End