The masked figure moved with lethal precision, his body a blur as he closed the distance to the third person hiding in the wardrobe. His mood had soured—this was not how the night was supposed to go.
He had been harvesting the maidens in this town, draining them of their essence—the pure, unrefined energy that is converted ino Qi upon cultivation. The young maidens of this town had fed his progress, their essence fueling his ascent through the cultivation levels. This was his final harvest before moving on.
And then these foolish brats had dared to ambush him.
They were weak, barely above Qi Refinement stage, unworthy adversaries. He had taken them down with ease. But now, his attention turned to the final one—the young man hiding in the wardrobe.
His sharp eyes narrowed as he sensed for the boy's cultivation.
Hmmm… This foolish looking boy… he has Qi, but he can't even control it.
Odd… A crippled cultivator? Or someone with damaged meridians? Either way, he was helpless.
And yet, there was something else…
The dark figure's lips curled into a smirk. Although I prefer young girls, this boy… he has quite a large pool of essence.
It would be a waste to leave it untouched.
"Waste not."
With a sudden burst of speed, he dashed forward, the floor beneath him barely making a sound as he surged toward the wardrobe.
Kai's heart pounded as he saw death itself hurtling toward him.
This guy is way too strong and he could not even use his Qi!
His mind screamed for him to run, but his legs refused to move.
Blam!
The wardrobe exploded into splinters, blown apart by sheer force as the dark figure's hand shot forward, locking onto Kai's arm.
Kai barely had time to flinch before the Absorption Technique activated.
A sharp pull.
An unnatural sensation, as though something inside him was being yanked from his very core.
Kai gasped, his vision blurring.
The dark figure was extracting his essence, the raw life energy that all non-cultivators carried in abundance. It was the same process he had used on the young girls, draining them until there was nothing left.
So this is it, Kai thought. I'm going to be sucked dry like the others…
But something was… off.
The dark figure frowned, his grip tightening. His Qi surged as he increased the suction force, pulling harder on Kai's essence.
Yet—instead of extracting, he felt resistance.
What is this?
It was as though Kai's meridians refused to yield. The more he tried to draw energy out, the more it fought back.
His eyes narrowed. This had never happened before. He had absorbed countless victims—why was this one different?
He pushed harder, pouring more Qi into the technique, forcefully ripping at Kai's life essence.
Kai trembled under the pressure. His body felt warmer and warmer, his skin tingling as his Qi stirred—even though it should have been blocked.
His Qi wasn't flowing outward.
It was flowing inward.
Then, it hit Kai.
This guy's specialty is Absorption Techniques!
Kai's mind raced. He's trying to extract my Qi or essence, but… because my Qi is in reverse circulation, it's pulling energy from him instead!
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
The tables have turned.
He wasn't the one being drained—he was the one absorbing.
The dark figure's expression darkened. A flicker of confusion passed through his gaze as he sensed an unnatural shift in the flow of energy.
The more he tried to extract, the more he felt his own Qi slipping away, leaking into Kai's body in unstoppable waves.
"No. That's impossible."
His mastery over absorption techniques had been unparalleled, honed through decades of perfecting his craft. There was no technique, no defensive measure that should have been able to reverse his siphoning ability.
Yet this boy…
He tried to break the connection, but it was too late.
Kai's body trembled, but it wasn't from weakness. His meridians—previously blocked, sluggish, unresponsive—suddenly surged with energy.
His Qi surged, pouring into his once-blocked meridians, filling every inch of his being like a dam breaking free.
A violent pulse of Qi erupted within him, breaking through the blockages.
The sensation was overwhelming.
Kai's mind blanked as the flood of energy rushed through his meridians, overriding the stagnation, expanding his Qi pathways beyond their previous limits.
The energy poured into him uncontrollably, forcefully pushing him beyond his bottleneck.
His dantian rumbled.
Boom!
A wave of energy burst outward, sending the dark figure staggering back.
The dark figure slammed his hand into the ground, steadying himself as his eyes locked onto Kai with something new in them.
Not just anger.
Shock.
His body trembled slightly, the backlash of energy having weakened him more than expected.
For the first time, his prey had harmed him.
Kai dropped to one knee, his body shuddering as the remnants of foreign Qi settled inside him. His breath was ragged, his muscles burning from the sheer force of the breakthrough.
A moment of silence and then he looked up.
His Qi was no longer blocked.
His meridians were fully cleared.
His cultivation had advanced.
Kai was now at Foundation stage.
The realization sent a rush of power through him, but he had no time to savor it, the dark figure was already recovering.
The dark figure stared in disbelief. His own Qi reserves had been drained, and his target—this worthless cripple—was now stronger than before.
Kai exhaled slowly, his hands tightening into fists. His strength had returned.